Fabio

We are always travelling independently (no travel agent) with Brazil Air Pass by TAM (4 coupons from Sao Paulo ). We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids aged 12 and 6 and are going to spend our 15 nights as follows:

5 nights (1 in Manaus and 4 in a Jungle lodge or river cruise)
5 nights (2 in Sao Luiz and 3 in Parc Lencois Maranhenses)
5 nights (4 in Jericoacoara and 1 in Fortaleza )

Luxury is absolutely not a priority.
I need your help and suggestions on lodging:

Jungle Lodge around Manaus: any suggestions on those 5days/4 nights packages from Manaus ? Our priority is birdwatching, pink dolphins, powered canoes excursions.

Parc Lencois Maranhenses: is it correct to be hotel/pousadas based in Barreirinhas and doing day boat trips to the ocean and lagoons from there ? or maybe better to stay in Caburè or Atins ?

Jericoacoara: which hotel/pousada to pick ? how to get there from Fortaleza and return ? bus schedules ?

thank you very much !!

fabio

gypsyluce

hiya, right about manaus i have stayed at the dlphin lodge, a newish lodge opened by a tour leader who had worked for various other lodges and then opened his own. It's called Dolphin lodge exactly because its near a lake where there are many dolhins as they come to feed there. The huts are simple but each has its own bathroom,( a luxury in the amazon) cold water though but nver that cold. The food is simple but good also and the guides and staff are great. Check it out on
www.maiaexpeditions.com
To get to the lodge you go over the meeting of the waters, the 2 rivers and then at other side go for a while by land then by boat again, about 3 hours total. Excellent. have fun and if i can be of any more help let me know.

Fabio

Hi gypsyluce

thank you very much. I am checking into it with Max Maia and await some replies !!
Glad you had a great time there !
My kids would love to be closer to dolphins, monkeys and other wildlife !

Fabio

hi gypsyluce !!

just to let you know that we have booked with Max Maia our 5 days/$ nights stay this august.
I will report once back !!
This lodge is even not listed yet among the others nevertheless we cant wait to be there !!!!

thank you !!

fabio

gypsyluce

hiya, thats great news! Im sure you'll have a great time, what about your plans for the other places? Have you had much success in those ? I'll try and help you if not. Im glad you've been in touch with Max and have organized things. Being further in the amazon you really get the feel for the place rather than being in some of the lodges closer to manaus. Enjoy the meeting of the waters and dont foregt to put your hands in the water as you go over so you can feel the difference in temperature etc. It's amazing.
Have fun, take care and let me know if I can help with anything else.

Fabio

yes I have fixed almost everything.
Due to flight schedule I had to cut some nights somewhere but at the end we will have a good idea of those places and will definitely come back again in the north east.!!!

gypsyluce

Hello!! I am really curious to know how all went at the dolphin lodge, am sure you enjoyed it, just waiting for details from you as to how it went, your opinion etc. Hope you saw loads of wildlife and the weather was good to you. How did you enjoy the rest of your trip ? Looking forward to your reply.

Fabio

Hello !!!

Here I am back home !!

Yes, we had a nice stay at Dolphin Lodge. Mausinho "Mau" (the owner) and his brother were our guides and on the first day we were the only guests at the lodge. Then next day a couple from England arrived and joined our boat and tours.
Accomodation was very basic but we got used to insects and little frogs in our rooms after a while. However beds have protecting nets.
Despite insects repellents on our skins we still have today a lot of bites signs on our legs and feet.
Despite of this we were happy to stay at Dolphin Lodge, very quite place, away from international crowds. We enjoied the scenery, boat tours, canoeing among the deep flooded forests, little channels and lakes.
We could see pink and grey dolphins, caymans at night, monkeys and lots of birds. We could hear birds and animals much more than what we saw but this was already taken into consideration.
It is much easier to see wildlife in Pantanal with larger open places and this is a good reason to come back to Brasil some day !
My wife fished two piranhas, one smaller pink one and a larger black one !
It was planned to eat our grilled "catch of the day" somewhere on the river banks at dinner and so we did !
Our two kids enjoyed the hammocks at the lodge and boat trips.
After 5 dasy we were never tired of the green landscape. It was just like being in Paradise.

Mau is going to get a new power generator to have electricity all day long. Actually it was only working from 6 to 10pm so we had to use our own spot lights during the night in the rooms.
He is also going to have a tower for phone communications. Probably they will build two more bungalows but not more than two.

Staff was friendly. Choice of food was limited but always more than enough. Grilled or fried fish was the highlight of our meals.
Weather was also perfect. We only had a heavy rain the first morning in Manaus but then never again !!
It was hot but never too hot as we were paddling in the shade of the forest. During the nights fan was even not necessary.

At the end I would say that for those who do not look for luxury and are able to adapt themselves easily, that is the place to go !

Also the rest of our trip was awesome. White sand dunes with lagoons at Parque Lencois Maranhenses, near Sao Luiz are simply fantastic. Sao Luiz is also very nice. Jericoacoara a bit disappointing or maybe we had wrong higher expectations. Lagoa Paraiso and Azul near Jeri cannot be compared with Lagoas at Lencois. We definitely preferered those at Lencois !! Even the beach at Jeri is almost not exsisting in the morning due to low tide. The highlight at Jeri is the view from the high dune at sunset.

Thank you very much for your suggestions !

fabio

mag2a

hello,
we go to manaus in october and we are very want to go to dolphin lodge but i can't find the adress or phone number... could you please help me ?

gypsyluce

hiya, here you are, have a look at the site then you can contact them. You'll have a great time i'm sure. Need an y more help let me know.
www.maiaexpeditions.com

mag2a

thank you but maia expedition is an agency and we prefer make a reservation directly (we have familiy in brasilia who could phone for us)... have you a phone number or e-mail for this lodge ?? thank for your help ...

gypsyluce

hiya, this is not an agency, you get through directly to Max Maia and Mau who are joint owners of the lodge and a little guest house they have in Manaus. The lodge is in the middle of the amazon and has no phone, only radio contact, and not much electricty so no email access. Max and Mau also run boat trips down the amazon and to the Parintins festival. Thats why the site looks like an agency.
Here is max's email and also the phone numbers to contact him. Mau is more at the lodge, Max more in Manaus, with the hotel, meeting the passengers and sorting all the boat trips.
Please contact him directly on the following numbers or email.
Mobile: 9983-7141
Phone/Fax: (92) 3613-4683
E-mail: [email protected]
If I can be of any more help please let me know. Have fun. YOu will have a great time there.

mag2a

thank you very much gypsyluce for all these details and your quick response !!! we will contact them soon ... and we hope we can find some place when we'll go at manaus.

msteacher

Just want to mention that today's New York Times had a great article about Amazon lodges on the front page of the Travel section. It mentions several lodges, though not the place I stayed, Acajatuba Lodge, which I highly reccommend. Not real fancy, but clean and comfortable with wonderful guides. Enjoy Brazil!