Historical African oriented City Tour

Trip Advisor only allows you to choose one experience but I did all of them during my week in Salvador. I cannot imagine that my time in both Rio de Janeiro and Bahia would have as rich and impactful without Josuel's in depth knowledge of Afro-Brazilan culture. His thoughtful contextualization made each day better than the last. He and his team are also punctual, thorough and professional which made my group feel secure and very well taken care of. As the kids say, I have no notes. Olufemi Tours is a MUST.

This was my second tour with Oldafemi Tours, and, like the first, it was fantastic. Josuel did an excellent job of informing us about the profound influence of Africa and Afro-Brazilians on shaping Salvador. Personally, I found the history fascinating and insightful, in no small part due to Josuel, a native of Bahia with deep knowledge. I rate this tour and experience a 10 out of 10. Please take this tour. You will not be disappointed.

Josuel led an incredible tour of Salvador's African heritage, showing us museums, historical sites, churches and food that educated and delighted. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning about Afro-Brazilian history and culture.

We had an absolutely incredible time on our Africa Tour in Salvador, and our tour guide, Josuel, made the experience unforgettable. His warmth, knowledge, and passion for the culture brought every moment to life. He made sure we were comfortable, informed, and truly immersed in the history. The island cruise tour was relaxing and great Brazilian food. If you’re visiting Salvador and want a guide who is professional, personable, and truly dedicated to giving you an authentic experience, Josuel is the one! Highly recommend!

Was in Salvador celebrating my 50th! We had an absolutely incredible time on our African Tour, and our tour guide, Josuel, made the experience unforgettable. His warmth, knowledge, and passion for the culture brought every moment to life. He made sure we were comfortable, informed, and truly immersed in the history and beauty around us. We also went on the island cruise which was so much fun. From start to finish, Josuel went above and beyond to make our trip special. If you’re visiting Salvador and want a guide who is professional, personable, and truly dedicated to giving you an authentic experience, Josuel is the one! Highly recommend!

We learned about Salvador’s history and culture. It was a great experience and the lunch stop was delicious. We enjoyed shopping in the Jesus square annd anct bought a few things for home (canvas painting, hand carved cross, etc). Our guide was Josuel, and we highly recommend his service.

I want to let people know about what to expect if they choose to select Olafemi for a tour. In short, I had a very disappointing experience. I was recommended Olafemi by a Brazilian local and paid $410 for two tours, the Historical African Tour and Bahia by Night ($380 + $30 PayPal fees), or $2220 reais. When I first came across Olafemi Tours, I naively thought his costs were a fair price. After speaking with several Brazilian locals, who gawked at the price I paid for two tours––especially two underwhelming tours––I now know $2220 reais is an absurdly high number for these tours. This has come out of the mouth of countless Brazilian locals I’ve spoken with in person and online. Regarding the person who recommended Olafemi Tours to me and the lower price she paid (which was $165 USD), I later learned this person had a GROUP tour with an additional driver provided, and toured with another female guide at Olafemi Tours who actually provided an adequate experience, according to her. I told this person later what I paid for my two tours and she was shocked and confirmed they were unfair, “gringo” prices. I’ve since learned that Josuel claims that my dinner on Tour 1 was $75 USD (or $400 reais), which I find hard to believe. Even if that’s the case, he had to have taken me to one of the most expensive restaurants in Salvador! I don’t know if this is done in effort to justify the padding of the tour’s price, but it still isn’t worth it. The next biggest expense was the $16 USD cost for the Balé Floclórico show for Tour 1. There’s no justifying these prices. Taking a look tour guides in Salvador on TripAdvisor/Viator, Olafemi Tours is one of the most expensive tours available. Even these other highly priced tours are group tours with an additional driver, some with longer tour times. My tour with Josuel Olafemi was 1:1, with Josuel himself as the driver (less work and fewer expenses), yet his prices rival some of these other astronomically-priced tours. This is especially the case when considering the quality of these tours. A large part of the tour was walking side-by-side in silence. A tour is supposed to provide an experience you cannot get touring a place by yourself. Yet, the two were the same. Additionally, there were several aspects about our tour that were unprofessional. There was a significant portion of time spent that was spent, essentially, on running errands, including him stopping by two stores for a drink, him filling up on gas (why is the car not filled up prior to the beginning of our tour?), and looking for parking. Josuel also picked me up late and never apologized or explained why. Yet, he did mention that he had been up late drinking the night prior at a samba show until 2 in the morning. I can’t confirm or not he was hungover, but perhaps that speaks to why the quality of the tour was the way it was. Lastly, one of the most bothersome aspects of our tour was how Josuel repeatedly checked me out when he first picked me up. It was incredibly uncomfortable as a solo female traveler who was now by herself in essentially a stranger’s car and just gross to experience. After the disappointing experience I had, I was especially not interested in spending more time together at Josuel’s offered visit to a Candomblé service visit in the evening (which is not included in the tour nor price). I thanked him for the tours immediately afterward out of politeness and did further research later. I also later realized we were supposed to attend a museum (Afro-Brazilian Museum UFBA) during our tour, but the museum was closed the day we went. (Why are we having the tour on the day the museum is closed nor why is that checked beforehand?) I am posting my review of Olafemi on TripAdvisor––despite booking with him personally via Whatsapp––to alert other people who could book his services on here about the poor time I had.

The African theme tour was my FIRST experience in Salvador and Olafemi Tours did not disappoint me. The places we visited gave me a view of the Diaspora in Bahia that met my expectations.

Highly recommend tour with Josuel Queiroz. His knowledge and passion of Salvador was excellent. The tour was a history lesson.

What a wonderful way to explore Bahia. Josuel, our tour guide, provides a one of kind tour that gives you a great perspective of the African history of Salvador. You'll explore and learn so much about the city. You'll also have fun. Josuel is so personable. He speaks fluent Portuguese and fluent English. You'll appreciate the city and its people so much more after his tour. We'll definitely recommend his tour to anyone we know visiting Bahia. Thanks Josuel.