Things to do in Bonito
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bonito
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, the rivers run clearest, farm roads are reliable and Lagoa Misteriosa is in its blue season.
Connoisseur months, clear water and warming air with thinner crowds outside holidays.
Clear water but Brazilian winter school holidays, the fullest vouchers of the year and cold nights.
Rainy season, fuller waterfalls but river clarity can drop, floats can be suspended and Lagoa Misteriosa can close.
The Blue Lake Cave blue is strongest when the sun angle strikes the lake, inside the busiest high season.
What's on
- Festival de Inverno de Bonito late July to early August, dates vary by year
A week of music, theatre, folklore and art that fills the town while the rivers are at their clearest.
- Festa Junina throughout June
Bonfires, quadrilha dancing and corn and peanut festival food in the town squares.
- Bonito Anniversary 2 October
The town anniversary, marked with local parades and events at the tail of the dry season.
Best things to do in Bonito
Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata
Bonito's signature float, two kilometres of spring river snorkelling past fifty plus fish species, with a farm lunch.
Rio Sucuri
Among the clearest rivers on earth, a gentle float through an underwater garden with a support boat for beginners.
Gruta do Lago Azul
A vast cavern holding an intensely blue underground lake, strongest in the morning and in December and January.
Aquário Natural
The gentle first float, a spring pool and short drift full of fish only seven kilometres from the town centre.
Buraco das Araras
A giant sinkhole where dozens of red and green macaw pairs commute at dawn and late afternoon.
Lagoa Misteriosa
Snorkel or take a first dive into a flooded sinkhole more than 220 metres deep, bluest from April to October.
Nascente Azul
A turquoise spring float with zip lines and a lake beach attached, the kindest complex for nervous first timers.
Balneário Municipal de Bonito
The town's own swimming spot, where tame piraputanga cruise the clear shallows around you for local money.
Where to stay in Bonito
Centro
first trips and travellers without a car
Agencies, restaurants, the square and tour van pickups are all a short walk in this small flat centre.
Tres Morros road, east of town
families and resort days
Big ground resorts with pools and kids clubs, a few minutes drive east, so a car or taxi budget is part of the deal.
Rio Formoso road, west of town
slow mornings and nature on site
Small river lodges where the Formoso runs past breakfast and tubing starts on site, with town a drive away.
Think twice about
- Campo Grande as a base
The capital is 260 to 300 km and 4 to 5 hours away, so day trips mean 8 to 10 hours of road for dawn tours.
- Remote farm properties without a car
Every tour, dinner and agency is in town, and per person transport or dirt road taxis will eat the saving.
- Jardim or Bodoquena as a base
Fine towns near single attractions, but neither has Bonito's agencies, restaurants or tour van network.
Best restaurants in Bonito
Casa do João
The beloved institution for boneless traira and Pantanal plates, with the owner working the room.
Juanita Restaurante
Order the pacu na brasa for two and the guavira caipirinha at the other pole of Bonito dining.
Bacuri Cozinha Regional
The newer chef driven regional table, reworking cerrado and Pantanal ingredients with real precision.
Restaurante Pantanal Grill na Brasa
A lively main street grill for alligator, piranha and mixed grills, with most mains portioned for two.
Turquesa Árabe Natural
A Lebanese Turkish family kitchen that is the vegetarian and vegan lifeline of Bonito.
Zapi Zen
Bonito's pizza night done properly, homemade doughs in a candlelit room loved by couples.
Restaurante Do Marco Velho
The por kilo buffet lunch that feeds the town, fast, filling and priced by plate weight.
Taboa Bar
Cachaca tastings, bar snacks and live music at the closest thing Bonito has to nightlife.
Outdoor things to do in Bonito
Abismo Anhumas
Rappel seventy two metres into a cavern lake, then snorkel among submerged cones in Bonito's biggest half day.
Boca da Onça Ecoturismo
A canyon trail past waterfall after waterfall to the tallest falls in the state, with an optional platform rappel.
Estância Mimosa Ecoturismo
Ten waterfalls and nine swimming stops on a farm trail, ending in a wood stove regional lunch.
Parque das Cachoeiras
Seven waterfalls on one easy guided trail with bathing in almost all of them, at budget prices.
Gruta do Mimoso
Float or dive inside a flooded cave among stalactites, the connoisseur cave of Bonito.
Parque Ecológico Rio Formoso
Boia cross tubing, kayaking and river swimming on the Formoso, Bonito's cheap adventure sampler.
Fazenda San Francisco
A southern Pantanal ranch best done overnight, so the night safari with anteaters and caiman is included.
Grutas de São Miguel
A dry, walk through cavern with no big descent, the easy cave for children and travellers with limited mobility.
Best hotels in Bonito
Arte da Natureza Hotel Bonito
Bonito's design splurge in the centre, with glass sided pools and private pool suites at the top tier.
Wetiga Hotel
The reliable main street hotel, with indoor and outdoor pools and walk everywhere convenience.
CLH Suites Bonito
The budget hostel hotel hybrid in the centre, with dorms, private rooms, a pool and a shared kitchen.
Zagaia Eco Resort
Bonito's full resort, 134 rooms in big grounds with three pools and a praised kids club for families.
Hotel Cabanas
A small river lodge on the Formoso whose own boia cross run starts on site, in woodland full of macaws.
Pousada Surucuá
A garden pousada on a quiet street, with a courtyard pool, hammocks and afternoon coffee and cake.
Hotel Pousada Águas de Bonito
A calm garden hotel with pool, sauna and spa, the grown up mid range pick on Rua 29 de Maio.
Hotel Pirá Miúna
A straightforward good value town hotel with a pool, for travellers spending their money on tours.
Is Bonito expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$900 a person |
| Splurge | R$1,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata: weeks ahead
- Rio Sucuri: weeks ahead
- Gruta do Lago Azul: weeks ahead
- Aquário Natural: weeks ahead
- Buraco das Araras: weeks ahead
- Lagoa Misteriosa: weeks ahead
- Nascente Azul: weeks ahead
- Balneário Municipal de Bonito: a few days ahead
- Every attraction is voucher only with a capped daily number, booked in advance through licensed local agencies.
- Book Rio da Prata, Abismo Anhumas, Lagoa Misteriosa, Gruta do Lago Azul and Rio Sucuri first, weeks ahead in high season.
- Abismo Anhumas needs a training session in town the day before the visit.
- Tour prices are tabled and the same at every agency, and transport is usually not included in the headline price.
Is Bonito safe?
- Bonito town is small and calm at night, and the main risks are natural, including slippery limestone and river currents.
- No sunscreen or insect repellent is allowed in the float rivers, and wetsuits and life vests are provided and worn.
- Yellow fever vaccination is standard advice for this region, and repellent matters on land.
- Emergencies in Brazil are 190 for police, 192 for ambulance and 193 for fire.
Bonito travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Gruta do Lago Azul is a viewpoint, not a swim or an adventure cave, so go for the morning photograph.
- On a short trip do one float well rather than three similar floats, and add a cave, waterfalls or the Pantanal.
- The Pantanal day trip from Bonito misses the night safari, so overnight there or skip it honestly.
- An agency discount on the tour itself usually means cheaper transport or a different attraction, because prices are tabled.
Getting around Bonito: public transport and more
- Fly to Campo Grande, then a 4 to 5 hour shuttle or bus, or about 3.5 hours by rental car, to Bonito.
- Town is flat and walkable, but attractions sit 7 to 70 km out on paved then dirt farm roads.
- A rental car is the consensus pick for couples and groups, and shared tour transport is priced per person per attraction.
- Download offline maps in town, because mobile signal fades on the farm roads.
Who Bonito suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Bonito your trip
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