Brazil - Just Jaguars! Traveller Reviews

We went on Naturetreks just jaguars tour hoping to see ........ jaguars! Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that we would see so many, so close and for so long! and that's not to mention the giant otters, tapirs, anteaters, ocelots, caimans and thousands of birds including the beautiful hyacinth macaws. The flotel was fabulous too. Wow just wow!!

Naturetrek are always a pleasure to deal with. Mouthwatering brochure, a huge variety of trips to choose from, excellent customer service, intimate knowledge of the countries and wildlife, knowledgeable tour guides, great places to stay. Need I say more?!

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A trip to the Pantanal to see/photograph Jaguars, The trip exceeded all my expectrations - great wildlife viewing, good lodges and an outstanding guide.

Naturetrek are a very professional organisation. Staff are always pleasant and helpful and the service is second to none.

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Naturetreks Just Jaguars tour to the Pantanal was just excellent. Jaguar encounters on every boat safari looking for them. 8 different cats. Fantastic views and lots of activity - more than ever expected. Not just Jaguars on the river though; plenty of Giant Otter encounters. Lots of bird species including all 5 kingfisher species. Even the nighttime Oscellot showed up. Accommodation was excellent - particularly the Flotel. Food was really Good. Our tour guide, Marco Felix was absolutely outstanding.

Naturetrek are just great at wildlife holidays. Always well arranged and always seem to deliver. If you are a photographer (as I am), and not a birder, some care needs to be taken in picking itineraries but the trips tend to accommodate all guests requirements anyway.

A 10 day wildlife tour through the pantanal in central brazil. Organization and time management as well as the choice of the local tour guide were excellent. We saw many jaguars and a lot of other wildlife as well as tons of birds! A trip of a lifetime!

Naturetrek. Very good communication, very good tour organization.

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It was wonderful to have the opportunity to approach closely an extraordinary diverse range of mammals, reptiles and birds. The organisation of the holiday was first rate and the holiday as a whole was extremely enjoyable.

Naturetrek were extremely helpful in arranging our particular flights for us (different from the Group flights) at a very competitive price. The accommodation provided was totally acceptable given the isolated nature and the tour was arranged so we stayed an appropriate number of nights at each stop. The local guide supplied was extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife. We will certainly be travelling with Naturetrek in the future and would have no hesitation in recommending them to our friends

The trip started inauspiciously with the non-arrival of one our bags at Sao Paulo. Fortunately my wife and I had cross-packed clothes and other items into two bags and we put the incident behind us. The wildlife viewing began as soon as we hit the gravelled Transpantaneira Road with abundant herons, egrets, raptors and kingfishers en route to our first lodge - Pouso Alegre - with a night drive after dinner despite being shattered with hardly any sleep for what seemed two days. The following day consisted of a leisurely early morning walk to the nearby marshes and exploring the countryside in our open-sided safari lorry later in the day. The following morning we set off in our safari lorry to Porto Jofre for the boat ride to the Southwild Jaguar Flotel and joked that by the next day we just might have sighted our first Jaguar. Little did we know that within 30 minutes or so of our first boat trip that afternoon we would encounter not one but two Jaguars and a group of Giant River Otters hunting just a few metres from our boat! In the 4 nights spent at the Flotel we encountered multiple sightings of 8 Jaguars - Roxanne, Tore & Kim (the two brothers), Marley, Hunter, Mick, Nessi and Anne. Our final stop, for three nights, was at the Southwild Pantanal Lodge on the bank of the Pixaim River. We had barely set out on our first river trip when we saw yet another Jaguar which is not common at this location. The Pixaim River is a very tranquil river teeming with herons, egrets and kingfishers and there is never a dull moment especially when an Amazon Kingfisher decides to perch on your boat right in front of you waiting for titbits thrown by the boatman. This lodge also has a night-time platform for viewing Ocelots. On the first night unfortunately we didn't see one but the following night one appeared right on cue. For me, the sighting almost eclipsed the Jaguar sightings it is such a beautiful cat. And then it was time to return home along with our second bag which we now been reunited with and begin sifting through 2000 images. A truly fantastic trip!

Naturetrek is a very professional operator and have honed their trips to perfection. I particularly like the way no time is wasted by spending stopover nights. It's straight in and no messing even though you may be a little short on sleep.

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Everything from start to finish was well organised and ran seamlessly. It was a fantastic itinerary which gave us maximum wildlife viewing opportunities during our stay in the Panatanal

I've travelled with Naturetrek three times and have found them to be extremely friendly, helpful and professional. Nothing is too much trouble and they have always put together good itineraries and have answered my many questions speedily and with really good information

Guide outstanding - Rizardo de Souza e Silva

good

Wonderful wildlife sightings, excellent guide, good accommodation in the heart of the wildlife, small group of like minded travellers

Informative website and broucher. Excellent attention to details. I have travelled with Naturetrek on 3 occasions for wildlife holidays and they have all been unforgettable because of the wonderful opportunities to get up close to nature and the knowledgeable guides.

The holiday was entitled 'Just Jaguars' and it didn't disappoint. 16 sightings of 9 magnificent cats. We had 5 days at 2 lodges and 4 on a beautiful flotel which had sumptuous bedrooms. At this place one night we went to a hide and saw ocelots which are quite small cats, the size of a springer spaniel. For the bird watchers there were dozens to see. My favourite being the quite rare hyacinth macaw. The holiday was made so much better by travelling with such good company.

Naturetrek seem to go to a lot of trouble sourcing the best guides, who knowledge is amazing. There was very little to complain about, a good company.