Ecoverde Tours

Empresa séria e profissional no que faz, com ótimos passeios para o Pantanal e Chapada dos Guimarães

Infelizmente sabemos que o segmento de Turismo com a covit teve uma grande perda ainda mais nos estados em que o governo não socorreu as pequenas e médias empresas o Turismo no Mato Grosso está totalmente desconfigurado olhar de quem vive isso há 30 anos

I booked a tour with them in December. They have stolen some of my money and I'm reporting them to the police. There were also other problems.

They quoted me 3,000 real for a four day tour including Jaguar spotting, and said I could pay by TransferWise even though the 2,100 real was arriving on the penultimate day of the tour, which was agreed before payment. On the first day of the tour, the manager took us to a town over an hour away, told us he didn't know if he could get us a tour guide, and drank at least ten beers in less than an hour even though it was early morning.

When a tour guide arrived, the manager told us that we couldn't go on the tour unless I paid him a second time, because his son had agreed the payment terms without his approval. I told him I had already paid the full amount, and it was arriving as scheduled but he refused to continue the tour for me or the other guest (who I'd only just met) unless I went to an ATM and repaid the 2,100 real as he needed this to pay fuel and accommodation. Reluctantly, I agreed through fear or losing the full amount I'd paid, and the other tourists money too. The manager promised me I'd get the money I paid back on the final day of the tour and asked me to trust him.

On the second day of the tour, I lost an afternoon's jaguar spotting because the accommodation but pequi nut in the buffet and didn't warn us that biting into it leaves hundreds of splinters in your mouth. I was taken to the nearest medical centre four hours away as I couldn't eat or talk due to the pain of the splinters in my mouth. Neither Ecoverde nor the accommodation offered an apology or offered to compensate for losing half of a day of the most expensive part of the tour.

When I arrived at the manager's house at the end of the tour, he only had 800 real of the 2,100 he said he'd repay. He promised to transfer the rest online the next day, and so I left for my flight. After a week he told me he didn't have the money as it had been spent, but again promised to pay it back as soon as possible. After nearly two months, I've contacted the Mato Grosso police to report the loss of money as theft.

We were also not sticking to the schedule even before the medical emergency. I was promised my own room and had to share on the first night, and we did not stay in the accommodation I was promised. The other tourist had booked a different schedule, so they had to replan the itinerary after we had already left for the tour on the first day.

We were hugely disappointed with the 4 day jaguar tour of the Pantanal provided by this company, as were our whole group. The organisation is very poor and things are changed last minute to maximise profits for the company not your experience. Our group was held back for a day so another group could join. The boat was then too small for our group so the English speaking guide couldn’t fit in it. So we had no guide for a day and a half. We didn’t make it to the final location we were meant to visit, instead spending longer at a location that seemed to be the most devoid of wildlife I saw in my entire time in the Pantanal.

You’ll probably only visit the Pantanal once, don’t risk having a disappointing experience with this company. Everyone in our group was trying to contact the organiser Joel to get a partial refund. He said he would meet us to discuss and then just stopped answering the phone or replying to messages.

In short: don't go! As soon as they have your money, they change accomadations, schedule, guide, everything, and not for the better! Bad accomadations, bad boats, bad excursion, bad schedule and the worst guide Eljo. This used to be good (I have read on internet and the Lonely Planet) but not anymore!

Me encuentro en este momento en pantanal.todo un desastre por parte de Joel, que ha querido hacer un cambio de ruta, de alojamiento. Nos hemos encontrado con un barco como alojamiento que no tiene nada que ver con la pasta que le hemos pagado. Después de obligar al que llevamos de chofer- guía a ir al alojamiento contratado, nos encontramos con que está cerrado, esto es una pincelada del día que llevamos. Creo que el dueño de Ecoverde, Joel, solo quiere embolsarse la pasta a costa de los turistas que venimos a pasar unos días de vacaciones. No lo recomiendo a NADIE y por lo menos en mi país haré lo posible para que así sea

Poor experience. Joel's communication will cease once he has your money and standards fell far below those promised. Accommodation, travel and guides were poor, and some of the included activities didn't happen.

My girlfriend and I spent 4 days in the Pantanal with Ecoverde Tours. Joel is the owner and Carlos was our guide who was knowledgeable on all the wildlife in the area.

Joel is very nice and met us at the airport on the day we arrived and took us to his house/hostel in the centre of town. The rooms were comfortable with fans and a decent shower. Cuiaba was very hot the time of year we arrived (September) so be prepared to sweat alot, if you don't like the heat.

We met his family and I think it's customary to give some members money when requested, to help pay for taxis and shopping. We contribted 20 Reals one night, but this is not mandatory.

The next day, we woke early and had breakfast at a nice bakery and shortly afterwards made our way to to the Pantanal with Soeli, the manager and driver of Ecoverde, who was also very friendly and made the car trip enjoyable.

Our first stop on the Transpandaeria Highway (bumpy dirt road) was Pousada Canto do Arancuan. Here we enjoyed a nice swim in the pool and had a big lunch before making the final 100km trip to Porto Jofre in the back of a big diesel truck with bench seats. (Bring lots of water on this trip, it gets hot!)

When finally arriving at Porto Jofre we enjoyed more great food, beers and cold water.

The next morning we woke early to take a boat ride up the river and over the course of the day we spotted 4 jaguars (briefly) before quickly moving up the river to spot Capybaras, Caiman, giant otters feeding on fish and so many birds I can't list them all in a single review. We also saw Anacondas on the road, Ocelot and Tapairs dashing away into the bush. Our tour included horse back riding at a Pousada and fishing for Piranha in the river.

My main tips:
-Bring lots of water and beer. Seriously, you can't have too much of either and it's nice to share.
-Be prepared for the heat, if travelling in the dry season.
-Bring a camera with a zoom lens!
-Buy a wide brim hat for the ioeo air boat ride.
-You will eat lots of food, 3 big meals per day!
-Be open to meeting different people and surrendering yourself to the experience. It's a wildlife adventure, not a 5 star luxury cruise.

Thanks so much to the team at Ecoverde Tours! You offer an interesting and authentic experience and one we will remember for a lifetime.