Pantanal by my own (1 Viewer)

[Glimmer]

Hi guys..

Asking for prices for a week combining Pantanal and Porto Jofre, they are very high for me. Is it possible to rent a car in Cuiaba and go to Porto Jofre, sleep in a cheap guest house and book there a tour for the jaguar and the arara?

If not, which company or agency do you recommend?

 

[sclateria]

Hi guys..

Asking for prices for a week combining Pantanal and Porto Jofre, they are very high for me. Is it possible to rent a car in Cuiaba and go to Porto Jofre, sleep in a cheap guest house and book there a tour for the jaguar and the arara?

If not, which company or agency do you recommend?

Hi Glimmer,

You can certainly rent a car in Cuiabá and bird the Transpantaneira productively, although during the dry season the dust can be an annoyance. The best birding is off the "highway" on the private properties of lodges like Pousada Piuval, Pouso Alegre, Pousada Rio Claro, Araras Lodge, Fazenda Santa Tereza (now Southwild Pantanal) and the Hotel Mato Grosso at the bridge over the Pixaim river.

There is a useful article by James Loewen and Giuliano Bernardon (of Birding Pantanal) in Neotropical Birding volume 6, covering the Transpantaneira. Definitely worth tracking down!

With respect to Porto Jofre, there aren't many accommodation options there. The village consists of the large Hotel Pantanal Norte (mostly known simply as Hotel Porto Jofre), two more recently constructed camps, and an older campground/pousada, in addition to two or three fishermens' houses. As such I wouldn't recommend trying to show up without a reservation, as these places are likely to be packed during the high season (July to the end of September). Some of the lodges along the Transpantaneira (including Piuval and Araras Lodge) offer day trips to look for jaguars, though you wouldn't have as much time on the river as you would if you stayed at Porto Jofre itself.

Reliable operators include Birding Pantanal, Pantanal Trackers, Pantanal Bird Club, and Biodiverse Brazil Tours. There are other good companies out there too, this was just a short list off the top of my head.

 

[Glimmer]

Hi Glimmer,

You can certainly rent a car in Cuiabá and bird the Transpantaneira productively, although during the dry season the dust can be an annoyance. The best birding is off the "highway" on the private properties of lodges like Pousada Piuval, Pouso Alegre, Pousada Rio Claro, Araras Lodge, Fazenda Santa Tereza (now Southwild Pantanal) and the Hotel Mato Grosso at the bridge over the Pixaim river.

There is a useful article by James Loewen and Giuliano Bernardon (of Birding Pantanal) in Neotropical Birding volume 6, covering the Transpantaneira. Definitely worth tracking down!

With respect to Porto Jofre, there aren't many accommodation options there. The village consists of the large Hotel Pantanal Norte (mostly known simply as Hotel Porto Jofre), two more recently constructed camps, and an older campground/pousada, in addition to two or three fishermens' houses. As such I wouldn't recommend trying to show up without a reservation, as these places are likely to be packed during the high season (July to the end of September). Some of the lodges along the Transpantaneira (including Piuval and Araras Lodge) offer day trips to look for jaguars, though you wouldn't have as much time on the river as you would if you stayed at Porto Jofre itself.

Reliable operators include Birding Pantanal, Pantanal Trackers, Pantanal Bird Club, and Biodiverse Brazil Tours. There are other good companies out there too, this was just a short list off the top of my head.

Many thanks!

I read somewhere that you need a permit to drive along Traspantenaneira, dou you know is it true?

I will go in August... and certainly jaguar and blue arara are my targets, so dou you think three nights at a lodge as Pousada Piuval f.i. and three in Porto Jofre will be OK? I will look the cheapest alternative unless you recommend one that worths...

Many thank again, very appreciated

 

[sclateria]

Many thanks!

I read somewhere that you need a permit to drive along Traspantenaneira, dou you know is it true?

This is a contentious issue. You most certainly do not need any sort of permit to drive on the Transpantaneira, as it is a public road. However, in the past few years certain members of the local guides' union have mobilized in an attempt to clamp down on groups traveling down the Transpantaneira without a certified local guide. Apparently this has extended to unpleasant behaviour bordering on harassment, with reports of groups being confronted by these people, threatening to turn them in to the police if they did not immediately hire a certified local guide.

I don't think you will have any problems as a solo traveler.

The Hyacinth Macaws are easy to find at a number of lodges including Pousada Piuval, Araras Lodge, the Jaguar Ecological Reserve and Hotel Porto Jofre. They can also be found reliably at several spots along the Transpantaneira itself.

 

[MtAdventure]

This is a contentious issue. You most certainly do not need any sort of permit to drive on the Transpantaneira, as it is a public road. However, in the past few years certain members of the local guides' union have mobilized in an attempt to clamp down on groups traveling down the Transpantaneira without a certified local guide. Apparently this has extended to unpleasant behaviour bordering on harassment, with reports of groups being confronted by these people, threatening to turn them in to the police if they did not immediately hire a certified local guide.

I don't think you will have any problems as a solo traveler.

The Hyacinth Macaws are easy to find at a number of lodges including Pousada Piuval, Araras Lodge, the Jaguar Ecological Reserve and Hotel Porto Jofre. They can also be found reliably at several spots along the Transpantaneira itself.

I would mention the Pouso Alegre lodge as well, where, in addition to hyacinth macaws, you can have the chance to spot toco toucans, chestnut-eared aracari and crested oropendolas early in the morning. :t: