African Heritage: Gastronomy And Musicality Experience

I did two tours with Traveller XP. One was a Favela tour and the other was the Little Africa tour. Leo was my guide for the Favela tour, inside the largest comunidade in Rio. He's the ultimate insider. Super knowledgeable and friendly, and did not disappoint. Next was the Little Africa historical tour downtown with Isabella. She is like a walking encyclopedia! Most things were in plain sight, but the context is missing without a guide to stitch the story together. She did that with precision, and I felt like I walked away knowing about the real Rio de Janeiro we don't see or hear about in the United States. 5 stars all around!

Enjoyed this tour as two Australians wanted to learn more of the history Isabelle was very informative great luncheon

What a wonderful tour for us Australians to learn more about the African history of Brazil. Isabel tailored tour to suit us walking thru various neighbourhoods explaining their relevance. Lunch was lovely highly recommend!

This was a great tour for folks who want to know what it’s like to be Black in Brazil and to get a diasporic perspective. Jaíse is clearly very passionate about all of the above and this tour is a great testament to this. I believe she’s gonna be putting together a local R&B tour soon and i can’t wait to come back and check that out someday! So many landmarks and historical events are covered here - phenomenal!

Absolutely Amazing and Informative! The experience was truly enriching and left a lasting impression. It beautifully encapsulated a deep love for knowledge and a genuine commitment to understanding. Every moment felt purposeful and enlightening. Highly recommended!

The whole tour was very enlightening and packed with REAL historical facts about Brazil and the first enslaved people who were brought here to work under harsh conditions but became the heart beat of Afro Brazilian culture that permeates throughout this country and a true reflection of Brazil’s backbone. As a black man it was great to see the struggles our ancestors suffered but through resilience and strength along with love grew a Culture unmatched in this region. A must do for all African(Hebrew) descendants.

I had an amazing experience on this tour. Our guide, Isabella, was very knowledgeable and passionate. I learned so much about the deep African roots in Brazilian culture. From the music and dance to the food and history, every part of the tour was vibrant and unforgettable. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a rich, cultural experience!

We experienced alot on our trip to Brazil. We spent some time in Rio then traveled to Paraty. This was by far one of our most memorable experiences! Isabella was an amazing guide, and gave us some really keen insight on the history of Brazil. This is an absolute must if you interested in real history and not revisionist history!

This is a wonderful experience that makes learning about Brazil's African heritage engaging and enlightening. Isabella is the perfect tour guide as she's personable, knowledgeable, and gives explanations that are easy to understand. I am so glad that I got to experience this tour and I highly recommend it to people who are curious, critical thinkers, and care about upholding the legacy and heritage of Black people.

I had an awesome time learning about the history of Africans here in Brazil. I also took some amazing pictures to remember these moments.

This was a very good tour! Isabella does an outstanding job and really knows her history of the Afro-Brazilians. Unfortunately the museums were closed the day we did the tour since it was Christmas Eve. Be mindful of that of visiting on holidays or guests should be given a heads up so they have a chance to change the dates if possible. With that said, I would still highly recommend this tour in Little Africa. It’s a must do especially for Black Americans visiting Rio!

I highly recommend this trip with Traveller XP! Isabella led our group on a wonderful tour of significant Black heritage sites in Rio de Janeiro. She was knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and has a global understanding of Black history. As an African American visiting Brazil, it meant a lot to me that she could draw clear parallels between our two communities. The tour took us to artistic and historic sites with significance to Black Brazilians. I appreciated how Isabella could communicate so much history inspired by a particular sculpture or painting. We ended the tour with a delicious meal at a Black-owned, Afro-diasporic restaurant with food that reminded me of my childhood in New Orleans as well as my trips to West Africa. During our tour it was rainy, so come prepared with some good shoes and an umbrella. All that said, don't sleep on this tour!

The guide Isabella was so passionate and knowledgeable! I can’t recommend this tour enough, we got to see the city and its history from a different perspective and had very thought provoking discussions. The restaurant was a great experience and allowed us to talk about the challenges facing the community.

Traveller XP was one of the most amazing tour companies I had the pleasure of engaging with on my trip here in Rio De Janeiro. I took pleasure in the tour called African Heritage Gastronomy and Musicality Experience. Isabella was our tour guide and her great wealth of knowledge, passion for her roots, and welcoming and loving energy was all I needed to make this tour more enjoyable. The tour occurred on a rainy day but Isabella maintain her ethics with wanting to make this tour as comfortable for my self and my two friends who were with me. Please take this tour as it is much different from other little Africa tours. You will not regret it but definitely walk away feeling a since of appreciation for what our ancestors endured even if you are not Brazilian as I am not and I felt very connected. If you are not of color you will be very enlightened by this tour. This tour was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an amazing and insightful tour that anyone curious about the Afro-Brazilian experience should take. Isabella is extremely knowledgeable in Afro-Brazilian history and its impact on the diaspora. This tour helped my family to connect to our heritage in a profound way and imparted a deeper appreciation of the shared experiences across the diaspora.

Isabella is an amazing guide. She took us around the city and showed us monuments and key points of interest while giving us one of the best educations on Afro Brazilian heritage including the economy and sociology of both the development and underdevelopment Rio de Janeiro. I recommend anyone doing this tour if you’re planning a visit to Rio de Janeiro.

This tour was really informative! Please take this tour if you want to learn some amazing/crazy facts about Brazil

Isabella (the tour guide/owner) was the best!!! My wife and I loved this tour and we learned so much! There is so much history to be learned!

The tour was amazing! Extremely engaging and the guides are so knowledgeable, professional, and fun. Highly recommend!

I had an amazing time with Isabella! The tour was very rich and full of details of places and stories about the history of black people in Brasil. We traveled in time from enslavement around the ports to present time in the favelas, embracing the cultural legacy of black people through food, music and most of all the carnival ! Isabelle was a wonderful guide, she has tons of knowledge and interests and a great ambition to value black legacy all around Brasil. Last but not least, the communication was easy to organize the tour that I booked quite last minute. Thank you Isabella for sharing your passion of transmission and enlighting me on a less known part of history.

Isabella was a wonderful guide. She has a vast knowledge of the history of the African diaspora, the city in general and enjoys sharing it. There are places she showed me that I would have never found out about if I were on my own. She also gave me insights into people's daily lives.

Isabella was a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the African culture of Brazil. I like that it ended up only being me during the tour. The museum was the highlight of the tour learning the history from Africa all the way to Brazil and how Brazil has change over time to current.

This was a great tour. I highly recommend it. I learned a little about African heritage in Brazil and how the slave trade influenced Brazil's history and culture.

It was a super mazing trip best tour guide I couldve asked for she was so intuitive with us and so informative.

Our experience was amazing. The team was professional, detail oriented, and hospitable. Our plan is to use Traveller XP when revisiting Rio.

Isabella is the absolute best! She was incredibly knowledgeable about everything we explored on the tour. But what I appreciated most is you can tell she’s really passionate about showing the world Brazil’s African heritage. Our group’s favorite moment was walking through a favela and learning the history of favelas from Isabella. We’ve all heard rumors about favelas, but being inside one humanized it for us in such a unique way. I 100% recommend this tour!!

I signed up for myself and later joined a group. The tour is amazing, educational and informative. Isabella gave us good, sharp information, insights and comments on the history and relationship between Portugal and Spain, especially the history of slavery and how it affected the development of not just Rio but the whole of Brazil.

This tour was phenomenal! Isabella was well-informed, passionate and attentive. If you are looking for a story about the REAL history of Brazil, look no further. This tour easily could be twice more, and you would still get your moneys worth. I highly recommend this tour and that you bring the whole family as well.

Isabelle is the best! Anyone who loves history and wants to have a better context of Rio and its culture should take this tour! Our guide was on time, she was very easy to communicate with and even helped us organize our transfer from the airport to our hotel before we arrived in Rio. When you are booking the tour, you are asked about food restrictions and any disability issues. We did not have any language barrier issues, Isabelle speaks English well. Though the tour takes most of the day and is mainly walking, however depending on whether or not you have a disability they will adjust it to suit you. Isabelle have us a full experience when it came to all the places we got to visit. She was very knowledgeable with the historical facts and key elements of the different areas we were in. At no point did we feel unsafe and Isabelle constantly asks how you are doing, if you need a break or if everything is comfortable. The food spots we got to try were 10/10! Everything tasted amazing and learning about the significance of the food from a historical context gave us a better appreciation for it and for the restaurants we visited. We got to visit one of the best Samba Schools in Rio and they gave us a tour of their warehouse, explained how they make their costumes, the calendar and the significance of the carnaval. This tour is definitely needed and anyone who is visiting should take it, it is very honest and gives you a better overall understanding of the African heritage and history of Rio and Brazil, which is something that should not be erased.

Isabella's ability to make history fascinating and to assure that you fully know what you are witnessing at the moment is what I value most about the excursion. I perceive Isabella's presentation to be more like that of a friend sharing in-depth history than that of a standard tour guide repeating facts as you go down a path. Isabella arrived early to ensure that our trips began on time. If you're searching for a more customized guide, I strongly suggest. Thank you again!

This is a must do excursion. We had a wonderful experience learning about African heritage. Our tour guide Isabella was friendly, amazing and knowledgeable. She takes great pictures!!! I highly recommend you guys asked for her by name. She also gave us a guide to the best restaurants and lounges in town. I look forward to experiencing some of her other tours when I’m back in Rio de Janeiro.

I chose this tour to get the history and heritage of the Afro-Brazilian prospective. Isabella (tour guide) more than met my expectations. It was a good overall lesson on the Afrocentric culture here In Brazil for both past and present. The lunch that we had was delicious! Thanks for sharing the day with me.

I don't even know where to begin.. That's how blown away I am with the love I now have for Rio de Janeiro! First off, I'd love to give a round of applause to our host and travel professional Isabella who designed a trip to Rio catered to me and my friends' liking. She sought out what we were truly interested in and made each day better than the first. From being picked up at the airport with treats waiting for us, door to door service, super friendly and professional.. those are just a few things that made this trip unforgettable. Isabella and her team curated fun filled days (some which were accompanied by photographers as well ) to capture great moments. We dined at some of the most scenic restaurants in Rio and each meal was also better than the previous! My favorite aspects of this trip to Rio would be doing those morning hikes to Two Brothers and Pedra do telegrafo where the views are breathtaking. Visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue was also something I was looking forward to do- so I'm glad to have done so. The African Heritage day also blew me away while visiting museums, learning so much about the deportation of slaves into Brazil and the history that's so deeply rooted with the mother land. This entire trip/ experience was a great mix of fun, culture, delicious food, so much goodness in a week's worth of travel. I highly recommend Traveller XP for those who want the REAL experience of Rio, not just the common tourist activities.

I booked an entire week of experiences with Traveller XP and the african heritage XP was for sure a personal favorite. Isabella and Dani were fantastic guides- considerate, knowledgeable, extremely personable and an absolute pleasure to spend the day with. When travelling to Brazil I wanted a hassle-free experience that would provide an in- depth look and feel on afro-brazilian history , food and culture while having a fun time. Isabella and her team accomplished that for sure. From the foo tasting to learning all about carnival, it was one of my favorite days in a while!

Traveller XP provided a tour that was one of the highlights of my birthday trip to Rio! Isabella was an amazing guide on this personalized tour. It was not like your usual tour. It was more like exploring Little Africa with a friend. We were able to learn about the amazing African history, taste traditional food (while supporting a black woman owned business), and experience behind the scenes of Carnival. There were some parts of the original tour that we were not able to see due to schedule conflicts; however, Isabella was able to provide us with another experience that was maybe even better than the original. She is such a passionate guide which made the tour much more meaningful and memorable.

Isabella was a great guide and was very educated on the topics we discussed, making the experience so informative and enlightening. We enjoyed learning from her and learning more about the history of Rio. The food was great! Unfortunately we did not get to experience the Samba drum demonstration but we thoroughly enjoyed the tour nonetheless.

I had a wonderful time. This was a new and rewarding experience. The food and overall atmosphere was great.

I loved learning about Orishas & the food was great! I would love to take my learning home & share it with family & friends.

This was a wildly educational and informative tour. Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes because you will go all over the city learning about the history of people of color (mostly African influence on the country/city). Isabella was professional and kind, and so effing smart!! My uber was running behind, but she patiently waited for me with no isssues or attitude upon my arrival. We went to multiple places throughout the city, I'd say within a 3 mile radius. Even though it was as hot as Satan's balls, I didn't mind because the experience was amazing, not only learning about history, but about the city in general and what the various parts had to offer. The learning was enlightening and the food was amazing! Isabella introduced me to a dish called Feijoada (I think) mmm mmm mmm. The tour was pretty customized, so I imagine everyone would have slighty different experience. The only disappointment was I didn't get a chance to hear Afro-Brazilian music or dance any Samba, but I think it was because of COVID, hopefully it won't be a problem next time when I bring my daughter. This is a must do for anyone interested in history and learning!!!

Isabella was very informative and provided a great experience. I was immersed in Brazilian culture and learned more than I thought I could. My mind was changed on Brazilian food and we were welcome each place we went. Highly recommend.

Superb tour covering historical sites and learning more about the African history of Brazil. It was amazing to get some proper insight into this topic - and better understand the roots of the African diaspora in Rio. Our guide (Isabella) was both knowledgeable and passionate. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND !!