Carnaval Backstage Tour: Explore Samba City's Preparations with Cocktail
4.7
190 Ratings
Gamboa
Experience the backstage of the world-famous Carioca Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Explore Samba City's preparations, witness the construction of floats and costumes, and enjoy a Caipirinha welcome drink!
Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Carnaval Experience - • Bilingual guide
    •

Guided tour to the Grande Rio samba factory – one of the main Samba Schools of the city of Rio de Janeiro 
•

Presentation of the explanatory panel: some of the history of samba and the carnival parades
•

Getting in the mood: costume layout to dress and photograph
•

Samba Flavor: welcoming caipirinhas
• Samba Class with a Passista!

The Tour does not includes transportation. 

We will meet in the Cidade do Samba (Inside the Samba City complex under the smaller tent in the middle of it).

To get here:

There is a VLT (tram) station in front of the main entrance of the City of Samba.

If You came by UBER or Taxi just ask for the Cidade do Samba.

Viva o Carnaval!!

What's Included
  • Exclusive backstage access to Rio’s Carnival
  • Refreshments including bottled water
  • Guidance from a professional tour guide
  • Bilingual guide for non-Portuguese speakers
  • Enjoy alcoholic beverages
Additional Information

The only backstage tour of the Carioca Carnival, the most famous carnival in the world!

When in Rio, you need to experience Samba! This tour introduces you to the artistry and imagination of Carnival and allows you to discover the backstage of The greatest show on Earth!

Have an unique and authentic experience exploring the backstage, the secrets, the people working and the preparations for the parade, which is also a competition.

During the tour, you will be able to witness the process of construction and production of floats and more than 3000 costumes for the show. This visit includes a guided tour to the factory of the 2022th Carnival champion Samba School, Grande Rio.

Including an exhibition about the history of Samba and Carnival, the tour provides a chance to dress up in authentic parade costumes, experience the samba dance and enjoy a delicious Caipirinha welcome drink! Come visit us!

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Minimum drinking age is 18 years
  • Dress code is smart casual
Location
Cidade do Samba
Samba City is a big complex of warehouses with brown color located 100 meters from AquaRio. Please enter from the main entrance on Binário do Porto avenue. We will meet inside the Samba City under the smaller tent in the middle of it - look for guid with Carnaval Experience colorful T-shiert.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(190 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Steven_f
Apr 16, 2024
Samba and carnival - A great chance to expirence samba and the carnival. Me and my wife both have mobility issues and we're looked after very well. A fun experience.
Review provided by Viator
Krystle_m
Mar 27, 2024
A Taste of Carnaval! - If you’re short on time or just wish to leisurely enjoy a few hours in a fun and exhilarative way this private behind the scenes tour is guaranteed to be a great time. Not only was the tour very informative and enjoyable (we saw firsthand the 2024 Carnaval floats being dismantled and saw the costumes up close) but there were interactive moments such as trying on the costumes, learning to dance the samba and very tasty caipirinha to cap off the event.
Review provided by Viator
Z9012kzmarinab
Mar 18, 2024
Rio 2024 - Rio is always a good option, the beaches are a little neglected and the vendors are sometimes tiring but it is enjoyable anyway. I would pay a little more attention to the maintenance and cleaning of the beaches, traffic is a separate issue, crazy, I recommend a lot of patience if you rent a car
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ileana_i
Feb 28, 2024
Great educative and cheerful experience - Super informative and cheerful experience about Rio Carnival history and the Samba schools. Dressing up and dancing with the experts in a small group was super fun.
Review provided by Viator
N0naccidentalt0urist
Feb 18, 2024
Highlight of our stay in Rio - Our private behind the scenes tour with the samba school Grande Rio at Carnaval Experience was one of the most enjoyable and informative experiences we’ve ever had. Our guide Renata, who speaks excellent English, taught us so much about Carnaval, and the interactive experiences trying on Carnaval costumes and learning a little samba drumming were so much fun. The tour is very well done, with, among other things, a chronological explanation of the extensive planning and coordination that goes into an annual performance, brief glimpses (but no photos allowed) of the floats being built, an excellent short film of an actual Sambadrome parade, and short performances by live samba dancers. If you go to Rio, you should NOT miss this experience. All the proceeds go to benefit the children at the Grande Rio samba school.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heikom866
Feb 16, 2024
Samba behind the scenes - Overall, it was a great and really cool look behind the scenes. You could tell that our tour guide lives and loves samba. She was authentic and friendly and made the tour something special, even though her voice was sore. Here in Coburg, samba is also celebrated in a big way and we hope to see her there again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_j
Apr 2, 2024
Great guide, but lots of wasted time - It was really interesting to learn about carnival. My only complaint is that I thought we were getting an English tour because they said they offer the tour in English. But, it was offered in several languages, so you have to wait for the guide to go through the program once in English and then again in Spanish and Portuguese. I would have paid more to not have to do that. Also, they end the tour in the gift shop, and they won't let you leave until everyone else in the tour is done - which sucks.
Review provided by Viator
Georgios_g
Feb 16, 2024
Good experience - Big group. Very hot in the carnaval factory. The guide was good. Also the price. Good experience for all visitor
Review provided by Viator
Bev_l
Feb 14, 2024
Unique experience - Trying on the costumes , the dancers and the refreshing drink. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable It was fun to see the movie of the progression of the carnival.
Review provided by Viator
439meikag
Feb 26, 2024
They never showed up - Don't waist your time or money. Me and my friends have been traveling to Rio for 15 years and we wanted to do something different. We book this tour on the 2/25. I was contacted by the tour group in January that they were unable to do the tour on 25 because they no longer did tours on Sunday and can I change it to the 26 of February which happens to be my birthday. I agreed. We made our way over to the meeting location by ourselves 10 minutes early we no one there to meet us. I contacted the tour operators with no response and we waited for 15 in the sunny and humid. We also saw 2 tour buses enter the location. We weren’t even given the option of being picked up.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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