Christ The Redeemer & Sunset At Sugarloaf

Disorganized and Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Time or Money I had high expectations for this tour based on my travel advisor’s recommendation, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a frustrating and poorly managed experience. As someone who’s well-traveled, has lived overseas, and works as a flight attendant, I’m accustomed to the complexities of travel—language barriers, logistical hiccups, and the occasional mix-up. But this tour took disorganization to another level. Booking and Communication Issues The trouble started almost immediately after booking. Despite reserving the tour 48 hours in advance, it took almost 24 hours to receive confirmation. Things only got more confusing from there: I was bombarded with messages from three different WhatsApp numbers—none of which were consistently linked to Project Expedition. One was “C2Rio Tours” and two others, on two different numbers, were “TANGOL” (which is who PE told me I’d be in communication with but C2Rio actually gave me the tour. I’m still confused about this. On top of that, I received an email from PE asking for the same details that I’d already provided via WhatsApp. The lack of communication between the 4 people I was talking to was frustrating and confusing. While I eventually got everything sorted, the lack of streamlined communication was an immediate red flag. Then came the pick-up time confusion. I was given three different pick-up times (since I was in communication with 4 different people—12:00, 12:12, and 12:30—and after deciding to show up early, I was told I had arrived too soon when I contacted all 4 sources again asking where my van was when the time hit 12:20. This miscommunication set the tone for the rest of the day. Tour Experience Once the tour finally started, the problems continued. The 45-minute drive to Christ the Redeemer was supposed to include an audio guide about the city, but the audio quality was so poor (fuzzy, too quiet) that I couldn’t hear anything. This was disappointing, as the van ride was a great opportunity to learn about Rio, but I ended up with nothing. Upon arrival at Christ the Redeemer, we were met with a long line (which I thought the tour would help us skip). We ended up waiting nearly two hours to reach the top, and once there, we had only 30 minutes to enjoy the view before being rushed off due to the large crowds. While I understand crowds are unavoidable, the lack of time at the site was frustrating, especially considering how much time had already been wasted in lines. The guide blamed this on the cruise ship people, however, don’t cruises come through Rio everyday? Therefore, this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. The situation didn’t improve on the way down. I asked the guide if I had time to use the bathroom before our 45-minute ride back down, but was told "no" because the van couldn’t idle for long. Oddly, the van took another 15 minutes to arrive, which left me little choice but to find an alternative solution. I also have a medical condition with this. But even this isn’t my main complaint. After brief stops at a church and the steps (each blocked at only 20 minutes), things went from bad to worse. “Sunset” at Sugarloaf – Where it all Spiralled Downhill The main selling point of this tour was supposed to be the “Sunset at Sugarloaf.” However, when we arrived at the base of Sugarloaf at 6:00 PM, the sunset was already only 30 minutes away, and on hour 5.5 of our “5 Hour Tour” that this was marketed as. Had I known the tour would stretch on for another 5 hours, causing me to miss my dinner reservation and the last night I had in Rio, I would have left at the base of Sugarloaf. This is where I do blame the tour company for their lack of transparency about how much longer this was going to go on for. Obviously, they cannot control the lines or the crowds, but they do this every day and should be able to be honest and transparent with a fairly accurate guesstimate of how much long