Name: Rio Free Walking Tour
Address: Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rating: 5.0

1,082 reviews

#118 of 1,009 Tours & Activities in Rio de Janeiro

Walking Tours

Learn the History of Rio with an Unforgettable City Center Walking Tour

50

Historical Tours

3 hours

Let's go for a walk? Learn a lot about the History of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil in this unforgettable walking tour through…

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Recommended by 98% of travelers

This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher

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African Heritage and Docks Walking Tour

5

Historical Tours

2–3 hours

It’s time to explore the docks and the ‘Little Africa’ region. Learn the history of slavery and the impact and legacy of…

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

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5.0

1,082 reviews

Excellent

923

Very good

137

Average

15

Poor

3

Terrible

4

PrestonGuild

United Kingdom55,104 contributions

Rio Free Walking Tour

Oct 2019

We have done lots of walking tours around the world and we were interested in doing one in Rio.

We did the Rio Free Walking Tour of Centro. We found it interesting and informative. It is the kind of thing you cannot do by going around in an Uber or a HOHO bus.

There was a lot of walking of the Centro and Lapa area. However there is a lot of sitting down as well as the guide explains the history of Brazil and the surrounding buildings.

One of the first stops was in Confeitaria Columbo bakery. We bought some cakes and pastries which we ate when we were sitting down. We then went to XV Square, Imperial Palace, Cinelandia and it ends on the Selaron staircase in Lapa.

Our guide was fun and informative. She always had a lot of quirky facts.

Written July 28, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kiran S

Toronto, Canada1 contribution

Excellent intro to Rio and Brazil

Apr 2023 • Business

The walking tour was excellent. I feel like I have a decent understanding of Brazil’s history thanks to Rafael. It’s not easy sharing so much information in an engaging concise way. He does an excellent job and he is very passionate about sharing about Rio (and Brazil’s) history. Thank you!

Written May 5, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marcelo E

You are welcome! It's excellent to know that you had a great experience. Thanks for the review!

Written May 12, 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Dennis W

Calgary, Canada7 contributions

Nice Guided Walking Tour

Nov 2019 • Family

We joined the Rio Free Walking Tour without much expectation as it’s “free”. However it turned out to be a nice experience. Our tour guide Francesco Caleno was really good. He spoke very good English, has good knowledge in local culture and history, good humour as well, and had lot of patience with the group. We really enjoyed the tour. Thank you.

Written March 6, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Guzz_Lehmann

Thank you

Written March 7, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jake

Minneapolis, MN125 contributions

Walking tour in Centro - Was a little dry with not a ton of exciting sights

Feb 2020

My wife and I woke up to rain in Rio. We didn’t really have an agenda, so I was looking up stuff online for us to do and found this free tour. I have taken free walking tours in other cities and found them decent so I suggested this. Plus, we wanted to do a day in Centro anyway. We were a bit disappointed with the tour. I was hoping for more history and facts, and my wife was hoping for more visuals. It was a lot of standing and listening, then walking and more standing and listening. We got to see Centro but part of us was wondering if we would have been better off doing it ourselves. I have to take into account that it was a free tour and you get what you pay for. But, we wish we would have just paid for a tour.

Written March 1, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Guzz_Lehmann

Thank you for your insights. Our tour is a historic tour, we not only explain the history of the places visited but also facts, customs, and traditions from our culture. Our guides follow a route filled with historical sites in the downtown area, in addition to receiving training and being tested monthly. Do you remember the name of the guide or the day and the month you took the tour? So I can understand and correct what was the "exciting sights" that you missed.

Written March 3, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Benjamin F

1 contribution

Great time

Jan 2020 • Couples

A superb morning spent in the streets of Rio. Gustavo, the guide, was really great in English. Very friendly and funny, he gave us great information and anecdotes. It is a very good time not to hesitate to do if you spend a few days in Rio.

Written January 27, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Guzz_Lehmann

Thank you so much for the review!

Written January 28, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Alena

Bremen, Germany1 contribution

Walking Centro histórico / Lapa

Mar 2022 • Solo

I really liked the tour. I was by myself and as it was the day after carnival nobody else did the tour. But anyways the guide went just with me and explained me a lot about buildings and the interesting history of Rio. Beside he answered all my questions and offered me help if I would need some information after the tour I could just text. The registration for the Free Walking Tour was super easy and they responded directly via WhatsApp and explained me where to go.
Thanks a lot for this nice and friendly experience!
I would do the tour again:D

Written March 11, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marcelo E

That's great! Thanks for the review and if you come to Rio again let us know.Take care. :-)

Written March 11, 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Daniel O

Sao Paulo, SP2 contributions

It’s a MUST for a proper introduction to Rio

Mar 2022 • Friends

Best way to get a proper introduction to Rio. Rafael was the best! We were only 2 people taking the tour, but he still gave us full attention and helped us way beyond what’s expected. The only mistake we made, was not taking the tour as early as possible.

Thanks so much guys, wishing you the best!

Written March 1, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marcelo E

That's great! Thanks a lot for the review and we wish you the best too!

Written March 1, 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

CHRISTOPHER B

Milton Keynes, UK18 contributions

Guide did not turn up

Feb 2015 • Friends

I was at the meeting point 10 minutes before the start time but no one turned up. I checked the website the morning of the tour and there was no mention that it would not be running on the Monday I turned up.

Written February 24, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RioFreeWalkingTour

Dear Mr Chris B, My name is Fabiana and I am one of the guides of Rio Free Walking Tour. We are credential guides with a yellow t-shirt and yellow umbrellas. We meet in front of The Municipal Theatre Monday to Friday always at 9h30 in the morning. We have a tour in English, Spanish and Portuguese. So we are 3 guides and the coordinator every day. It is not just one person but 4! I would like to invite you to check our facebook/riofreewalkingtour. We have the pictures of every tour we make!!! Every day! I am deeply sorry to hear you went to a tour and nobody was there but it wasn’t The Rio Free Walking Tour. We take our job very seriously. Even being a Free Tour we live from the money of tips. That’s our job! I would like to invite you personally to do one of our tours when you are in Rio de Janeiro next time. And I would like to apologize because during Carnival it is impossible to walk around the downtown area because of trucks of music full of people following them. The one who concentrate in front of The Municipal Theatre (bloco da Preta) have about 1 milion followers. The tourist never could know about this. "Blocos de carnaval in Rio". We work together with the Tourism Bureau from Rio the Janeiro and several hostels. We made especial flyers explaining due the carnival festivities we are not going to work 16 and 17 of February. In addition, we wrote on our facebook. I am deeply sorry nobody told you. I apologize one more time. Best Regards, Fabiana López

Written February 26, 2015

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ant75a

New South Wales, Australia889 contributions

Great tour

Nov 2015 • Couples

The free walking tour takes about two and half hours. Our guide was Maria who was new. I believe it was her first tour. She was excellent. She has a great knowledge of the city. You will find out about important buildings in Rio and about the history of Brazil. Her english was excellent. She also gave up tips on where to go and where to eat.

Tour is free but they take tips at end of tour. It was pretty hot even at 930 am so stay hydrated. It's also easy to get to starting point by subway. Subway is similar to MTR in Hong Kong so very easy to get around.

Written November 12, 2015

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

joanadventure

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1,386 contributions

RIO Walking Tour

Dec 2013 • Solo

It's the fastest way to get to know the city of RIO in just less than four hours with a guide sharing the history of RIO including visiting some of the interesting places.

Written January 5, 2014

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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