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Rafael Torres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Age: 35 - 39
Languages: English, I also have fluency spanish and I speak a little bit of Afrikaans!
My Website: http://donrafaguestsinrio.blogspot.com
I’ve traveled to: Well, I am proud to say that I have been to almost all of Brazilian States. I know Brazil a lot, I have learnt alot with my own culture and travelling the country is very fascinating.

In South America, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Venezuela

In North America, Canada and USA (only in Vermont)

In Europe, Portugal, Spain and France

And South Africa
My motto: Life is too interesting to be boring, we make it special all the time!
About me: I am a traveller and I have made this passion my main occupation, so I became a tour guide, and thanks for this job I have learn so many about people and different cultures, thanks to this work I could show our visitors a different and personal profile about various places in Brazil, specially Rio de Janeiro, the magnificent Iguazu Falls and the Amazon Jungle starting in the fields of Maranhão State.

I am an independent tour guide, and believe me I put my heart in my work, I really love what I do, it is always a special moment being with so many different people, and show them the best of my land, making some dreams possible..this is the great joy of my profession. I always focus on the soul of Rio, when my guests choose Rio as a destination...I start to think where I personally like to go, where I personally like going when I want to have fun, what I like to eat, where I will find the people I want to be with, and the places where I simply meet with myself..these places should be quiet, unique, spectacular with lots of natural beauty.

I am completely away from GRINGO PLACES... I take my people to places that you will never find in travelogs..I make my people being in touch with real native people...My tours has a very strong “native profile”, if you know what I mean...

I am the sort of a guide who hates talking in the microphone in a bus filled with foreigners dressing flowers shirts expecting when and where they will find the first monkey in the street...you will never see myself saying: COPACABANA IN THE LEFT AND SUGAR LOAF IN THE RIGHT...I will NEVER take my guest to places where I know it is obvious tourist traps...If the stores of Sugar Loaf or Corcovado need me to take my guests thee, they will be done for...I like doing what my guests want, and I always direct them to genuine and unique places, either for visiting or simply go shopping. I want to make any person feel secure that in Rio they do have a friend and someone they can always count on.

Here my guests do not only meet a tour guide, they will meet a good friend, me and people of my total confidence who work with me. I want to make every visitor at home everywhere in Brazil, specially using the gateway of the country which is RIO DE JANEIRO.

I use my own private car, it is a brand new model of FIAT, a spacious van suficient for 4 people. I have been work with tourism for 7 years and most of people find me thanks to the comments they do at TripAdvisor.com and CruiseCritics.com and also word of mouth..many nice people, friends and families which trusted me in their adventures in Brazil and Argentina.
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Activities I can help with:

Sightseeing Guides Show Me Around City Walking Tours Beach Tours

PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE

My tours are full day and I also provide night tours where my visitors can experience what is real when our people decide to go out and have heaps of fun, so I go where the real samba are, I go where the locals love going, I usually go to the must see places and I give a lot of human focus on each place visited. I work with my own car, a brand new Fiat Doblò with enough space for people, safety and comfort...it is air conditioning, good music and perfect space.

Offered Services

Sightseeing Guides A Very Well Hidden Secret: Niteroi

It should be called ADVENTURE IN RIO PART FIVE!

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!!!

Let Niteroi invades 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 130 american dollars!

Sightseeing Guides Adventure in Rio Part Three

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!)

Show Me Around Adventure in Rio Part Two

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. 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!
TOTAL COST: 200 AMERICAN DOLLARS (TWO PEOPLE)

Show Me Around FLYING IN RIO DE JANEIRO

It is part of my tour visiting the beautiful city of Niteroi, and we can arrange a tadem paraglyding flight over a fantastic view of Rio de Janeiro

City Walking Tours Walking Tour in Rio with Rafael and Marcone

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 fem part of Rio de Janeiro.

100 AMERICAN DOLLARS (Please note: Not per person, it is just the tour!)

City Walking Tours Adventure in Rio Part One

Full day, we must start 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.

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.
TOTAL COST: 130 AMERICAN DOLLARS (TWO PEOPLE)

Beach Tours Buzios - Beach with Style - You Can Easily Go There!

Buzios is certainly 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 SOPHISTICATED 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.