My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Brazil in July/August. I struggled to find detailed trip reports—especially for Fernando de Noronha (I eventually found some in Portuguese)—so I hope this helps someone!

The main inspiration for this trip was to see jaguars in the Pantanal. Based on weather/seasons, we added Rio and Fernando de Noronha, with a lovely stopover day in Olinda.

Itinerary

July 22: Fly to Rio (via Miami, overnight)

July 23–27: Rio (JW Marriott, Copacabana)

July 27: Fly to Cuiabá (overnight at Amazon Airport Hotel)

July 28–Aug 2: North Pantanal (Pantanal Jaguar Safaris)

Aug 2: Overnight in Cuiabá

Aug 3–5: Olinda (Hotel 7 Colinas)

Aug 5–9: Fernando de Noronha (Pousada do Mirante)

Aug 9–10: Fly home (via São Paulo & Miami, overnight)

I booked flights, hotels, and our Pantanal tour months in advance. Domestic flights on Azul, LATAM, and GOL were inexpensive and all went flawlessly; I chose “premium”/flexible fares so I could change if needed.

We packed carry-on only—tricky with city, beach, safari, heat, rain, and chilly mornings—but we used everything we packed. It was unseasonably rainy in Rio, and 5 AM and night drives in the Pantanal were cold, so my cardigan and rain jacket got a lot of wear and I wish I had had one other warm layer. I was pretty tired of that cardigan by the end of the trip.

A few notes in case you don’t have time to read the long report

-English is rare outside higher-end hotels. I had spent months on Duolingo learning Portuguese, which helped a lot. Google translate is also great; taxi/restaurant/hotel staff mostly didn’t speak any English.

-“Prioridade” boarding: seniors (60+), pregnant women, etc., board first—before first class. You can ask at the boarding gate to see if you qualify.

-Safety in Rio: we stuck to touristed areas, stayed aware, didn’t put ourselves in unsafe situations and never felt unsafe.

-Weather is highly changeable in Rio: plan to go to Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer early in your stay so you can reschedule if needed. Our hotel concierge rebooked our CTR tickets three times (by phone, in Portuguese)! I’m not sure we would have been able to do this ourselves.

-Getting around Rio: Uber is easy/cheap (~$7 most rides). Metro is clean, safe, and simple for hops like Copacabana ↔ Ipanema.

-Pantanal temps: very cold dawns, scorching afternoons. Bring a warm layer (I was so cold I used hotel blankets on night/morning drives), plus a light long-sleeve shirt and wide-brimmed hat for the afternoon sun.

-FDN snorkeling: consider hiring a guide—they know where/when it’s safe and where to find turtles/sharks/rays etc.

-Avoid Transpantaneira hwy at night

-Stock up on bottled water whenever you have the chance. We were surprised that hotels did not provide free drinking water, and the mini-bar water was overpriced.

Trip Report

We flew from Raleigh to Miami and then overnight to Rio. We had a three-hour layover in Miami, but due to flight delays in Raleigh, we almost missed our flight to Rio. With the current state of US air travel, I’ll allow 5 hours before an international connection next time.

Day 1 – Rio

Landed at 8:30 AM; taxi to hotel in Copacabana, arriving by 10:00. Because of safety concerns and wanting to be right on the beach, we stayed at the JW Marriott. It is a class of hotel well above our usual boutique-type places, but the concierge alone was worth its weight in gold. Plus an excellent, huge buffet breakfast. The concierge bought our Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer tickets for that very day as soon as we check in, because it was sunny (CTR ended up rescheduled twice).

We Ubered to Sugarloaf and found a long entrance line despite having tickets. In hindsight, we’d hike to Morro da Urca and take the cable car only for the second stage—but buy tickets before you start; you can’t purchase halfway up. Views from the top are spectacular—green mountains rising straight from the sea, beaches framing the coast—and we spotted marmosets in the surrounding forest. Because the cable car line took so long, we had to skip CTR for that day, so we rode down to the halfway point, and walked the rest (steep but easier than hiking up). The trail down from halfway was a little tricky to find; I ended up asking a security guard in Portuguese, and he pointed us in the right direction.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed a complimentary happy-hour soup and bread (perfect light dinner/snack). Later we walked to Momo Gelato in the Copacabana Palace—maybe the best gelato I’ve had outside Italy. Try the Dubai chocolate bar flavor!

Day 2 – Rio

Weather forced us to stay flexible with our itinerary. We’d planned to spend this whole day in Centro + Santa Teresa, but with CTR moved to this day we went to the Botanical Gardens in the morning. Drizzly but lovely, with a playful troupe of Black Capuchin monkeys. At 12:30 we booked an Uber to CTR; our helpful driver warned us that visibility was zero, so we regrouped and headed back to the hotel and then took the Metro to Ipanema for some shopping instead. The Metro was safe and easy. You can just tap your credit card at the entry turnstile. We had a great time at the giant Havaianas store picking out the perfect flip-flops, but rain cut the rest of our shopping short and we took the Metro back to the hotel.

That night we ate churrasco at Braseiro near the hotel—delicious and so much meat! On the post-dinner walk we stopped at a street market and bought cangas (the perfect Brazil souvenir—skip packing a towel; these are thin, beautiful, and dry instantly).

Day 3 – Rio

We woke to sun, changed CTR tickets again, and went straight after breakfast. By the time we reached the top, fog had swallowed Christ. After ~30 minutes, the clouds lifted; everyone cheered and took turns grabbing photos during the brief window. CTR was a highlight for us, despite the frustrations caused by weather.

We Ubered to Centro for an abbreviated walk: São Bento Monastery → Imperial Palace → Metropolitan Cathedral → Cinelândia → Selarón Steps, with Confeitaria Colombo en route. The only letdown was the huge line for the Royal Portuguese Reading Room, which prevented us from going in. The Selaron Steps were crowded but fun—no big tour groups (no cruise ships!) made the city feel more relaxed. Dinner back in Copacabana at Santo Satisfação was excellent. By evening, it was absolutely pouring—so much for Rio’s usual “1 inch of rain” in July.

Day 4 – Rio

My husband is a birder, and we had scheduled a bird guide to take us to Tijuca Forest. Luckily, it was a sunny day! Our guide was extremely safety conscious and would not even pull the car over at an overlook I wanted to stop at because there were no police present, and there had been a recent “incident”. We had a lovely 5 hour tour of the forest, and my husband saw some birds he was excited about. Back in Copacabana, we finally enjoyed the beach with hotel-provided chairs and towels. For dinner, we had been wanting to try feijoada, which turns out to be only served on Saturdays, so this was our day. We went to Chiquita in Copacabana (our guide’s recommendation)—the feijoada was delicious, and the atmosphere was fun and lively, (and no English spoken).

Day 5 – Rio → Cuiabá

With a couple free hours, we walked the car-free Sunday stretch to Ipanema—walkers, cyclists, roller skaters, dogs, and a great vibe. We left wishing we had a full week in this city.

We flew from Santos Dumont (easy, convenient, and scenic) to São Paulo, then on to Cuiabá on GOL without a hitch. The Amazon Airport Hotel was a treat—beautiful, friendly, excellent breakfast. A Brazil breakfast note: every hotel had a huge buffet—tropical fruit, cakes/pastries, sweets galore (dolce de leche on everything), plus eggs. The surprise star: the cappuccinos. Press a button, and you get a frothy mug of sweet chocolate/cinnamon/milky deliciousness. We usually drink our coffee black at home but happily adapted—our “morning mug of deliciousness.”

Days 6–7 – Pantanal (Piuval Ranch)

Safari time! Pantanal Jaguar Safaris provided an English-speaking private guide (Fabio) and driver. On the Transpantaneira hwy to Piuval Ranch we were excited to see wildlife right away: capybaras (one swam across a pond, then sauntered across the road), caimans, Jabiru storks, parrots, and more.

Piuval is a working cattle ranch turned eco-lodge. The daily schedule: 5:00 AM optional pre-dawn drive; 7:00 breakfast; 7:45–11:30 morning drive; 11:30–3:00 lunch/relax/pool; 3:00–7:00 afternoon into night drive; 7:00 dinner. August sunsets are early; it’s fully dark (and cold) by 6:00. I skipped one night and one dawn drive—too many hours in the jeep and too cold—though blankets from the room helped.

The ranch is lovely, the pool wonderful, food good, rooms comfortable—and the wildlife is fantastic. Highlights: a tame resident capybara herd, more capybaras in the field, howler monkeys, Paraguayan capuchins, toucans, hyacinth macaws, storks, tapirs, a southern tamandua, a crab-eating fox, ocelot and jaguar at night, and—best of all—a Giant Anteater.

Days 8–11 – Pantanal (Porto Jofre)

About 3 hours to Hotel Pantanal Norte in Porto Jofre, spotting birds and caimans from bridges along the Transpantaneira. The lodge has a main dining room, reception, bungalows, and a pool; our bungalow was on the river, and the lodge had a resident capybara herd (and friendly horses) in a beautiful setting adjacent to wetlands This is considered the nicest option in Porto Jofre; we found it very comfortable with good food and excellent service/boat team (only the guides speak English).

Here, safaris were by boat: 5:00 AM breakfast; 5:45 out in the boat; back ~11:30 lunch/pool/R&R; out again ~2:30; return ~5:30; dinner at 7:00. The 20-minute fast boat ride to the jaguar area is freezing at dawn—I wore my warm layer and rain jacket for wind protection; drivers/guides had jackets, hats and buffs. It warms quickly on the river and afternoons were very hot; we wore light long sleeves for sun and packed bug spray for dusk. Between outings we enjoyed the pool and watched the capybara family with four tiny pups. We saw many boats with groups of 6–10 people, but we had a private guide/driver which was lovely.

In 3.5 days, we saw hundreds of caimans (jaguar food), leaping fish schools, capybaras, tons of cool birds like kingfishers/toucans, howler monkeys, Giant River Otters, and about 20 sightings of 11 different jaguars. The boatmen know individuals by name/markings and understand territories/behavior. We watched jaguars stalk, hunt, swim, and lounge—incredibly photogenic. I think it would be safe to say that, in three days on the river, you are guaranteed to see jaguars.

The 6-day safari was grueling—early wake-ups and long days in the elements—but worth it. I wouldn’t do fewer than 2 nights at Piuval and 3 at Porto Jofre.

Day 11 – Back to Cuiabá

Because of a morning flight, we had to return to Cuiabá instead of a 4th night at the lodge. After a half-day river safari and lunch, we left at 3:00 PM hoping to clear the Transpantaneira before dark. Due to numerous stops to photograph birds and general slow going, we didn’t make it. We spent ~1 hour on the Transpantaneira after dark—with no streetlights, no lines, no markers, heavy dust, and low windshield visibility. We were pretty scared and would recommend avoiding the Transpantaneira after dark. Thankfully we reached Cuiabá safe and sound around 8 PM; with an early flight and no dinner, we ate mini-bar nuts and went straight to bed. I would recommend leaving the lodge by 2:00, and arranging for them to pack a meal (I think our tour company should have arranged this for us).

Day 12–13: Olinda

After another fabulous breakfast at the Amazon Airport Hotel, we flew from Cuiabá via São Paulo to Recife, then took a taxi straight to Olinda (20 minutes on a Sunday). By 6:00 PM we were settled at the wonderful Hotel 7 Colinas, which felt like a Bali villa hidden in a colonial town.

Olinda is a delight of cobblestone streets, colorful houses, bougainvillea, red-tile roofs, and endless churches. After a week of wildlife, the culture was a refreshing change. Some sites close on odd days, so we missed the Museum of Sacred Art, but simply wandering was rewarding. The Convento de São Francisco, with its intricate Portuguese tilework and lovely cloister, was the highlight for us. After a hot day of exploring, the hotel pool was perfect.

Day 14: to Fernando de Noronha

We allowed an hour to get to the airport—which ended up being wise, since weekday Recife traffic was brutal—and caught our 1.5-hour flight to Fernando de Noronha (FDN). On arrival, you must pay an Environmental Tax (we tried but were unable to pay this in advance online. The park pass, which is different, was successfully purchased online before our trip). Get off the plane quickly; the line builds fast. Luckily, we were among the first off.

Our hotel, Pousada do Mirante, sent a car, and within 10 minutes we were settled into our lovely pousada. We immediately changed into our bathing suits and hit Boldró Beach, which has an access just across from the hotel. Bring cash for chairs/umbrellas (70–100 Reais per set; we were short on cash and I had to negotiate with the very laid-back “chair guy” in Portuguese). The sand was soft, water crystal-clear, and the sunset…well, we missed the “real” colors that appear 20 minutes after sundown. Lesson learned! Dinner back at the hotel—a perfect sesame-crusted tuna. We requested salad instead of rice and potatoes, which seem to accompany everything, and this was one of our best meals in Brazil.

Day 15: Island Tour & Snorkeling

Our hotel arranged a private island tour with Agua Marinha. Agata (English-speaking) and her husband Loro (biologist) were fabulous, and I highly recommend taking an island tour your first day for orientation. Our stops included:

Cacimba do Padre & Baía dos Porcos – dramatic volcanic scenery, turquoise pools, and picture postcard photos.

Sueste & Leão Beaches – closed for swimming but beautiful, full of birds and sharks.

Porto Beach – fantastic snorkeling!

This was a highlight of our trip: we swam among 20+ sea turtles (mostly Green, at least one Hawksbill), a nurse shark by a shipwreck, and plenty of fish. Agata even taught me how to dive down for photos and captured great GoPro footage. We ended with a hike above Sancho Bay and birdwatching before stocking up on water and snacks at a local shop. As with our lodges in the Pantanal, this hotel did not provide bottled water (well, they provided it, but charged for it).

Day 16: Hawaiian Canoe & Sancho Bay

Through the hotel, we signed up for Hawaiian canoe excursion from Porto—an excellent way to see the dolphins (I get seasick, so avoided the boat tours). We were placed with a lovely Italian family who spoke English, and after a few false starts, we eventually made sense of our Portuguese – only guide’s rowing instructions and had a fabulous excursion. We paddled out among spinner dolphins leaping beside us, then snorkeled off Conceição Beach (more turtles and even a ray). Highly recommend!

In the afternoon, we visited Sancho Bay, repeatedly named “Most Beautiful Beach in the World.” Access is via two narrow ladders through a rock crevasse plus a long staircase. The beach is pristine, uncrowded (we saw maybe 50 people total), and has no infrastructure. We snorkeled a bit, spotting a hawksbill turtle and schools of sardines, then walked the scenic Golfinho Trail before returning for pizza near our hotel.

Day 17: Birthday in Paradise

Today was my birthday, and we headed to Cacimba do Padre & Baía dos Porcos again, my personal favorite spot, framed by the twin “Dois Irmãos” rocks and turquoise pools. Facilities are limited, but chairs/umbrellas are available. Snorkeling was decent—some fish and a ray—but visibility was not great. We seemed to have bad weather luck, and the water was much more choppy than it “should” be in August.

In the afternoon, we explored Vila dos Remédios: the fort, church, palace, and shops. Dinner at O Pico was delicious (again negotiating veggies instead of rice/potatoes). Back at the hotel, the wonderful staff had decorated our room with bougainvillea and surprised me with a dulce de leche birthday cake. They were truly outstanding.

Day 18: Last Day & Departure

With a late flight, we spent the morning snorkeling between Conceição and Meio Beaches—supposedly one of the best spots to see rays, sharks, turtles, and lobsters. Unfortunately, waves were rough and visibility poor; we saw virtually nothing, and in our determination, we made the mistake of going out too far / too long, and then trying to exit on the rocks. We were tossed hard by the surf, badly cut up, and lucky to scramble ashore. Definitely a cautionary tale: don’t underestimate FDN’s surf, even in the “good season”.

Despite that scare, we enjoyed our last beach morning, then packed up, took the hotel shuttle to the airport, and caught the first of our four flights towards home. The journey home went smoothly: FDN–Recife–São Paulo–Miami–Raleigh, with all tight connections miraculously making it.

A few thoughts about Fernando de Noronha: The “magical island paradise” is indeed magical in its pristine, uncrowded beaches, clear turquoise water, and marine life, but infrastructure lags behind: dirt roads, constant construction, no sidewalks. It is impossible or unpleasant to walk anywhere outside of Villa dos Remedios and a taxi ride to basically any part of the island is about $10. We have snorkeled in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Indonesia (which was truly spectacular), so we might be spoiled, but everything I read about FDN promised truly exceptional snorkeling, and that just wasn’t our experience (other than the turtles at Porto). Bad weather luck surely played a role, but the absence of coral reefs must also be a factor. The soft sandy-bottomed beaches are lovely to walk on, but don’t offer a ton of marine life diversity. Also, Sueste and Atalaia beaches were both closed, and I understand they are probably the top snorkeling spots on the island. FDN is also very expensive, so given everything, I have mixed feelings about it. However, given my tendency to forget the bad and idealize the good parts of every trip, I’m sure that my memories of FDN will be all about golden beaches, lack of crowds, turquoise water and sea turtles

Thanks for posting such in detail. This is very helpful. We have travelled extensively in South America but never Brazil which is one of the options on our list for next year.

Thank you so much! We will be in Rio in the middle of November, and your report is very helpful!

Wow, I really appreciate the thorough report! It’s really helpful—especially the advice on Fernando de Noronha and the Pantanal. I’ve wanted to explore Brazil with a focus on wildlife, and learning about your jaguar experiences, guides, routine, etc., really gives me an idea of what to anticipate in terms of our capabilities.

A few things I wrote down for future travelers: the advice to pack layers for the Pantanal and the advice to be ready for turbulent weather in Rio are golden. Additionally, your hesitance regarding snorkeling in FDN was good feedback—I have seen such incredible accounts, experiences, etc., so it’s good to know that the weather and closures could make or break that experience.

I also really liked the smaller, more practical tips, such as Uber vs. taxis, first boarding, and having a stocked supply of bottled water. These tips absolutely could make or break a trip. Thanks so much for sharing such an honest, very complete account; this definitely had me rethink my plans as well!

What a great and thorough document! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The notes about the logistics in the Pantanal, especially the daily rhythm, were especially useful — most reports say something like, "We saw jaguars," but your thorough notes about timeliness and avoiding night driving, and the wide pendulum of temperatures in a day, were very helpful to bringing it to life.

I also appreciate the honest commentary on Fernando de Noronha — I've been deliberating including it on a future trip and your perspective on the snorkelling and infrastructure are valuable for thoughts. I think it sounds beautiful, but one step better for beach lovers rather than divers.

Either way, thank you so much for writing all this down — I di not have a trip to Brazil planned, but I will bookmark for when I plan my Brazil itinerary!

Wonderful TR, thank you! We are seriously considering a Pantanal tour next summer, and trying hard to decide which one to pick. Should we try to mix southern and northern Pantanal? Or stick with Northern only, for jaguars? Did you see giant anteaters and tapirs? Those are high on my list. Is 4 nights enough for jaguars? One tour has 6, but maybe that's too many?
Can you please share contact details for the birding guide in Rio? Thank you.

Thx for the trip report. I tried to talk my husband into the Pantanal on a trip to Brazil last year but he balked at the cost. I was more interested in seeing a giant anteater than a jaguar, but would have happily looked for both. Maybe next trip.

ljturco, thank you for your very informative and interesting trip report. I have a question. Was it difficult/stressful applying for the eVisa for Brazil? My husband and I are seriously considering a trip to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile sometime in 2027, most likely March or April. In doing some preliminary research, I have read on several travel forums (not Fodors) that people have had difficulty getting the eVisa. They follow instructions, but they have been rejected many times, usually for not getting the photo correct, or the passport page isn't clear enough. Was that your experience? Did you apply through the Brazilian government or through a visa service agency in the US? I appreciate any helpful hints.
Thank you!

Hi all,
Thank you so much for your responses. For some reason, I wasn't notified about any of them, so I'm just seeing them now. Apologies!

KarenWoo - you saw my private message, but for others, we did not have any trouble with the e-visa. We found the instructions easy to follow, the photo-taking and cropping system worked great, and we had our visas in a week.

Nikonejames - I understand that the diving is actually phenomenal. I wish we were divers, but we were limited to snorkeling. Everyone there told us that the diving is really where it's at, so I would encourage you to pursue that if it's something you're considering.

xyz99 - We stuck to Northern Pantanal because I really wanted a "guarantee" that I would see jaguars. I don't love tromping around from dawn til dusk in somewhat less-than-comfortable conditions, but I will gladly do it if I am going to see the thing I went to see (eg orangutans in Sumatra, gorillas in Uganda etc). This was the case in N. Pantanal. I don't think you could NOT see jaguars there. We also saw a giant anteater, which was very exciting, and a tamandua (smaller ant-eater like the ones in Costa Rica). My husband saw two tapirs on one of the nigh drives (that I skipped). Also a crab-eating fox and ocelot at night. When you do a N. Pantanal safari, you spend 2 days at a "ranch" and then 3 days in the wetland, and the ranch is really fabulous for the non-jaguar animals. The wetland was a Mecca for jaguars and capybaras (which kind of stole the show). I believe that in S. Pantanal, you might see different animals, but less of a guarantee to see jaguars.