I very much enjoyed my first overlanding experience. My tour leaders have been all fantastic. Everything was organised extremely well so I was able to do all activities that I wanted.
Excellent wildlife viewing but poor UK booking experience. On a positive note we had a great wildlife experience seeing five jaguar, giant otters, tapirs, ocelot and hyacinth macaws amongst many others. Tony, our guide, was one of the very best guides I have had. He spotted just about everything going and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the birds and animals of the Pantanal. The not so good was when booking, the connecting flight from San Paulo to Cuiaba was booked from a different San Paulo airport to the one I was due to arrive at from the UK. Speaking to the Exodus rep when booking I questioned why the arrival airport had a different code to the departure airport and was assured the two flights were from the same airport so booked. I was not comfortable and quick online search showed that this was not the case. Fortunately it was sorted out when I then raised the issue again but no apology for what was a basic error. Following the two reviews from 2023, the connecting flight is now a 7hrs wait. While baggage is checked through to Cuiaba you must collect your baggage in San Paula and go through immigration control and customs. You can then drop your bags off at the Latam desk 4hr before your flight to Cuiaba. This info is correct as of July 2024!
A fantastic experience, with far more wildlife sightings than I expected. We saw three jaguars (some of the group saw five), with great opportunities to both observe and photograph these beautiful animals. We saw dozens of species of birds, caiman, capybara, howler and capuchin monkeys, coati, armadillo, peccary, brocket, tamandua and the iconic giant otter and giant anteater. We were lucky enough to glimpse a very rare jaguamundi too.
Excellent accommodation; although the houseboat was quite basic we were made to feel very welcome.