The Ultimate Travel Guide to Bonito in Brazil
Bonito, meaning “beautiful” in Portuguese, is the perfect name for one of the most stunning destinations in Brazil. In this travel guide, I am excited to share the lessons I learned from exploring the city’s crystal-clear rivers, waterfalls, caves, and wildlife!
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TLTR? Here are the highlights of Bonito
🚶♀️➡️Best tours: Snorkeling at Rio da Prata, Waterfall trails at Boca da Onça, Cave exploration at Gruta do Mimoso
🍽️ Best food: Alto do Céu, Pão da Praça, Margherita Pizzaria
How to get to Bonito in Brazil
The most convenient way to get to Bonito is by landing at the town’s small airport:
Aeroporto Regional de Bonito, BYO. Because of the limited number of flights arriving in BYO, most visitors choose to get to Bonito by driving from Campo Grande, a much larger airport about 3.5 hours away.
Driving to Bonito
The most common way to get to Bonito is by flying to Aeroporto Internacional de Campo Grande and renting a car there. At the airport, you can rent a car. In Brazil, the most trusted car rental companies are Localiza and Movida.
A car drive from Campo Grande to Bonito takes 3.5 hours and the road is completely paved. Safety-wise, there are no major concerns in this route. Go without fear!
Another common starting point for driving to Bonito is Foz do Iguaçu, the home of Brazil’s Iguazu Falls. From Foz do Iguaçu, the drive to Bonito takes about 10.5 hours and is equally safe.
Pro tip: Use the app Waze for navigation while driving. The app will notify you of animals on the road, police cars, speed traps, and much more. Most Brazilians use Waze as opposed to Google Maps when driving!
Almost any car can handle these routes, but I recommend renting an SUV for extra comfort. An SUV is especially convenient during a stay in Bonito, as it allows you to drive to the various attractions on your own.
Keep in mind that the tour prices don’t include transportation, and you can expect to pay around R$90 per person for each tour. By driving yourself and your group to the tour sites, you may save a significant amount of money and time.
Important to note: Be careful to not hurt any wild animals while driving. Anteaters in Brazil face the threat of extinction, with road accidents being a major cause of their declining population. To keep yourself and the wild animals safe, abide by the speed limits and avoid driving at night.
Getting a bus or van from Campo Grande to Bonito
The next best way to get to Bonito is by taking shared transportation. Vanzella is the town’s official transportation provider, and you can easily book tickets for ~R$120 each way on Vanzella’s website.
Depending on how many tickets were sold that day, Vanzella will either pick you up from Campo Grande airport in a van or bus and take you to your accommodation in Bonito. When booking, be sure to provide a WhatsApp number you’ll be using during your trip to Brazil. A day or two before your journey, Vanzella will reach out via WhatsApp with pickup details and ask for your hotel information to arrange drop-off.
Because I don’t know how to drive, Vanzella was my chosen method of transportation! I was impressed by the quality of their staff and the great condition of the vans and buses they picked me up in. Based on my experience, I highly recommend booking with them!
Adventure tours in Bonito
Bonito offers a range of tours to crystal-clear rivers, beautiful caves, and bathing-friendly waterfalls. Bonito’s attractions are mostly privately owned, so each tour goes to natural reserves located at private farms. The tours are always guided and follow a pre-established and timed route. There are over 30 amazing attractions in town and each of them costs between ~R$100 (~20 USD) and ~R$500 (~100 USD).
An advantage to the way tourism works in Bonito is that natural attractions are never crowded, as each spot is only allowed to have 9 to 11 visitors at a time! If you are visiting during a busy season, make sure to book the most popular tours in advance to be guaranteed a spot!
How to book tours in Bonito
All tour agencies in Bonito offer the same prices, as they are regulated by the local government. To book the tours and ask clarifying questions, you should contact tour agencies through WhatsApp. In my experience, all the agencies were responsive and helpful in building my Bonito itinerary.
Important to note: most tours in Bonito have photographers who take pictures of visitors during the tour highlights. Typically, a pack with all these pictures is sold for R$90 per family. If you want to have the flexibility of taking your own photos, I recommend bringing your own action camera.
Here are a few of the agencies I recommend in Bonito:
- Bonito Ecological
- I used this agency to book all my tours and highly recommend them!
- Bonito Ecotour
- Agencia Ygarape
Important to note: When booking a tour, keep in mind that transportation is not included in the tour price! If you have a car, you can easily drive yourself to all tour sites. If you need to hire transportation to get to the sites, ask the tour agency to arrange those for you!
Best tours in Bonito
Bonito has way more tours than anyone has time and money to do! The good news is that most of the attractions are extremely similar, and typically fall into one of three categories: freshwater floating, cave exploration, and swimming in waterfalls. Other attractions are available but less popular, such as wildlife-watching and aqua-rides.
Important to note: Although Bonito is known for its breathtaking scenery, the area surrounding each tour is predominantly farmland. Unfortunately, much of the plants you see at the attractions is secondary growth, meaning the original forest was cleared and is now being replanted, primarily for eco-tourism and conservation efforts.
Below is my selection of the best tours for each one of the categories!
Freshwater floating at Rio da Prata
Rio da Prata offers one of the longest floating (flutuação) tours in Bonito, taking visitors through both the Prata and Olho d’Água rivers. The experience lasts around 4 hours and includes 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of floating and snorkeling, as well as a short walk in nature.
The crystal-clear waters offer exceptional visibility, allowing visitors to spot a variety of local fish and aquatic plants as they float. What makes Rio da Prata particularly unique is the mix of shallow areas, ~30 centimeters deep, where the visibility is amazing, and deeper sections of 5+ meters, where you can free dive if you’re feeling adventurous.
A highlight of the Rio da Prata floating tour is visiting the river springs, which guides call “volcanoes,” where you can get up close to the spots where water emerges from underground aquifers.
If you’re lucky, you might come across a friendly alligator or spot water snakes. During my tour, we saw the alligator, and even a few colorful macaws flying above us!
Pro tip: Between May and September you can visit Lagoa Misteriosa, which is considered one of the most beautiful swims in Bonito, and it is located right by Rio da Prata. If you are visiting Bonito during this season, book a tour of Lagoa Misteriosa and Rio da Prata together!
The area where we have lunch and wait for the tours, is also full of animals that you might come across! When visiting, I got to spot macaws, an armadillo, and a peacock!
Additional fun: Go horseback riding!
Rio da Prata also offers a horseback riding tour, which can be booked at an additional cost.
Cave exploration at Gruta do Mimoso
Gruta do Mimoso is a stunning cave in Bonito known for its crystal-clear waters with amazing visibility and stunning rock formations. Visitors can explore the cave’s beautiful formations through a mix of walking trails and snorkeling (or scuba diving if you’re into that!)
The cave is very close to the Pantanal biome, and there you might come across lots of animals! Gruta do Mimoso is ~30km away from Bonito and the tour only lasts for ~1.5 hours, so you might enjoy spending the rest of the day exploring waterfalls nearby at Rio do Peixe!
Swimming in waterfalls at Boca da Onça
Boca da Onça is a natural complex featuring stunning waterfalls and Brazil’s tallest rappel platform, standing at 90 meters.
You can choose from various tour packages, with the shortest involving a 2.2 km walk and the longest stretching 6.5 km. All trails are beginner-friendly, and each route leads to breathtaking waterfalls, many of which you can swim at!
Important to note: the amount of water in the waterfalls varies significantly according to the season and the yearly rainfall!
Bird-watching at Buraco das Araras
Buraco das Araras is a giant sinkhole, 100 meters (328 ft) deep and measuring 500 meters (1640 ft) in circumference is the home of many incredible birds in Bonito. The big stars of the sinkhole are the 60 pairs of red macaws that live there, but you may also observe many other birds such as toucans and woodpeckers!
The sinkhole is also home to an alligator and tons of other species that accidentally fell in there and could not manage to get out.
The 1.5-hour tour at Buraco das Araras leads visitors to two viewpoints at the edge of the hole plus a small trail where other animals and native plants can be observed. If you are into bird-watching, you can contact the Buraco das Araras in advance and ask for a longer tour. My tour guide said that some visitors go on a special full-day tour to observe the amazing wildlife.
Watching toucans, colorful macaws, and a woodpecker hit its beak against a tree was one of the highlights of my trip to Bonito! I highly recommend adding a quick stop at Buraco das Araras to your Bonito itinerary.
Logistics tip: Buraco das Araras is only a 15-minute drive away from the incredible floating experience at Rio da Prata, so it is a good idea to go on both tours on the same day!
Rafting at Eco Park
Hop on an inflatable boat and navigate over 5km (3 miles) through Formoso River’s crystal-clear waters and waterfalls. This tour is a lot like rafting and also includes a stop for bathing in the river.
To make your experience more complete, you can also sign up for other water tours or facility day-use at Eco Park!
Where to eat in Bonito
Good vibes and varied vendors at Vila Rebuá Gastronomia
Vila Rebuá is a great spot for dinner, with live music and a wide variety of food vendors serving everything from Brazilian and Asian cuisine to Italian dishes. I found food prices to be on the higher side, but still reasonable—I got a pizza for around R$60.
The lively atmosphere on a Saturday night made dining there totally worth it!
Affordable skewers at Bonito Espeto
At Praça da Liberdade, a major square in Bonito, I found a family-owned stand selling delicious beef skewers for only R$20! And it included sides!! Bonito Espeto was my favorite dinner spot in town, and I highly recommend stopping there for an affordable bite.
If beef skewers are not your thing, Praça da Liberdade also has a number of other small Brazilian food vendors worth checking out!
Local lunch at Sabor da Casa
Sabor da Casa is a local hotspot for lunch. I asked several locals for an affordable lunch spot, and all of them recommended Sabor da Casa! Located in Bonito’s downtown, this restaurant serves delicious Brazilian dishes for ~R$28.
Pro tip: Delicias do Cerrado ice cream
Delicias do Cerrado, literally translating to Yummy from the Brazilian Savannah, is an ice cream brand that features a lot of fruits unique to this biome.
Their posicles are an amazing opportunity to taste local fruit regardless of the season.
You can purchase this brand of ice cream in a few locations in Bonito as well as in eco-tourism destinations, such as Buraco das Araras and Rio da Prata.
What to bring to Bonito
Here is my selection of the must-have items for a trip to Bonito! For a full list of all my travel essentials, check out my travel resources page.
Bug repellant: there are so many bugs in Bonito! I recommend bringing a strong bug repellant to stay sane during your trip.
Microfiber towel: My #1 travel must-have was very handy to carry during the trails. This towel folds to fit inside of a case of sunglasses and dries out super quickly!
Action camera: Bonito is famous for its crystal clear waters, and bringing an action camera such as a GoPro or a DJI Action is a great idea! Action cameras are available for rent in town, but purchasing one proved to be a great investment for me.
Crocs: I know this sounds odd, but Crocs are actually the best shoe to wear in Bonito! No one wears sneakers on the walking trails, and flip-flops are not allowed. Crocs are the go-to shoe for tours in Bonito. Most tour agencies offer free rental rubber shoes, similar to Crocs, for floating tours and waterfall trails. Because I’m grossed out by rental shoes, I find it much more convenient to bring my own Crocs!
Snorkeling gear: Tour agencies offer free snorkels during tours, but I found some of them to be quite uncomfortable. Full-face masks, which are ideal for those who don’t have much snorkeling experience, are typically available for rental at R$30 per use. If you have space in your luggage, I recommend packing up your own snorkeling gear!
Crazy fact: To avoid the snorkeling masks from fogging, we are instructed to spit on them! Although factory-made anti-fogging liquids exist, they are not allowed in most of the swims in Bonito to avoid bringing chemicals into the water.
Important information about visiting bonito
When to visit Bonito?
Bonito can be visited year-round! During the winter (May to September), which is the dry season, you can enjoy the clearest waters. The main issue with visiting Bonito during the dry season is the potential occurrence of forest fires, which may make the city a bit smoky. You can also enjoy Bonito during the rainy season, which has colder temperatures and goes from December to February. Tours still run during the rain, and the views are stunning anyway.
How many days to stay in Bonito?
The main attractions in Bonito can be seen in 3 days, but even if staying over a week you will not run out of activities to join!
Is Bonito affordable?
Stays in Bonito can be very affordable, as there is a wide variety of accommodations ranging from cheap private rooms and hostel beds to camping areas. If you’re into luxury travel, a nice hotel in Bonito will not break the bank!
The catch when it comes to affordability in Bonito is the high cost of each tour. If going on a full-day tour, you should expect to spend about R$500 (~100 USD) during the day. The prices of the tours alone make Bonito one of the most expensive places to visit in Brazil, as there isn’t much to do in town for free!
Do I need a car to visit Bonito?
Although you don’t need a car to visit Bonito, renting a car is highly recommended! All attractions in Bonito are a car drive away from downtown, and shared transportation to each attraction costs around R$90 per person. Therefore, having your own car can save you a lot of money if traveling in a group! Also, having a car gives you the flexibility to visit attractions on your own schedule. When using shared transportation to get to attractions in Bonito, I was often frustrated to be picked up at 7 AM for a tour that didn’t start until 10!
SUVs are a comfortable choice for driving on the unpaved roads that connect downtown Bonito to the many attractions. No worries if an SUV is unavailable to you, the unpaved roads are in great condition and just about any car can drive through them!
Is Bonito safe?
Bonito is incredibly safe, comparable to an average beach town in Spain when it comes to safety. I walked alone at night several times and never came across any problems. Check out this dedicated post on safety while traveling in Brazil for more information and safety guidance.
Is Bonito family-friendly?
Many of the attractions in Bonito are family-friendly! If you are traveling with kids, ask the tour agency for tours that allow small children to join. Across the tours I went to, Ceita Corê and Nascente Azul stood out for their family-friendliness!
Is Bonito accessible?
Bonito is extremely accessible, in all senses of the word. Many of the attractions, such as the floating activity and trail at Aquário Natural, are wheelchair friendly!
Many tour guides are fluent in English and Spanish. Ask your tour agency to arrange your tours with bilingual guides so won’t miss important explanations on safety and the local fauna and flora!
Is Bonito in the Pantanal?
Bonito is located in a transition area between the Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah) and the Atlantic Forest. However, the city is only 160 km from Pantanal and many people who visit Bonito add a few days in Pantanal to their itinerary.
How do I get from Bonito to Pantanal?
You can drive to Pantanal from Bonito! Cities like Miranda and Aquidauana are accessible from Bonito by road. There are some Pantanal day tours from Bonito, but locals told me that they barely go deep in the wild and typically stick to visiting a local farm called Fazenda São Francisco.
My experience: I read that the best place to visit the Pantanal is actually in the state above Bonito: Mato Grosso. There, you can find a city named Porto Jofre which is the best place in the world to see wild jaguars! I headed to Porto Jofre from Bonito by flying into Campo Grande and driving south to Poconé.
Other amazing nature destinations in Brazil
Did you enjoy this guide to Bonito in Brazil? If so, make sure to check out my guides to other incredible eco-tourism destinations in Brazil!
Lençóis Maranhenses
A flooded desert that forms what I consider to be the most beautiful landscape on earth! Learn more →
