Three Inspiring Days in Rio De Janiero

Earlier this summer, we received the most joyous account of a tour from local guide Lais in Rio de Janeiro. Lais has been a guide with ToursByLocals since 2011, and like the majority of tour guides around the world, she hasn’t been able to do her job for over a year. When borders opened and a group of American travellers finally took a trip to Rio, booking Lais for 3 days, her joy at being back to work was palpable. We loved hearing about her delight at once again exploring Rio with a family who will remember the experience for decades to come - and we're sharing her story below.

"Out of the darkness of the pandemic, into the light of traveling... these brave souls traveled to Rio, from the U.S."

The title of this article was suggested by my client, Sara Griffin, who came with her family to Rio on May 29th, 2021. For me, this was a historic day! The day of my first tour since March 16th, 2020, when the world went upside down and all the joy of traveling was gone, overnight. But, let's talk about the light that is finally here! People are vaccinated and around the world, countries and borders are opening for us all to travel again. Rio is open, come visit us!

On this first tour in over a year, I spent 3 days in Rio, with the Griffin family. They were 6: parents in their 50's and kids in their 20's. Marvelous and joyful people, and so happy to be travelling again.Our first day together was a beautiful sunny Saturday. We went biking along the beaches (Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon), into the Lagoon and stopped at a farmers market for breakfast. We tried açaí bowls, tapiocas, pastel, sugar cane juice, jaboticaba, cashew (fruit), mangos, bananas, fresh coconut water and watermelons. The brightness of the colors, flavors and scents in our markets make this stop one of my favourites!

Every day of the week, we have farmers markets in different streets of Rio. When you come here, I will make sure to show you one.After the market, we visited two parks. Parque Lage and the Botanical Gardens. As a biologist, I highly recommend these visits. It is easy to spot capuchin monkeys, marmosets and toucans in the wild, plus our diverse and immense trees, bushes and lilies. At the Botanical Gardens, we also have an important part of Brazilian history. The Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil in 1808 and we became the world capital of the Portuguese Kingdom; they enjoyed spending their leisure time in these gardens.

To finish this amazing day, we went hiking in the jungle. Tijuca National Park is the second largest urban forest in the world, in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. It is a lush part of the Atlantic Rainforest. At the end of the hike, a refreshing shower in one of our many waterfalls in the park.How much do you like hiking? We have easy 15 minute strolls, up to hard and advanced 1.5 hour hiking options in the park. All come with great views and waterfalls.

If this sounds like the kind of experience you’d like to have in Rio, you can read more about it and book it here!

The second day with the Griffins, we went for even more adventure! We started the day visiting the Christ Statue, by train. The sky was super clear on this beautiful winter day, so the views were clear and stretched as far as possible.After Christ, we went for a moderate hike, to the top of Pedra Bonita. This is my favorite hike in the city. Quite easy, with one of the best views - from here you can see both the South and West Zones of Rio.

To get down from this peak, they chose the wild way - hang-gliding! It is super fun and safe. Ask me how…

We finished the day playing in the Atlantic Ocean, on Barra beach. I brought racquets, soccer and volley balls and Frisbees to guarantee the most fun for all the family. The beach sunset is especially beautiful from Barra, in the West Zone.After such an adventurous and active day, the third day with the Griffins was more informative, exploring Rio in a city tour. After checking out from the hotel, we got all the luggage and kept it in the van, planning to finish the day at GIG airport.

We started by visiting the Sambadrome (where Carnaval happens each February...normally!) and Maracanã stadium (the temple for world soccer!) We also visited the Metropolitan Cathedral, Lapa Ache Duct and the colorful steps of Selaron.We stopped in the heart of our financial center to ride the ferry across the bay, to the city of Niteroi. Parque da Cidade, in Niteroi, has the most amazing view of our mountains in Rio de Janeiro. We also visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a landmark of Architecture in Brazil.

On the way back, we crossed the 8.8-mile bridge back to Rio and visited Olympic Boulevard. In here we find the largest graffiti mural in the world: "Ethnicities" by the artist Kobra. We also met an eccentric Carnaval performer along the boulevard, a fun twist to the experience.

To finish the 3 days with a "golden key", as I like to say, we took the cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain. This is my favorite spot to watch the sunset in all of Rio.Sara, Lowell, Samantha, Lucas, Harrison, Trentten, I will never forget you. You brought light and joy back to this passionate tour guide! I hope this is just a farewell. I hope many more travelers find their way here, to Brazil, to Rio, where we have our arms wide open to receive you. With masks and a lot of hand sanitizer!

We are ready, we are open! Come to Rio!