Rio tour...

Customized visit of Rio de janeiro!

Akoiba customizes your stays as much as we can in order to make your trip unforgettable. This Rio tour is absolutely in the same spirit because we offer you to visit Rio de Janeiro as you wish to. This city cannot be ignored when you plan to visit Brazil. Its natural environment as its rhythm of life are extraordinary and unique in the world. However this sprawling city can be quickly tiredness. That’s why Akoiba offers you to discover Rio for 1, 2, 3 days or more and above all to visit what you want.

This service is provided by a very professional and official guide-driver who speaks 5 languages fluently (English included).

This is a very demanded service. We advise to book as soon as you decided to have it.

A complete adaptation to your needs

The guide comes to pick you up at the hotel’s door; drive you to Rio and make the visits like nobody else. Far from the touristic tours organized by companies which pack 40 persons in a bus, this service is entirely customizable. The guide makes suggestions about the tour and presents you the famous places but you are free to ask him to include other visits or change the timetable. All the visits have a defined time to make it. From this you can make your own schedule.

Besides you’ll be able to talk and interact with a local person. You can ask him all the questions you want to, about any kind of subjects without any taboo. The information given are really interesting and once again adapted to your will. (Touristic buses flood you with massive information that can be useless time to time)

Time saving, thus money saving!

With a guide, no queue before to visit! This is very valuable in a very touristic city as Rio. Besides you’ll avoid having bad moments because of transports or wrong information. A guide allows avoiding traffic jam and knows shorter and safer ways. In other words, it means to be guided by a professional who knows where to go and when. This is precious, because all people can’t have 3 months of holidays and can’t afford to waste some days.

Ask to stop anytime you wish to! Perfect for photography lovers; A unique picture, a strange or funny situation, a wonderful landscape, a special light…there are a thousand reasons to ask the stop of the car to take the picture which may symbolized your holidays! Moreover, the guide knows all the good places that he selects with meticulous care in order for you to immortalize landscapes or key moments of your trip.

A safe trip

Rio is not as dangerous as Medias like to tell so. However as most of the big agglomerations, it has its dangers. With a local guide, you’ll be advised and the ways he takes are always the safer. You’ll be able to have money and camera by yourselves.

A comfortable and quality car fully equipped

The spacious car has air conditioning and a MP3 players to listen to the traditional Brazilian music during the journeys.

The importance of a local person

Buying souvenirs is always easier with a local. During organized trip, groups are directed in specific shops and most of the time, they don’t have the possibility to buy all they would have liked. With our guide, you will go where you want to go shopping and let him advised you to discover some shops out of the touristic area with real hand-crafted objects or local spirits.

Visits - Suggestions

Day 1 and 2
Sugar loaf | The Corcovado | Copacabana, Ipanema .. | Santa Tereza area | Botanic garden | Cultural visits | Fruits market | H. Stern museum | Maracaña | Deltaplane flight | Helicopter flight

Day 3
Niemeyer way | Beaches, fortress and belvedere | Lunch in a unique place

Day 4
Barra or the new Rio | Lunch with seafood and fish | Cachaça distillery | Extra activities

Day 1 and 2

Sugar loafBack to top

This is Rio de Janeiro’s symbol. Two cable cars are necessary to reach the top of the huge 395m high rock. From its top, the view is amazing; we can see the Corcovado’s mountain with the redemptive Christ, the famous beaches (Copacabana, Leblon, Ipanema etc.) but also the area (and beaches) such as Botafogo, Flamengo.

The sugar loaf takes his name after the Indian who called it “Pau-nd-Acuqua” which means “high promontory pointed and isolated”. As this rock looked like the clay mould used to make sugar breads and the Indian name strangely remind the Portuguese the name of “Pao de açucar”, it remained like this.

Length: 2h

The CorcovadoBack to top

Lastly recognized by the internet community as one of the 7 news wonders of the world, the Redemptive Christ statue (Cristo Redentor) is a real architectural feat and attracts thousands of tourists at the top of the Corcovado’s mountain. This 38m high statue has been erected on the highest point of the Corcovado, at 710m high. No need to describe the wonderful panoramic view from this place.

The statue is the result of the collaboration of the French sculptor Paul Landowski and the Brazilian architect Silva Costa in 1931.

Length: 2h

Copacabana, Ipanema and other famous beachesBack to top

First Copacabana. Probably the most internationally famous beach of Rio. Thousands of local and foreign tourists (but also locals) spend part of their holidays on this 4km beach. During summer, the touristic crowds is huge and the atmosphere is more popular than the upper-crust Ipanema. The last one is in a residential and smart neighborhood which has all the most luxurious stores of Rio. More quiet than Copacabana, this is probably the most romantic beach in town.

There are also the beaches a bit remote from the center such as Barra da Tijuaca, Recreio dos Bandeirantes or Sao Conrado where is located the Morro da Gavea, a huge granite 842m high bloc.

Length: 1h30

Santa Tereza areaBack to top

This area, full of history, is probably the most picturesque of Rio de Janeiro. Its cobblestoned streets are bending on the hill. To visit a part of this area, there is no better way than the “Bonde electrico” (tramway), built in 1896. This route offers an incredible numbers of great viewpoints on the Guanabara Bay.

Length: 2h

Botanic gardenBack to top

The botanic garden of Rio is famous to be one of the biggest and richest of the world. The king Joao VI, in 1809, decided to create this garden and the plantation of imperial palm trees at the entrance of the park.

Length: 1h30

Cultural visitsBack to top

The sambodrome

Built in 1984, this avenue, bordered with terraces on each side, has been created to host the carnival which was taking place in the city until this. The very famous Oscar Niemeyer created the Sambodrome, named Avenida Marquês de Sapucai. Every single year, the “passarela do Samba” host the most prestigious Samba schools in a very festive atmosphere.

The metropolitan cathedral

This huge modern monument is 86m high with a diameter of 96m; it can contain up o 20 000 persons. Made of concrete with a very modern style, the interest of the cathedral is in the monumental stained glass windows.

Walk in the business area which is also the historic center. This combination between the brand new buildings and the old colonial style buildings is special but interesting.

Stop for a drink or simple visit of the wonderful Colombo cake shop (tearoom), a beautiful place built in the 19th century.

Length: 4h

Fruits marketBack to top

Outside market with an impressive variety of fruits and vegetables. The salespersons are yelling to sell their products and the ambiance is folkloric and funny.

Length: 30min/1h

H.Stern museumBack to top

H.Stern Museum explains and shows how a precious stone is finely-worked from its natural state. This is a real artistic work and you will have the possibility to discover all steps of the process. Brazil is one of the biggest producers of precious stones in the world. At the end of the visit you will be able to buy stones for very interesting prices.

Length: 30min/1h

Maracaña football stadiumBack to top

It was the biggest stadium in the world. The world cup final, Brazil-Uruguay in 1950, beat all the crowds’ record with about 200,000 persons. This mythic stadium is open for visits and you can go on the field and the changing room.

Length: 1h

Delta plane flightBack to top

You can fly by delta plane above one of the most beautiful city in the world. Our guide can book flights and take you to the place where you’ll take off. The flight last around 10 minutes and its price is US$135. You can pay upon arrival in cash (Euros, dollars or reals).

Length: 2h

Helicopter flightBack to top

You can also have a helicopter flight above Rio and the Corcovado. The guide can take you at the closest heliport. The tours go from 7 up to 60 minutes. The price for 7 minutes is US$90 per person. You can pay in cash or credit card.

Day 3

Niemeyer way – Popular Theater and contemporary art museum

Oscar Niemeyer is an internationally famous architect who created, among hundreds of projects, the main buildings in Brasilia. More than 100 years old, Niemeyer is still active and has made of Niteroi, the city where he has done the more realizations. We can visit the popular theater and the astonished contemporary art museum.

Beaches, fortress and belvedereBack to top

Drive along the Niteroi Beaches, then visit of Santa Cruz fortress, erected in 1555. Finally, we will stop at the belvedere from where the panoramic view is just exceptional (sugar lof, Corcovado, Niteroi beaches etc.)

Lunch in a unique placeBack to top

This visit of Niteroi will end by a lunch in a very traditional place, unknown of tourists and many other guides. (About US$15 per meal)

Length: 6h

Day 4

Barra or the new RioBack to top

Visit of Barra, the modern and fashion area, very estimated by the new well-off social classes. Then, excursion towards a wild beach, located at 30km from Rio’s center. You will have free time to have a walk or lay down on the beach. Then, if you want to, you will have the possibility to go on a nudist beach (the guide don’t go with you on the beach). If nudism is not for you, another beach nearby is ideal to refine your tan in a peaceful and quiet place.

Lunch with seafood and fishBack to top

The lunch can take place in a wonderful seafood restaurant which has an amazing view on the sea and the forest. (Minimum US$15 per dish)

Cachaça distilleryBack to top

Finally we offer to visit a distillery to see how the most famous Brazilian alcohol is made. The cachaça is often used to prepare the Caipirinha, typical drink from Brazil. You can see all the process steps and taste different quality of cachaça.

Length: 6h

Extra activitiesBack to top

If you want to finish the day in action, the guide offers you to take you to practice karting(1h), bowling(1h30), the visit of the popular art museum Casa do Pontal(1h), or to do shopping (for example in the biggest mall of Latin America.

We want to precise that Akoiba doesn’t take any commission on all the activities mentioned above and doesn’t have any agreements with providers. Those ones are offered as museum visits where you have to pay the entrance fee.

Please contact us to establish a personalized quotation. The price depends on the number of persons, the number of days and hours per day you wish.