A guide with a stake in the community
The first question RioOnWatch, a news site that reports on the favelas, tells visitors to ask is whether residents benefit from the tour, and it recommends giving priority to tours led by people born in the favela. This site marks a tour as resident-led only when its own listing says so. Many titles say “local guide”, which can mean someone from anywhere in Rio, and five-star reviews that mention a friendly guide are not evidence of where that guide lives. Where a listing says nothing, the tables here show “Not stated”.
Why there are no jeep tours on this site
Open jeeps that drive visitors up the hill and back have drawn criticism for years. In 2015 a resident guide in Santa Marta told RioOnWatch that the jeeps came in without a local guide, did not tell the real story of the favela and showed no respect for the people living there. In 2020 the same site advised visitors in plain words to stay away from the jeeps. The tours listed here are walks and hikes. Some use a mototaxi or a van to get to the start. Party and baile funk nights and drone add-ons are left out as well.
Photos
Ask before you photograph a person, and accept a no. Children are not a backdrop. Put the camera away when your guide asks you to, without discussion. Favela Walking Tour bans camera glasses and other recording devices, and Jupiter Tour does not allow drones. A photo of the view from a rooftop tells your friends more about Rio than a stranger’s doorway.
Money that stays in the favela
Some listings name a project that receives part of the money: the Santa Horta garden in Santa Marta and the Centro Social Dona Irene in Tavares Bastos. Gilson Fumaça’s listing includes visits to cultural projects in Santa Marta but names no share of the price. Beyond that, the simplest contribution is to buy a drink, a snack or a piece of craft from a local business on the way, and to tip the guide in cash in reais. If you are asked to buy something for children after a game or a visit, it is fine to decide in advance what you want to do, and to ask the guide how your money would be used best.
Understanding what you see
A tour in a language you follow well is worth more than a cheaper slot. One reviewer noticed that the Portuguese-speaking half of a mixed group heard much more than the English-speaking half. Ask questions; reviewers describe guides who answered freely about daily life. Others found tours rushed or thin on information, which is something to raise with the operator rather than to accept quietly.
