Pantanal Jungle Lodge — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata de Corumbá

The Pantanal Jungle Lodge was quite captivating as we came in very late at night from 6hrs transit (Campo Grande then 4hr transfer by car) its the last lodge along the gravel road into the river area. The Lodge walkway lights along the entrance boardwalk were all on and immediately I felt more comfortable arriving so deep in the jungle this late at night.

The manager was ready to check us in and had double check all the payment details were the ones we'd agreed to.

The lodge is an excellent choice for people who are interested in getting close to nature and who want some comforts but who also don't mind being a sweaty mess for a few days 😉 honestly, just wear the same (decent clothes). There is air conditioning (a must for anyone not experienced with tropical climates ... And well... anyone who wants to enjoy a holiday). We stayed in a double room and it was great! Everything you need for a good night's sleep as well as mini fridge, hairdryer, side tables A/C control. The staff are all lovley and help as best they can.

The animals come quite close to the lodge, you can see many different kinds of birds and capybura whilst eating your meals. The activities weren't set in stone but organised more on the guides advice, after all, temperature and weather are important factors here. The guides update you on the next activity and time.

The horse riding, river sightseeing and Piranha fishing were highlights that I particularly enjoyed. Safety briefings aren't really a thing, and the activities aren't always 'clear' (most of what we found out we needed or what we were doing was from chatting to others in the lodge). so use some common sense and ask the guides if you're confused about anything. Also if you don't have great balance or get sick on boats or rough roads be warned, there are lots of activities on both.

Enjoy your down time, there isn't heaps of things to do between activities, but enjoying a nap or book or swim will fill your time up nicely. There is very good wifi here. In the main lodge and all rooms. Very handy for worried friends and family and all your snaps! Reception is rare and sporadic on the drive in from Campo Grande.

Useful tips: If you want 'snacks' or lollies consider bringing your own, there are a few options to buy some but not many. In saying this you shouldn't need to buy any extra food than the meals provided which are varied and offer great fresh options (there are drinks at breakfast but you need to buy ALL liquids after this). Vegetarian options are available but limited.

Bring decent mosquito repellent - I used Bushman's 80% DEET (with sunscreen combined). You'll need it, and it's easier being combined. Also I would recommend good travel shirt and pants, my shirt had repellent (permethrin) in it (from Kathmandu) and it did the job perfectly. It was 40 degrees and 60% humidity and i was fine in full cover (most other people here weren't though), and the lodge repellent also doesn't really seem to work BUT, DEET is pretty strong stuff so read the tube first.

Come with minimal luggage. I came with a regular backpack - carry on only (about 6kgs). There are amenities provided (soap, shampoo/conditioner) and I recommend you embrace the opportunity to live a little like you would whilst camping.

An aside: ING Bank cards work fine here, my debit payment went...

The Pantanal is a beautiful place that’s definitely worth visiting for its nature and wildlife. However, I hope you do not make the same mistake staying at the PANTANAL JUNGLE LODGE. For the tours, you never know if you are going to hit the jackpot or get verbally abused throughout your entire time here. So maybe don’t risk it.

I’m a female traveller in her early 30s. I’ve been travelling the world and working as a naturalist guide for over 10 years, so I understand and usually sympathise with other tour guides. Not here.

I came to the lodge independently not having gone through an agency. My tour guide was Rony, or Anaconda so he calls himself. My confusing interactions with him began when I witnessed him dragging his kayak over my belongings, which were right next to me, and it damaged my binoculars in the process. In panic, I threw the kayak aside and looked up to see him yelling at me that if I damaged the kayak I would have to pay. I asked if he was going to pay for my binos and in response he shouted he didn’t want to argue anymore and went off to yell at others for entering their kayaks incorrectly.

I reported his behaviour to the manager and told him I wanted to leave a day early as I was miserable. The manager spoke to Rony, who later on, cornered me on an evening stroll around the lodge, away from everyone else. I was scared because he was so angry and wouldn’t stop yelling about how I jeopardised his job, so I stood there until he finished and stormed off. I was shocked and confused.

For my last tour, we went on a jeep safari and ecological walk. There were two guides, one of which was Rony. He took us on the forest walk, and we were a big group of about 15. I still don’t understand why the other guide stayed on the jeep.

There was an old man with limited mobility who struggled to keep up with the group so I stayed with him. The group left us behind and we were lost for a few minutes. Suddenly, from the bush I could hear Rony yelling at me as to why I was so slow. He kept yelling which shocked the older man who then started to explain.

When Rony saw him, he was surprised. It became obvious that he thought I was the only one who was left behind. He approached the old man, apologised and started making jokes. This didn’t make things any better, the man was extremely upset. By that time, it didn’t surprise me because I was already aware of this childish behaviour.

So there we go.. what a rollercoaster. I was only there for 3 days and 2 nights, and experienced my first verbal abuse from another human being who so happened to be my tour guide. Not what I expected after paying a good sum to experience the Pantanal.

I do not tolerate unprofessional behaviour let alone being yelled at. I understand that things are done differently everywhere you go, but as a paying guest you deserve to be treated with patience as well as be given clear instructions and information. You do not have to tolerate your guide being condescending and aggressive.

Recommendation: A friend who left here because they were also really unhappy went to Santa Clara, vloved it and couldn’t stop raving on about the guide. I believe it’s similar pricing...

People should not expect too much from this area(Pantanal). They advertise way more than it is. The accommodation is surprisingly good with good food, nice pool and very nice river view.

But... We had a 5 day/4 nights tour. Drinks were not included (not even water which they sell at the bar for 9 reais for 1.5litres) . I totally don't recommend it. People with 2 nights had priority on the activities and a few times we had our activities changed last minute because it was full already. The communication is very limited finding more information from other tourists than the staff. The group activities were advertised as a maximum of 10 people but we were always more(12 or 14).

• The horse riding was painful for me and the horse, being in the burning sun for over an hour just riding without any information or storytelling. They didn't even tell us simple commands we can use to control the horse.

• We enjoyed all the boat rides even though we didn't get to see any animals. I want to say that at the same time other groups have even seen Jaguar which makes me think our guide was not that good even though he was a very nice person and trying to do his best. When we asked how they didn't communicate so we could go to the same place to see a Jaguar(being already on the river) we were told the other group paid extra to go further on the river.

• The overnight camping "wilderness survival" was indeed a survival experience. We had over an hour boat ride to a random river bank. We were 4 tourists and the guide. 3 tents. We were provided with a so-called single mattress(not a proper camping mattress) for our tent, but we were 2 people (wtf?). Anyway we had to be very fast building up the tent because there were so many mosquitos. Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy the stars or anything else because of the mosquitos. So we were there just to have a bad sleep on the ground. In the morning our guide dismantled his tent and went in the boat waiting for us and watching us. No help.

• Jeep safari and walk safari were done at the same time(driving slowly on the main road to a point then walk for a bit then drive back) and I don't understand why they count being 2 activities. • Floating and piranha fishing were both great.

I did safari many times in my life and it was hard for me to accept what we did here as a safari. All of them were just a slow drive on the main road, a short walk, or a boat ride. On the last day we had a free afternoon and a free morning. We went to speak with the always busy boss and we couldn't agree on terms. Even though we were not happy with our "5 days safari tour" there(not doing anything for a full day), he preferred to send a boat with only 3 tourists for a ride, asking us to pay extra if we wanted to go.

Unfortunately we leave Pantanal with...