Ever since I heard of the Pantanal’s existence, I put it on my bucket list. The Pantanal hosts an incredible variety of wildlife, which is easier to observe here than in the Amazon Rainforest thanks to the different vegetation. The first time we visited Brazil we were rather unprepared for the Pantanal. Tours were more expensive than we anticipated, we were on the wrong side of the Pantanal to see jaguars and it wasn’t the right season either. So that time we skipped it.
But on our second visit, we could not let that happen again! While tours still didn’t quite fit our budget, we discovered it’s totally doable to self-drive the Pantanal and organize accommodation yourself. So that is what we did.This is a rundown of our 6-day self-drive Pantanal itinerary. It’s one of the most memorable and treasured experiences of my travels. And I hope it will be the same for you!
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Table of Contents - Our amazing 6-day self-drive Pantanal itinerary
Our 6-day self-drive Pantanal Itinerary
We started our self-drive Pantanal itinerary from the capital city of Cuiabá, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. I won’t go into depth into how to get there and other things to organize for your trip in this article. Instead, this article is more about our experience and it’s meant to give you an idea of what a 6-day self-drive Pantanal trip could look like.
If you’re looking for more practical tips for a self-drive Pantanal itinerary, you’ll probably find my guide Spotting Jaguars in the Pantanal on a Budget more helpful.
Day 1: Cuiabá to Pouso Alegre
We left Cuiabá in the morning, so we had the whole day. The drive to Pouso Alegre doesn’t take very long, but we wanted to ensure enough time to stop for wildlife on the way. But first things first. After picking up the car at the airport, we went to the supermarket for water, snacks, and sunscreen. Next, we set off to Poconé. Poconé is the last town we’d pass on our way to Porto Jofre and the starting point of the Transpantaneira.
In Poconé we briefly stopped to fill up the tank again, since this was our last opportunity, and to buy lunch for the next day as it wasn’t included with any of the lodges. We’d use the lunch from Pouso Alegre today, and our accommodation for tomorrow doesn’t include lunch on the first day. So we bought sandwiches. Then our real adventure in the Pantanal began.
Part one - Driving from Poconé to Pouso Alegre
First, we made an obligatory stop at the Transpantaneira road sign. Then we stopped at every pond on the way, as they all had quite some birdlife. Until we came across a bigger pond full of caiman, birdlife, and some buffalo as well. From roseate spoonbills to eagles to all kinds of egrets. We spent a good while here observing and photographing the animals until we decided it was time to move on. This pond was definitely the most interesting stop along the way. But it was also the middle of the day, so naturally, there was less animal activity.
Part two - Afternoon at the lodge
We reached Pouso Alegre, just in time for lunch. In the meantime our room was prepared, so we could drop our stuff there and go for a walk to the observation tower. It wasn’t the best time to observe wildlife, but we did get to see some birds. We hung around here for a while and walked around the lodge area. There were a lot of bare-faced curassow birds around and some coati started to appear as well. We hoped to spot the hyacinth macaw which is quite common in this area, but we only saw a pair fly by. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see them from close by.
In the late afternoon, we went for a drive to some of the ponds where animals often come to drink water this time of the day. We visited the two ponds closest to each other and saw agouti, deer, and toucans. Until a super noisy tour group truck arrived which scared all the animals away. But luckily most of them came back once the truck had gone.
Another group visited a pond along the road leading to the lodge and saw tapirs! So we were a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see them of course, but still very happy with what we did get to see. A very successful first day of our self-drive Pantanal itinerary.
Part three - Evening at the lodge
We could have gone for a night drive after our delicious buffet dinner, but we were super tired. While night drives can be very cool, it’s not the same as spotting the animals during the day. So we decided to give it a miss and make sure we were well-rested for the next day.
Day 2: Pouso Alegre to the Jaguar Ecological Reserve
Part one - Morning at Pouso Alegre
Today we got up early, in the hope of spotting some birds, especially macaws. But we didn’t see much until the feeding hour. I guess the birds (and monkeys!) are already used to that. At feeding time, we saw toucans, other types of birds and monkeys. Then it was time for our breakfast.
After breakfast, we went for another walk on the terrain and saw coati, an aracari, a fox, monkeys, and a rhea. But still no macaws. As it was hitting 9 am, it was getting hot. The chances of seeing wildlife were getting smaller, especially after 10 am. So we hopped in the car and slowly made our way to our next accommodation. We stopped at two ponds for a while, hoping to see tapirs, but unfortunately, we didn’t. We did get to see a family of collared peccaries though.
Part two - Driving from Pouso Alegre to the Jaguar Ecological Reserve
On our drive to the Jaguar Ecological Reserve, we stopped a few times to observe and photograph the many birds we saw on the way. We didn’t see any other wildlife outside of the terrain of the lodges today.
Part three - Afternoon at the lodge
Once we parked the car at the Jaguar Ecological Reserve, we heard the unmistakable call of a macaw. It sounded like it was coming from the tree on the other side of the parking lot! So I quickly hopped out of the car, camera in hand, and headed towards the tree. And there they were. 😍 A whole group of hyacinth macaws. How incredible! Later, we found out that they are raised here and always hang around the terrain. They are free to come and go as they want though, but they always come back home.
After a photo session, we checked into our super comfy room! It was above expectations considering it was the cheapest deal we found, the remote location, and the general negative comments of people coming to the Pantanal and complaining about the facilities of the accommodations in this area. But we were very happy.
We took some more photos of birds and monkeys in the afternoon and went for a walk on the terrain in the late afternoon. Hoping to spot some more wildlife. We didn’t see much though, we only saw an agouti and a woodpecker. The most interesting spot for me was the pond close to the accommodation, which was full of caiman. There were also quite a few birds and we saw a capybara. We expected to see a lot more here in the Pantanal, but since there are so many jaguars in the area, and the capybara is their favorite prey, there are not many left here.
Back at the lodge, we had dinner with some lovely people who had done the river tour that day and shared their experiences. We were so excited for the next day!
Part four - Evening at the lodge
We still had one more activity for today though: a night safari. I honestly didn’t expect a lot of it, since we walked almost the same route earlier that day without seeing much. The truck we would take was the same type of truck that scared off all the animals at Pouso Alegre, which didn’t add to our chances of seeing animals. But since we didn’t have to drive ourselves this time, we thought we might as well join. We were getting a little too much FOMO to stay in again. While we didn’t see anything new, we did see foxes, buffalo, deer, and of course, lots of caiman.
Day 3: First River Cruise
Part one - Getting to the river
Today was the day! We got up early and prepared everything so we were ready as soon as breakfast started and could leave as soon as possible and get as much time on the river as possible. But, the other people on the tour were a Brazilian family who take time a little differently, so it didn’t quite work out that way.
Half an hour later we were all on the truck though and we were finally on our way! We had to drive about 1 hour to the river. Along the way, we spotted many birds and some huge cattle stations.
Part two - On the river
After only a short drive on the river, we spotted a family of giant river otters. It’s amazing how they glide through the water with such graze! We observed them for a little while until it was time to continue because word got around that a jaguar had been spotted!
First jaguar encounter
So we continued our way to the Encontro das Aguas State Park until we crossed a fisherman who started to point in the other direction. There was a jaguar a little further back, which we had missed! So we turned around and headed to the spot the fisherman described. And there (s)he was! Just lazing in the shade. I cannot describe in words how amazing this moment was. It was the first time I saw a big cat in the wild. And wow. The experience was even more special since we were the only ones there. Something that would prove to be quite rare during these days. So we really made the most out of our time with this gorgeous animal and took way too many pictures. Or I did at least. 🫣
After we all had the chance to have a good look and take the pictures we wanted, our guide suggested we’d continue, since another jaguar had been spotted further up. So off we went.
Second jaguar encounter
Now, if I didn’t have words to describe our earlier encounter, I definitely don’t have the words to describe this one.
It was very easy to find this jaguar since there were what seemed to be 100 boats grouped together. In reality, it was probably closer to 20, but you get the point. 😉
And there she was. Another incredible jaguar, just at the top of the cliff and clearly on to something. But I still never expected what happened next. After she just stood still for several seconds and then she jumped. And wow did she jump! It was like she flew and calculated every move with precision. Even mid-air. She landed directly on top of a caiman hiding between the river plants, we had no idea it was even there.
Next, we saw a huge amount of splashing and occasionally a head or limp of one of two predators would pop out of the water. Until she dragged him out of the water. And it all seemed over. Seemed. Because all of a sudden she dragged him back into the water and the splashing continued. We were all quite confused about what was happening here, so our guide explained that sometimes caiman play dead, hoping that the jaguar relaxes thinking (s)he’s dead and they can escape. But not this one! She knew exactly what was happening and dragged him back into the water to finish the job.
When she dragged him out of the water the second time, there was no doubt. The caiman was dead. The throat ripped apart as she dragged her prey out of the water. Wow. I felt like I just crawled into the National Geographic channel. Nothing could ever top this. The GoPro footage really doesn’t do it justice, but I will share it, just to give you an idea of how incredible this moment was in real life.
We left the jaguar to it, while she used her last strength to drag the caiman up the cliff and continued our journey. All so impressed by what we just got to witness. Seeing jaguars along this part of the river this time of the year might be common. Witnessing something like this, not so much. But our luck wasn’t over yet.
Third jaguar encounter
Further along the river, we spotted another jaguar, a swimming one. She was clearly trying to catch a caiman as well, but most of them saw her coming in time, so they were able to escape. Except for one. But she had to grab him from the back, leaving his mouth free. So after a short struggle, the caiman managed to escape and the jaguar swam to the shore where she limped out of the water and started to lick her paw. The caiman had gotten her too. When she limped into the bushes, we went off as well. It’s important not to intervene and let nature do her job, especially with a jaguar population so thriving, it’s putting other species in danger. So we let her be and just hoped she would recover soon.
Fourth jaguar encounter
Today we would see one more jaguar, lazing at the river shore. We stopped for a little while, but then it was time to head back to the lodge. What a day. Definitely the best day of our self-drive Pantanal itinerary.
Day 4 : Second River Cruise
Part one - Getting to the river
Since we already had such amazing sightings yesterday, the guides decided to take it a little easier today and we made a few stops along the way to look at some animal footprints and birds, including an owl.
Part two - On the river
Today we got to see 5 jaguars, but the encounters weren’t as unique as yesterday, so I’m going to keep this one short. They were mostly lazing and sleeping. One was hunting, but there were so many boats around already! And it seemed to disturb her hunting, since she kept walking from one side of the bushes to the other one, until all the boats had followed her, and she would walk back. This is purely my interpretation of her behavior, although the guide seemed to agree. And since we were a little put off by the amount of other boats as well and we already had some amazing sightings yesterday. So time to move on.
The next jaguar I spotted! I was super proud of course, because I always miss everything. Miguel is the one who always spots all the wildlife. But this time I was the first one to see him/her. 🤩
The other two jaguars we saw were quite close to each other. One was a giant male. The guide made some noise to see if it would call his attention. When he lifted up his huge head and looked straight at us, for a moment I wished he didn’t. But the jaguar didn’t move more than that. He just stayed like that looking at us looking at him for a while. Until he dropped his body on his side again, and continued his siesta. Wow.
After this experience, we decided to see if we could find tapirs, but no luck. We did see a river otter mom moving her baby to another place. It took us a while to figure out what was happening, as we couldn’t distinguish what she had in her mouth as she kept diving underwater. But then one of the guides saw it was a baby otter. Other than that, we spotted some birds and a lot more caiman.
Part three - Evening at the lodge
We had some time before dinner, so we decided to head to the small pond and see what would appear. And a couple of deer did come to drink some water.
Today we didn’t join the night safari, but we decided to just hang at the pond for a little while again. And we got to see some deer. Part of me was hoping we’d see a jaguar, and part of me did not. While they don’t normally attack people having so much natural prey around, a close encounter with this apex predator did sound as nerve wracking as amazing. But we did not.
Day 5: Driving from the Jaguar Ecological Reserve to Poconé
Part one - Morning at the lodge
We started our morning with a slightly later breakfast since we were in no rush. We had a guided walk after breakfast, but it was the same as we had done ourselves before and it wasn’t the optimal time for wildlife spotting, so we had no expectations and I guess that was for the better. There were no water pools along the trail, so that does make wildlife spotting a little trickier.
Part two - Driving from the Jaguar Ecological Reserve to Poconé
On our way back to Poconé we shifted our aim to spotting tapirs and giant anteaters. But we had no luck. Once we arrived in Poconé, we asked some locals (the receptionist and the guy at the gas station) where would be our best chance to see giant anteaters. And they both said Pousada Piuval. I had never heard of this pousada. The little information I found online all mentioned Pouso Alegre, but nothing about Piuval. And also looking at other options in this area, I had not seen it.
So I looked into it later and well, if I were to self-drive the Pantanal again, I would plan a night here as well.
Part three - Afternoon drive from Poconé
Since we were already checked in at Poconé, visiting Pousada Piuval was out of the question, so we just went for a drive in the later afternoon to the pond we loved so much the first day. We hoped we would spot something big, but no such luck. We did see a nice sunset though, lots of birds, and the caiman were becoming active as well. But no tapirs or giant anteaters unfortunately.
Day 6: Driving from Poconé back to Cuiabá
Part one - Morning drive from Poconé
Today we got up super early for a last try at spotting a tapir or giant anteater. But they proved to be very difficult to spot. So while we were a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see these animals, I am forever grateful for the amazing encounters we did have during our trip. I will always treasure this experience as a very special one.
Part two - Driving from Poconé to Cuiabá
The drive back to Cuiabá was short and in hindsight, it wasn’t necessary to spend the previous night in Poconé. We had the car for an extra day anyway, so it didn’t change much for us, but I’d say that if you’re not spending your last night at Pouso Alegre, Pousada Piuval, or one of the other lodges along the way, you might as well return to Cuiabá and make this a 5-day self-drive Pantanal itinerary.
This was: Our amazing 6-day self-drive Pantanal itinerary
