Pantanal
Brazil
The largest tropical wetland on earth, and the most reliable place to see a wild jaguar
Photo by Nathalia Segato on Unsplash
Photos by Roi Dimor, Sam Power, Juliana e Mariana Amorim and Nathalia Segato on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Brazil
July to October, the dry season
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 210mm in Jan
Where it is
16.74°S, 56.86°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Weeks of it- Stay four nights at least — two on the Transpantaneira for birds and the road, two at Porto Jofre for the jaguars
- Go in the dry season for the animals, when the water shrinks to pools and everything gathers at them; the floods are for the water and the light, with fewer animals in sight
- Spend the full days on the boat at Porto Jofre rather than half days, since jaguars keep their own hours
- Drive the Transpantaneira slowly at dawn, when the bridges are lined with caimans, storks and capybaras
- Look for hyacinth macaws around the lodges on the northern stretch
- Book the boats and rooms at Porto Jofre months ahead for the jaguar season
Pantanal travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Brazil
Very expensiveA Pantanal stay is bought as a package — lodge, meals, guide, boat and the transfer from Cuiabá — and paid in advance, by card or transfer. Agree in writing what is included, because boat hours at Porto Jofre are the expensive part and are sometimes extra. Bring cash for tips, which guides and boatmen expect.
ATMs & cards
There are no machines on the Transpantaneira. Draw what you need for tips and extras in Cuiabá, from Banco do Brasil, Bradesco or Itaú inside a branch or a shopping centre, and decline conversion. Poconé, the last town, has banks but is not the place to discover your card does not work.
Avoid these
- expecting any machine on the Transpantaneira — there are none
Use these instead
- Banco do Brasil
- Bradesco
- Itaú (all in Cuiabá)
Everything is prepaid, so cash is for tips. Draw it in Cuiabá before the drive south.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Brazil
SafeNo crime worth the name, and the risks are animal and sun. Stay in the vehicle or boat when the guide says so, do not walk away from the lodge after dark, and do not swim where the guides do not. The boats have little shade and the dry-season heat reaches the high thirties: a hat, long sleeves and two litres of water. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for Mato Grosso.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Transpantaneira — by day, in a vehicle, with a guide
- Porto Jofre — the lodges, and the boats with a licensed pilot
Worth more attention
- Walking away from the lodge lights at night — caimans on the paths, and jaguars range near some lodges
- Driving the Transpantaneira after dark: cattle, animals on the road and narrow wooden bridges
- Rio Cuiabá — swimming — caimans, piranhas and stingrays in the shallows
- Hours on an open boat in the dry-season heat
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Brazil visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 90 days$80
Brazil reintroduced visas for these three nationalities. It is an e-visa applied for online.
Visa required in advance
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Brazil
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Yellow fever — recommended for most of Brazil including the area around Rio
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
Getting treated
Public emergency care (SUS) is free to everyone including foreigners, but is crowded and slow. Private hospitals in Rio and São Paulo are excellent and expect insurance or payment up front.
Dengue, zika and chikungunya are all present and mosquito-borne — repellent matters. Yellow fever vaccination should be given at least 10 days before arrival.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodYou eat at the lodge, three times a day, and it is ranch food: rice, beans, farofa, beef, and pacu or pintado from the river, grilled or in a stew. In Cuiabá, try maria-isabel, rice cooked with sun-dried beef. Say in advance if you are vegetarian; the lodges cope, but on the second day rather than the first.
Travel tipsGetting around
Car needed- BoltNot here
Nothing to hail. The lodge, or the guide you booked through, does the driving on the Transpantaneira.
Time zone and your working day
America/Cuiaba — the same time as you
8 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–17:00 your time, 09:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 09:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 09:00–17:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Brazil, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Portuguese (Brazilian)
- HelloOi / Oláoy / o-LA
- PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigado / Obrigadao-bree-GA-doo / -da
- Yes / NoSim / Nãoseeng / nowng
4 more phrases
- Excuse meCom licençakong lee-SEN-sa
- How much is it?Quanto custa?KWAN-too KOOS-ta
- The bill, pleaseA conta, por favora KON-ta
- Cheers!Saúde!sa-OO-djee
Softer and more open than European Portuguese, and the de sounds like "dje".
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic and Evangelical
The largest Catholic population in the world, with a fast-growing Evangelical share and Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candomblé and Umbanda practised alongside.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with a kiss on each cheek between women, or a woman and a man; a handshake between men
- Expect physical closeness in conversation — standing back reads as cold
- Arrive late to social invitations; on time is genuinely early
- Learn a few words of Portuguese, and never open in Spanish
Don't
- Do not make the OK sign with finger and thumb — it is obscene here
- Do not walk with a phone visible in the street
- Do not wear obvious jewellery or watches on the beach or in the city
- Do not call Brazilians Hispanic or assume they speak Spanish
Where to stay in Pantanal
No Holistay rentals in Pantanal yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Pantanal on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Marechal Rondon, Cuiabá CGB
3hfrom the airport· 145 km as the crow flies
Three hours to the lodges on the Pixaim: tarmac to Poconé, then the dirt of the Transpantaneira. Porto Jofre is six hours.
Also worth pricing: Campo Grande CGR — for the southern Pantanal around Miranda and the Estrada Parque, which pairs well with Bonito.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
