Tours in Rio de Janeiro

[fendbass]

After much research, I contacted Neyla for both an airport pickup, and for an 8-hour tour

 

I want to confirm what everyone has been saying about her, it was a wonderful experience, she was very knowledgeable, and her fee included tickets to Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf

 

She picked us up at the airport, and arranged to stop at a local supermarket so we could get sodas and snacks, and avoid the outrageous charges the hotels change for their minibars

 

She also arranged a Window table at Pocaro steak house in Flamengo Park, which is an experience not to be missed. Fantastic food, great view of Sugarloaf at sunset

 

It was really one of the highlights of the whole trip, I recommend her very highly

 

Her fee was $80 for the airport pickup, and $250 for the 8-hour tour. Money well-spent

[robi1]

Rio is a wonderful place when you have a guide that takes you away from the ordinary! We spent two weeks in Rio before and after our cruise on the Insigina. Our guide Rafa was dilligent and took us to really great local places. We went to many local markets, special local's only beaches, and ate at the true Brazillian restaurants --- not in the guide books. He met us as we cruised down the coast taking us to coffee plantations, bird watching, secluded beaches, and rain forest places. He rented a boat for us in Ilha Grande and took us from Parati into the rainforest to see gorgeous birds. We have been to Rio twice before and never saw it so well or safely before Rafa. Cruise tours are always buses and lots of people... not personal. Rafa was far beyond wonderful. donrafainrio@yahoo.es He knows his stuff and made our New Years 2009-10 special. He designed our tour for just us making Rio and all the coast cities that he met us at very special!! from Robi1

[Oceanurse]

Yes I echo your sentiment about Rafael Torres. What a great guy and so enthusiastic about his beautiful Rio in particular and Brazil in general. We had a fabulous time with him in his incredible city.

 

His contact details for those asking the question is:- donrafainrio@yahoo.es and just look at his blog:-

http://donrafaguestsinrio.blogspot.com.

 

I hope this helps anyone looking for a great guide in Rio. I don't think you will do better and his prices are excellent too.

 

My girlfriend and I booked a tour with Rafa last November to end our 15 day Transatlantic cruise. We had the pleasure of meeting Rafa and Marcone the first day we landed in Rio. Let me tell you that after 5 minutes it felt like we were with family! Rafa and Marcone are beyond excellent! We liked them so much we are repeating our TA trip again in December. The sights they took us to were uncrowded and breath-taking. It was not your regular city tour! After contacting Rafa-he responded very quickly- we emailed back and forth for several months prior to our cruise. He had me more excited and thrilled to see his beautiful Rio then any travel brocheure. We both felt very safe with him- so any ladies on your own- this is your tour guide! We can't wait to see him and Marcone again!!:D I would be happy to answer any questions. Book Rafa and you'll have a unforgetable experience!

[Kevin1]

I can whole heartedly recommend with first hand experience a guide by the name of Rafael Torres better known as "Rafa" he can be contacted at the following email address "donrafainrio@yahoo.es"

He will give you 100% attention at a very fair price, you have nothing to lose by contacting him.

 

Hope this helps

 

Kevin.

[HEDGE007]

I agree totally with the above - Rafa (and his equally wonderful charismatic assistant Marcone) are simply the best!

 

Ros

In December, my husband and I spent a week in Rio before our cruise. Several of those days were spent with Rafa and it was the best experience and highlight of our trip. He took us everywhere and we were able to see many places that people sometimes miss in Rio. His communication beforehand is wonderful and he works out a tour schedule to suit your wants and needs. He is professional, informative and just a delight to be with. He makes you feel like "family" and he will go out of his way to please you. We did the trip around the "Horn" on the Star Princess and had several good private tour people set up beforehand but he was definitely memorable! Even towards the end of our trip, my husband would say "I miss Rafa". He is definitely a unique person. We highly recommend his services.

[Paul123]

Poor Rafa's beloved Rio has been devastated with 28cm (11 inches) of rain in the last 24 hours. I belive the death toll is now over 100 persons.

 

This will impact on all tours in the city and surrounding area. I hope the city soon gets back to normal and that the poor people who lost loved ones can overcome their grief.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8605386.stm

[Nuka]

There is another post about getting a guide on cruisecritic.com See:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=23906151#post23906151

 

In summary, I echo everyone's sentiments about Rafa. He is very personable, friendly and knowledgable. English was excellent and it was nice to have a great enthusiastic guide show us around in his sport utility vehicle. He is a proud Brazilian that is eager to share the best of his country with visitors.

 

One thing he did which was very nice was to provide various options for touring complete with youtube previews via email. You can't go wrong with Rafa. He took us to a fabulous Samba party at a local club in Rio from our cruiseship, and for the next few days, one of his associates, took us around in private car, to see the sights that most tourists on ship provided tours don't see. For example, we went by a small boat with a local man to the wetlands and saw many different kinds of wildlife including a cayman which was very cool and then we toured a national park minutes away from Rio where we saw the famous "Golden Monkey."

 

We had so much fun that we are doing it again this year! We simply cannot wait and the tours with Rafa and his associates were definately one of the highlights of our trip!

[DD]

My husband and I spend close to a week in Rio with Rafa as our guide every step of the way. Even though I'm relatively well-travelled (55 countries), I was terrified of Rio. I made myself crazy with worry ahead of time. I was really frightened. What a changed view I now have of Rio, and it is because of Rafa. I am convinced that I would have had a very different experience had we not used his services. We LOVED Rio, absolutely whole-heartedly loved it.

 

Rafa was with us day and night during our entire time in Rio. He also followed us down the coast and met us in other Brazilian ports. While we did all the checklist of tourist things that you must do in Rio (Corcovado, Sugarloaf, Ipanema, etc.), he also took us to so many places that we never would've visited--places that became our favorites. Ahead of time, we had this very fixed list of places that we wanted to see and we didn't want to deviate. Rafa suggested other places and we shot them down. After we were there a day or two, we realized what a fantastic time we were having with him and we started to trust his recommendations. Had we not trusted him, we would've missed out. He took us to amazing places, and we really got to know Rio as if we were visiting friends rather than just as tourists about to board a cruise ship.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend him. Of all the private drivers/guides in any country that we've ever hired, Rafa is on my short list of my three favorites (along with Stephano Constantini in Rome and Johnny in Bora Bora who I couldn't find again on my last visit). Seriously, you can not go wrong with him. We've used a lot of private guides over the years, and if you read back through my posting history, while I've had many guides that were good, you'll find that it's only those 3 that I rave about.

 

We are considering a return to Brazil in 2011. We want to see the Amazon. My husband and I have agree that we will not book anything until we check to make sure that Rafa is available during the time period that we want to visit. If he isn't, we'll reschedule--that's how good he is.

[clairann2000]

I agree totally with the above - Rafa (and his equally wonderful charismatic assistant Marcone) are simply the best!

 

Ros

RAFA was superb...picked us up at the airport and we spent (6 of us) two lovely days in his company...perfect days...HIGHLY recommend him for his great english skills and ability to show us a great time.

[mimrodg11]

Just back from the Oceania Insignia Lima/Rio. We contacted Madson of tourguiderio.com (after reading about him on these boards) and couldn't have been more pleased. His website contains all the information anyone would want. Would recommend him to anyone.