Project Description
Pantanal Photo Safari
Charl and Sabine have just returned from Brazil’s Pantanal, and they are still in awe of the incredible wildlife they encountered. From elusive jaguars prowling the riverbanks to giant river otters playing in the waterways, and from flocks of brilliantly coloured macaws and toucans to herds of capybara grazing peacefully, every moment was a photographer’s dream.
The wetlands, flooded forests, and open savannah provided breathtaking backdrops, making each wildlife sighting even more spectacular. To share the next extraordinary Photo Safari, we’re hosting one exclusive departure in 2026 for a small group of guests, guided by two of our top photo hosts, Charl and Sabine, who will help you capture the magic of the Pantanal and make the most of every photographic opportunity.
Depending on your arrival time in Cuiabá for our Pantanal Photo Safari, we’ll arrange for you to be met at Marechal Rondon International Airport (Cuiabá International Airport) and transferred directly to the Hotel Amazon Aeroporto, which is conveniently located just across from the terminal.
The hotel is comfortable and well-suited for a restful overnight stay before we head into the heart of the Pantanal. A welcome dinner is included on the first evening, where you’ll meet your photo hosts, Charl and Sabine, as well as your fellow travellers. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax, get to know the group, and go over final details ahead of the adventure.
If you’d like to arrive a day or two earlier to rest or explore Cuiabá, we’d be happy to assist with those arrangements.
We’ve kept this group small to ensure personalised attention and a smooth logistical experience. Alongside Charl and Sabine, we’ll be joined by our experienced local guide who will help coordinate wildlife activities and ensure we’re in the right place at the right time for the best photographic opportunities.
Araras Pantanal Eco Lodge is nestled within 2,760 hectares of Pantanal wilderness. It boasts 22 en-suite rooms, each with solar-powered hot water showers, fans and ACs, adorned in a rustic Pantanal style; local, organic meals featuring traditional Pantanal dishes; a bar; an outdoor pool; a hammock area; and an indoor lounge area with Wi-Fi.
We will spend time exploring the surrounding Pantanal habitat, visiting trails and three observation towers, mostly in safari trucks and sometimes on foot. Located on the drier outer edges of the Pantanal wetland, we can hope to find and photograph species adapted to these drier grasslands, such as the rhea, the red-legged seriema (a bit like the secretary bird), deer, foxes, raccoons, coatis, anteaters and monkeys, but wetland specialists like capybara, caiman, jabiru storks and even tapir are never far away.
Colourful Pantanal birds such as toucans, aracaris, macaws, parakeets, trogons, multiple species of tanagers and hummingbirds and many, many others are to be found around the lodge and surrounds.
Charl and Sabine will be on hand to assist you in getting some great shots as well as assisting with post-production in between the various activities on offer.
The next day the group will travel to Porto Jofre to board the Panoramico Flotel, which will be our home and base for the next few days.
The flotel (or houseboat, as we might call it) is simple but comfortable, with 12 rooms, all of which are ensuite and air-conditioned. The food is good, and more importantly, it gives quick and easy access to the areas where the wildlife is…not too dissimilar to The Pangolin Voyager in that respect.
This area is Jaguar central, which will of course be the primary subject matter that we would hope to see and photograph, and with our expert guides and ground handlers with us, we are highly confident that we will get plenty of the shots we are looking for.
Like The Chobe again the activities are water-based. The boats are spacious, and although they don’t have photo chairs, they will serve us well. The main thing is being able to call on the local knowledge from the rest of the team plus the photographic expertise of Charl and Sabine, who will have been right there less than a week before.
The photographic highlight (apart from the jaguars) include capybara, caiman, other mammals like giant otters, and prolific and beautiful bird life (toucans and macaws!) And we would hope to see and photograph rarer species like ocelots. The Pantanal is such a well-known photo safari destination that its reputation is well established!
In between activities and in the evenings there will be briefings as well as time to review the images that you have taken so far in this incredible natural environment.
On the final day we will make our way back to Cuiabá for the departure, but should you want to extend your stay in the area (maybe more time back in the Pantanal), then we would be more than happy to arrange that for you.
We have booked everyone into the Hotel Amazon Aeroporto in Cuiabá, and we will host a farewell dinner with everyone before we head off the next day to your next destination or home on the 1st of September 2026.
2026 Prices
22nd August – 1st September 2026
- $16,000 Single Traveller
Meet & Greet at Cuiabá International Airport (Marechal Rondon International) CGB
1 night at the Hotel Amazon Aeroporto
2 nights at Araras Pantanal Eco Lodge
6 nights Panoramico Flotel with water based photo safaris
All meals and drinking water on Panoramico Flotel
1 night at Hotel Amazon Aeroporto with farewell Dinner
Transfer to Cuiaba Airport for onward flight
Meals from Dinner on Day 1 to Breakfast on Day 11
Photo assistance from Charl and Sabine throughout
All internal road transfers as per itinerary
Expert local guiding team in place
International flights: please contact our office for any assistance on routing
Clients must obtain comprehensive travel insurance for this trip.
Any required visas.
Customary tips for guides and camp staff.
All drinks excluded.
Laundry and items of a personal nature.
