Last day experience - Carlos was a great tour guide! Growing up in the favela is whole life and still currently living there, he made sure we were properly educated on both the history and the false stereotypes of favelas. This tour opened up our eyes into Favela Brazilian culture and how it’s entirely different than what it’s portrayed to be in the media. Highly recommend this tour!

Great experience amongst the locals - We enjoyed the tour very much! Our guide Junior spoke perfect English and explained well the life in the favela, brought us to the best view points, and answered all questions. He was very lively and took good care of the group. I definitely recommend it as it is very safe.

Extremely educational - Fantastic tour by Martin. Martin was born and raised in the favela we visited. This was one of the most educational tours I've ever been on. Martin volunteers a ton of information and also has the answer to every possible question you could have.

I love Rocinha♡ - Personally it exceeded our expectations, our trip was mainly for this tour, as my daughter is a fan of the Fast and Furious saga and she wanted to know if it was like in the movie and we loved the experience, the explanation of the guide very good, its friendliness, the views, the way of life and its culture.

The best tour given by Vieira ever. Must do! - Vieira was the best tour guide ever. This tour really took our week long trip to another level. She had so much knowledge and was so happy to show us her home as if it was our own. It was beautiful to be show a side of Rio that typically doesn’t have a spotlight from the media and the rest of the world. Highlighting the diligence and power of Brazilian people. The hard work and history it took to make a life worth living. I’d highly recommend anyone to book this tour and even more to request Vieira. I can’t wait to come back to Brazil because of this so thank you.

Incredible Experience with a Knowledgeable and Friendly Guide - We had an amazing tour with a very kind and professional guide who truly knows what he’s doing. His deep knowledge and passion for the area made the experience both informative and engaging. He was not only a fantastic storyteller but also very attentive and respectful towards everyone we encountered. What really stood out was how seriously he takes safety – we felt comfortable and well looked after the entire time. It’s clear that he has a strong connection with the local community and is welcomed by the people living in the favela, which added an extra layer of authenticity to the tour. Highly recommended for anyone looking to explore with someone who understands the place, respects the culture, and makes you feel completely safe and welcome.

Magic Favelo - A real eye opener. Our guide Daniel was very good sharing personal experiences to life in the Favelo. This tour is highly recommended.

A real eye-opener of a tour - MUST DO - Our guide Carlos was born, raised, and still lives in the favela (as do all the guides for this tour), so he gave us a first-hand perspective on life there. His English was remarkable and the tour was a real eye-opener, showing us something completely different to the pre-conceived ideas one has about favelas. The group was small (12 people). We felt perfectly safe and did not feel we were ‘voyeurs’ coming to contemplate other people’s poverty. People went about their business, oblivious to us, and we were impressed to see how active and dynamic this favela of 160,000 inhabitants is. I highly recommend this tour, a unique opportunity to witness a completely different aspect of Río. The only thing they don’t mention is that the tour involves lots of walking up and down quite steep stairs, so be warned.

Good way to explore favela but with little info - I feel like half the “3” hours was spent waiting for other people to arrive, a bus or groups. We really got very little info about the favela itself, who lives there, the history. Carlos was knowledgeable when you asked him A direct question, but very little commentary otherwise. The rooftop was cool but a treacherous descent! Loved the children performing Capoeira.

Please DO NOT book this tour if you want a genuine experience - I was incredibly disappointed with our tour experience. I've travel to Brazil 7 times and have a deep love for the country. I was hoping that this tour would be a way to experience a community that is more difficult for foreigners to navigate and reach. I was hoping to be able to buy art from the locals, sit at a small restaurant or have a conversation with someone that lives in Rocinha. Firstly, our tour guide was incredibly rude to me at the beginning of our tour. The directions for the tour stated that we would meet in front of a hotel, but there was no further communication on who to look for or where exactly to be. We got there 15 minutes early and I was doing some work on my phone while we waited. 5 minutes before our scheduled meeting time, we decided to walk over to a group that appeared to be a tour group to see if that was who we were waiting for. As I walked over, our tour guide yelled at me and told me that he had been calling to me since we arrived. And 5 minutes later, he brought it up again in front of our whole group. We were still early to the meeting spot and he was at least 20 feet away facing our backs so I don't understand how he expected us to know he was talking to us and why he was so upset. He also yelled at my group towards the end of the tour when we were walking in the back and I wanted to take a photo so I didn't hear what he said. I figured I would just miss what he shared and it wasn't a big deal. He yelled at me once I joined the group and asked another group member to tell me what he said - that his house was on a hill and we could see it from the bridge. Secondly, the tour itself reminded me of North Korea tours I've heard about. Everything felt staged, from the restaurant we went to, to the kids we played soccer with, to the souvenir store we went to. Thirdly, I know a good amount about Brazil given I've traveled to the country 7 times. I was hoping to learn more about the history of Rocinha, what the culture is like, and hear stories that humanize the people living in the neighborhood. I was incredibly disappointed that our tour guide mainly talked about the mafia, the dog poop and the electrical wires. The only time he mentioned the history of Rocinha was by pointing to a sign and telling us to take a picture and read it later. I was so uncomfortable that our tour guide basically forced us to take romantic photos in the middle of the favela. I booked this tour with the intention to be really conscious about poverty and didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage or treating the favela like a zoo. But our tour guide kept telling us to take pictures of the electrical wires and to pose in various alleys even when no one expressed interest. If you are interested in visiting a favela and experiencing this part of Brazilian culture, I HIGHLY recommend trying to find a local person that lives there - NOT A GUIDE. I feel like that is the best way to get a real understanding of what life is like in the favela while also feeling like you're not taking advantage of the lower-income neighborhood.