Rio de Janeiro: Sugarloaf Mountain Cable Car & Copacabana Beach Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.78 (32 reviews) 91% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/7

Duration3h

GroupUp to 19

LanguagesEN · PT +1

PickupAt your hotel

The cable car climbs twice—once to Morro da Urca, then higher to where Rio spreads below you in every direction.

You get hotel pickup, both cable car rides to Sugarloaf's summit and Morro da Urca, entry tickets, and a drive past Copacabana Beach in an air-conditioned vehicle. The tour starts at 8am and runs as a small group, so expect to share the cable cars and the van with other travelers. Infants sit on a parent's lap.

Step-by-step itinerary

Sugarloaf Mountain and Beach Panorama

Take cable car to Urca hills
Continue cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain
Enjoy panoramic views from Sugarloaf
Panoramic drive along Copacabana beach

The Experience

Most people arrive at Sugarloaf Mountain already tired—parking, queues, figuring out which ticket booth, waiting in the sun. This tour skips that. A driver picks you up from your hotel, and by the time you're thinking about breakfast, you're already stepping into the first cable car at Morro da Urca, 220 meters up. The car itself is glazed, so the city starts shrinking the moment the doors close. Guanabara Bay opens up on one side, Botafogo on the other, and you're still not at the top.

The second cable car takes you the rest of the way—to 396 meters, where the view stops being a view and becomes something you have to stand still to process. The South Zone spreads out in front of you, Niterói across the water, and on a clear day you can trace the whole curve of the coast. People who've done Sugarloaf before say the glazed car changes it; you're not just looking at the city, you're suspended inside it. The ride up takes about three minutes each way, and both are included, so you're not choosing between the two stops or rationing your time.

After Sugarloaf, the tour takes you on a panoramic drive along Copacabana Beach—no stop, just the road running alongside the sand and the curve of the shoreline. It's the kind of thing that sounds like filler until you're actually there and realize you're seeing the beach the way locals do, not the way tourists usually do, which is standing in it. The whole outing runs from 8am, and because it's a shared tour with another group, there can be delays at the start if queues back up, but once you're moving, the timing is locked in.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off, both cable car tickets (Morro da Urca and Sugarloaf Mountain), entry to both stops, an air-conditioned vehicle for the panoramic drive past Copacabana Beach, and a tour guide. Infants travel free but must sit on an adult's lap.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by City Rio Turismo

Is this one for you?Right for travelers staying in Rio who want the Sugarloaf views without arranging transport or buying tickets separately. The 8am start means an early pickup, and the tour is shared, so expect to move with a group and plan for potential delays at the beginning.