Brazil - Just Jaguars! Traveller Reviews

Travelled to the Pantanal with Naturetrek organising the whole itinerary! We spent a night at the Santa THERESA Lodge and then onto the Flotel on the Cuiaba River! I was almost guaranteed seeing what I went to the Panatanal for and that was seeing the jaguar! We saw 8 sightings of 6 different jaguar - exhilarating ! The accommodation and food was very good and so was our guide! He was extremely knowledgable and knew the area and another great interest of mine - birds. I would definitely go back to the Pantanal and definitely use Naturetrek again - Dan Free and the whole staff were outstanding!

I pretty much summed it up previously

well organised .Obviously lot travelling to reach the Pantanal.Good accomm and food.Excellent knowlegible guide.Good sitings 130 birds ,Jaguars ocalot great and small anteaters,tapir.deer sps,fox,agouti,coati.capybara.giant otters,caiman,lizard spss.Very few insects some beautiful butterflies.staff everywhere efficient and friendly small friendly group.

good .supply lot information and advice before holiday and happily answer any queries about suitability.Get good follow up as well.

Both holidays - Amazon Wildlife Cruise and Brazilian Pantanal Just Jaguars were fantastic. I enjoyed every second. The cornucopia of bird life and animals was astounding, enhanced due to the experience and vast knowledge of our guides Paulo in the Amazon and Fiorella in the Pantanal. The accommodation on the boat on the Amazon was basic but was clean and comfortable and that was all that was required. Food was good and plenty of it. Accommodation in the Pantanal was good as was the food. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. On our last evening after a trip on the river we were treated to a sundowner with lots of little nibbles all nicely laid out on a table on the riverbank - bliss. My time in Brazil has been the best experience of my life the only thing I did'nt like was having to leave it all behind and go home. I'll be back!

Very helpful and friendly throughout the whole booking experience. Would use them again.

We took an Amazon Cruise with Naturetrek and followed it up with a Just Jaguars tour(also with Naturetrek) in the Pantanal. Both experiences were fantastic - the Amazon Cruise highlighted the remoteness of upstream River Negro whilst the Jaguar tour allowed us to see 5 different jaguars and 2 ocelots. The Naturetrek guides from South Wild were extremely knowledgeable and the food and accommodation were good.

Naturetrek - the first time we have used and can thoroughly recommend the 2 tours that we experienced. All the flights were punctual apart from our last flight home from Heathrow to Glasgow which was delayed by over 3 hours. The tours had been well thought out to provide more than possible (verging on almost certain) chances to see certain elusive wildlife. Altogether much more wildlife seen than we expected!! On arrival home, Naturetrek organised a Dropbox to allow our Amazon Cruise fellow travellers the opportunity to share their images.

As an avid wildlife and birding enthusiast I was attracted to the Naturetrek 'Just Jaguars' tour to Central Brazil's Mato Grosso and added an extension to the World renowned Falls at Iguazu in Argentina suggested by our tour operator.

Having chosen Naturetrek for several previous holidays we expected and received the highest standards of organisation and facilities for our chosen destination. They organise the most suitable flights and accommodation and ensure that highly competent professional guides are appointed at the destination to ensure that we get the very most in terms of comfort and achievement on our holidays. Where appropriate they also ensure that we are aware of possible short extensions to enhance our experience having travelled some distance to the primary destination.

The primary focus was viewing mammals and jaguars in particular in the Pantanal region in Brazil. The holiday absolutely lived up to expectations with very good sightings of Jaguar on every day we were in the main jaguar 'hotspot' and good wildlife and bird viewing at the other locations. Given the constraints of location (a long way on unmade roads from the nearest large town) I was also impressed by the amount of fresh fruit and salad available for meals.

Naturetrek specialise in wildlife experiences. This is my 3rd holiday with them and I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in animals/birds and the environment around them. I think they do as much as they can to manage expectations about facilities and sightings but I have not been disappointed on any of the trips I have done.

This was a small group tour to the Pantanal in October. We stayed in 2 lodges and a floating hotel over a period of 10 days and saw lots animals, birds, reptiles and insects. The main highlight was seeing over 12 jaguars by the river but we were also thrilled to see rheas, an ocelot, tapirs, anaconda, river otters and hyacinth macaws. We have the most amazing photos to help us remember it all.

The holiday was extremely well-planned, including lots of helpful information provided beforehand on what to pack and what to expect. The guide, who was with us during the whole of our stay, was really knowledgeable about the wildlife of the area and knew where best to find the more unusual wildlife such as marmosets and tree porcupines and pottoos (birds).

The particular holiday was Just Jaguars.... and when you go on a true safari type holiday where the animals are really wild, there is some inevitable scepticism about what is advertised and what you actually see. But that is the nature of wildlife holidays in general. Naturetrek had obviously done their research and found just about the best place in the world to view these stunning big cats and we were not disappointed. In the four days we were at the Jaguar Flotel we had 12 sightings and probably 8 different jaguars. This place was a Garden of Eden; the variety of birds was amazing, with caiman, giant river otters and many other mammal and reptilian species to fill up the day. We stayed at 3 centres overall, all having their own specialities, such as hyancinth macaws, the rare ocelot and even a tapir or two. Our full time guide, Marcos Felix, was simply outstanding in all respects. His knowledge of wildlife in general is vast, and his natural charm and good humour was evident the entire holiday, and even when he had to deal with unplanned events he was very professional. Naturetrek will be wise to keep his services.

Naturetrek and their staff, both office and in the field have been exemplary. Unlike a number of operators we have experinced, they actually care whether you have enjoyed your holiday. They asked for feedback and appreciated the constructive comments we made. My wife and I cannot fault them for organisation and customer service.

Excellent itinerary to the Pantanal in Brazil. Staying at three locations, one being the brilliant 'Flotel' on the river. More sightings of Jaguar than we could have wished for. We were lucky to see 8 different cats on 14 occasions over the course of the holiday, including a mating pair and a hunt of some capybara. Lodges used were very good, the food plentiful and tasty and the guides brilliant. Thoroughly worth the money paid for the trip, a wonderful wildlife experience.

Excellent pre-booking information that was accurate and honest. Good service to add extension to main trip. Guides were excellent. Itinerary well thought out and paced about right. Vehicles and vessels used very good standard.

A wildlife dream tour to a remarkable area of the World. Not only did we see eight different Jaguars on fourteen different occasions, we saw three different families of Giant Otters, four Brazilian Tapirs, a Giant Anteater and literally hundreds of bird species. Marsh Deer, Coatis, various monkey species dozens of Capybaras, hundreds of Caiman; all were seen and photographed with amazing regularity throughout the tour. I can't speak too highly of the entire Naturetrek experience,from the initial booking to meeting up with our tour leader Nick, who, literally must be the very best anywhere, and that is not any exaggeration. All in all: perfect.

Naturetrek, Very friendly, very knowledgeable, super efficient, nothing is too much trouble. Any problems prior or during the trip always dealt with quickly and cheerfully. I have a very unsophisticated palate ( I blame my mum back in the '60's! ) but it has never been a problem when travelling with Naturetrek. To sum them up, none better. Each tour guide I have been with were complete masters of their craft.