Pantanal, Brazil (1 Viewer)

[thyoloalethe]

I'm looking to set up a trip to the Pantanal (Mato Grosso, Brazil) this fall with Birding Pantanal. I have no firm dates yet--sometime in September or October, and while October is preferable (the largest numbers of species occur then), I can't do the first week of October. The trip would be a total of 10 days in the Pantanal and Chapada dos Guimarães north of Cuiabá. A full day would be devoted to searching for Jaguars. The prices I've been quoted are as follows:

On a private group of 2 people: USD 4.790/person, on double occupancy.
On a private group of 3 and 4 people: USD 4.390/person, on double occupancy.
On a private group of 5 people: USD 3.990/person, on double occupancy.
On a private group of 6 to 8 people: USD 3.490/person, on double occupancy.
Single Occupancy Supplement Fee: USD 740.

Note that the prices may change, especially depending on the exchange rate with the Brazilian Real. Six people would be ideal, but I'd be willing to go with more or fewer.

I'm also hoping to do about 4 days at Iguazu Falls, mostly on the Argentine side, either before or after. I don't yet have a quote on that portion though, and it will depend on whether or not a guide is available there at the time.

If there's any interest, let me know. I have a proposed itinerary I can share. If there's not enough interest this year I may put it off until 2024.

Cheers
Liam

 

[simmojunior]

Given how easy it is to self drive and to find birds on the route you plan, why such a ridiculous price?

 

[mikejf]

Given how easy it is to self drive and to find birds on the route you plan, why such a ridiculous price?

Birding Pantanal has to make a profit. Its still cheaper than a UK / US tour company and you will get more birds, less ID headaches, no logistics problems, no language issues and an all round stress free break.

 

[Pash44]

Pantanal is fabulous but as simmojunior says, it is one of the easiest places I have ever birded and logistics are very straightforward. You drive south on the Transpantaneria until you hit Porto Jofre and then you turn round and come back! I did a birds and mammals trip last year with my wife and hired a specialist bird guide in Chapada for a couple of days but we did all the rest with a naturalist driver/guide from North Pantanal Safaris, who organised all the accommodations and did 2 days of private jaguar safaris (saw 9 jaguars) at Porto Jofre in his own boat. Cost pre person for 2 people with a bespoke itinerary was less than half of what you are being quoted for 2 people and if you were 4 the only additional cost would be an extra room/food.

I couldn't recommend Fernando highly enough - he was honest enough before to tell me that he didn't know all the bird calls (although he knew 80% of them) so he organised the Chapada specialist and we didn't miss a single target anywhere. My review below

Amazing Wildlife Safari - Review of North Pantanal Safari, Cuiaba, Brazil - Tripadvisor

North Pantanal Safari: Amazing Wildlife Safari - See 24 traveler reviews, 78 candid photos, and great deals for Cuiaba, MT, at Tripadvisor.

www.tripadvisor.com

If you don't want to do it all on your own, this is a great alternative option.

Cheers

 

[thyoloalethe]

Pantanal is fabulous but as simmojunior says, it is one of the easiest places I have ever birded and logistics are very straightforward. You drive south on the Transpantaneria until you hit Porto Jofre and then you turn round and come back! I did a birds and mammals trip last year with my wife and hired a specialist bird guide in Chapada for a couple of days but we did all the rest with a naturalist driver/guide from North Pantanal Safaris, who organised all the accommodations and did 2 days of private jaguar safaris (saw 9 jaguars) at Porto Jofre in his own boat. Cost pre person for 2 people with a bespoke itinerary was less than half of what you are being quoted for 2 people and if you were 4 the only additional cost would be an extra room/food.

I couldn't recommend Fernando highly enough - he was honest enough before to tell me that he didn't know all the bird calls (although he knew 80% of them) so he organised the Chapada specialist and we didn't miss a single target anywhere. My review below

Amazing Wildlife Safari - Review of North Pantanal Safari, Cuiaba, Brazil - Tripadvisor

North Pantanal Safari: Amazing Wildlife Safari - See 24 traveler reviews, 78 candid photos, and great deals for Cuiaba, MT, at Tripadvisor.

www.tripadvisor.com

If you don't want to do it all on your own, this is a great alternative option.

Cheers

Thanks! Sounds like a decent outfit. I'll keep them in mind, although I'm not entirely convinced that they'll be able to get me some of my targets or be able to identify all the LBJs, since they don't appear to be particularly bird-specialized. If I were to do it all on my own I'd prefer to have some working knowledge of Portuguese--and in any case I'm liable to miss some things.

If you don't mind me asking, which (if any) of the following did you miss?

Zigzag Heron
Red-legged Seriema
Hyacinth Macaw
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
Tinamou sp. (any)
Potoo sp. (any)
Sungrebe
Amazonian Motmot
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
White-eared Puffbird
Spot-backed Puffbird
Coal-crested Finch

Cheers

 

[simmojunior]

Thanks! Sounds like a decent outfit. I'll keep them in mind, although I'm not entirely convinced that they'll be able to get me some of my targets or be able to identify all the LBJs, since they don't appear to be particularly bird-specialized. If I were to do it all on my own I'd prefer to have some working knowledge of Portuguese--and in any case I'm liable to miss some things.

If you don't mind me asking, which (if any) of the following did you miss?

Zigzag Heron
Red-legged Seriema
Hyacinth Macaw
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
Tinamou sp. (any)
Potoo sp. (any)
Sungrebe
Amazonian Motmot
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
White-eared Puffbird
Spot-backed Puffbird
Coal-crested Finch

Cheers

Of these, we missed Zigzag Heron as we didn't try as we used our one night in Mato Grosso River area to successfully target Ocelot. We also didn't see Spot-backed Puffbird on your route as one afternoon of 1.5 days at Chapada was shrouded in fog - we saw it later on our trip at Pompeu. We saw 2 Tinamous (Undulated - very common - and Tataupa) and 2 Potoos (Great and Common).

 

[simmojunior]

Of these, we missed Zigzag Heron as we didn't try as we used our one night in Mato Grosso River area to successfully target Ocelot. We also didn't see Spot-backed Puffbird on your route as one afternoon of 1.5 days at Chapada was shrouded in fog - we saw it later on our trip at Pompeu. We saw 2 Tinamous (Undulated - very common - and Tataupa) and 2 Potoos (Great and Common).

By the way, none of us could speak Portuguese although I can speak Spanish. It wasn't a major problem though communicating with boat driver that we wanted to go back early (as we'd seen loads of jaguars) was a bit tricky.

 

[simmojunior]

You may find our report helpful: Independent Brazil August 2022: Chapada, Pantanal, Pompeu, Canastra & Campos do Jordao

 

[thyoloalethe]

You may find our report helpful: Independent Brazil August 2022: Chapada, Pantanal, Pompeu, Canastra & Campos do Jordao

Thanks--looks like you did really well. I'll go through your ebird checklists more carefully when I get a chance.