Carnaval Backstage Tour: Explore Samba City's Preparations with Cocktail
4.6
277 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: 24 hours
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…
see more
What's Included
  • Rare glimpse at Rio’s Carnival backstage
  • Bilingual guide
  • Professional guide
  • Bottled water
  • Alcoholic beverages
Additional Information

Experience the exclusive backstage tour of the Carioca Carnival, renowned as the most famous carnival worldwide!
While in Rio, immersing yourself in Samba is a must! This tour offers a glimpse into the creativity and artistry of Carnival, granting access to the behind-the-scenes of the greatest show on Earth!
Enjoy a unique and genuine experience as you…

see more
Location
Cidade do Samba
The meeting point for the tour is at the Cidade do Samba Square. Upon arrival, look for the Carnaval Experience team, located either in the square or in front of the Grande Rio warehouse, easily recognizable by their colorful shirts. If you need any assistance, just approach one of our team members.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.6
(277 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
885sylviep
Jan 21, 2026
Must-see... - Great time. To understand the Rio carnival, the atmosphere, the passion that animates the participants. Exceptional welcome, we emerge exhilarated?!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lillbluebear
Jan 3, 2026
Great carnival backstage experience - Amazing backstage tour about the history and culture of samba. Great time trying on some of the samba costumes and seeing the floats in the middle of production. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Culture52131183779
Dec 22, 2025
Previous experience of Carnival - What an amazing experience! 😍 "Inforgettable tour! TOP attention from everyone, especially from Lays and the bar gallery and the dancers. Samba, history and drinks... it was pure magic! I recommend 100%.”
Review provided by Tripadvisor
935claudiaandreat
Dec 15, 2025
EXPERIENCE ALMA OUTDOOR - Excellent experience, great service , we feel safe and at all times with the instructions of the instructors, thank you for giving us the opportunity to live this moment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alexis_a
Nov 30, 2025
Great way to start our trip!! - This was top tier!! I was disappointed that I couldn't take pictures in the beginning but no big deal. I understand the reason. While the ladies were putting decorations on a piece I asked to help and they let me. That was cool. Learning all the information was very interesting. The costume activity was fun!! The dancing was super fun. So glad I arranged this for my group. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Wander553425
Nov 26, 2025
Dress up and dance! - Fun experience learning about carnival and samba. Dressing up in carnival costume and having a go at dancing samba were highlights. Ton our guide was informative, passionate and suitably artistic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
889sachaj
Oct 19, 2025
Experience not to be missed - A very interesting guided tour, offered in French and English, in the heart of the workshop of a samba school. We discover behind the scenes of the preparation of the carnival and its fascinating history. It is also possible to try on a costume to fully immerse yourself in the festive Mood. An experience not to be missed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Talana_m
Jan 23, 2026
Enjoyed the experience. - Really interesting learning the production of the Carnival and the amount of time it takes to put it all together.
Review provided by Viator
Janine_w
Jan 20, 2026
An excellent education into the samba experience - This was a very informative tour --- although you can enter the space of only one samba school, it is eye-opening as to the amount of work and the volume of people involved that goes into the preparation for what ends up being 70 minutes in the (highly competitive) spotlight. There were at times difficulties hearing our guide given that we had a combination of English and Portuguese-speaking travelers; however she seemed to try to diplomatically manage the interruptions.
Review provided by Viator
Blair_b
Dec 1, 2025
Excellent History, Disorganized Experience - While the core content of the tour aligned with what we were hoping to experience - namely, the history of Carnaval, the preparation process, its cultural and economic impact, and the broader tradition- the overall execution felt extremely disjointed. The meeting point was very difficult to locate and did not match the directions provided in Viator. There was no clear signage or explicit confirmation that we were in the right place. We ultimately found ourselves following a French-speaking group and later joined a much larger group of English-speaking tourists, assuming, without any guidance, that this was the correct tour. This should have been clearly explained by the guide from the outset. Additionally, the group size was far too large for this type of experience. With so many participants, there was little to no opportunity for the full group to take photos, ask questions, or engage meaningfully with the guide. This tour would run far more smoothly and deliver significantly more value if capped at no more than 10 participants at a time; at the current scale, it felt chaotic rather than immersive. I'm disappointed since there are so many rave reviews, which is what prompted us to book this tour in particular.
Review provided by Viator
Check Availability
From $29
From $29
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Select a date
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).
More activities from this operator
From $407
4.8
8 Ratings
Private Tour: Behind-the-Scenes Carnival Experience with Samba Lessons in Rio
Gamboa