Planeta Exo
TripsBrazilPantanal

Wild Southern Pantanal Safari: Remote Wetland Adventure

Brazil
3 Nights·4 Days
PantanalSafari & WildlifeActive Adventures

Overview

The Wild Southern Pantanal Safari takes you into some of the most remote and least-visited corners of the South Pantanal. For several days, you stay at remote lodges fully integrated with nature, reached only by dirt road and 4×4 vehicles. This is the wetlands at their wildest: open fields, seasonal lagoons, and forest patches crossed by vazantes that draw wildlife year-round.

Days are built around two guided activities, morning and afternoon. You ride horseback across the floodplain, scan for giant anteaters and marsh deer on a 4×4 photo safari, paddle a canoe past caimans and herons, and head out after dark on a night safari for ocelots, foxes, and armadillos. These remote wetlands hold over 630 bird species and a roll-call of iconic Pantanal wildlife!

Accommodation is a comfortable lodge: air-conditioned rooms, full board built on traditional Pantaneiro cooking, and English-speaking guides who know the land. This is a genuine remote Pantanal experience, far from the day-trip crowds.

  • Full itinerary: horseback rides, 4x4 photo safaris, night safaris, canoeing, and fishing.
  • Explore some of the wildest, most remote areas of the Pantanal, marked by untouched beauty, heavy wildlife presence, and the peacefulness of nature.
  • Search for giant anteaters, tapirs, marsh deer, macaws, jabiru storks, capybaras, caimans, and over 630 bird species.
  • Activities guided by English-speaking local experts.
  • Exclusive small-lodge stay with personalized service and a quiet, isolated setting.
  • All-inclusive experience: round-trip transfer, accommodation, meals, and local guides.

  • Please note: This itinerary is a sample. The actual order and selection of activities may vary with the season, weather, and the lodge’s daily planning (confirmed on arrival).

Itinerary

Day 1

Journey into the Pantanal

  • Driving Campo Grande → Lodge (Aquidauana/Nhecolandia)250–280 km · ~7 hrs · car + 4x4 on trail routes
  • Optional private small-plane transfer~1 hr (year-round; the only access in the Dec–Mar rainy season)

Departure from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul: PlanetaEXO’s local partner will pick you up from the airport or hotel in the city. Flexible timing until 11 AM.

Your private transfer heads into the South Pantanal: about 7 hours covering 250–280 km of mixed asphalt and dirt roads, switching to a 4×4 for the rugged final stretch into the remote wetlands.

The drive itself feels like a safari, with capybaras, caimans, and birds along the way. If you prefer to skip the long drive, a private small-plane flight of about 1 hour gives an aerial view of the largest tropical wetland.

You reach the lodge in the late afternoon, settle in, and enjoy a lovely dinner built on local Southern Pantanal ingredients.

During the dry season (April to November), the 4×4 transfer runs as above. In the rainy season (December to March), the road access is limited, and travel is only feasible by small plane.

Meals included: Dinner

A laughing woman in a sun hat leans out of an open 4x4 vehicle on a southern pantanal safari, pointing skyward along a muddy dirt road lined with dense green trees.
Aerial view of a southern pantanal safari landscape showing a winding brown river, dense gallery forest, and multiple oxbow lagoons stretching to the horizon
A group of monk parakeets perched on a thick branch during a southern pantanal safari, with a red-and-black woodpecker visible to the left against a soft green bokeh background
A capybara silhouetted against a deep orange sunset sky in the southern pantanal safari landscape, with two small birds perched on its back and side among tall grass

Day 2

Horseback Ride / Photo Safari

  • Morning horseback ride across fields, wetlands and lagoonsall levels · on-foot alternative available
  • Afternoon 4x4 photo safarigiant anteaters, marsh deer, birds at golden hour

Wake to birdsong at sunrise and head out after breakfast on a morning horseback ride across open fields, shallow lagoons, and forest edges. You can join local cowhands at their daily work with lassoing and cattle handling, a real immersion in Pantaneiro ranching life. The ride is safe and suitable for all levels; if you would rather not ride, swap it for a guided walk on the same trails.

After lunch and a rest, your Southern Pantanal safari is a 4×4 photo tour. Scan for giant anteaters, marsh deer, and countless birds—with a slim chance of jaguars. As the sun drops, the floodplain glows for photography.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A jaguar resting on a stack of large logs during a southern pantanal safari, its amber eyes locked forward through hanging aerial roots, dense green foliage behind it.
Aerial view of a group of riders on horseback following a winding dirt track through open green floodplain fields on a southern pantanal safari, with large trees and a dramatic storm-lit sky in the background
A giant anteater moves low through dry savanna scrub on a southern pantanal safari, its long tapered snout nearly touching the ground among tangled grass stems and bare twigs
A young woman shoots with a telephoto lens from the back of a 4x4 vehicle on a muddy dirt road lined with green vegetation during a southern pantanal safari
A jabiru stork stands on its large stick nest high in a tree during a southern pantanal safari, its black head and red neck collar visible against a clear blue sky at golden hour
A jaguar resting low in the shade of dense riverside vegetation during a southern pantanal safari, its spotted coat half-hidden behind branches and leaves on a sandy bank

Day 3

Canoeing and Fishing / Night Safari

  • Morning canoe trip on calm waterscaimans, capybaras, herons · optional piranha fishing
  • Evening night safari by spotlightocelots, foxes, armadillos, nightjars, owls

After breakfast, set out by canoe along calm channels, gliding past caimans, capybaras, and flocks of herons. In the right season, the water mirrors the vegetation. You can also try fishing, with piranhas the likely catch.

In the evening, a night safari turns the spotlight on the Pantanal’s wildlife: ocelots, foxes, armadillos, and nightjars. If you prefer, you can instead explore the fields and flooded plains on a guided walk led by local guides.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A cocoi heron stands amid riverbank vegetation on a southern pantanal safari, holding a freshly caught fish crosswise in its yellow bill against a dark water backdrop
A woman wearing a life jacket sits in a small wooden canoe, paddle in hand, watching the sun set over a calm river channel flanked by low vegetation on a southern pantanal safari
Two red-and-green macaws in synchronized flight against a dark background, their vivid crimson, green, and blue plumage fully spread on a southern pantanal safari
Aerial view of a packed speedboat cutting through muddy brown river water on a southern pantanal safari, passengers wearing life jackets with a wide V-shaped wake behind them
A jabiru stork spreads its full wingspan face-on during a southern pantanal safari, its black head and red neck pouch vivid against a blurred green grassland backdrop.
Two hyacinth macaws feeding on palm nuts and fruit on a wooden platform during a southern pantanal safari, their vivid cobalt plumage and yellow eye-rings sharp against a pale sky

Day 4

Back to Campo Grande

  • Transfer Lodge → Campo Grande250–280 km · ~7 hrs · car + 4x4 · timed to your flight

After breakfast, enjoy the quiet one last time before the transfer back to Campo Grande. You leave with wide horizons, abundant wildlife, and the culture of this wild Southern Pantanal safari behind you.

Departure from the lodge (South Pantanal): PlanetaEXO’s local partner will transfer you back to Campo Grande (airport or hotel in the city) after breakfast—flexible, according to your preferred schedule.

Meals included: Breakfast

A group of capybaras swimming across open water on a southern pantanal safari, with a young pup riding on an adult's back while three others swim nearby
A cocoi heron stands tall on a bare branch tip against a deep blue sky during a southern pantanal safari, with mixed dry and green riverside vegetation below
A yellow-headed caracara perches on the back of a tapir during a southern pantanal safari, while the tapir browses green shrubs in dappled light
Aerial view of a red dirt road cutting straight through the southern pantanal safari landscape, with a green-roofed 4x4 vehicle crossing a narrow wooden bridge surrounded by flooded grasslands, dark lagoons, and scattered tree clusters stretching to the horizon.
A capybara silhouetted against a vivid orange sunset reflection on a southern pantanal safari, half-submerged among aquatic plants in a shallow wetland lagoon

What is Included

  • Private, round-trip transfer (Campo Grande ⇌ Southern Pantanal)
  • 3-night accommodation at your selected lodge
  • Meals (full board)
  • Guided tours (horseback rides, 4x4 photo safaris, night safaris, canoeing, and fishing)
  • English-speaking guide at the lodge (other languages on request)

Not included

  • Flight tickets
  • Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic, unless specified)
  • Travel insurance
  • Extra activities not listed in the itinerary
  • Personal expenses
  • Accommodation in Campo Grande

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