Rio From The Sea: Guanabara Bay Cruise With Optional Barbecue Lunch

Lovely boat tour around the bay and the bbq food at the end of the trip was absolutely fantastic. Delicious meats and lovely restaurant / great service.

No one showed up. When I called, no one cared. I was stranded at the dock and had to find my own way back. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Alex from the Windsor California in Rio de Janiero went out of his way to make our stay great and easier. He stored our bags prior to our check-in, got us a ride, and had a lunch packed for us since we were leaving prior to breakfast hours. What an asset! Kudos for hiring such a wonderful employee.

Very nice tour friendly host really looked after us and very good English speaker. Boat trip very enjoyable and finished with a lovely meal . Would recommend

Louis was a great guide. He turned up at the hotel exactly on time to accompany us on the boat trip which is highly recommended. Angela was the boat guide and spoke English very well.

Tour guide too touchy and meal at lunch had two hairs in my food. Would not recommend. Cruise was very slow with basically no explaination.

Excellent boat tour of Guanabara Bay in a 16’ speed boat carrying 8 clients plus 3 crew. There was plenty of room on the boat to move around and the guide was good without talking non-stop. He was knowledgeable and very helpful. Ian was his English name and he was pleasant in every way. This is a nice change from the on-land tours of the city and an opportunity to see Rio from the vantage point of the bay. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. There wasn’t a bunch of fluff added to the tour like a visit to a cheap souvenir shop!

So relaxing and great view of the bay. The boat tour is 2 hours and we went in a beautiful old time sailing ship. We had our own tour guide Siggy, who is knowledgable and informative, which was good since the sound in the loudspeakers in the boat was rather poor and it was hard to make out what the official boat tour guide was saying.

We really enjoyed this 2-hour trip. The views of Rio and the city on the other side of the bridge are great. It's always nice to get a different perspective of a city. Saw lots of flying fish and frigate birds.

Stated as a 5 hour trip, yet you get actually less than 2 hours on the boat that slowly goes round the bay, not sure what I expected but it really was a waste of a morning. Our tour guide who picked us up was excellent though from gray lines and lunch was top notch

Hotel pick ups worked well and we had an English speaking guide throughout. The cruise lasts two hours on a mid sized boat. I think it can take about 100 but we were in a group of 50 and lots of room. The crew made fresh fruit cocktails that were very good. The sights are fantastic and the guide pointed out places of interest. We also had lunch which was very good quality too. Overall a very enjoyable five hours.

I was part of a large business group and we took the Guanabara Bay Cruise one morning in two of the old long boats. The trip was a refreshing view of many different natural and man made attractions in Rio. It was a relaxing way to see so much! I do wish that there was more information provided by the guides, but other than that it was great! We were also able to purchase drinks for reasonable prices and they provided some delicious watermelon for snacking part way through the cruise. There was plenty of space to soak up sun or revel in the relative cool of the shade.

This was a 4 hour cruise of Guanabara bay, it departed from the wharf area of Rio. we were promtly picked up in an airconditioned minibus from our hotel by Grayline Tours. We were taken about a lovely cruise boat that took us all aroung the bay that surrounds Rio De Janeiro. The sights from the Bay of Rio is truly amazing. On board you can purchase alcohlic or non alcohlic beverages. It can get abit chilly on the baot so carry a light jersy or jacket.

Views of Rio are amazing! Our tour guide Yema was fun and helpful, and we had a good time. We did not book lunch, as we got recommendation for quite a few restaurants on Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.

<p>The Tour Guide was not really needed as their was one on boat.</p>

<p>A lovely afternoon in the harbour - great to do if you have a couple of hours to spare, but not mind blowing. Scenery was good and luckily the weather was amazing!</p>

<p>It’s amazing tour! Our tour guide, ian did a great job! <br/> He very kind and helpful. definitely recommend!</p>

<p>The guide was informative and was clear in the explanations. It was unique to see some of the sights of Rio that you wouldn't normally see. Overall the boat ride was relaxing, although a bit boring. Most everyone on board didn't say anything and really wasn't all that excited. I would recommend that is needs more energy from the guide on board and crew. I'm not talking about a party boat but just to give it some excitement. Also, instead of serving cut fruit, serve other items as many people were hesitant to try open fruit watermelon and pineapple.</p>

<p>What a lovely day we had, the water was fantastic and the views of the city and surrounding landscape from the water is breathtaking. The history and landmarks were described in detail and the lunch provided afterwards was delicious. Highly recommended.</p>

<p>Whilst this beautiful Guanabara Bay is still appealing, the noticeably polluted water is a put off! Fantastic views of the Rio coastline though makes up for it. Only major downer was our multi-stop pick ups from other hotels en route to the Marina</p>

<p>We chose to not get the seafood lunch and since our flight out of Rio was scheduled for later in the day, we were anxious when the boat was late and then they sent the wrong boat to the dock. The delays surpassed 30 minutes, but thankfully our guide he told us to call him John the Baptist yelled at the boat operators and got them to shave off 15 minutes of the boat ride without us missing any of it. We got back to our hotel by 12pm as was promised. Thanks John! As for actual sightseeing, it's a nice way to either start or finish your time in Rio as you'll get a different perspective of all the landmarks and see areas you wouldn't get to otherwise. The live English commentary on the boat was also very helpful along with the fun Bossa Nova music in the background.</p>

<p>The tour was amazing however there was no seafood buffet that followed. I would recommend just doing the tour and have lunch where you want.</p>

<p>This tour was great! It was a great way to see the city and learn some history about it along the way. Our guide JB was fantastic! He was very fun and informative thought the trip. Would highly recommend this cruise to anyone visiting Rio.</p>

<p>Luis our guide was very friendly, knowledgeable and offered to take pictures of notable sites during the boat cruise. The seafood lunch is misleading as we had Brazilian BBQ after the boat ride. Overall, a great experience and highly recommend it.</p>

<p>This was a good tour and we saw quite a bit of the overall area from a different perspective. It lasted around 3 hours from hotel pick up to drop off, with about 2 hours in the boat. Tour guide was not too helpful as we were sitting in various places on the boat and he couldn't speak to everyone at once. However, he made a point of talking to each of us individually and giving some information on the adjacent views. I'd recommend this tour.</p>

<p>The cruise was done well, however the 'Seafood Lunch' is not this at all. It actually is at a BBQ restaurant, which is the location of all meals with the company. I did multiple tours on different days and was sent here for every meal, which wasn't even a great meal to start with. Also was told that if you have more than one meal on a day with tours, you still only go to this place. Was unfortunate to end the lunch that way as the boat ride was fun. I would just opt out of the lunch.</p>

<p>Really nice tour, overall. The 2 hour cruise was the perfect amount of time to be out on the bay. We saw all of the 'must see' locations and the ride was very comfortable. Our guide gave us valuable tips for staying in Rio during our transport to and from the hotel. Totally worth the price of admission.</p>

<p>Not great by any means. You motor out of the bay alongside sugar loaf mountain, but after that it's all very industrial - if you want to see oil rigs, an unattractive<br/> (But very long) bridge, planes landing and taking off in close proximity, then you'll like this tour. I didn't.</p>

<p>Very nice boat cruise... Not crowded at all! Everyone was very friendly! The Place I went to for lunch was the same place that I went to before the samba show. Nice place, lots of food! I don't eat meat so there were plenty of options on the buffet.</p>

<p>Excellent tour, beautiful weather, tour leader DJ was excellent with humor and knowledge.</p>

<p>Great weather, great tour guide, couldn't ask for a better day. Except the annoying tourists (even though I am one too) with their stupid selfie sticks. Sit down, enjoy the view! Overall, highly recommended! Cheers!</p>

<p>The hotel pick up was on time and the tour guide was very nice. The cruise itself was fantastic and it was lovely to see Rio from the water. Afterwards we had opted for the seafood lunch however this was more Rodizzio than seafood but altogether very good. Definately worth doing whilst visiting Rio.</p>

<p>Satisfactory, the seafood had been removed from the booking so the Guide had to find a restaurant in Ipanema at the last minute and it wasnt great.</p>

<p>It was an almost 2hrs. Trip, the views and sits you see during the trips are beautiful, relaxing and enjoyable trip</p>

<p>First let me say that the advertising I read for the tour said optional swimming which in my mind is you can either swim or just relax on the beach. This was neither it was a boat ride. Which covered most of what I saw the day prior but on a boat. Save your money and skip this!!</p>

<p>Trip was amazing and totally worth it. To avoid disappointment I suggest that you confirm with the weather forecast the likelihood of rain as it almost rained during our trip (a refund was the next best option but as you can imagine when you have a limited time to see a place the refund becomes the least exciting option). Fortunately the day cleared and the trip was amazing.</p>

<p>It was a good tour, the only drawback was that the scheduled lunch was in the same restaurant with the same limited menu as the the tour the day earlier. If we had known that we would not have taken the optional lunch. It was not a seafood restaurant, it was an adequate general menu restaurant except that our menu was limited to two or three choices. Not good two days in a row.</p>

<p>Although, I found this tour quite boring, it was nice to see the harbor and get a grasp on how the city was laid out. I was under the impression that we would have a chance to explore some beaches and get off the boat and go swimming, which was not the case. I was quite disappointed. In addition, another passenger stated she had purchased the optional lunch but that was canceled at the last minute.</p>

<p>Our overall experience was disappointing and did not meet our expectations. The scenery from the bay cruise was worth the experience with great views of Sugar loaf, forts, bay and Navel Museum and buildings, with Christ the Redeemer Statue in the background. <br/> However the boat was somewhat crowded and noisy. Our guide who was not always present, but did interpret the difficult to hear boat commentary.<br/> The day was spoilt by the very poor optional seafood lunch. From previous reviews on this site, we had expected a high standard of a seafood lunch. We were taken to "Bar do Beto" in Ipanema. Having chosen the fish from the options ( fish, steak, or pasta), what was served was bread, rice, potato and more batter than fish, and that was it! We also felt slightly rushed as our guide was managing a separate larger group.<br/> Overall, the package was not value for money.</p>

<p>So relaxing... and really gives you a unique view of the city that you can't get from Corcovado or Sugar Loaf. The pontoon is big and we had about 50 other guests with us on the boat. It was a really nice cruise!</p>

<p>The trip was not as expected based upon the reviews, but maybe I just had high expectations.</p>

<p>Our guide was on time and from the minute he met us he was pleasant and informative. It was a great way to see Rio . It was an enjoyable time on the cruise and JB was excellent. Please thank him again for his positive energy and providing my family and I with an enjoyable start to our day.</p>

<p>Not the four hour tour we were expecting. There are still nice views of the bay and niteroi, and the guide was very knowledgeable.</p>

<p>This was a really lovely way to see the bay! We'd already seen the beauty from Sugarloaf Mountain, so it was great to see it by boat. Our guide "JB" was the best, he was extremely friendly and very informative. We got to Gloria marina very early which wasn't ideal (a lot of wasted time as not a lot to do). Note: you can NOT swim in the Guanabara Bay, so if you're thinking there might be some time to take a dip, think again! The cruise lasts for about 2 hours, even though it says four hours (this is supposed to include pick-up/drop off time). Drinks are not included, but can be purchased on board (not sure for how much - I couldn't bring myself to drink at 9am in the morning!) While it wasn't quite what we expected, it was a lovely morning out and we enjoyed the cruise. Great idea to see the bay from a different angle and if you are looking for something to do.</p>

<p>Great very relaxing<br/> Same problem with lack of communication regarding transport<br/> Toni</p>

<p>This was a wonderful experience. If you love love history then you would visualise what the first settlers witnessed as they came towards the shores and how the indigenous people looked out towards the sea. The trip was made more relevant as we had gone for the Sugar Loaf and Corcovado trips the previous days. It was a sunny day and taking photographs was a joy. The guide spoke good English and was very knowledgeable. She knew when to speak and when to let us just soak in the view. No issues with safety and the music played on board was in sync with the trip. The only snag was that the CD which we bought for 20 Reals from the operators were blank and we only found out in Singapore. Definitely not heading back to Rio anytime soon even though the heart yearns for it. Good tour, well organised, pick up was ok but we waited a tad too long at the bay. Other than that, I would give it 8/10.</p>

<p>This was an excellent opportunity to see Rio de Janeiro from a different perspective than one gets from a bus or van. Views of Corcovado, Sugarloaf, NItero, and other sights could be enjoyed in a relaxing fashion. I highly recommend this excursion.</p>

<p>A memorable moment. A clear sunny day for Rio de Janeiro. The ship was relatively small and although we shared with other tourists it did not effect our enjoyment in the slightest. Our group was just four with a knowledgable English speaking guide. We had clear views of Christ the redeemer, sugar loaf mountain and according to our guide a very rare crystal clear view of Gods finger. It was a wonderful start to a fabulous holiday.</p>

<p>The tour was very good from the point of view of scenery and landmarks where we got to see the entire panorama of Rio de Janeiro and the cities bordering the bay. However, our guide, very sweet and professional that she was, did not come across as too knowledgeable and some of her statements and answers were not very clear - I suspect it was the language barrier. The guide with another tour group on the same boat seemed to know more.</p>