Visiting the Pantanal with kids is one of the highlights of a tour of Brazil for many families. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and the place in Brazil to spot wildlife. You can spot many different animals here, but the jaguar is still the animal most families with kids hope to see here. You can do several activities in the Pantanal with the family, and in this blog we list all the children’s activities in the Pantanal.
Best travel time Pantanal with kids
The best travel time to visit the Pantanal with kids is from April to October. This is the dry period in this area and during these months the temperatures are pleasant. In the other months, of course, you can go just fine as well, but you will have more chances of a shower. Of course, this does not always have to be a full day either, and often a heavy shower falls in the afternoon.
The Pantanal and malaria
Taking malaria pills is recommended if you are taking a trip to the Pantanal with kids. Vaccinations against DTP and Hepatitis A are also recommended for family travel to Brazil. Therefore, visit the GGD in the Netherlands beforehand and be well informed. Especially with kids, you don’t want to take any chances.
In addition, you can imagine that a swamp area also has mosquitoes, so bring something of Deet for the mosquitoes as well. If you go on a boat and are therefore on the water, you can get sunburned even faster than on land, so make sure that if you visit the Pantanal with the family, that you put on plenty of sunscreen.
Transportation to Pantanal
The Pantanal is a very large area, so you can visit this area from several cities. You can divide the Pantanal into a northern part and a southern part. The northern part of the Pantanal you visit from the city of Cuiabá and the southern part of the Pantanal you visit from Campo Grande.
The easiest way is to fly to one of these places by plane and then you actually have 2 different options. You can book an accommodation that will take care of everything for you and also pick you up from the airport if necessary. Or you can rent your own car and visit the Pantanal and its accommodations independently.
You can rent a car at Cuiabá and Campo Grande airports with the rental company Sunny Cars. We are fans of Sunny Cars and generally (when we can) always rent our car through this organization. They have the all inclusive principle which means that most insurances and also often the deductible are included in the price.
This eliminates the need for additional insurance on the spot and allows you to hit the road with peace of mind with your rental car. To rent a car at the Cuiabá airport, check here, to rent a car at the Campo Grande airport, check here.
North or south Pantanal
Should you visit northern or southern Pantanal with kids? Most tourists visit the Pantanal in the south. Here are also most of the tourist facilities in Campo Grande, which also makes it easier to arrange tours and they are often just a bit cheaper. It does seem that the jaguar is a little easier to spot in the north.
By the way, from Campo Grande you can also travel overland to Bonito which is also a nice tourist place to visit during a tour of Brazil with the family.
Children’s activities Pantanal
#1 Kayaking
If you are going to visit the Pantanal with kids you will do so mainly by booking organized tours. These tours can be quite pricey, making a visit to the Pantanal certainly not cheap. If you want to do several tours in the Pantanal with the family, you can set aside a day or two to three for this.
Then you don’t have to rush tremendously and can do it at your leisure. Especially with kids, that’s kind of nice. You can therefore do 1 tour in a day just fine. Basically, you do not need to book these tours in advance, but you can also do this on the spot. In Campo Grande you have several places where they organize tours to this area.
Check online to see which organizations other travelers have had good experiences with and also check with the accommodation or fellow travelers. Also, make sure you go on a tour where they speak English and not Portuguese. If you want to explore the Pantanal in an active way with kids, it can be fun to go kayaking with a guide in this area.
How cool is it that you are in a kayak and there are crocodiles nearby? Just make sure that if you are going to do this activity that you properly oil your legs and arms, because we have regularly seen people completely burned after a kayaking trip.
#2 Boat ride
With kids, a boat ride on the water is one of the most fun ways to explore the Pantanal. You are comfortable in a boat, so you don’t have to do whole walks with the kids, and from the boat you can look for animals and see the beautiful nature. Especially during the warm season, animals often flock to the waterfront to drink and then, of course, it is the perfect way to spot the animals from the water.
Most boat trips leave in the morning or by late afternoon. You can spot various animals here such as birds (including the beautiful Toucan), monkeys, otters, crocodiles and, of course, the king of the Pantanal: the jaguar. Of course, guides know the area, so they will spot most of the animals for you.
Still, it’s not wrong to look up the sound on Youtube of a toucan either. We did this when we were in Costa Rica and this particular bird has such a distinct sound that when you start paying attention to it you spot this bird much easier. The guide may also fish for piranhas during a boat trip.
There are many piranhas with their sharp teeth in the water and the guides can easily catch them. Usually they are taken to eat them later. As you can see, the water is not exactly the best place to go swimming with the crocodiles and piranhas in the water!
#3 Hiking
You can also go hiking in the Pantanal with a guide. There are several tour organizations that offer hiking tours. Be sure to inquire in advance about how long you will need to walk, as this can obviously be tiring with kids. Especially when it is also quite warm. You often go out with a group anyway and then you can’t just turn around if the kids don’t feel like it.
What we often try with our daughter then is to book a private tour just for our family, so you have more flexibility in the program and it’s easier to coordinate with the guide if you want to go back to the hotel, for example. While hiking safari through the swamp, you can of course spot all kinds of animals again in the Pantanal. You can even go on an evening safari in the darkness, as this is when many different animals actually become active.
By the way, you can also choose not to walk by yourself with kids, but for example explore the area on a horse. Tours are offered that you go horseback riding and you don’t necessarily need to have a lot of experience with horses to do this here. However, it is of course convenient that everyone in the family enjoys this and can join in. You can also travel greater distances this way, which in turn gives you a greater chance of seeing animals.
#4 On tour with a jeep
Another way to explore the Pantanal with kids is in a jeep. This is another easy and fun way to explore the nature reserve with kids. These jeep tours are often offered in combination with hiking or horseback riding. So that way you can combine these two activities just fine.
However, you are somewhat less likely to spot animals from a jeep than the other ways because many of the animals tend to be a bit deeper in the swamp. So, as you can see, when it comes to organized tours, there are a lot of possibilities. Always visit several agencies to inquire what they offer and compare these offers.
Therefore, it is also good to visit the Pantanal for several days that you can acclimatize the first day especially with kids and that you can take your time in the village to figure out exactly what you all want to do. Because of the many options you have, there will always be a suitable tour for your family to arrange.
#5 Driving yourself along the Rodovia Transpantaneira
If you as a family enjoy a real adventure without going out with a guide, you can of course go out and explore the Pantanal on your own. If you start in the north of the Pantanal (where it is therefore also less crowded with tourists) in Cuiabá, you can possibly rent a 4×4 car at the airport there .
You’ll then drive from Cuiabá in about 1.5 hours to the town of Poconé, from where you’ll really get into nature. You can still fill up there and then drive on a dirt road through nature. This dirt road is about 150 kilometers long, but keep in mind that you will drive up to 3 hours to drive this entire way to Porto Jofre the final destination.
You can then stay overnight at the Santa Rosa Pantanal Hotel located in Porto Jofre and continue exploring the Pantanal with the family from here. This hotel also has a pool for the kids and is really a luxury hotel, where they offer rooms for families. For more information about the Sana Rosa Pantanal Hotel, take a look here.
Family-friendly hotel Pantanal
As you noticed in this blog, you can visit the Pantanal with kids from several cities. For each city, we have listed the best rated accommodations from hundreds of reviews from families with kids. We did that for every price range. Click on the blue link for more information.
Cuiabá:
Budget accommodation: Pousada dos Bosques – Refúgio Urbano
Mid-range accommodation: Paiaguas Palace Hotel
Luxury Accommodation: Advanced Hotel & Flats Cuiabá
For a list of all family-friendly accommodations in Cuiabá, take a look here.
Campo Grande:
Budget accommodation: HOTEL CAMPO GRANDE
Middle class accommodation: Indaiá Park Hotel
Luxury accommodation: Deville Prime Campo Grande
For a list of all family-friendly accommodations in Campo Grande, take a look here.
