Rio De Janeiro - Jeep Tour Favela Da Rocinha

I came to Rio on a solo trip for my 30th birthday and booked this tour through my hotel with no idea what to expect. I just knew I wanted to experience both the Favela and the Tijuca Forest, and this tour exceeded anything I could have hoped for. From the moment Ana Daxbacher (our guide) and Maxwell (our driver) picked me up, I felt welcomed and safe. Ana is incredibly knowledgeable, passionate, and clearly proud of her home. She’s fluent in multiple languages and effortlessly navigated English, French, and another language I couldn’t quite place—making sure everyone in our small group felt included and understood. There were about 8 or 9 of us total, which made the experience feel personal and well-paced. Ana shared rich historical context and brought the city’s transformation to life using photos from the past and present. Her deep respect for the Favela and the community of Rocinha stood out the most. She was intentional about preparing us to visit with awareness and respect, shifting our focus to the vibrant art, music, and community spirit rather than viewing it through a lens of poverty. That really mattered to me. You could also tell how connected she is to the people—especially the children—which added a level of authenticity and warmth to the experience. In Rocinha, we had time to enjoy live music, grab some local food and souvenirs, and take in the amazing street art (all created by community members). The walking is moderate with a few hills, but Ana made sure we moved comfortably. Our second stop was Tijuca Forest. Though it was technically winter in July, Ana and Max made sure we experienced as much as possible before it got dark. Ana’s love for nature was just as clear—she could identify trees, plants, and wildlife effortlessly, turning the forest into a living classroom. We even got to visit a beautiful waterfall where she kindly offered to take photos for everyone. Max, while not very fluent in English, was a wonderful and attentive driver, especially as the sun set and the air cooled. Riding in the Jeep (which has no windows or doors) was part of the adventure, but I’d recommend bringing a light jacket just in case—it can get chilly toward the end of the day. If you enjoy culture, nature, and learning from someone who truly loves where they’re from, this is the tour for you. Ana and Max made it an experience I’ll never forget. Highly recommend!

Tour booked through concierge with Lila for tour of favela and tijuca rainforest. Cannot thank Lila and driver enough was an absolutely fantastic tour. Seriously their knowledge and fun we had on the trails was a brilliant day. If you go please try and book with Lila she really did make the most of our journey on the tour! Thanks again 🙌

We did two tours with this company and the second one we did the favela tour and we enjoyed it very much. The tour guide Bela and the driver Wallace were very nice during the whole trip. Bela was very knowledgable and attentive towards us to be safe and enjoy every part of the tour. Would definitely recommend doing this tour.

Our guide was a great guy, but we found the tour distinctly average with little to no explanation of the favela and more like a stroll through the streets, popping into a number of supermarkets. There was also an internal issue with Jeeptour which meant we spent an hour waiting for an additional 4 tourists, which was quite a waste of time.

A visit to the poorer part of Rio brings home how people struggle to live. Very narrow steep stepped access to very small living spaces. Lots of inivitive ways of getting around the narrow streets. I'm glad we did it.

This was billed as a shared tour, but it was only the two of us. We were looking forward to this fall as we had taken a similar tour in India. The tour was good but could be described more accurately. Yes, one is driven to the top more or less, but actually you have to walk upon additional ½ km -- not bad if it weren't so challenging in terms of sidewalks, steps, and traffic. The walk to return to the jeep which is described is not too bad, but the steps w/o rails make it challenging for some. Plus the traffic requires finesse, but it's walkable. The description of the tour says it includes a visit to a samba school but that didn't happen. Apparently it's a weekend thing, but had I known that, I would have looked for samba elsewhere. Also, the Brazilian martial arts demo wasn't really part of the tour, as stated. We did catch 5 minutes of a practice, but nothing more. Our tour guide was pleasant and funny but didn't have a depth of knowledge as to community businesses, schools, etc. We liked the tour though because it showed a different side of Rio that we had while staying in Copacabana.

We enjoyed the narrow street walk. Our tour guide was very informative. She took two of us to in market and small narrow street walking. One of our friend could not take stairs or walk down so she stayed back with driver who took her around the area by Jeep car. It is safe when you follow the tour guide rules.

Tour guide and experience was authentic . Felt safe wish it could’ve been longer . Would do it again

1st Full day in Rio experienced the Favelas “Slums”. We got less stares in the Favelas than in the tourist area, the people just want to live life, and no problems. We didn’t feel unsafe at any point, and our guide Andre was great with showing us the spots, taking photos, and mingling with the different languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish). Highly recommend for those that enjoy seeing how the Brazilians live in the Favelas and focus on community!

A fabulous tour that showed us the social structure of Rio. You travel in an open top jeep and then walk up and down many steps. We felt very safe and appreciated the knowledge and courtesy of both the driver and guide. The trip back along the beachfront was spectacular.

George is an excellent guide. Extremely knowledgeable, insightful and funny. He helped us understand life in the favela and dispelled many myths.

Raphael was my guide for the favela tour. Let me start out by saying I went back and forth in my head MANNNNY times re booking this as I’ve heard such bad and scary things about the favelas. Can I just say how wrong I was about this. I am sooooo happy I did this tour as I cannot go to Rio/ Brazil and not do a favela tour. Raphael picked me up in a jeep which added to the tour as it was open top so we could see everything as we were driving through the city and through the favela. We parked up and took a wander around the favela and it is such an amazing community of friendly, hardworking and all round great people. I did not know they have swimming pools, hospitals, schools, Churches, bakeries, pet shops, groomers, nail salons, barbers, supermarkets (need I go on) in there. What an amazing community of people. Raphael was an amazing tour guide - he took us on a walking tour around the favelas where we learnt more about the history, culture and people who live there. We were a group of 3 and he made me feel very safe and comfortable while walking around. We got to buy paintings done by people who live in the favela which was great as we are able to support them a little. We also had a drink on a rooftop bar overlooking the favela - what an amazing site to see. I’d recommend this tour to everyone and anyone who wants to see a different yet beautiful side of Rio. I’d recommend Raphael as he was an amazing guide 10/10!!

Strongly recommend. A different view of Rio than the traditional tours. Interesting and informative guide.

Nous avons visité la grande favéla de Rocinha à pieds avec Juan Emilio le Cubano. Ses vastes connaissances nous ont permis de visiter des endroits exclusifs ce qui nous a mis en totale immersion. Juan Emilio a pris le temps de nous parler de l’histoire et du fonctionnement de la favéla, avec une grande attention. Nous nous sommes sentis en sécurité avec lui. Il nous a même offert des spécialités culinaires de la favéla ! Nous le recommandons vivement et nous le solliciterons à nouveau pour d’autres visites à Rio ! Son numéro : +55 21 99662 - 0603

We took a Jeep excursion to the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro. The guide Mario was excellent, both in his treatment and all the explanations. The best guide from many of the trips I have taken. Totally recommended.

This excursion with Juan Emilio and Georges the driver was very pleasant, very good explanation, guide very attentive and smiling, very good time and day spent in his company. I highly recommend both!

A very punctual pickup from the hotel. Very friendly tour guide. I've been coming to Rio de Janeiro since 2003 because I'm married here but it was the first time I was in a favela. But the restaurant with the terrace is almost exclusively aimed at tourists and has a souvenir shop that is more expensive than on the Copacabana.... Would I recommend the tour, yes you can absolutely do it! The tour guide was really friendly and speaks very good English!

Very disappointing experience. The favela tour resembled a human zoo. We have not received any information about the favela from the guide. The guide was bored and had a very vulgar expression. He was in no way respectful. We are shocked. In addition, unfortunately, he openly admitted that no money from our ticket prices goes for the benefit of the favela residents. What an exploitation of the favela inhabitants and tourists at the same time. Avoid this tour provider by all means.

We visited the favela with Juan Emilio and the driver Marcuel. We highly recommend! Juan Emilio is full of energy, he shares a lot of anecdotes about life in the favela and beyond, in Rio. We were marked by this city within the city. Thank you also for letting us taste the acai sorbet, it’s delicious! Good luck Juan Emilio, and maybe see you soon in Cuba 🌴 Nicolas&Marie

Wir wurden gar nicht abgeholt, es wurde auf Nachfrage nach 2 Stunden hin und her schreiben mitgeteilt dass zu wenig Teilnehmer sind und der Ausflug auf den nächsten Tag verlegt wurde. Dafür hatten wir bereits was anderes gebucht.

Very friendly people working there. They are also very open and make everything as pleasant as possible. Erica in particular stands out here, as she is always approachable even outside the tours. It felt more like an outing with friends, rather than a normal tour. With a reason to fly back to Rio!

Very nice walk, we walked through the rock inside, we stopped at the top of a lage where the view to Rocinha was wonderful, in this same place there was a souvenir shop. Guide Carlos very dear and quiet, despite the heat haha was all very incredible, a very different and wonderful experience!