Bonito

The currency is the real (R$). Tours are paid separately and vary a lot: in July 2026 they ran from R$ 90 to R$ 1,900 per person, according to Correio do Estado. As a reference, the Gruta do Lago Azul website charged in October 2026 R$ 120 per person in low season and R$ 180 in high season, without transport. Under the municipal rule, the tour is paid to the accredited agency that issues the voucher, and lunch, when included, as at the Rio da Prata, comes in the package. Add the Environmental Conservation Fee, R$ 15 per person per day since December 20, 2025, paid at turistapornatureza.com.br, and transport to the attractions, which is arranged separately if you don't have a car. Ask the agency for the total price per person, with transport and lunch, before you commit.

Getting there: direct flight or via Campo Grande

Bonito Regional Airport (BYO) is about 15 km from the center, around 16 minutes by car. According to the city hall (page checked in October 2026), Gol (from Congonhas, in São Paulo), Azul (from Campinas) and Latam operate direct flights there, of about 2h05 on average; check the operating dates, because service is smaller than at Campo Grande. Campo Grande (CGR) has more flights and usually lower fares, and from there it is about 300 km and 4 hours by car, along the BR-060 to Sidrolândia, the BR-419 to Guia Lopes da Laguna and the MS-382 to Bonito. Viação Cruzeiro do Sul runs the route by bus, and there are shared vans and chartered cars.

Getting between the attractions

There is no public transport to the attractions, which are 7 to 55 km from town, and transport is not included in the ticket. Either you rent a car, or you arrange transport, by van or car, with the agency that sells the tour. For the Rio da Prata, at 45 km, leave at least 45 minutes before the scheduled time.

In town

You can cover the center on foot: hotels, agencies, restaurants and the Praça da Liberdade are close to one another.

What needs attention in Bonito is the water and the way to it. Every attraction has a guide, who gives the safety rules at the start of the tour; follow the floating position, because the rivers have logs and rocks you can't see with your head out of the water. Heavy rain can cancel or interrupt the activity; at the Rio da Prata there is no refund after the tour has started, and each attraction's rain rule should be confirmed with the agency. At the Gruta do Lago Azul there are about 300 steps down and up, with sneakers required. At the Rio da Prata the minimum age is 5, and pregnant women only up to 24 weeks, without a high-risk pregnancy. The Rio da Prata does not recommend floating to anyone who has had invasive surgery in the last 30 days, has epilepsy, a history of stroke, heart attack or anaphylactic shock, or uses a pacemaker (in those cases a liability waiver is signed), warns that respiratory problems, heart problems and labyrinthitis may get worse, and has no prescription masks: use contact lenses. At the Abismo Anhumas the descent is 72 m. Anyone driving to the attractions should count on up to 55 km of road.

Floating position

On floats you stay belly down, legs still and arms along your body, following the guide. Anyone who can't adapt to the equipment or the position doesn't float, for safety; at the Rio da Prata, that person chooses between the alternative tour and a refund.

Sunscreen and repellent, minimal

At the Rio da Prata the guidance is to use as little sunscreen as possible, only where the wetsuit doesn't cover (face, neck, back of the legs), preferably eco-friendly, and natural repellent. Leggings under the wetsuit protect from the sun.

No fins, no swim goggles, no alcohol

On the Rio da Prata float, fins and swim goggles are not used, and you don't drink alcohol before or during the tour. You don't enter the park with food or drink; lunch is included.

Voucher and fee at hand

Keep the tour voucher and the receipt for the Environmental Conservation Fee: the agency checks the fee payment before releasing the voucher.

Buying the ticket before the tours

The Gruta do Lago Azul, the Abismo Anhumas and the Rio da Prata have a daily visitor limit. Lock in the tours with the agency and only then set flight and hotel dates, especially in January, July and late December.

Going to the attraction without a voucher

In Bonito you don't buy tickets at the door of the attractions under the municipal rule: booking goes through an accredited agency, which issues the voucher and sets the time.

Forgetting the environmental fee

The Environmental Conservation Fee, R$ 15 per person per day, is paid separately, on the turistapornatureza.com.br portal. Take care of it before you arrive.

Underestimating the distances

The Rio da Prata is 45 km away and the Buraco das Araras 55 km, by road. Without a car, arrange transport together with the tour, and don't book two tours in opposite directions on the same day.

Putting on sunscreen as at the beach

Sunscreen and repellent go on minimally, only where the wetsuit doesn't cover.

Voucher

The booking confirmation issued by the agency, without which you can't enter the attraction

Flutuação

Going down the river floating face down, with mask, snorkel, vest and wetsuit

Balneário

A stretch of river with facilities for bathing, like the Balneário Municipal

Dolina

A hole in limestone terrain formed by the collapse of a cavity's roof, like the Buraco das Araras

TCA

Environmental Conservation Fee, charged per person per day

Tereré

Yerba mate with ice-cold water, drunk in a circle

A limestone range

Bonito covers 5,373 km² in southwestern Mato Grosso do Sul, and the town sits at 315 m above sea level, at the foot of the Serra da Bodoquena. The range is limestone, and the water running through it has opened caves, abysses, underground conduits and sinkholes, holes formed by the collapse of a cavity's roof, like the Buraco das Araras. In the rivers, the limestone forms tufa, natural barriers that create small waterfalls.

Rivers that rise clear

The Rio Formoso, which the city hall describes as Bonito's main river, runs past the Balneário Municipal; the Sucuri and the Baía Bonita, where the Aquário Natural is, are other spring-fed rivers where you float. In neighboring Jardim, the spring of the Rio Olho d'Água has water at 24 °C all year. Because the tours start at springs, inside farms, almost everything you visit is 7 to 55 km from town.

Climate

The climate is tropical, averaging 24 °C with 1,500 to 1,700 mm of rain a year. The rainiest months run from December to March; heavy rain can cancel or interrupt a float.

A town organized around tourism

Tourism has shaped Bonito: in 2022 the town had about 85 hotels and more than 7,000 beds for 23,659 inhabitants in that year's Census, and since 2006 the municipal school system has had a course in basic notions of tourism. Since 1995 no attraction under the municipal rule receives visitors without a guide.

Winter Festival, film and books

The cultural calendar goes beyond nature. The Festival de Inverno de Bonito, organized by the state government with the city hall, reached its 25th edition in 2026, with free music, theater, dance, circus and film at several spots around town. In July come the Feira Literária de Bonito and the Bonito CineSur, a South American film festival with open-air screenings.

Lasso, rodeo and São Pedro

Ranch culture shows up in the festivals: the Carnalaço, a statewide long-lasso gathering, in February; the Festa do Peão, in May; and the Festa de São Pedro Apóstolo, in late June, which reached its 96th edition in 2026, with masses, a church fair and a horseback parade.