4-Day Rio Vacation Package
Address
Rio de Janeiro
GPS
-22.9110137, -43.2093727
Enjoy a 4 day Rio tour to get acquainted with the city! Our Rio Vacation Package is perfect for those looking for a quick stay in Rio. With this customizable touring option, you may create your own 4-day trip of Rio de Janeiro’s highlights and landmarks.
Visit the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain summits, learn about life in a favela, and take a Jeep trip through the Tijuca Rainforest. Take a day trip to picturesque Petrópolis or sail across Guanabara Bay to admire the city skyline from a boat. Transportation between places is comfortable and air-conditioned, and three nights in a South Zone hotel and three daily activities are included.
Highlights
- Your Whole Trip Solved With a Click
- Your 3, 4, or 5 Star Selected by Our Experts.
- A Selected Itinerary With Your Own Pick of Tours.
- Two Rio Essentials Tour
- One-Off the Beaten Path Tour
- Private Transfers
After your flight lands in Rio, enjoy personalized pickup at the airport and transfer to your choice of 3-, 4- or 5-star hotel (with single or double accommodation; see list of hotels under the Important Info tab). Customize your tour by selecting three of the following activities upon booking, each of which lasts a half-day with the exception of the Petrópolis Day Trip.
See the Itinerary below for the details of each activity.
Day 2 and Day 4 (choose one of the following activities for each day):
- Sugar Loaf Mountain and City Tour
- Tijuca Forest Jeep Tour
- Corcovado Mountain with Christ the Redeemer Statue
Day 3 (choose one of the following activities):
- Guanabara Bay Cruise
- Rocinha Favela Tour
- Petrópolis Day Trip
Itinerary
Day 1: Airport – Hotel
RIOgaleão – Tom Jobim International Airport
Sit back and relax as your driver drives you to your hotel in the upmarket South Zone (Zona Sul) region after a quick pickup from Rio de Janeiro International Airport timed to your flight arrival. Check into your hotel, where you’ll be staying for two nights, and finalize your activity program with your guide for the following two days.
If you arrive during the day, take a walk around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas to stretch your legs. Sip an evening cocktail (at your own expense) while taking in the stunning views of the lagoon and white-sand beaches from an open-air café along the shore. Staying in a hotel in the South Zone for the night.
Day 2: Rio Essentials Tour: Sugar Loaf Mountain and City Tour, Corcovado with Christ Redeemer Statue or Tijuca Forest Jeep Tour
Sugarloaf Mountain
Tour of Sugar Loaf Mountain and the City (4 hours) In the morning, take an air-conditioned bus tour of Rio’s most important historical sites. Visit the lively Cinelandia Square, or Praça Floriano Peixoto, which is named after Brazil’s second president. The Municipal Theater, the National Library, and the National Museum of Fine Arts are all worth visiting.
Visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was inspired by a Mayan pyramid and has a cone-shaped style. Are you a Carnival fan? Visit the Sambadrome, where during the yearly festival, the city’s samba schools compete with Olympic-level dedication. Then, in the Urca neighborhood, board a glass cable car that will take you up Sugar Loaf Mountain. Take a photo of the city, Guanabara Bay, the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, and Corcovado Mountain from 700 feet (213 meters) above sea level.
Then climb to the top of Sugar Loaf, which stands at 1,299 feet (396 meters), for panoramic views of the Santa Cruz Fortress and the beaches of Niteroi and Copacabana. After being dropped off at your accommodation, spend the afternoon exploring the city on your own.
Corcovado – Christ the Redeemer
Christ the Redeemer Statue on Corcovado Mountain (4 hours) Enjoy a free morning before boarding a cog train to journey through the gorgeous Tijuca Forest in the afternoon. You’ll be at the summit of Corcovado Mountain in 20 minutes, standing at the foot of the famed Christ the Redeemer statue, which stands 130 feet (39 meters) tall and has arms that span 98 feet (30 meters) broad.
As you learn about the 1931 art-deco statue that was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, take in the sights of Rio from your summit vantage point.
Floresta da Tijuca
Jeep Tour of the Tijuca Forest (4 hours) Take an open-air Jeep ride to the tropical Tijuca Forest, just minutes from the city center, in the morning. Learn about Tijuca National Park’s reforestation initiative and the importance of the Mata Atlântica ecosystem, which is part of the Mata Biosphere Reserve, which spans 14 Brazilian states.
Inside the rainforest, photograph the Emperor’s Table and the pink-and-purple Mayrink Chapel with painted panels, where Brazil’s last emperor is said to have enjoyed picnics. Admire views of Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, Guanabara Bay, and even as far as Niteroi from Vista Chinesa, where the country’s first Chinese immigrants settled.
Day 3: Off the Beaten Path: Petrópolis Day Trip or Guanabara Bay Cruise
Centro Historico de Petropolis
Take a 90-minute trip north to Petrópolis, a renowned mountain resort known as Brazil’s Imperial City, located in the wooded hills of the Serra dos Argos, passing through woods and waterfalls. Enter the Imperial Museum, which is situated in the former summer home of Pedro II, Brazil’s second and final emperor, in the cobblestone alleys of Petrópolis.
Get a glimpse of how the country’s royalty used to live inside the renovated Austrian-style palace, which was completed in 1845. Admire the imperial crown, which is adorned with over 600 diamonds and weighs about 4 pounds, as you go through tapestries, ancient furniture, and jewelry (1.7 kg). Then, see the tombstones of Pedro II and his family at the Gothic-style St Peter of Alcantara Cathedral.
Follow your guide through a peaceful garden to the Crystal Palace, a glass-and-steel ballroom where Princess Isabel hosted expositions and royal receptions. Purchase lunch at a local restaurant of your choice, and feel free to seek advice from your guide. Your excursion comes to a close with transportation back to Rio.
Guanabara Bay
Cruise on Guanabara Bay (4 hours) Spend the morning admiring Rio de Janeiro from Guanabara Bay, where Portuguese explorers first arrived on January 1, 1502, and learn how the bay was named Rio de Janeiro, or River of January.
From your ideal vantage point on the sea, focus your camera on Sugar Loaf Mountain, Copacabana Beach, and the Christ Redeemer monument throughout the 2-hour trip. View the Botafogo, Flamengo, and Urca neighborhoods, as well as Fort Sao Joao, Flagstone Island, Santa Cruz Fortress, and Rio-Niteroi Bridge. You’ll be transported back to your hotel once the ship docks at the pier.
Day 4: Rio Essentials Tour: Sugar Loaf Mountain and City Tour, Corcovado with Christ Redeemer Statue or Tijuca Forest Jeep Tour
Sugarloaf Mountain
Tour of Sugar Loaf Mountain and the City (4 hours) In the morning, take an air-conditioned bus tour of Rio’s most important historical sites. Visit the lively Cinelandia Square, or Praça Floriano Peixoto, which is named after Brazil’s second president. The Municipal Theater, the National Library, and the National Museum of Fine Arts are all worth visiting.
Visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was inspired by a Mayan pyramid and has a cone-shaped style. Are you a Carnival fan? Visit the Sambadrome, where during the yearly festival, the city’s samba schools compete with Olympic-level dedication. Then, in the Urca neighborhood, board a glass cable car that will take you up Sugar Loaf Mountain. Take a photo of the city, Guanabara Bay, the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, and Corcovado Mountain from 700 feet (213 meters) above sea level.
Then climb to the top of Sugar Loaf, which stands at 1,299 feet (396 meters), for panoramic views of the Santa Cruz Fortress and the beaches of Niteroi and Copacabana. After being dropped off at your accommodation, spend the afternoon exploring the city on your own.
Corcovado – Christ the Redeemer
Christ the Redeemer Statue on Corcovado Mountain (4 hours) Enjoy a free morning before boarding a cog train to journey through the gorgeous Tijuca Forest in the afternoon. You’ll be at the summit of Corcovado Mountain in 20 minutes, standing at the foot of the famed Christ the Redeemer statue, which stands 130 feet (39 meters) tall and has arms that span 98 feet (30 meters) broad.
As you learn about the 1931 art-deco statue that was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, take in the sights of Rio from your summit vantage point.
Floresta da Tijuca
Jeep Tour of the Tijuca Forest (4 hours) Take an open-air Jeep ride to the tropical Tijuca Forest, just minutes from the city center, in the morning. Learn about Tijuca National Park’s reforestation initiative and the importance of the Mata Atlântica ecosystem, which is part of the Mata Biosphere Reserve, which spans 14 Brazilian states.
Inside the rainforest, photograph the Emperor’s Table and the pink-and-purple Mayrink Chapel with painted panels, where Brazil’s last emperor is said to have enjoyed picnics. Admire views of Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, Guanabara Bay, and even as far as Niteroi from Vista Chinesa, where the country’s first Chinese immigrants settled.
