BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are trying to make a final decision on whether we will go to Brazil for our vacation in July. We'll only have 23 days together.

We really want to spend 3-4 days in the jungle, but Manaus is so far and we're having trouble figuring out if we can get there with one voucher from the TAM airpass (4 vouchers). I would really appreciate any other suggestions that would perhaps be more realistic fitting into the following preliminary schedule:

-flying into Rio from Canada, spending 5 days
-TAM flight to Iguacu falls, spending 2 days
-TAM flight to Salvador and spending 10 days throughout the Northeast with a couple of overnight buses (better weather, lazing on beaches, likely some time in Salvador, Jeri and Sao Luis)
-TAM flight to jungle for 3-4 days (Manaus? National Park in the Northeast? Suggestions please)
-Tam flight to Sau Paulo, where we'd fly home from

Sooooo, if it's possible to fly from the Northeast (guessing Fortaleza) to Manaus and then to Sao Paulo for 2 TAM vouchers, that would be great, but we're also curious what other options there are to spend time in the rain forest.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

...just a few thoughts....
If you're going to Sao Luis, why would you fly to Manaus from Fortaleza?
Why would you mention Sao Luis and not think of going into the Parque Lencois?
Also do you realize that if you go to Jeicoacoara from Fortaleza, you are taking a 6 hour trip north (before another hour in to the coast)---and then retracing your steps to fly out north?
What are you expectations of what you might see in the Amazon in 3-4 days? How far from Manaus do you think you have to go to see any non-tourist presentation of the Amazon?

The Amazon is a fascinating place to visit, BUT it's really dense rainforest. So if you're planning on seeing anything but insects and sloths, you will need a lot of time. Usually all animals disappear long before you see them.

A better option is to go the Pantanal, a wetland area south of the Amazon, on the border to Bolivia. Open plains means you get to see much more of the animals. You stand a good chance of seeing the anaconda, giant anteaters, caimans, a LOT of colourful birds, definitely capivaras and even the jaguar, maybe even just outside the house you're staying in. It's not that far from Foz do Iguazo, so you should be able to get there quite easily. Ideally, the best parts of the Pantanal are in the northern end, out of Cuiaba, but you can also reach it from the south, via Campo Grande or Corumba.

At least look into the option! If you need some inspiration, I have photos from both the Amazon (a day out of Manaus by boat) and from the Pantanal, at http://www.pvv.org/~bct/brasil/

Happy trails!

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/