Encontro das Águas — 27-day round trip: Amazon, Pantanal & Bahia

Go Inn Manaus is a practical city hotel one block from the historic centre and the Teatro Amazonas opera house. The hotel has a fitness room, a coffee shop and a small supermarket; the restaurant serves a daily breakfast buffet and Wi-Fi is free. The rooms are bright and modern, with air conditioning, minibar, private bathroom, digital safe, LCD TV, desk and full-length mirror.

Hotel Vale Verde is a convenient and comfortable place to stay in Campo Grande on the way to Bonito or the Southern Pantanal. It has 97 rooms in several categories with 24-hour room service, a swimming pool, a small garden, a bar and a restaurant serving regional dishes. A car rental office is located next to the hotel.

Hotel Bonsai has an excellent location two blocks from the central square and the main street of Bonito with its many shops and restaurants. The three-star hotel has 26 rooms, all with air conditioning, fan, TV, minibar and telephone, and each room has its own hammock. The hotel is attractively furnished with a beautiful garden, a heated pool, a restaurant and a bar, and has private parking. An upgrade to Hotel Cabanas is available on request.

Mid-sized family-run lodge with 15 spacious air-conditioned rooms with box-spring beds; main building with bilingual reception, lounge and an open-air restaurant overlooking the pool. Beach volleyball court, free parking and free WiFi. Full board with daily excursions on 2,700 ha of private land; giant anteaters are common (the lodge is a research base for the giant anteater project), hyacinth macaws, armadillos and toucans are regular visitors around the lodge. Transfer from Campo Grande or Bonito about 4 hours, the last 45 km unpaved. Excursions are led by local guides who grew up in the area but speak little English; a bilingual guide can be booked in advance at a supplement.

Pousada do Pilar is a beautifully furnished pousada in a restored colonial building in the historic centre of Salvador, directly facing the Baía de Todos os Santos. The spacious rooms have high ceilings and traditional décor, with TV, air conditioning, minibar and safe; Wi-Fi is free. Breakfast with regional dishes is served on the rooftop terrace with a panoramic view of the bay. The Santo Antônio quarter is a good choice for architecture, live music and history.

Identidade Brasil offers practical, colourful rooms in the centre of Cachoeira, with free Wi-Fi in the public areas, a bar and a restaurant. The rooms have a private bathroom and some have a spa bath; a tour desk arranges excursions in the region. A buffet breakfast with fresh fruit, bread and cold cuts is served in the morning. The bus station and the Dom Pedro I bridge are 1 km away, the Dannemann Institute 2 km; Salvador airport is 120 km.

Pousada Vila Serrano is a charming small pousada five minutes’ walk from the colonial centre of Lençóis. A special feature is its layout according to the principles of Feng Shui. The rooms are built in colonial style and decorated by local artists. Free internet, a library, a chess board, a table-tennis table and a spa are available.

Village Barra Hotel stands on the white sands of Barra de São Miguel beach and offers comfortable accommodation with leisure facilities. The bright restaurant has panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows. The air-conditioned rooms have cable TV and some have a sea view from the balcony; Wi-Fi is free. Guests can relax in the outdoor pool, children have a playground, and the bar serves snacks and drinks. Gunga beach is 12 km away and the entrance of Maceió 29 km.

Pousada Encontro das Águas lies directly on Peroba beach in Maragogi, designed to blend in with nature on grounds of 4,800 m² with 2,000 m² of gardens and plenty of quiet corners with loungers. Facilities include separate pools for adults and children, beach and pool bars, an air-conditioned restaurant, a games room, a gym, a hammock area with an aviary, a massage gazebo, a small chapel, a TV room and a lookout over the beach; kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, free Wi-Fi and a library with books and films are available. At low tide shallow natural pools form right in front of the pousada. Squirrel monkeys and hummingbirds visit the gardens. Excursions to Praia dos Carneiros and Porto de Galinhas can be arranged. An upgrade to the Salinas all-inclusive resort is available on request.

Mid-sized lodge with 21 wooden and stone bungalows on high ground, spread over a large area with jungle gardens, a pool and a jungle trail of about 1 km. All rooms have a private bathroom with hot water and air conditioning; the superior bungalows are more modern and larger. Restaurant overlooking the central garden, open lounge with hammocks. Multi-night packages on full board with daily excursions led by experienced nature guides; the surroundings combine flooded forest and higher jungle and are rich in birds, caimans and dolphins. Transfer 3.5–4 hours: car to the port of Manaus, boat across the Meeting of the Waters to Porto Careiro, road, then about 40 minutes by motorboat on the Mamori river. Optional survival packages with a night in hammocks in the jungle.

Porto Zarpa Hotel is a comfortable hotel in the village of Praia do Forte, a short walk from the beach and the lively centre with its restaurants and shops. The hotel has a tropical garden and a relaxed holiday atmosphere, with a spacious layout that suits families as well as couples. The rooms are neat and functional, with air conditioning, TV, minibar, safe and private bathroom, and all have a balcony or terrace facing the garden or the pool. Facilities include a large outdoor pool with sun terrace, a separate children’s pool, a restaurant and pool bar, a play area, free Wi-Fi, 24-hour reception and parking. Daily breakfast buffet; lunch and dinner are available in the restaurant.

Chalets and apartments in a natural setting, all with air conditioning, minibar, TV and free WiFi. Pool, bar, relaxation area, children’s playground and walking trails on the grounds. Activities from the hotel include tubing on the Formoso river, zip-lining and forest walks. Short distance from the Gruta do Lago Azul and the Rio Sucuri.

Salinas Maragogi All Inclusive Resort lies in a garden setting a few steps from the beach in Maragogi, Alagoas. The resort has a fitness centre, a spa and two outdoor pools. All rooms have a sea, garden or pool view and are air-conditioned, with minibar, flat-screen TV with cable channels, seating area and desk; some have a balcony. Guests choose from three restaurants with regional and international menus and three bars; meals, snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are included. Entertainment staff, room service, free private parking, a children’s playground, water sports, volleyball and adventure activities are available, with a 24-hour front desk.

Our English-speaking guide takes you through Manaus along its highlights: the famous Teatro Amazonas opera house, the indigenous museum and the lively Adolpho Lisboa market, where products from the Amazon are sold. The historic centre is also explored, where the grandeur of the late nineteenth-century rubber boom is still clearly visible. Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel; the tour is private and can start in the morning or the afternoon.

A full day of experiences on the rivers around Manaus. Pick-up at 08:30 at your hotel. The first stop is an indigenous village, where you learn about the culture and traditions of the local people. Next comes an encounter with the pink river dolphins (botos), followed by lunch on the quiet Lake Janauari and a visit to the giant Amazon water lilies. The journey continues by voadeira speedboat to the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Solimões flow side by side for kilometres without mixing. Back at the hotel around 17:00.

Complete four-day, three-night programme at Amazon Turtle Lodge with an experienced English-speaking guide. Day 1: journey via the Meeting of the Waters, riverside villages and creeks to the lodge, lunch buffet and motorised canoe trip. Day 2: sunrise tour, jungle trek with survival techniques, afternoon canoe trip with birds, sloths and monkeys. Day 3: visit to a caboclo family (rubber, cassava, forest fruits and herbs), piranha fishing and a night canoe trip to spot caimans. Day 4: breakfast and return to Manaus.

Nascente Azul offers a great day out with a range of activities. The main attraction is a 300-metre river snorkelling trail in crystal-clear water full of fish — like swimming in a life-size aquarium. The trail is not strenuous, as there is hardly any current, so it is also suitable for children. There is also a 400-metre zipline, a giant swing and a large lake for swimming, with walkways and a small zipline that drops you into the water. A restaurant on site serves lunch. Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel; a local guide is included, and an English-speaking guide can be booked in advance.

Morning pick-up with shared transfer (private at a supplement) to the Gruta do Lago Azul, a limestone cave with stalactites and stalagmites and a large blue lake at the bottom whose colour changes with the light; in December the sun shines directly on the lake for a short period. The descent is suitable for anyone who can climb stairs. Return to the hotel afterwards. Local Portuguese-speaking guide; English-speaking guide at a supplement.

Pousada Aguapé lies in the heart of the Southern Pantanal. The stay is full board with two excursions a day, planned with the guests on arrival; with a minimum of three nights all activities below are included. Boat trip on the Aquidauana river (2 to 2.5 hours, life jackets provided), the best way to see the riverbanks with birds, mammals and reptiles. Trekking through forest and open fields (1.5 to 4 hours, paths may be flooded in some seasons). Photo safari by open 4x4 through cerrado, grassland, seasonal wetlands and bays (2.5 to 3 hours), which can be combined with the night tour to spot anteaters, foxes, capybaras and caimans. Piranha fishing in a bay near the lodge. Horse riding at walking pace with experienced local guides (1.5 to 3 hours; from 6 years, maximum weight 120 kg), or a horse-drawn cart for those who prefer not to ride. Cattle work with the local cowboys, depending on availability. The lodge’s guides are locals who are excellent at spotting wildlife but speak little English; a bilingual guide can be booked in advance.

The walking tour through the historic centre is a great way to feel the unique energy of this place and its people. Pelourinho, the historic heart of Salvador, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985 and is an outstanding example of colonial history and a symbol of the Black movement in Bahia, with churches, museums, artists’ studios, galleries, shops and restaurants. The main sights are the house of the writer Jorge Amado, the cultural group Olodum, the São Francisco church and the Cathedral Basilica, and the traditional Cravinho bar. There is time to shop and, optionally, to visit the Pierre Verger gallery or the studio of textile designer Goya Lopes. The last stop is the Elevador Lacerda from 1873, which connects the upper and lower town, with a panoramic view over the Bay of All Saints and the Mercado Modelo.

An ideal walking tour to get to know the Chapada Diamantina. The excursion starts in the morning with pick-up at your hotel and a walk along the nearby Serrano river, where you can take a refreshing dip in the natural pools. The walk continues to the Areias Coloridas, a group of rocks with a striking variety of colours, with a swimming stop at the Cachoeirinha waterfall and on to the Primavera waterfall, which flows into the Lençóis river next to the Pedra do Mirante viewpoint with a fine view over the town. After lunch (paid locally) the walk continues about 3 km to Ribeirão do Meio, where you can abseil (optional) or simply swim in the natural pools. The excursion ends back in Lençóis with drop-off at your hotel.