Bonito 7-Day Itinerary: The Complete Week, with a Rest Day and Day Trips

A week in Bonito, Brazil, is the itinerary for anyone who does not want to choose. It fits all three directions, the Anhumas Abyss with the rappel test on the right day, a river day with no schedule, and still leaves mornings for day trips. The rhythm is still two tours a day, grouped by direction as in the itinerary by region, but with slack to swap days when the weather changes.

The itinerary assumes arrival the previous afternoon and departure on the morning of the eighth day or the afternoon of the seventh.

Before you travel

• Book in advance, through an agency with a single voucher: the Anhumas Abyss, the Rio da Prata, Boca da Onça and the Blue Lake Cave in the morning. The rest can be decided in town.
• Choose accommodation in the center. Over seven days, the difference in comfort matters; see where to stay in Bonito.
• If you are driving, bear in mind that the dirt roads get slower in the rain. Without a car, get the agency to quote transport per day.

Day before: arrival

Afternoon at the Municipal River Beach, 7 km away, and evening at Projeto Jiboia, in the center. Nothing that requires a strict schedule.

Day 1: Blue Lake Cave and Sucuri River

Morning. Blue Lake Cave, 21 km away, in a morning slot. About 1 hour 20 minutes, with roughly 300 steps.

Afternoon. Sucuri River, 19 km away, same direction. A snorkel of about 1 hour in highly transparent water.

If it rains: the cave goes ahead; a suspended Sucuri moves to day 7, which is open.

Day 2: Jardim, with the Rio da Prata and Buraco das Araras

Morning. Rio da Prata, about 50 km to the south: a trail, a practice session and about 2 hours of snorkeling. Lunch at the farm.

Afternoon. Buraco das Araras, an easy trail around the rim of the sinkhole, with red-and-green macaws in the late afternoon.

If it rains: a suspended Rio da Prata becomes Lagoa Misteriosa, in the same area (open only from April to October). Since there is a Jardim day trip later in the week, the Prata can also be rebooked for day 7.

Day 3: waterfalls to the north, on the Bodoquena road

Morning. Estância Mimosa, 25 km away: an easy trail past several waterfalls and pools, about 4 hours, lunch at the farm.

Afternoon. Nascente Azul, 32 km away, a short snorkel in a blue spring with river-beach facilities. Alternative: Rio do Peixe, 35 km away, for anyone who prefers more waterfall than river.

Day 4: Bodoquena, with Boca da Onça

Full day. Boca da Onça, about 60 km to the north: a trail past a sequence of waterfalls to the 156-meter fall, the tallest in the state, with lunch at the farm and a long stairway on the way back. Optional platform rappel. It is the most tiring day of the week, which is why it is followed by a rest day.

If it rains: the trail stays open in light rain and the waterfall runs fuller. If a storm is forecast, swap it with day 5.

Day 5: rest and rappel test

Day. Praia da Figueira, 16 km away: a lake of transparent water with a deck, kayaks, gentle snorkeling inside the lake and a restaurant. No trail, no group time slot. Or, for anyone who prefers a flowing river, Ilha do Padre, on the Formoso River, with small falls and shade.

Late afternoon. Rappel test for the Anhumas Abyss, at the operator’s base in the center. About 1 hour. It is mandatory and must be done the day before the tour.

Evening. An unhurried dinner around the square. See Bonito at night.

Day 6: Anhumas Abyss and gentle adventure

Morning. Anhumas Abyss, 23 km away: a 72-meter rappel through a crack in the rock down to the cave lake, snorkeling among limestone cones (scuba diving for certified divers) and the climb back up the rope. About 4 hours. It is the most expensive and most memorable tour in town.

Afternoon. Something easy and close: tubing on the Formoso River, running rapids in an individual inner tube, or Aquário Natural, 8 km away. Anyone tired from the rappel can simply stay in town.

If it rains: the Abyss is inside a cave and goes ahead. For the afternoon, Formoso Adventure (Bonito Aventura), with a tree-top course under the forest canopy.

Day 7: day trip of your choice, and departure

The last day is open, and this is where the week’s rebookings land. If nothing was rebooked, choose a day trip:

• Jardim again: Lagoa Misteriosa, the sinkhole of blue water (open only from April to October), with snorkeling or diving, for anyone who enjoyed Jardim and wants to see what was left out.
• Dry cave: São Miguel Cave, 17 km away, with a suspended walkway and an easy visit, good for the morning of departure.
• Waterfall and farm: Ceita Corê, which combines a waterfall trail with a spring and farm scenery.
• One more nearby waterfall: Parque das Cachoeiras, 18 km away, a short trail with falls and pools.

If you are leaving for Campo Grande in the afternoon, choose a morning option and leave Bonito by 1 pm. If you are staying one more night, you can combine two.

Without a car

Seven days with agency transport cost more than with a rental car, and this is the itinerary where a car pays off most. If you go by van, arrange a transport package for the whole week instead of day by day: agencies negotiate better with that volume. The expensive days are Jardim (day 2) and Bodoquena (day 4). The afternoons of days 5 and 6 are close to the center and can be done by taxi (there is no Uber in town). More in Bonito without a car.

With a car, day 7 becomes the most flexible of the week: you can combine two short day trips, such as São Miguel Cave in the morning and Parque das Cachoeiras in the afternoon, without depending on van schedules.

How much it costs

Reference prices quoted by agencies in September 2026, in Brazilian reais (BRL): this is the most expensive itinerary in this guide, because it includes the Anhumas Abyss, Boca da Onça and the Rio da Prata, plus four more paid tours and two river beaches. Tickets are the same at every agency and vary with the season; each tour page shows the reference price with the date it was checked. Add transport, lunches at the farms when not included, seven nights of accommodation and the road from Campo Grande. Full estimate in Bonito travel costs.

Where to cut without losing much: swap the day-7 day trip for a free morning, replace Nascente Azul on day 3 with Aquário Natural, and do Praia da Figueira instead of two paid river beaches.

What to bring

The Bonito basics (swimwear under your clothes from the morning, a towel, closed shoes that can get wet, flip-flops, sunscreen for out of the water, insect repellent, water, ID and voucher) and, for a week, two more things: enough clothes to do laundry mid-trip, because everything gets wet every day, and a spare pair of sneakers for the day after Boca da Onça. Mask, snorkel, wetsuit and life vest are provided on the river tours; the rappel equipment belongs to the Abyss operator.

What this itinerary covers

By the end of the week you will have done four different snorkels (the Sucuri, the Prata, Nascente Azul and the one in the Abyss), two caves, three waterfall tours, the macaw sinkhole, the rappel and two river days with no schedule. It is practically everything the region offers on a first visit; what is left is in the full list of tours for a second trip.

Summary

To estimate the total cost of the week, see Bonito travel costs.