jennhawk

We are planning a trip to Iguazu, Florionopolis and possibly Buenos Aires or Pantanal next September/October. Our daughter will 3 and a half at the time, and we are trying to decide if taking her to the Pantanal will just be a bad idea for everyone involved. She's generally a good traveler, adjusts well, and has done quite a lot of traveling already. We live in Santiago, Chile, and travel back to the US every year, and we've taken her to southern Patagonia and Rio. What I'm concerned about is whether it will be hours and hours in transport, and whether the mosquitos will be overbearing (I know there will be some). Can you visit there without having to ride in trucks/boats ALL day?

Thanks to any input from people who have already been there!

Diamantina

My husband and I did that exact same trip two years ago in June: Iguazu, Florianopolis, Rio, Buenos Aires and Pantanal (visiting two different lodges, one in Mato Grosso and the other, in Mato Grosso do Sul).
Firstly, there is a wide range of accommodation, from almost luxurious eco-lodges on sprawling fazendas (ranch or farm) to small rustic family-run lodges, to motel style accommodation (such as the Best Western Mato Grosso Pantanal Hotel).
We stayed at Jaguar Ecological Reserve. This was a small, rustic family-run place with just a few rooms right on the the Transpantaneira Highway (this is called a highway, but very few cars travel this road, mostly fishermen headed to the river) about a four hour drive from the city of Cuiaba in Mato Grosso (which is where you would fly into).
The rooms were minimalistic, a few bugs, dim lighting. The food was simple and spartan.
There wasn't a whole lot to do besides walk around the splendidly isolated environs and take nature drives. Yes, this did involve driving around in the jeep for hours. The reward was wonderful wildlife sightings, particularly an abundance of birds, cayman, capybara. It was a bit early in the season for spotting jaguars. We did not see any giant otters or anacondas on our boat trips, either. You can more easily spot foxes, tamanduas, marmosets, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, tapirs, water buffalo (exotic, introduced species), deer, armadillo, peccaries, lots of piranha.
http://www.jaguarreserve.com/location.asp
We stayed here three days and nights, then we flew to Campo Grande in Mato Grosso do Sul and were met by a guide/driver who took us to Caiman Ecological Refuge. This is a huge working cattle ranch that houses three separate lodges (all owned by Caiman Ecological Refuge). The lodges are beautiful. We stayed in Baizinha Lodge, which is next to a lake. It was small and intimate, with just a few rooms. The rooms are not luxurious or spacious, but very nice: comfortable, bright and cheery and with views of the water. Hardly anyone spent much time in their room. This is a place where you want to be outdoors, or, at night, chatting with the other guests at the group dinner table or curled up with a good book on a sofa in the common room.
There was a swimming pool with a gorgeous deck and a recreation room/dining room/common room with stereo, television (which was never in use), comfy couches, and great views. Tea, coffee and the most delicious cookies were always available. Delicious home-style Brazilian meals with ample portions and good variety were served. Again, you spend your days taking long drives in a big jeep to spot wildlife. It is like being on safari. Folks are there to see the wildlife and so you have to drive around to optimize your chances of seeing a wide variety. A drive in the morning, then lunch, then a drive into the late afternoon into early evening. At Caiman, you can also canoe down the river, or ride a horse through the wetlands. I could have spent weeks here (if I were wealthy, that is). The spottings were great, though we didn't see the great numbers of birds that we saw in Mato Grosso, we did see a few giant anteaters with babies on their backs. Some one in our group saw a jaguar as they were arriving.
I would say that your child would probably enjoy the latter rather than the former. But I don't really know how much she would get out of the trip. She would be sitting in a jeep for much of the day, and mostly, you would be pointing out birds to her. Caiman Ecological Refuge is home to the Hyacinth Macaw Project, so you will have a great chance of seeing many of these rare and brilliantly colored endangered birds. (There a quite a few around Jaguar Ecological Reserve, too)
http://www.caiman.com.br/default.aspx?pt=2
The nature guides at both lodges were fantastic.
The Pantanal is a bit hard to get to. You would likely have to fly to Sao Paulo and from there pick up a flight to Cuiaba or Campo Grande. You would probably have to overnight in Cuiaba or Campo Grande and then face a long drive the next day to get to the lodge.
Both lodges we visited cost about the same, a bit pricey. (Then again, the Brazilian currency is quite strong right now, though I do not know how it compares to the Chilean currency.)
There are many other wonderful working fazendas/eco lodges in Pantanal, particularly in Mato Grosso do Sul. I only mentioned the two above because this is where we stayed. I heard some very nice reports about Pousada Xaraes.
A lot of people traveling to the Pantanal out of Campo Grande also spend a couple of days in Bonito (we didn't have time). Whereas, those traveling to the Pantanal out of Cuiaba have a choice of making and additional trip to Chapada dos Guimaraes (which I deeply regret we did not have time for).
We did not encounter any mosquitoes during the day, a few at night. There are other bugs, though...like tarantulas.

msturg

We went last year with a group of friends, and 2 couples had their kids, one being 3, and it was great for them! The tour agency we used asked us what we were looking for, and we said anywhere that has the best chance of seeing animals, and they recommended the Fazenda San Francisco, and they were right. We got to see everything, including jaguars at night (spotted by the spotter with his spotlight) and they have big tour trucks that have stadium style seating at different levels so everyone has a chance to see everything. And at night they give you blankets. Some kids fell asleep and it was great for everyone. Plus that fazenda has a pool and playground.

jennhawk

Thanks for your replies. I think we are leaning heavily towards going to Pantanal instead of Buenos Aires. Playground and a pool would be very helpful. Our daughter, who will be 3 1/2 next September when we would go, is very active, so we just have to find ways for her to burn off energy before and after we ride around for stretches of time.

I am encouraged, now. Thank you!

gshah18

I just got back from Pantanal, and I think its a good place for kids - there are so many animals that there is constant visual stimulation. A couple of the fazendas in the North have swimming pools, so nice for kids to stay entertained in the hot afternoons as well. Bugs were really not bad at all right now.

If you are going to the North, I'd recommend a place near the Pixam river, so that you can add some river rides to your experience. You'll see a lot of animals this way and a 3 year old might enjoy the boat experience.

If you are going to the South, yes, you can go to Fazenda San Francisco. Its an ideal place for kids. We stayed there - I didn't love it because I had something different in mind, but it is very very family friendly, with all sorts of semi-habituated birds around, great safari vans and boats, and a pool.

There will be a couple hours by car in each direction to get anywhere you want to go. No way to avoid that really.

Hope you enjoy. Pantanal is spectacular.