Tour Guides in Rio

[rheasue38]

Hi!

My husband and I recently hired Pedro Novak to pick us up at the Rio airport and take us to the JW Marriott. We were quite disappointed in the vehicle he used to transport us. When I asked Pedro to turn on the air-conditioning because the weather was hot and humid, he informed us it did not work well. His vehicle kept stalling and we were worried about breaking down before reaching the hotel. The luggage barely fit into the vehicle. Pedro charged us double what a cab would have cost.

Rhea

[Mparis184]

Hi!

My husband and I recently hired Pedro Novak to pick us up at the Rio airport and take us to the JW Marriott. We were quite disappointed in the vehicle he used to transport us. When I asked Pedro to turn on the air-conditioning because the weather was hot and humid, he informed us it did not work well. His vehicle kept stalling and we were worried about breaking down before reaching the hotel. The luggage barely fit into the vehicle. Pedro charged us double what a cab would have cost.

Rhea

 

What would a cab have cost? I Have heard different rates quoted.

[rheasue38]

Hi!

A taxi would have cost 55-70 reals. He charged 150 from the airport to the JW Marriott.

Rhea

[bigmjh]

We did the Miami to Sao Paulo cruise in November (Azamara Journey) and had a great time! We had pre-arranged a guide in Rio ... his name was Rafael Lopes. We couldn't have asked for anyone better. His English is almost perfect (he tries to learn from each client a new meaning / phrase) and his absolute LOVE for Rio really come through. He has a brand new A/C'd car - a Fiat that's sort of like a small van (large by Brazilian standards). We spent 2 wonderful, full days with him in Rio and then (since we had such a good time) asked if he wasn't booked if he would like to meet us in Parati. He drove down that night and was standing on the dock waving to us as our tender pulled up ... and we spent another great day with him. One of the highlights of our time in Rio was the afternoon that Rafael took us over to Niteroi for lunch at a "locals" restaurant ... wonderful variety of Brazilian food and great Caipirinha's (the real Brazilian ones really put the ones on board to shame!). After lunch, he took us to his "surprise" - a hang-gliding launch area above Niteroi that has the most fantastic, picture perfect views of Rio, Sugar Loaf and Corcavado ... something not to be missed. All of this was at a price far less than the ship's tours ... far better than the "free" jeweler-sponsored tours. Rafael made us feel like "family" and gave us three days that will live forever in our memories of Brazil.

 

Rafael also does airport > hotel and other around town shuttle service as well.

[seahags]

We did the Miami to Sao Paulo cruise in November (Azamara Journey) and had a great time! We had pre-arranged a guide in Rio ... his name was Rafael Lopes. We couldn't have asked for anyone better. His English is almost perfect (he tries to learn from each client a new meaning / phrase) and his absolute LOVE for Rio really come through. He has a brand new A/C'd car - a Fiat that's sort of like a small van (large by Brazilian standards). We spent 2 wonderful, full days with him in Rio and then (since we had such a good time) asked if he wasn't booked if he would like to meet us in Parati. He drove down that night and was standing on the dock waving to us as our tender pulled up ... and we spent another great day with him. One of the highlights of our time in Rio was the afternoon that Rafael took us over to Niteroi for lunch at a "locals" restaurant ... wonderful variety of Brazilian food and great Caipirinha's (the real Brazilian ones really put the ones on board to shame!). After lunch, he took us to his "surprise" - a hang-gliding launch area above Niteroi that has the most fantastic, picture perfect views of Rio, Sugar Loaf and Corcavado ... something not to be missed. All of this was at a price far less than the ship's tours ... far better than the "free" jeweler-sponsored tours. Rafael made us feel like "family" and gave us three days that will live forever in our memories of Brazil.

 

Rafael also does airport > hotel and other around town shuttle service as well.

Do you have contact info for Rafael? We would love to arrange a day with him!!

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time!!!

[med4bike]

Your touring with Rafael sounded terrific. We also would like to contact him.

 

Would you please post his email address and any web site he may have.

 

Thanks

[bigmjh]

We contacted Rafael via email ... had a lot of back-and-forth correspondence prior to our trip. His email address is - donrafa_brazil(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk - an alternate email address (as email service in Brazil is sporadic) is - donrafainrio(at)gmail(dot)com - written this way to escape the spam bots that search out email addresses in these posts. Just replace the (at) and (dot) with the appropriate / usual symbols. His rates were VERY reasonable $120 full day or $80 half day. We were going to go to a Samba show with him that night we were in port and were looking forward to it. He told us he would take us to a REAL Samba dinner / show ... not one of the "tourist" shows that were staged like tourists expected them to be. But, after a FULL 9 hour day of touring Rio and Nietro, we were really tired and just wanted to get a shower and hit the bed ... had to recharge our batteries and be ready for the next morning! BTW - I've attached a picture of Rafael with his newly purchased car.

[Priusprof]

Do you have contact info for Rafael? We would love to arrange a day with him!!

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time!!!

We are on the cruise right before you and we are using Rio+. You can check out their web site at www.rioplus.net

Leticia and Valeria have been corresponding with us for some time.

[wripro]

Bigmjh,

 

I tried Rafael at both emails and haven't heard back. maybe he's just booked for the time we're in Rio. Or maybe he's swamped and hasn't had a chance yet to reply.

[bigmjh]

I heard from Rafael about 5 days ago ... he was saying that he was really busy and was getting ready to go to Buenos Aires for a mixed trip (work and fun). Not sure how long until he returns. But this is his busy time in Rio ... especially in another week when Carnival hits! He's really good about responding to emails and I'm sure that you'll hear from him soon. When you do, please tell him that Maurice and Maddy say "Hi".

[wripro]

Bigmjh,

 

Thanks for the reply. I will certainly pass on your regards when he gets in touch.

[wripro]

Bigmjh,

 

Thanks for the reply. I will certainly pass on your regards when he gets in touch.

[med4bike]

Thanks Maurice and Maddy for recommending Rafa on this board.

 

We contacted him and reserved his services for our cruise to Buenos Aires and Rio next January.

 

He provided us with a wonderful intin which coincides with the itin which you described above. He also suggested the "samba" dinner which we will try to make.

 

Have you or anyone else used Rafa in BA? We have visited BA before with a guide but would like to tour with a guide for maybe a day. Is it worth it for Rafa to go to BA for only one day's tour?

 

We are excited with his itin in Rio and thanks for the picture of Rafa, as well

 

Maurice

[bigmjh]

Have you or anyone else used Rafa in BA? We have visited BA before with a guide but would like to tour with a guide for maybe a day. Is it worth it for Rafa to go to BA for only one day's tour?

 

No - only was with Rafael for two days in Rio and a day in Paraty. Check with him and see if he does tours in BA and what his rate would be. I know that he goes all over So. America ... including organizing tours up the Amazon. He not only does these small local tours ... but he is used by corporations and other organizations to lead tours for groups that have numbered in the hundreds.

 

BTW - his dream in life is to come to the US ... tour the country ... see our national parks ... take pictures and meet Mickey Mouse. But our government won't approve his visa application (us being "tough" with Brazil) because he's self-employed and has no family ties to Brazil (he's single and still living at home). After you meet him, I'm sure that you'll agree that it's a shame that the powers-to-be won't let him come visit.

[Joel Silverman]

Hi!

My husband and I recently hired Pedro Novak to pick us up at the Rio airport and take us to the JW Marriott. We were quite disappointed in the vehicle he used to transport us. When I asked Pedro to turn on the air-conditioning because the weather was hot and humid, he informed us it did not work well. His vehicle kept stalling and we were worried about breaking down before reaching the hotel. The luggage barely fit into the vehicle. Pedro charged us double what a cab would have cost.

Rhea

 

My wife and I used Mr. Olimpio from rioturist.com on our last visit. We found Olimpio to be very professional and courteous. He took extra care to make sure we saw everything in the daily itinerary in a timely manner. He has one of those Fiat mini-vans that seats 7 and it was very comfortable. Even though there were cloudy days, we managed to see Christ Redeemer at Corcovado and all the other major attractions like the tilled staircase of Selaron in Lapa and Niteroi. His prices were fair for a group of 4 and Olimpio is quite a talker so we got a lot of info throughout our tour. We ended up not having enough time, but he apparently guides clients to Buzios and Sailing trips to Ilha Grande. He grew up in Canada and his English is perfect. He even speaks French. We strongly recommend Mr. Olimpio.

 

Joel and Sherrel Silverman