Just starting to plan a Brazil trip - itinerary help?
 

Hi,

I've just started to plan a trip to Brazil for late September.

We'd like to spend a few days spotting wildlife (Pantanal?), a few visiting a waterfall, and finish the trip on the beach in Bahia.

Does that sound do-able? If anyone can provide a basic, sample itinerary, I'd really appreciate that or any help.

Thanks much.

Pantanal, Chapada dos Guimaraes then Salvador is very doable.

I am still smiling from my Aug 2008 Pantanal trip that included Chapada dos Guimaraes at the end.

For Pantanal you can do Northern, flying into Cuiaba or the Southern Pantanl, flying into Campo Grande. I did Northern, which works well with Chapada dos Guimaraes.

The accommodations that I stayed at were:

Rio Clara
Mato Grosso, a Best Western
Jaguar Lodge
Pousada Allegro

I liked them all. You can do a boat ride on the Pixiam River, which was marvelous for wildlife viewing, from Rio Clara and Mato Grosso.

A little harder to get to was Hotel Baiazinha on the Paraguay River. I saw the most capybaras in the river there and even many jaguars on the banks.

A popular holiday for about 4 nights is Caiman Lodge in Southern Pantanal. I’d like to visit that too someday. It would have fancier accommodations than the places I stayed, though I was very happy with food and lodging everywhere I went.

Have a great trip!

RubyBlue:

If you like nature/eco-vacations Pantanal is a must. It's on a remote area (2h flight from Sao Paulo plus a 4h drive, depending which area of the Pantanal you go to).

"Pousada Caiman" is a top place to stay, with english speaking guides, all inclusive fare. I highly recommend them. More info at: http://www.caiman.com.br/default.aspx?pt=2

September is the end of the dry: good time to see reptiles and mammals.

Regarding "waterfall" you have a couple of choices:
a) most people go for the well known Iguaçu Falls. Bigger than Niagara. Very impressive. It's on the border with Argentina and Paraguai. Make sure you visite the Argentinean side if you choose to go there. You will have to fly there since it's far away from Pantanal or Bahia
b) Bonito
This is a little town (driving distance from Pusada Caiman) where you can see many many small waterfalls in a very bucolic scenery. They have multiple ecological excursions in the area including a couple where you float/snorkel down a couple of rivers, near crystal clean spring waters with multiple types of fishes around you. I’ve snorkeled in Hawaii, Mexico ut let me tell you: this is a VERY UNIQUE experience; because you are at the spring, you can see clearly beyond 30 or 40 feet!! Absolutely worth it. And there are many other options in town: rappel, rafting, caves etc.

Bahia is on my list but I haven’t been there yet. I’d not advice you to go by yourself there if you don’t speak the language and know the area. You’d be better off staying with an excursion group.

If you’d like to see some more info or pictures let me know. I’d be glad to share them with you.

Jose
www.josevigano.com


September is the end of the dry: good time to see reptiles and mammals.

Regarding "waterfall" you have a couple of choices:
a) most people go for the well known Iguaçu Falls. Bigger than Niagara. Very impressive. It's on the border with Argentina and Paraguai. Make sure you visite the Argentinian side if you choose to go there. You will have to fly there since it's far away from Pantanal or Bahia
b) Bonito
This is a little town (driving distance from Pusada Caiman) where you can see many many small waterfalls in a very bucolic scenary

Let us know what you decide, RubyBlue.

Jose, Your name was familiar. I think we both agree that Africa and The Pantanal make for great wildlife viewing and photography opportunities.

Lynn:

We exchanged some messages via this forum some time ago when I was planing my trip to Tanzania. Your tips have been VERY helpful.

More recently I read some usefull suggestions from you on Galapagos (we are probably going next year) and the 11 day cruise.

<b>RubyBlue</b>:

I just posted a <font color="red"><b>selection of pictures from Pantanal</b></font> at:
http://www.josevigano.com/p918138395/

There you'll also find a link to a 17 minute slideshow if you have more time to spare.

Enjoy!!

Again, if you want more tips about Pantanal or Bonito, feel free to ask :-)

Jose'

For Bonito, <b>Jose</b>, what time of year, how long, where did you stay? Can you describe the snorkeling if you went?

Some day we may cross paths. Maybe gorillas in August 2009?

Thanks for the advice. Lynn, I used to read your posts last year when I was planning my trip to Tanzania and lo and behold, here you are again offering advice for Brazil!

I guess the Pantanal must be a popular follow-up trip to an amazing African safari (although I'm quite sure nothing can compare.)

Jose, your photos are gorgeous.

One small moral dilemma: while Pousada Caiman certainly seems like the nicest accommodation in the area, they, like many lodges there, raise beef cattle.

Although I'm not making any judgments on the lifestyle, as a vegetarian I'm not sure I'd be comfortable staying there.

Anyone else in that same predicament?

Lynn:

We are high jacking RubyBlue’s post but… hey… maybe she’ll go to Bonito too…

Regarding Bonito, here’s some information you may find useful:

1) it’s a great combo trip with Pantanal: it’s driving (about 3-4h) distance from southern Pantanal

2) don’t go to the wrong Bonito: here are the Google Earth (GE) coordinates: 21° 7'0.58&quot;S 56°28'10.49&quot;W (just type this in the “fly to” box to “get” there

3) you can visit year round. Summer (Dec/Jan) is warmer then July and is considered high season but a lot of people will visit it during winter when we have the preferred dry season for the nearby Pantanal. The water is colder but all the snorkeling activities are organized with neoprene swimsuits that are included in the packages

4) Bonito is a top destination for eco tourism: you can easily have 5-6 days packed with activities. Take a look at the available tour under www.ygarape.com.br. We used Ygarape Tours for our adventures in Bonito and we were very satisfied with them. Adriana was very helpful (I’m not sure if she’s still there; we dealt with her in 2005).

5) The legislators in the town of Bonito, in order to protect it’s natural resources, instituted some unique mandatory rules for visitors:
a) No sites can be visited by yourself: you have to have a local guide with you all times
b) Tour prices are all pre established by the town
c) There are quotas on how many people can visit each site in a day
Before going there I was outranged with these rules, but after visiting Bonito and going through this unique experiment in Brazil I now think this has proven to be great for both the environment as well as tourists.

6) For transportation while there:
a) you can rent a car or jeep BUT some of the places are very hidden and not well marked so this would not be my 1st choice
b) note that while the tour prices are all fixed by the local authorities, the transportation to/from is not included (and prices do vary quite from agency to agency)
c) our choice was to have a private driver during the day available for the whole week we were there. This is much more affordable than you may think. This guy was not the guide. It’s a local that drives you back and forth and naps while you are in an adventure (and watch your stuff in the car too :-) ). This was the same driver that also picked us up from the Pousada Caiman in the Pantanal and took us back to Campo Grande for us to catch our flight back to S&atilde;o Paulo.

7) You have to go though a local agency to organize your local tours. A few hotels provide this service also.

8) While the Pantanal is a place to “see” stuff, Bonito is a place to “do” stuff: you need to be fit

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions.

Jose
www.josevigano.com

Jose,

That is very helpful for me and hopefully for RubyBlue.

I would not hijack to ask questions about the US, Europe, Africa, etc. but felt that more Bonita info was within the realm of the original question.

The see and do contrast is a good description. I hope more places institute strict rules to protect the environment even if it curtails unrestricted access. If too many people do their own thing in these pristine areas, over time we'll lose them.

When you finalize your plans, RubyBlue, please post them. Then I'd love to know what you saw and did when you get back.

I have some friends currently stationed in Rio and inviting us to spend some time there later this year perhaps during Dec. This thread was quite useful, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find atravelynn online her!

Pantanal - hmm sound interesting! Jose - those pictires really set the mood... the mean caiman, the gorgeous macaws, and wow you do use the back loght superbly!