Cidade do Samba: Behind-the-Scenes View of Carnival Preparations in Rio de Janeiro

Experience the vibrant energy of Rio’s Carnival with a behind-the-scenes tour of Cidade do Samba. Explore the warehouses of top samba schools, try on dazzling costumes, and immerse yourself in the rich culture of Carnival. Cheers to an unforgettable adventure with a caipirinha in hand!

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cidade Do Samba - After hotel pickup, travel to the mandala-shaped Cidade do Samba, a warehouse complex in Gamboa, the birthplace of Rio de Janeiro’s samba. More than 80 samba schools with 100,000 dancers participate in Carnival, but each year only the top 12 to 14 samba schools form the Special Group, aka the First League, which build and store…
What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • One caipirinha drink
  • Guided Visit to Grande Rio’s Warehouse
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off to most South Zone hotels in Rio
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Food
Additional Information

Psst
Get a good peek into Rio’s Carnival on this half-day tour behind the scenes of the behemoth celebration. Travel to Cidade do Samba, where the best samba schools build and store their grandiose floats, sparkling costumes and feathered headdresses. Take a guided tour of the warehouse of Acadêmicos do Grande Rio, a highly ranked samba school, and then…

Location
Cidade Do Samba
Rua Rivadavia Correia 60, Gamboa
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(5 Ratings)
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1 star
James_l
Jun 18, 2023
The dedication each... - The dedication each school put towards the carnival each year to make it spectacular. Also the warehouse had many great designs!
Review provided by Viator
Carl
Dec 2, 2017
Interesting and impressive - Today my wife and me (I am from Sweden) went for this tour with a perfect English speaking guide named Dandara. She was very sympathetic, as well as the other staff, and told many interesting things, some which even was unknown to my Carioca wife. It was also impressive to see the tremendous amounts of work that is done by each samba school for their parade - about 200 persons working for months to create all the costumes and building the big fantasy floats! The tour is definately recommended if you want to know more about the history and backstage work of the Rio Carnival. Carl
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shelley_r
Mar 4, 2020
Experiencing part of the Carnaval atmosphere - We enjoyed the experience and the girls had a lot of fun dancing, and trying on the costume. We did have some problems with pick-up on time and the bus broke down delaying our return. Our guide was friendly, energetic and knowledgeable. I would have liked to look at the floats a little more though.
Review provided by Viator
Daniel
Feb 16, 2018
***NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BOOK THIS OR ANYTHING FROM THE SAME COMPANY** - This was a shambles company, we booked and we're told that we needed to go at a different time to what we originally booked because CARNIVAL WAS ON THIS WEEK. We understood after all our whole trip was because of carnival. We booked this and also needed to change a few things with our holiday provider which caused a huge headache just so we could go on this excursion. We had 2 nights in the middle of a jungle before this and had no access to e-mail. And we had an e-mail the night before this excursion that it was cancelled because "CARNIVAL WAS ON THIS WEEK." Now usually I would understand but the company knew carnival was on even when we booked. I have a suggestion for this company. Just give up because you obviously have no idea how to treat your customers. I would probably understand a little more if they allowed us to book and then cancelled as they realised it was carnival but no it wasn't untill the night before that they sent an e-mail. Let me just add that prior to our trip to Rio we were 2 nights in the jungle with no access to e-mail. It was quite short notice too if you ask me. I was curious and will never use the company "VIATAR" EVER AGAIN. Please to avoid any disappointment on your holidays stay well away from this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $54
up to 13 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).