Visiting Bonito with kids is a great addition to a family tour of Brazil. Most tourists who visit Bonito do so because of the beautiful nature you have here. You can also spot animals at this destination, especially lots of different species of birds. In this blog, we give you all the information about this destination and list the best children’s activities of Bonito.
Best travel time Bonito with kids
The best travel time to visit Bonito with kids is during the dry season. These are the months from April through October. You will have a lovely temperature and it doesn’t rain super much. Even though the rainy season in Bonito can also have its advantages. During the rainy season, precisely the area around Bonito is at its greenest and thus at its most beautiful. The real rainy season in Bonito is from December through March.
Travel to and in Bonito
You can travel to Bonito via the Campo Grande airport. Campo Grande is also the airport if you want to visit the Pantanal with kids. You can drive to Bonito from the Campo Grande airport by car or bus in about 4 hours. If you want to rent a car at Campo Grande airport, you can do so very easily through Sunny Cars.
Sunny Cars has an all inclusive formula that we are very much fans of. Because of this, you don’t have to worry about the rental car and we actually always book abroad through this organization. For this all inclusive formula when renting a car at Campo Grande airport, take a look here.
In Bonito you will do mostly organized tours, so transportation is usually included in the tour price. Nevertheless, there are also places in our list, where it can be very convenient to have a rental car and thus be able to drive there easily.
How many days needed in Bonito?
If you want to visit the Bonito area with kids, you do need at least 3 days. You also don’t want to go from one place to another super fast while touring Brazil with the family. Especially since it does take you a while to reach this destination, it is nice to stay here for at least 3 days. Then you can explore the area at your leisure.
Bonito is known for its ecotourism and the government strongly enforces this as well. This also limits the number of people allowed on a tour so as not to overburden nature. Therefore, make sure that you book certain tours in advance, as otherwise there is a chance that the tour is already full.
Children’s Activities Bonito
#1 Buraco das Araras
You can spot different animals in Bonito with kids, and you especially have a lot of different birds to spot in Bonito. The macaw is one of these birds you can spot in the Bonito area and one of the best places to do this is Buraco das Arararas. Buraco das Araras is one of the largest sinkholes in the world, and this sinkhole is about 100 meters deep and 500 meters in circumference.
You can spot 160 different species of birds in this park, but the macaw is the most famous bird here. You can walk a trail of just under a kilometer in the park, where you have 2 different platforms along the way where you can get a good look at the sinkhole. This also makes this hike very doable with kids.
You can very well see and photograph the beautifully colored macaws from above this way. You can possibly go swimming with kids at this park and there is also a section for kids. This makes the park very family-friendly. The park also has a restaurant where you can go for snacks and drinks.
#2 Gruta Do Lago Azul
A fun trip with kids is to the Gruto Do Lago Azul. This cave has an underground lake that is a huge blue color. You can go take a look here (unfortunately, you can’t go swimming there with kids). This cave is about 20 kilometers from downtown Bonito. The cave has only a limit of visitors per day, so making a reservation in advance is definitely recommended.
The lake inside the cave is as much as 96 meters deep. Keep in mind that you are required to have shoes on if you want to visit this cave, so don’t go here on slippers, for example. The entrance fee to the cave is not cheap, and you will pay a higher price in high season than in low season. For more information on visiting this cave, visit the Gruta Do Lago Azul website. da Figueira
#3 Praia da Figueira
A fun place to go in Bonito with kids is Praia da Figueira. This is a water park near Bonito, where you can have a great time with the family for an entire morning or afternoon. You have a beach here, where you can have a great time on sunny days, and in the water is the largest inflatable crocodile in the world for kids to play on.
There is also a swimming pool with a water playground and a slide for kids. This whole area is very family-friendly and you have several places where kids can play. It is also possible to zipline down by the beach. This zipline is at 7.5 meters high and about 35 meters long.
Various water sports such as kayaking and SUP boarding are also available here. This park is really all about the family, and for parents here it is also possible to relax in the spa. You can also get great snacks and drinks here, making this a really cool place to go with the family to relax in Bonito.
#4 Parque das Cachoeiras
You can also go to a waterfall in Bonito with the family. At Parque das Cachoeiras, you can even go to 7 different waterfalls. Parque das Cachoeiras is located 11 kilometers from the center of Bonito, and you can walk a 1.7-kilometer trail to the waterfall here. You can also swim at the various waterfalls, so be sure to bring swimwear for the kids as well.
You have lots of photogenic spots here in the park, and one of the waterfalls also has a swing where you can take a picture. There is regularly a line here and the purpose here is not really to play, but purely to take a picture.
You have more waterfalls in the Bonito area that you can check out with the family. For example, you have the waterfall Boca da Onca, which is the highest waterfall in the region. This waterfall is a whopping 156 meters high.
#5 Rio de Prata
A fun children’s activity in Bonito is swimming in the RIo de Prata River. This river is really super clear and it is fun to go snorkeling here with kids. You can see a lot of different fish here. You can thus explore a whole section of the river underwater. Keep in mind that in the river you may also come face to face with the anaconda snake.
You can do this tour with kids as young as 5 and this tour takes about 4 hours. You go snorkeling here with a guide and the route is about 2 kilometers long. You can also do the last 600 meters in the boat if it is too heavy for kids. So this means you don’t have to snorkel all the time if you don’t want to.
A lunch is also included at the end of this tour. What we always do with our daughter on these types of snorkeling tours is we have her put on a life jacket, which keeps her afloat and that way she doesn’t have to swim the entire time. Even though our daughter can swim well it can still be very tiring if they have to swim in the water for a long time. With a life jacket, you won’t have to deal with this. For more information on these snorkeling tours, take a look here.
Family-friendly restaurant Bonito
You can have a great bite to eat in the town of Bonito with the family. You have several nice restaurants located here in the center. We briefly name some of them below.
Juanita Restaurante: this is a restaurant located in the center of Bonito that gets very good reviews online. The restaurant also regularly features live music and locals like to come here to eat as well, which of course is often a good sign. Your family must like fish or meat, since most of the dishes are with meat or fish.
Casa Do João: at this restaurant you can also eat Western food and for kids there is also a kids’ menu with fries. Again, reviews of this family-friendly restaurant in Bonito are very good.
Subway: in downtown Bonito, you and your family can also grab a nice sandwich at the Subway. We do this regularly when we are abroad and it is always good. It’s not really a restaurant, of course, but for a quick lunch with kids, it’s a good option.
Family-friendly hotel Bonito
You can stay in Bonito with kids just fine. You have several family-friendly accommodations you can book here. We always look at the overall score (it must be at least above 8) and that at least 100 reviews have been given when booking an accommodation with our family.
We list well-reviewed options for different price ranges. Click on the blue link for more information about this accommodation in Bonito.
Budget accommodation: Bonito HI Hostel e Pousada
Mid-range accommodation: Pousada Rancho Jarinu
Luxury accommodation: Zagaia Eco Resort
For a list of all family-friendly accommodations in Bonito, take a look here.
