PETROPOLIS - HISTORY AND FUN IN THE MOUNTAINS

When we read more about Rio de Janeiro, for sure we also read many things about Petropolis. PETROPOLIS IS FOR SURE A REAL INTERESTING DESTINATION IN ANY TRIP TO RIO DE JANEIRO. Petropolis is so nice that since in our early ages, it has been a cool weekend place for Brazilian and Non-Brazilians, even the Portuguese Royal Family decided to settle in that very green place in this lovely mountain town. It is located in our famous ORGÃOS MOUNTAIN RANGE, one of our most beautiful Brazilian National Parks, so this is your great chance to put together HISTORY and fun in the WILDERNESS. Coming across with nice south American stories and lovely water falls. The city itself has over 200 000 people but you can still see some stunning gardens and squares, one of the fewest Gothic Temples in the Country where our dearest Emperor is buried with his family and you can have an idea about how our Royal Family used to live.

Our Emperor Dom Pedro, The Second, was one of our most important character in our History and a real progressive man for that period of our life. He was the son of a very clever and famous Austrian Princess Leopoldina and educated by one of our most brilliant brains in our History, the Prime Minister José Bonifacio. No doubt that he would become an incredible man who about more than 150 years ago he paid salary to the slaves, he was to one who finished slavery in Brazil and also thought about sharing the lands with all Brazilian people. He spent most of his life in Petropolis and he loved his own home an d until today Petropolis is there to make visitors fall in love with the lovely classy ambience of the town!!!

So if you want to see a lot of History and lots of fantastic mountain landscapes, a visit to Petropolis is highly recommended. As well as a visit to the neighboring cities such as Teresopolis and Friburgo which are precious secrets that of course I will help you to find out.

It is a full day tour and we can use my car to reach Petropolis, the full day tour costs 150 american dollars for 2 people and 250 american dollars for 4 people!

For further information feel free to write to donrafainrio@yahoo.es, I will be honored to answer you!

BUZIOS – PARADISE WITH STYLE

Think about a place with gorgeous and clean beaches, some of them quite wild where you can spend special moments in total privacy, think abut a place with pleasant ambience full of beautiful people all around, think about fantastic food in very charming restaurants; imagine yourself under the sun in a big schooner or in a private speed boat close to unique landscapes; now just picture in your mind cool nights in the best Pousadas in brazil with lots of comfort with a spectacular feeling that you are at home. All this and much more you can find in Buzios.

Buzios, an excellent beach resort two hours drive from Rio..full of beaches, it has such a lovely boat tour visiting islands, inside beaches and with lovely little village with fine restaurants and many cool stores. The little village is VERY SOFISTICATED so twill be a chance that you will have to see the most popular and dreamt holiday destination in Brazil. The streets are so pleasant and the sea very close at Armação dos Buzios.

So many beaches to choose, from calm and sparkling blue waters inlet bays to open oceanic beaches. To stay in Buzios you will not know what to choose..so many charming Pousadas (cottages) with high level services and comparing to USA and Europe, these places are not so expensive. Lots of sea activities, a boat tour in Buzios is very worthy, you can swim in quite reefs and visit some interesting islands.

The village became famous when Briggite Bardot that little and absolutely unknown fishermen village to spend some days…she liked so much that she bought a house and invited her famous friends…and Buzios got the fame and today it is one of the most popular beach places in South America.

To get there we can use my car and it takes 2 hours to arrive in Buzios. You can have the option of spend one whole day there or also stay overnight. I will help you and assist you in every decision you take! Buzios is quite faraway so if you decide to go here, the full day will be 200 AMERICAN DOLLARS for two people and 300 AMERICAN DOLLARS for 4 people.

Great to spend one, two or three nights..some people like Buzios so much that they simply spend a week there…There will be always something nice to do in Buzios, it is a place with many beaches, incredible stores for great days of shopping. Once you are in Rio you have to know where Brazilians go, and you will find out so many unique places and BUZIOS IS FOR SURE YOUR PLACE IN ANY TRIP TO RIO DE JANEIRO!!!

For more information, write me an email at donrafainrio@yahoo.es, I will gladly tell you how to get there!

NIGHTS OF RIO AND YOU HAVING FUN LIKE A CARIOCA

We will have dinner in a FOLK'S FESTIVAL held in the suburbs..it is a sort of stadium where people go to have fun, thousand of people from the North who came to Rio looking for better opportunities, and the only place they have for fun, it is there...and the place is magical, with the BEST FOOD EVER..it is a place where no tourist ever have gone and not even heard about this place..and I love having dinner with my guests and friends there...

After that we can go to the Samba House...actually we live our samba, and in the houses of Lapa samba is a sort of celebration..and we will meet with native people dancing samba and real samba bands performing! So this could be our night tour...You will see Rio exactly how it looks like.

You will see places like FEIRA DO NORDESTE and a vibrant samba house CARIOCA DA GEMA...

REMEMBER THAT BRAZILIAN DO GO OUT LATE SO DINNER IS ALWAYS AFTER 10...YOU WILL BE BACK TO YOUR PLACE BY 2:00 AM OR IN THE FOLLOWING DAY, IT WILL DEPEND ON YOUR ENERGY!

The tour will cost 100 american dollars!

THE WAY YOU WILL DISCOVER RIO

I have always believed that Rio is really the gateway to Brazil, everything starts in Rio, specially my tours, and the best way to see everything with comfort and safety is going everywhere by car. I use my car to take all my guests to the most famous places and also to places which are not written in any travel books, there will be always fantastic surprises that only locals know. And my intention is being more than a tour guide, I want to be your friend and efficient contact in Rio and everywhere in the country. And providing the safety of a brand new car, spacious and air conditioning is REALLY ESSENCIAL for every tour in Rio.

I usually say that my car is the natural continuation of my house...so WELCOME HOME AND LET'S DISCOVER RIO DE JANEIRO

It is a brand new model of FIAT DOBLO...

Easy to get around and this will be your most important way to be an expert in RIO!!!

NITEROI - A HIDDEN PARADISE NEXT DOOR TO RIO

As soon as you get to Rio you find out that we have a Bay Area, we see a long bridge crossing the Bay heading to the other side..and what’s in there??? This is one of the best high light of any trip to Rio. One day in Niteroi is all that you need to say to anyone when you come back home that YOU REALLY KNOW RIO DE JANEIRO. Niteroi has gorgeous mountains, amazing ocean beaches and unique views to Rio de Janeiro.

In a way it is like seeing New York from New Jersey, a chance for you to see the entirely skyline of Rio with its gorgeous mountains and incredible coast. Besides you will discover spectacular food in the local restaurants of São Francisco, you will see the wilderness of the hidden surfer’s paradise of Itacoatiara and you will stroll around our precios past visiting our military fortress which gives you amazing green landscapes and thick vegetation in the so many hills that surround the lands of Niteroi; its people and so many pleasant fishermen villages that only Niteroi can offer.

Most of people think that the only thing to do in Niteroi is visiting the Contemporary Museum, but I take my guests beyond…they will see another destination very close to Rio that will hold their hearts forever!!!

You will see places that you will never read in any travel books, you will be part of a very local society who has such a wonderful city as a pleasant and funny playground!

And food in Niteroi is something that you will never forget...you will have the chance to taste the real brazilian food at A Mineira or you can stop in any very local restaurants in the fishermen village of Jurujuba!

Let Niteroi invade your wishes and plans and you will see that your knowledge about Rio will be unique!!! The tour takes the whole day, about 8 hours and it costs 150 american dollars!

GET YOUR LEGS PREPARED!!!

One of the best ways to know the places we are visiting is getting your legs prepared and walk a lot, and very few people know it but Rio de Janeiro is a pleasant city to stroll around and visit every corner of our OLD CITY…And yes…lots of history in your “TROPICAL DESTINATION….”. You’ve got to remember that Brazil used to be a COLONY from Portugal, then we became the capital of the Portuguese KINGDON, after that we became an EMPIRE and finally the REPUBLIC replaced the Monarchy. This 4 periods of our History can be experienced in the busy downtown of Rio. Here you can watch closely the daily life of a busy city, you can see the old buildings and narrow streets of many architecture styles, many barroc churches and typical bars. Also a chance for you to use public transports in the city.

I am very fortunate to welcome so many guests and I have people of my total trust, and one of my best friends, Marcone, is a real specialist to take you to the streets of Rio, telling you every story and making you see the best of our busiest part o the city. I have been working with Marcone for more than one year and we are roommates, he is one of the few people that I work with. So when I am not available, Marcone is certainly the best choice and he will do his best to make you feel part of Rio de Janeiro.

The tour will cost 100 american dollars!!!

IF YOU JUST HAVE ONE DAY - A REAL MARATHON FOR YOU

Sometimes you have just one day to stay in Rio..so we will turn your only one day into a pleasant marathon. Get early out of the bed and let’s start the day at 8:00 am!!! First thing we will do will be going to the Sugar Loaf, pleasant walk in the forest of Pista Claudio Coutinho, then taking a cable car to the top of the hill. After a while we will head to the Christ and we will see the Tijuca Forest, we will return though Santa Tereza to see the old Portuguese houses and the pleasant district’s atmosphere, we will cross the bridge Rio-Niteroi over Guanabara Day and find out a very unique hidden surprise of Rio: NITEROI. Some must see places we will cover, such as the Contemporary Museum which gives you a breathtaking view of our mountains, we will also go to Parque da Cidade, a very local view point where you can also fly with paraglydings; then we will stop for a real BRAZILIAN LUNCH in a local restaurant or in a fishermen village in Jurujuba, and in the end of the afternoon we will head to the ocean beaches of Niteroi seeing beaches with weird names such as Itacoatiara and Itaipu.

It will be a long day but you will make almost 5 days in one day! So get prepared!!! We will see many things.

The tour takes about 8 hours and it will cost 200 american dollars (attention, it is not per person, it is per tour!)

YES - WE HAVE BANANAS!!! ONE DAY TOUR

Full day, visiting some good surprises of the famous beach Copacabana, short walk in the beach front to see the famous WAVING SIDE WALK, a visit to the Fort of Copacabana and experience a new perspective of the ocean, a pleasant walk through the rocks. We will stroll around the rocks of Arpoador and see Ipanema beach and get in touch with locals. Gran finale in the surroundings of the Sugar Loaf, the famous Pão de Açucar with some very spectacular surprises in the forest. BRING SOME BANANAS – IT IS VERY NECESSARY!!! A full day with lots of fun is waiting for you!!! The tour takes between 6 or 8 hours, we will use my private car!
In each neighborhood we will walk a lot so you will be able to experience our daily life in so many different ambiences in the city!

THE TOUR WILL COST 150 AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR 2 PEOPLE AND 250 AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR 4 PEOPLE

A COOL INTRODUCTION OF RIO - ONE DAY

Full day, starting our day at 10:00 am.

We will visit the Statue of Christ where we can see the most complete view of the city and visit the forest of Tijuca which is a thick green wall in the slopes of Rio, heading to the ancient neighborhood of Santa Tereza which used to be the first Portuguese settlement in Rio de Janeiro.

Possible stop at Mirante Dona Marta...it is a secret that we have when the Statue is cloudy, from this viewpoint we can see the whole city, in a lower height, but a visit there is simply incredible!!!

AND WE MIGHT HAVE THE FAMOUS "BASKET BATH"..a very weird way of feeling the Carioca's daily life after an entire day in the beach!!! But we just have access to the natural showers in week days!

Then we will cross the Niteroi ’s bridge on Guanabara bay to see a different city and its beauty and interesting places such as the CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM designed by Oscar Niemeyer, this place gives you a fascinating bay view of Niteroi and Rio . We will have lunch in a typical Brazilian restaurant and after we will visit a hill where the locals stop to see the magnificent ocean forest with the coasts of Niteroi and Rio.

THE TOUR COST 150 AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR TWO PEOPLE AND 250 AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR 4 PEOPLE