Petropolis City Tour With Imperial Museum And Optional Lunch & Bohemia Brewery

Disappointing. I spent five hours in the bus getting from Ipanema to Petropolis and over two hours in the bus coming back from Petropolis to Ipanema. The problem going out was roadworks. A very long day for me, 07.00-21.15. Our guide was very hard working man but was often not a very clear speaker. To be fair to him, it is hard giving a continuous running commentary in Portuguese, then Spanish, then English. I was also unhappy with his timekeeping towards the end. A number of people in the party felt that he we could have left Petropolis for Rio by as much as an hour earlier than we did.

A great day! Lots of good information about the Portuguese royal family. A great lunch. Our guide was excellent - he took really good care of us

First, let me say that the guide was very good and very kind, plus, an excellent linguist. The negative sides of this tour do not have anything to do with him, he did a great job. However, the tour itself is poorly designed. We got picked up from our hotel at 7:20, and spent around 2 hours picking other passengers up, we only left Rio at 9:15. And we weren't event the first passengers being picked up! That is absolutely unacceptable. Picking some passengers up is a common thing, but spending two hours doing so, when the trip to Petropolis itself only lasts 1h15, it makes no sense whatsoever. The tour was not the one that we booked, we had booked one which featured a visit to a brewery with beer tasting, that was replaced by a mandatory chocolate shop stop, where you have to sit and order / buy chocolate to go and none of it is included in the price. We were not hungry nor did we want to buy chocolate as it was a hot day and we weren't sure it would travel well. Therefore, we had to wait outside until everyone was done, as we weren't given a time to regroup. The tour also included 40 min of 'free time' in Rua Tereza, which was not specified in the itinerary of the tour that we had booked. It was rather pointless, we were left a good 15 min walk away from Rua Tereza, so only had about 5 min there, but regardless, it was just a street filled with standard clothes shops. No souvenir shops and almost no cafes. The visit of the palace itself was very good and very interesting, however, we had booked a tour in English, but it was actually multilingual, so the explanations had to be repeated in English, Spanish and Portuguese every time. Again, the guide was fantastic, but it just isn't a very efficient way to lead a tour like this one. Monolingual tours would make more sense and also avoid having to wait for two hours during pick up and drop off.

Happy birthday to Julio. Ok, so places of interest were wonderful and guide was keen to take pictures for me because I think he felt sorry for me as a solo traveller thrown on a tour with a whole lot of Spanish and Portugeuse travellers. I won't lie I was very disappointed with this trip. I paid a small fortune to do this trip with an English group and with an English guide but instead was thrown on a day tour with Spanish/Portugeuse speaking people when I specifically booked for the English tour. It was so overwhelming having my guide constantly having to translate for me so I eventually told him I do not want any more translating, I will figure out what he is saying on my own. It became one of those tours where you wish you had never booked for. The food at the buffet was also aweful and actually made me rather ill. I would not suggest this tour agency if you are English and cannot speak Spanish/Portugeuse. Very upset with this trip and the other guests were rude and disrespectful towards me. I know I can't understand their language but by their universal facial expressions and gestures, I knew exactly what they were saying. I actually was very upset not getting the memories I wanted. Just pure negativity. If I wanted to do this trip on my own, I could've done so . I wish the company told me that I would be on a tour that was in another language. Not how I wanted to explore the Imperial City.

You get what you pay for, for the dollars and what you get , it's a good deal. Will it blow your mind , probably not, maybe it depends on more on who or your group will be, mine, they would stampede if they could, but overall, good.

Je-je and Mar (driver and tour guide, respectively) were outstanding in their service and the quality of treatment of all us customers. Punctal on departure, informative through the bus ride, and helpful when something was requested. Upon arrival to the imperial museum, the wealth of knowledge of our guide was evident. Plus she was doing three languages: English, Spanish, and of course, Portuguese. Lunch was very good, and the Bohemia beer part of the tour capped off a good day. Upon returning, we slept all the way back to Rio.

Tour came 35 minutes early and left us at the hotel Refused to come and get us despite calling them from hotel

I didn’t have high expectations about the tour since I was looking for day trips that are not related to the beach but I am happy that Giovanna made the tour as interesting as possible. She was so enthusiastic with explaining all the sights coming and going out of the imperial city. She also shared some stories about Cristina and Pedro’s love and also the last years of slavery until Brazil became a republic. I’m fully in agreement that Brazil and the Philippines are sister countries, just like our twin México.

Great informative tour, Julio was amazing and gave us the history of the palace and was very interactive with our group. Always keeping us informed in both Spanish and Portuguese, would give it 5 stars but the Katz chocolate can be avoided. It’s at no fault of the guides , they are great just the company might want to remove this from the tour. Over all great experience

The tour through the Imperial Palace/Museum was really nice. The tour guide as also very knowledgeable, passionate, and friendly. We spent over an hour at the Imperial Museum and learned a lot about the Imperial / Royal family during our visit. The other stops were underwhelming and wish there was more to see in Petropolis. The buffet lunch included is not so good and if you don't select the optional brewery tour, you are left at a part with nothing to do for over an hour (Brewery tour itself was okay). The tour was also conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese... so it took a long time to explain everything. The size of the group also made things to very slow. Overall, it was 12 hours spent for a couple of interesting hours.

This full-day tour was the perfect addition to our week in Rio! Our guide Monica was incredibly friendly, and she is supremely knowledgable about the history that brought Petropolis to life. She was an excellent guide! We loved getting out of the city of Rio itself and into the mountains nearby. Highly recommend!

Monica the tour guide was awesome. Informative, articulate in english and spanish and just an absolute pleasure. The food stop was great and timing of everything was very well organized. I highly recommend!!

Very horrible experience. My phone was stolen the night before the tour and I had to spend the day of the tour buying a new one. That night when I finally was able to contact the company I was told I could be rescheduled for the next day. I went to the meeting point and waited for an hour and no one showed up! I emailed four times and when I got a response I was told there was no tour for that day….complete waste of time

Let me begun by saying that my husband and I are well traveled and love/ appreciate tours of all kinds... but are very frustrated by companies who do them badly and without concern or care for their guests. In my opinion, Rio Carioca Tours is a greedy, tour churning company without respect for its guests, policies, or guides. A few notes: The "14 people max" promise in the tour description is a lie. They crammed 44 on our bus and spent two hours picking them all up (and another two dropping them off). Torture! We only stopped outside most of the listed attractions to take pictures, not enter or experience. Nothing cost very much...a big time ripoff. Even the lunch only cost $4USD... and literally made me sick...I got food poisoning... and I've got an iron stomach. The worst part is you can't just leave the tour. You're stuck on it...ALL day. So it's a huge waste of time... to basically see, do, and learn nothing, at least not in English, the third translated language our poor guide had to suffer through. The only saving grace was the self guided brewery tour. It was a delight. Do yourself a favor and choose something else to do with your time! You can take public transportation to Petropolis in far less time than the tour will take you and have more time to see what your want.

Was a great tour with Julio. I was with a group of Spanish & Portuguese speaking guests but he explained everything personally as if I was on a private tour. Petrópolis is a must when you are in Rio.

This tour is more significant for Portuguese decendents as it's very historical and the main attraction is the Imperial Palace where the majority of the time is spent. For a foreigner it's interesting but can be a bit much as it doesn't have the significance it does for decendents. The Bohemian Brewery was interesting and the beers we tasted were good. The chocolate factory was disappointing as it is not a factory but more a coffee shop and the selection of chocolates available to buy were very limited. We were the only 2 English sneaking on the tour which did make it a bit difficult but credit must go to our guide Roma who really went out of his way to try to explain as much as possible to us. All in all an interesting day.

The tour was great, the guide wonderful, I just found the food bad.

The guide Quintino, very professional. Excellent tour! Totally recommended.

The logistics were excellent from the reservation to the start of the tour. Julio, the guide, is fantastic; he is a very unique man, and when it comes to storytelling, he is charismatic, respectful, and helpful. In short, the tour is worth it 100%.

Our guide Marlady is an excellent guide; I felt very comfortable with everything you explained and your personal treatment, thank you.

The tour to Petropolis with guide Marlady and driver Gege was excellent and interesting. We returned to our country happy. Thank you very much☺️

Very good tour, excellent Sea guide!!

Marlady is an amazing guide. She loves her job and makes it felt in the city tour. He is a very cheerful person, very attentive. She always smiles. His visit allowed us to discover a beautiful city with a very rich history. I highly recommend the activity especially with Marlady.

The guide Marlene very friendly and professional

It was an excellent experience, the sensational guide, committed to her work and went much further in her attention and knowledge. Many thanks to Marlady for making this the best experience and congratulations to the agency for having people like her. Hugs from Colombia

A tour of Imperial City with tremendous historical content, which Rafael is responsible for printing a special stamp with anecdotes and friendly comments that nuances with very pleasant humor, all of which expresses exactly the same in different languages. Very good scheduling of time availability to access different museums that can alternatively be visited. Suggestion. Add more beef to the free fork.

Picking up passengers from different hotels is a long and tedious process (about two hours). We contracted and paid for the tour with the included brewery, this was the day before the tour, but by fortnight the brewery was closed. They should not offer this option if it is not available. On the other hand, the return of the additional paid is a cumbersome procedure. Guide Julio is super clear and friendly. Although being the explanations in three languages they become tedious and demand a great effort. Buffet lunch is fine. The city and the places toured are very attractive.

Excellent. Love petropolis and especially Monica's guide. Very professional and recommended. Transportation also comfortable.

I booked this tour as part of my last visit to Rio, as I was traveling alone and found it an excellent option to enjoy group with the guide. From start to finish, Mar (Marlady) was always attentive, accompanying us and making sure everything flowed perfectly. It was a very pleasant experience, in the company of a pleasant group and with the guidance of Mar, who demonstrated great professionalism, passion and a wide knowledge about the Imperial City. The times and pace of the tour were very well organized, which made everything very comfortable and enjoyable. At the end, he even guided us with practical tips to return faster by subway and avoid traffic, which was a great help. In short, a pleasant and highly recommended experience.

It was an extraordinary tour and congratulations for the excellent guide Marleide (Mari), with a lot of information, attention and knowledge. With her everything became lighter and easier to learn!!!👏👏👏

A day that drags on... we try to fill time by shopping or going to a lost cafe in the middle of nowhere. The first stop is just to look at the facade of a building from afar. The excursion could largely last only half a day rather than wasting time. In addition, the guide does not speak good enough English.

En realidad el tour fue muy largo(cerca de 14 horas), y vimos muy poco. 4 lugares para comer algo, cerca de cuatro horas(demasiado tiempo) y el buffet muuuy malo.

Excelente tour, guía excelente e o grupo também., as visitações muito importantes. O tempo do tour este bem.

Petrópolis is a beautiful city and a lot of history. Thank you Monica for the explanations and the transport was very good too

I feel harmed because I didn't have access to all the services that were included in the package. I paid to enter the Quitandinha Palace and, upon arriving at the place, I was informed by the guide Rafael that we would not enter and that we would just stop at the place for photos and information. I also paid to have a drink and dessert included at lunch and had another surprise: I had to pay "outside" for the service. Both Rio Carioca Tour and the guide Rafael informed that this was an error by Trip Advisor, that they were not responsible for the error and that I should seek compensation from you. Below are photos that prove what was exposed here. I look forward to hearing from you so we can resolve this issue.

¡Nos ha encantado la excursión a Petrópolis! El guía Rafael Robaina fue excelente y gracias a él la experiencia fue más grata aún. La excursión en sí nos pareció muy completa, interesante y variada. El Palacio Imperial es un lugar muy interesante, sobretodo para los amantes de la historia. El almuerzo es un buffet libre (así que cada uno puede escoger algo rico entre muchísimos platos), muy sabroso y abundante. La visita a la cervecera es muy divertida e interesante al mismo tiempo. En resumen: es un tour muy bien organizado y muy recomendable.

Visitação de locais históricos, visita a cervejaria tradicional, Bohemia, de Petrópolis, a guia impecável e outros encantos até então desconhecidos por mim.

The tour highly recommended, the truth that I loved. The guide Monica charming, with great solvency of knowledge and explaining everything. Very attentive to the concerns of the group.I highly recommend it.Petropolis is a beautiful city that is good to know, with a lot of history

Excellent work from our guide Monica. A well-planned day with the main attractions of the city and a good explanation of the history of Brazil. It's very worth it...

To know the charming Imperial City was a dream of this master brewer who loves history and culture! We spent a wonderful day, which began at the Imperial Family Museum and ended with water to IPAs, Weiss and Pilsen at the 1st Beer Factory in Brazil with the Tour Bohemia! It was unforgettable, even more with Monica, an amazing Cover and a sensational guide! When I return to Petrópolis-RJ (it will be in winter), I want to stay for at least 5 days, to see all the beautiful restaurants of this jewel of the crown!

Passeio agradável do início ao fim. Muita beleza, diversão e informação misturados. Vale muito a pena.