Customer's Opinions about guide from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

My guide was the best guide i have had in any country
She was fun, had all the knowledge necessary to tell me about every section in Rio. She took me to all the high points and also to the Favela which was very interesting.
She was also tireless! Her English was great.
When i return to Rio, i would never employ any other guide.

My 82 year old mother came to visit us in SP from the US. I took her on a one-day trip to Rio and she had a great time - mostly due to Martha! I explained to Martha that I wanted a custom tour catering to what my mother wanted to do and see. In one day we flew in, saw Corcovado and Pao De'Azucar, ate at the Grill from Ipanema, walked Copacabana and had coffee and snacks at Columbo Cafe. My mother has some mobility difficulties and Martha made sure we got wheelchair/ramp/walker access to everything. She was also a great person to spend the day with - full of information and an engaging personality. I recommend her highly!

I highly recommend Martha to anyone thinking of visiting Rio- in fact, I think Martha should get an award from Tourism Brazil for being the best tour guide and ambassador for Rio!
In three short days, Martha guided to me one of the best vacations I ever had. She was more than a tour guide- she was also my samba instructor, body guard, fellow bossa nova afficionado, food critic, and party organiser.
Remember that great weekend you spent with your long lost friend from college? This felt like it- Martha was warm, witty, and genuinely interested in Rio and showing you her great city.
Don't see Rio without Martha!

Martha is a wonderful guide. It was like spending a day with a long lost friend. I was with Martha for an entire day and we had planned to visit the Redeemer statue in the morning and a favela in the afternoon. Due to bad weather we had to make a quick decision about changing plans so we spent the morning walking Santa Teresa instead. This is highly recommended for a leisurely few hours.

The afternoon approached and it was time to head towards the favela (Rochina). I have to admit that I was slightly worried as you never hear good news coming from favelas. That said, my visit was a highlight of my trip. Martha is very well respected within the favela and we were accompanied by a guide from within the favela.

We spent close to three hours walking around through the heart of the favela. Unlike other tours which visit the outskirts and the market places Martha is able to walk where she wishes (within reason).

What struck me most was how proud the inhabitants of the favela are. There are schools, people go to work and children smile. It is only a small percentage of people (drug related) who give the favelas a bad reputation.

Some of the views from within the favela over the rest of Rio De Janeiro are stunning. The rich people purchased all of the beach-side property pushing the poorer people up on to the hill sides. The irony of the situation is that the best views are from he hillsides!

I thoroughly recommend Martha.

My husband and I just returned from a trip to Rio. From reviews on this site, we decided to use Martha Vasconcellos' services for a tour of Rocinha (pronounced Ho-Seen-A) favela as well as Corcovado. I have been to Rio before and had done these tours with a large tour group almost a decade ago. Martha's tour services were by far superior. She gave us lots of information about the favela and took us to an additional smaller favela. At Christ the Redeemer she was informative and helped us get some great photos. Overall, she has a great personality and even set us up with a reliable metered taxi to the airport. I recommend Martha without reservation.

Martha is an extremely capable, knowledgeable private guide. My wife and I are an older couple who enjoy traveling the world. Safety is our number one concern. Martha is simply the best guide we have ever encountered anywhere. There wasn’t a question we had that she couldn’t answer. She listened to us closely, figured out our needs, and did everything she could to make us comfortable and happy. She picked us up at the airport and for two days showed us the many facets of her amazing city—to which we are looking forward to visiting again—with Martha as our guide.