Trip in Rio – Day Tours

My sister & I hate guided tours. Mainly because we don’t need to spend a lot of time at each sight. You spend half the day waiting for other people as there is always someone who wants to spend hours at 1 sight or worse, a gift shop. After reading about private tours on TripAdvisor we decided to give it a try. After we inquired prices were not that much for 2 of us on a private tour than a bus tour. The decision was easy.
We booked a full day tour with Ederson. He picked us up at 8 am and we were off to the Tijuca National Rainforest. Our first stop was the Chinese View, but we mentioned that we wanted to get some fruit and we happened to pass a fruit truck. He stopped for us and even helped us select the best fruit and negotiate a great price for all the fruit.
The Chinese View (Vista Chinesa) gives you a great overlook of the city of Rio and Ipanema. After a few minutes, we stopped by a local waterfall. Then, we were on our way to Christ the Redeemer. The crowd wasn’t too long, but with his pass, we were able to cut the line. I can imagine how great that benefit is during busy season.
It’s amazing to the see the modern wonder that is Christ the Redeemer. The view of the city is amazing too. I can’t believe how this city go blessed with so many mountains all over that give you a truly breathtaking sight of this gorgeous city.
We stopped by a local restaurant that just opened up for lunch. He had never been there but asked if we were curious like him. I always am. It was a Brazilian/​Italian mix restaurant that served very good food. Even Ederson was impressed.
We made our way back to the city and we drove through the Lapa neighborhood & stopped at the mosaic steps. They reminded me of the steps in San Francisco but these were on a bit of a grander scale.
To end the day, we went to Sugarloaf Mountain. This was my favorite view of the city. It was gorgeous up there. Sugarloaf left me in a completely awe.
Edersen is a great guide. He can adjust the tour based on people’s interest and can speak on lots of topics. He loves local politics and history so be sure to prod his mind on those topics. If you prefer other topics he’s happy to change the subject. His English is not perfect and there can be a slight language barrier at moments, but we had no problems communicating.