Top 8 Historical Tours in Salvador

1.Salvador Historic Walking Tour – Pelourinho

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 62 reviews Our pick

2.5-hour walk through Salvador and Pelourinho, from Rio Branco Palace and Lacerda Elevator to UNESCO streets and São Francisco church.

“The tour was a leisurely stroll around the beautiful Pelourinho neighborhood. The guide shared interesting information about the history and culture of Salvador and its inhabitants. While I enjoyed the tour, it felt like it could have been more substantive in the number of sights covered. Also the cost felt too high — possibly double the value of the tour as it structured at present.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Historical African oriented City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 52 reviews · 5 to 6 hours (approx.) · from $190Top rated

Half-day African heritage tour in Salvador da Bahia: black church, Afro-Brazilian museum, Dique de Tororo, Lacerda and Pelourinho.

“Andres was very knowledgeable and an excellent tour guide- he seemed to know everyone in Salvador! He brought the stories and the things we saw to life through his vivid descriptions. Great tour guide!”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Full-Day Historic Private City Tour of Salvador with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $170

Private full-day tour of Salvador with lunch, guided stops at Bonfim, Pelourinho, Cathedral, Lacerda Elevator, and historic views.

“Andre was our guide and he was awesome. I have some physical issues and he was kind, knowledgeable and flexible. We loved every minute and would recommend this to anyone.”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Full City Tour Historic and Panoramic

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $180

See Salvador’s top sights in 8 hours, with A/C comfort, expert guiding, big-photo views, and time in Pelourinho, Bonfim, Mercado Modelo, and more.

“Marcus was excellent!! Very knowledgeable on the history. This tour takes the full 8 hours ( with lunch) well worth the day!”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Private Historical Tour 5 hours

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 19 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $171

A 5-hour private historical tour of Salvador da Bahia with an air-conditioned ride, guided walks, and key landmarks like São Francisco Church.

“Very interesting tour. A great experience with our guide Joao Luz who gave us a lot of informations about the history and culture of Salvador and Bahia. It has been a pleasure to visit together the most interesting part of the city, having the chance to learn a lot about the origin and traditions of the local people. Highly recommended!!”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Salvador African Heritage Private City Tour Including Afro Museum

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 18 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $110

Private 4-hour Salvador tour on African heritage, featuring UNESCO Pelourinho, the Church of the Rosary of the Black People, Benin House, and Afro Brasileiro Museum.

“Stepping into that church will always stay on my mind forever! Also listening to the guide describing the story of the religious statues in the lake moved me. I will definitely come back for a longer visit.”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Historic City Tour in Salvador

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 17 reviews · 4 hours · from $24Best value

4-hour Salvador tour: Barra Lighthouse, Lacerda Elevator bay views, Pelô and Pelourinho UNESCO. Hotel pickup plus multilingual guide.

“We made this reservation for a tour in Spanish. But everyone else on the tour was Portuguese - so we were the only spanish-speaking people on the bus. Then the tour guide told us he would do the tour in Portuguese, but with a few short pieces of information in Spanish. We were also disappointed that most of the historic sites were "drive-by" or "walk-by" (without time to enter). So by the end of the tour, we really learned very little about Salvador de Bahia.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Quilombo Heritage Daytrip with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 3 reviews · 8 hours · from $170

A small-group daytrip from Salvador to a Quilombola community in Bahia Recôncavo, with manioc flour making, lunch, and colonial Cachoeira.

“The tour guide was absolutely excellent and extremely knowledgeable but I felt like for the price and activities we did at the Quilombo the tour was a bit of a disappointment. The activities and things were just a few basic demonstrations which I felt like was not much for the price. This was the cheapest Quilombo tour I found though so make that what you will.”

Check availability →Read our full review