点评:We made a trip to Pantanal in 2019 with Lauros father, Joel, and that trip was decent. We wanted to go back to Pantanal in January 2026. In September I entered in contact with Lauro at Ecoverde Tours.
He sent an itinerary about the tour and photos of the pousada. The price of the tour was OK. In the beginning of October Lauro started to write dozens of messages daily telling us that it was very urgent that we paid for our tour as soon as possible. He needed to pay for the pousada etc. It seemed strange the way he insisted on an immediate payment. He even became offensive in his writing. At that moment we got suspicious about Lauro and almost decided to choose another agency. However, we decided to go with Ecoverde and made an advance payment. After we made the advance payment Lauro went silent and he stopped writing.
We asked him if everything was OK with our reservation, the itinerary, the guide Vagner and the pousada. He answered that we shouldn't worry and that everything was fine. Two weeks before our trip Lauro wrote and asked what we had agreed on regarding our trip, as he had forgotten. I reminded him and he wrote that everything would be as planned.
We arrived in Cuiabá the fourth of January. Our trip was planned to start at 10 AM the fifth of January. At 10 AM Lauro called us. He told us there had been changes. Our guide would no longer be Vagner, as promised, as Lauro said he didn't trust him. Lauro also told us he needed to raise the price for our tour. We told him we would only pay what we had agreed on. Then he threatened to cancel our trip if we didn't pay more. We insisted on paying what we had agreed on. Then he asked us to lend him money that he would pay back in 3 days.
The promised itinerary for the first day was:
"Day 1: We depart Cuiabá at 10:00 AM for the Pantanal, arriving in Poconé for lunch. On Monday, we enter the Pantanal, embarking on a long safari along the Transpantaneira highway until reaching Porto Jofre for dinner and accommodation in the apartments. After dinner, a short walk along the edge of the lodge."
Day 1 went like this. A pickup truck arrived one hour delayed, at 11 AM. Inside was a guy and his family. They were going to transport a refrigerator to Poconé and Lauro had arranged him to bring us along. We made the rest of the payment for our trip to the driver. We had to squeeze in the car. On the way to Poconé we had to stop several times as the refrigerator almost fell of several times.
In Poconé we were supposed to have a 30 minutes lunch stop. The driver left us at a restaurant and came back two hours later. We continued in the pickup truck towards Porto Jofre. It was supposed to be a long safari along the Transpantaneira highway. As we had visit Pantanal before we knew that there would be a lot of wildlife to see along the Transpantaneira. However, the driver and his family only wanted to go home to Porto Jofre as soon as possible. They speeded quickly and had no interest in stopping the car and let us photograph animals. It was very annoying speeding by lots of animals without even slowing down.
We arrived in Porto Jofre at 7 PM. Lauro had promised us that we would stay in Pousada Dona Onça, in Porto Jofre. He had sent us several photos of a nice pousada with comfortable rooms. He had also reassured us that he had used our advance payment to pay for the pousada. In Porto Jofre the new guide arrived, Antonio. We got surprised that he didn't bring us to the pousada. Instead we crossed the river to an old double-decker boat. He showed us a tiny cabin with metal bunk beds. The boat only had running water and electricity a few hours every day when the engine was running.
The promised evening walk along the lodge didn't happen. Our first day was a big disappointment. Antonio served us dinner. Simple but decent food. Antonio told us that Lauro had said that we would pay extra money directly to him. We explained that we knew nothing about that. Then Antonio told us that Ecoverde was owing him money and that Ecoverde had a very bad reputation in Pantanal and all the guides in the area avoided to work with Ecoverde. Antonio also explained that we didn't stay in Pousada Dona Onça as Lauro never paid the pousada.
The promised itinerary for the second day was:
"Day 2: Sunrise viewing and breakfast. At 8:00 AM, we depart for a boat trip to observe jaguars, giant otters, and other animals. Lunch will be served on the boat, and we will return between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM. After dinner, we will have a night safari in the surrounding area."
Day 2 went like this. Antonio turned out to be a very nice guy. In the morning we took a boat trip with a young guy. The boat trip lasted almost 10 hours. We saw birds, jacarés and otters. Lauro had guaranteed us that we would see jaguars, but we saw none. After dinner we went for a short boat trip and spotted some jacarés. It was a disappointment that we didn't see any jaguars but we still enjoyed our second day.
The promised itinerary for the third day was:
"Day 3: Sunrise viewing, breakfast, and return to Poconé with a safari along the Transpantaneira highway. At the beginning of Poconé, we'll cross to the other side of the Pantanal for a horseback ride, where it's possible to see anteaters, wolves, tapirs, deer, and even ocelots. After the horseback ride, return to Cuiabá, arriving between 2 PM and 4 PM."
Day 3 went like this. There were no sunrise viewing. After breakfast Antonios friend, Lino, picked us up. Lino was a great guy that also works as a guide. He also know about Ecoverde and told us about their bad reputation. Lino brought us to Poconé where another guy gave us a ride to Cuiabá where we arrived at noon. The promised horseback ride and watching anteaters, wolves, tapirs, deer, and even ocelots didn't happen.
We want to advise everyone to be think twice before they use Ecoverde tours. Don't be tempted by the fact that they are cheaper than other agencies. They don´t keep what they promise. Most of what was promised on their itinerary never happened. The story about Lauro needing the advance payment quickly to pay for the pousada wasn't true.
When we visit Pantanal the next time we will stay far away from Ecoverde Tours.
翻译:2019年,我们和劳罗的父亲乔尔一起去了潘塔纳尔湿地,那次旅行还不错。我们计划2026年1月再去一次。9月份,我联系了Ecoverde Tours的劳罗。
他发来了行程安排和旅馆的照片。价格也还可以。10月初,劳罗开始每天发几十条信息,催我们尽快付款。他说他需要支付旅馆的费用等等。他催款的方式很奇怪,甚至语气变得很恶劣。那时我们开始怀疑劳罗,几乎决定换一家旅行社。不过,我们最终还是选择了Ecoverde,并支付了预付款。付款后,劳罗就杳无音信了。
我们问他预订、行程、导游瓦格纳和旅馆的情况是否一切顺利。他回复说我们不用担心,一切都很好。出发前两周,劳罗来信询问我们之前关于行程的约定,因为他忘记了。我提醒了他,他回复说一切都会按计划进行。
我们于1月4日抵达库亚巴。行程原定于1月5日上午10点开始。上午10点,劳罗给我们打来电话。他告诉我们行程有变。我们的导游不再是之前承诺的瓦格纳,因为劳罗说他不信任瓦格纳。劳罗还说他需要提高行程价格。我们告诉他,我们只会支付之前约定的价格。然后他威胁说,如果我们不加钱,就取消我们的行程。我们坚持支付之前约定的价格。之后,他又要求我们借钱给他,说三天后还。
第一天的行程安排如下:
“第一天:上午 10:00 从库亚巴出发前往潘塔纳尔湿地,抵达波科内享用午餐。周一,我们进入潘塔纳尔湿地,沿着横贯潘塔纳尔公路进行长途旅行,最终抵达波尔图若弗雷,在那里享用晚餐并入住公寓。晚餐后,沿着旅馆边缘散步。”
第一天的行程是这样的:一辆皮卡车晚点一小时,上午 11 点才到。车里坐着一个男人和他的家人。他们要把一台冰箱运到波科内,劳罗安排他顺路送我们过去。我们把剩下的车费付给了司机。我们不得不挤进车里。去波科内的路上,我们不得不停了好几次车,因为冰箱好几次差点掉下来。
在波科内,我们原本应该停留 30 分钟吃午饭。司机把我们放在一家餐馆,两个小时后才回来。我们继续乘坐皮卡车前往波尔图若弗雷。原本计划沿着泛潘塔纳尔公路进行一次漫长的野生动物之旅。由于之前去过潘塔纳尔湿地,我们知道泛潘塔纳尔公路沿线会有很多野生动物。然而,司机和他的家人只想尽快回到波尔图若弗雷。他们飞驰而过,丝毫没有停下来让我们拍照的意思。从众多动物身边呼啸而过却不减速,这让我们非常恼火。
晚上7点,我们到达了波尔图若弗雷。劳罗之前答应过我们会住在波尔图若弗雷的唐娜翁萨旅馆(Pousada Dona Onça)。他给我们发了几张旅馆的照片,房间舒适。他还向我们保证,他已经用我们预付的款项预订了旅馆。到了波尔图若弗雷,新的导游安东尼奥来了。让我们感到意外的是,他并没有带我们去旅馆。相反,我们乘船过河,来到一艘老旧的双层游船旁。他带我们看了一间很小的木屋,里面有金属双层床。船上只有每天发动机运转的几个小时才有自来水和电。
之前承诺的傍晚沿着旅馆散步并没有成行。第一天真是令人失望。安东尼奥给我们准备了晚餐,虽然简单但还算过得去。安东尼奥告诉我们,劳罗说过我们要直接给他额外的钱。我们解释说我们对此一无所知。然后安东尼奥又说,埃科维德欠他钱,而且埃科维德在潘塔纳尔的名声很差,当地所有的向导都避之不及。安东尼奥还解释说,我们没能住在多娜翁萨旅馆,是因为劳罗一直没付旅馆的房费。
第二天的行程安排如下:
“第二天:观赏日出和早餐。早上 8:00,我们将乘船出海,观赏美洲虎、巨獭和其他动物。午餐将在船上享用,我们将在下午 3:00 至 4:00 之间返回。晚餐后,我们将在周边地区进行夜间野生动物观赏之旅。”
第二天的行程安排如下。安东尼奥人很好。早上,我们和一位年轻的导游一起乘船出海。这次乘船之旅持续了近 10 个小时。我们看到了各种鸟类、蓝尾蝠和水獭。劳罗曾向我们保证会看到美洲虎,但我们一只也没看到。晚餐后,我们又乘船进行了一次短途旅行,看到了一些蓝尾蝠。虽然没看到美洲虎有点遗憾,但我们仍然很享受第二天的行程。
第三天的行程安排如下:
“第三天:观赏日出,享用早餐,然后沿着泛潘塔纳尔公路进行野生动物之旅,返回波科内。在波科内入口处,我们将骑马穿越潘塔纳尔湿地,在那里可以看到食蚁兽、狼、貘、鹿,甚至还有美洲豹。骑马结束后,返回库亚巴,预计下午2点至4点之间抵达。”
第三天的行程安排是这样的:根本没有观赏日出。早餐后,安东尼奥的朋友利诺来接我们。利诺是个很棒的人,他也是一名向导。他了解Ecoverde公司,并告诉我们他们名声不好。利诺带我们去了波科内,然后另一个人开车送我们去库亚巴,我们中午才到达。之前承诺的骑马和观赏食蚁兽、狼、貘、鹿,甚至美洲豹的行程都没有实现。
我们想提醒大家,选择Ecoverde Tours之前务必三思。不要被他们比其他旅行社便宜的价格所诱惑。他们根本不兑现承诺。行程单上承诺的大部分内容都没有实现。他们之前说的Lauro急需预付款来支付旅馆费用,这完全是无稽之谈。
下次我们再去潘塔纳尔湿地,绝对不会再选择Ecoverde Tours。