Araras Pantanal Eco Lodge

OMG!!! This beautiful, tranquil ecolodge is not 5 star luxurious, but what it offers is far, far better than that. Truly one of the best travel experiences of my life. First of all - the lodge itself: simple, clean, great food, charming and helpful staff, a quiet, beautiful pool surrounded by wildlife some of which join you for a bath (the birds). The lodge itself has been arranged in such a way that it attracts all the nature that surrounds it. And there is an astounding amount of that. ||||The many nature experiences that are offered by the lodge just keep adding to the astounding things that you will see here. If you choose to further your stay with them to include a trip to Porto Joffrey and the river, and the jaguars - this was truly an experience of a lifetime. Don't come this far and miss it. ||||I must say something about the wonderful guide that accompanied us for 5 days through the Pantanal - Bruno. We were blessed to have him as our guide. Bruno, who comes from a local town, was one of the best guides we've ever had. His love and knowledge of this area was amazing and made our adventure even more special.

We had an excellent stay at Araras!||The rooms are clean with A/C and have a good size bathroom. We did the 5 Day/4 Night Package and we paid extra to do the Jaguar Trip which was well worth it saw 5 Jaguars! ||The trips were very good. You did between 2 & 3 a day with time in between to relax, enjoy the pool or walking premises wildlife viewing. The trips ranged from Canoeing/walks in forest/Horse Riding and of course the Jaguar Trip - one of the many highlights for us.||We had Fred as our guide was really good - helping us spot all the wildlife around. They put you in small groups on arrival for doing the trips each day. You are generally with the same people each day and also have buffet dinner altogether with your guide. This is a good ideal as you get to make friends.||We saw so much wildlife from many different types of Birds/Capuchin & Howler monkeys/Caiman/Capybara.||The Pantanal is a lovely place if you like nature and wildlife. This was our second time in the Pantanal (different lodge last time. We loved it even more this time staying at Araras.

Araras Lodge was lovely. The staff and guides were wonderful, informative, knowledgeable and extremely well organised. My guide Juan was so passionate and enthusiastic about the wildlife and natural habitat it was infectious. The surroundings are very natural, lots of Capybras nestled among the Caiman for safety by the waters an abundance of birdlife and other natural beauties. Carlos on reception was also extremely helpful and friendly. All in all a wonderful place to spend time amongst nature.

We weren't due to stay at this lodge but wild fires in The Pantanal meant that this is where we were sent. Lucky us! This lodge was amazing! Simple clean rooms, a good bathroom with large shower and the aircon worked well. The lodge is visited by 1000s of birds. The bird songs and colours were astounding. We saw capuchin monkeys, a tapir, caiman, coati and capybara. We also went on the boat trip to spot "the elusive jaguar". Elusive?? We saw 6 !!!|The food at the lodge is very good. After 7 nights in hotels, we were a bit fed up with restaurant food so home cooked buffet with plenty of choice was very welcome indeed. Well done, Chef. |The guides were all very knowledgable and friendly.

Beautiful lodge on the Transpantaneira Park road. We stayed for four nights. Nice AC rooms, though a little spartan. Ask for rooms in the front or side of the lodge, these have lovely views of the swimming pool, dining area and the natural pools of water. Plenty of wildlife and birds all around. You are woken up by bird calls. The buffet meals are well thought of, nicely served, plenty of local food and have variety. They assign guides who are attached to you throughout your stay. And please book the activities, including the Jaguar Safari, well in advance, during the dry season, as they use the facilities of other lodges for some activities. |They should upgrade their jeep Safari vehicles. These were uncomfortable to ride in. And the one hour speedy drive back from a neighbouring lodge, after a boat tour, in the dusty road, under a hot midday sun, with no roof on the jeep was an experience that can be avoided.|Overall, an excellent experience of a very comfortable stay amidst the wildlife and a large variety of birds. Great sunset views.

We really enjoyed our stay at Araras, and are already thinking about a return trip. The atmosphere is laid back and friendly, the rooms are very pleasant (if a little basic) and have good air conditioning, most of the guides seemed excellent, and the birdlife around the lodge is amazing. I also thought the food was outstanding - generally simple, but varied and delicious. ||The weather was very hot and dry while we were there (daytime max 40C), which perhaps reduced our chances of seeing larger animals during the day, but did mean that lots birds were concentrated around the lodge, making use of the shade and fresh water. We did the Porto Jofre jaguar-spotting trip offered by the lodge on one day, and it was amazing - certainly worth the money.||My only suggestion for improvement is that guests need more advance warning of the activities and their order/timing. You cannot spring an activity like horse-riding on someone who does not ride horses. They were able to give us an alternative, but it would have been much easier for everyone to have that conversation when we first arrived.

Due to the fires we were relocated to this lodge from one much further south and we felt fortunate that this happened.Alex our guide was great, knowledgeable and helpful. The numerous birds and animals around the lodge was thrilling and our encounters with the wildlife on our excursions was just astonishing. The food was lovely, homestyle cooking that was tasty and a break from all the restaurant food we'd eaten and much appreciated. Now back home the things we saw and did at the lodge are still amazing to us, we were truly very fortunate to have spent a few days in this very special place.

We came here after spending 3 nights at Porto da Capivara, where we had seen countless jaguars, river otters and birdlife. So we were a bit spoilt. We were well looked-after at Araras Lodge, but saw little except caiman and capybaras. The viewing activities seem to be predicated on the animals coming to visit the lodge, and the animals didn't keep their end of the bargain. Come here for the ambience, relaxation and activities, if you like, but if you want wildlife then keep travelling a few more hours.