Iguassu Travel Forum

I wish to visit Iguazu Falls, will be arriving IGU airport in the late afternoon, hoping to stay at the Sheraton, and will be there two nights. This leaves one full day for visiting Iguazu Falls.

1st: I assume it's easy to take a taxi to the Sheraton from IGU? I've read here on FT that it shouldn't be a problem, correct?

2nd: I'd like to see and do as much as possible in my one full day, what is recommended to see and do it all? I'd like to visit both sides, Brazil and the Argentina sides. Are there recommended tours? Do I pre-book such tours in advance? What should I not miss? I read some say it's best to see the Brazil side in the morning. If I stay at the Sheraton, how do I get to the Brazil side, and can I return to see the Argentina side? Basically, how can I see everything in a day?

All information is greatly appreciated, thanks!

We stayed on the Brazil side, took a bus from our resort to the Falls, went back to our resort and hired a taxi. So I'm assuming you can do the same in reverse, hire a taxi from the Sheraton to take you to the Brazil side (ours gave us a pickup time) and then bring you back to the Brazil side. I thought the day was a little rushed but that was our only option to see both sides. I'd do the Brazil side first primarily because I thought the Argentina side was so much more stunning.

I wrote up the trip when I got home, the information is a little dated now but you can see my impressions and some photos on my 2 pages, one in Brazil and one in Argentina

1. No problem to get a taxi to your hotel.

2. Personally I would concentrate on the Argentina side if you really do have just one day. Travelling from your hotel to the Brazil side (and back) will take quite a lot of time. If you do want to do it, best is to get a taxi for both rides. (There are also buses, but they need a lot more of your time).
What to do/see: just explore the falls by foot, train and boat. Really wonderful scenery !!

happy travels
Jaap

Visiting the falls by boat was well worth the cost. You see the falls from below and not just as a picturesque view. You may get a bit wet. I took a cheap waterproof disposable camera for the boat trip and got several special pictures I would have even never tried to get with my good camera even with it in a clear plastic bag.

If you can manage to fit in both sides I would recommend that you definitely do. It's hard to say one is better than the other, as they're quite different experiences. The Brazil side is more lush and felt less developed to me, and you get some of the best views, whereas on the Argentine side you can perhaps get more sense of the power of the water. And although your time is tight, if you can manage to squeeze in a boat trip that is also something I would highly recommend.

If you are arriving late afternoon you might be able to see a bit of the Argentine side that same day, no? That would make the logistics of the next day easier - taxi to the Brazil side first thing, a walk there, taxi back (or directly to one of the boat tour operators), then more exploration of the Argentine side to finish the day. It will be a tiring schedule but so worthwhile!

In some photos I see of the falls, there seems to be a boardwalk, where people can walk out and get a closer view of the falls. The boardwalk seems to be down lower, where you look up at the falls. I was wondering if this is the Brazil side, or Argentina side. Though, I realize both sides may have such boardwalks. I just wish I knew the location of the photo that I am thinking of. Sorry I can't be more descriptive.

Also, I am interested in the boat tour. From where do these boat tours depart from?

Are there any recommended companies that offer day tours of the area?

Thanks.

See for more info:
http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.ar/i/03_ap/15_iguazu_PN/15_iguazu_PN.htm

The boardwalk you describe goes out to Devil's Throat. That and access to the boat ride at Puerto Macoco, are on the Argentine side.

P.S. And on the boat ride, you WILL get wet, the only question is to what degree.

We did the boat ride on the Brazil side but as mentioned they also run them from the Argentina side. Definitely was one of the highlights but the one we did from the Brazil side was more on land than on water so it might be worthwhile looking into the one on the Argenina side.

I forgot to look where you were from, if only going into Brazil for the falls and you're an American, you probably still need a visa in which case I would skip the Brazil side if funds are tight. They do check it at the border, not sure but I don't think it's a place where you can get one on the spot.

IGU is the airport on the Brazilian side Dabs, so OP would already be IN Brazil.

You don't need a tour, but taxis would be more practical than using the (good) bus system, given the short time you'll be in the area.

Check the hours of the park. If your flight leaves you a couple of hours to use in the park, I would taxi from the airport direct to the Brazil side (short distance), put my luggage in the lockers there, and walk the path to take some iconic "view" photos of the falls on the other (Argentina) side of the river (takes a couple of hours). The light is said to be better in the morning, but I really don't think it makes so much difference. My own afternoon photos were spectacular enough.

This image (if the "boardwalk" mentioned) is on the Brazilian side, about midway along the path (Sorry about the long URL). There's a falls above and one below the platform. :
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.flickr.com/28/95584956_c72ae5d35c.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dipity.com/tickr/Flickr-brazil-argentina/&h=333&w=500&sz=188&tbnid=kIlHfUqHt4cr9M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&prev=/search%3Fq%3Diguazu%2Bfalls%2Bboardwalk%2Bbrazil%2Bphoto%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=iguazu+falls+boardwalk+brazil+photo&docid=na4dHiaANQaSNM&sa=X&ei=TAPpTvXrC6Lc0QH8yIXfCQ&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAg&dur=187

Here's another photo of the boardwalk, that same one:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/South_America/Brazil/Estado_do_Parana/Foz_do_Iguacu-1517697/Things_To_Do-Foz_do_Iguacu-TG-C-4.html

The Sheraton is in the Argentine side of the park, so the easiest way to get back to the Brazilian side (or there from the Brazilian side if you have time on day 1 after flight arrives) is going to be by taxi. Otherwise you would take 2 buses.

On the Brazilian side, I also recommend spending some time at the amazing Bird Park.

The Argentine side has a lower trail and an upper boardwalk over the tops of the falls. The boatride under Devil's Throat is cheaper from that side. There is also lovely little river/rivulet below one small falls, with shady places to relax and swim or watch the coatis.

There are several walkways over the water. I think the one you are thinking of is on the Brazilian side. There is a shelf about halfway down the falls on that side, so the walkway goes to the edge of the falls on the lower side of the shelf and you look up at the water coming down on the shelf.

The is a walkway across the top of the falls in several places on the Argentine side, and a few viewpoints from the walkway down to the boat over to the island where you can look up at the falls.

Keep in mind if you are a USA citizen and want to visit the Brazilian side you need to get a visa before you go.

Sorry, I guess I assumed that if you were staying in Argentina, you were flying into Argentina, I'm pretty sure we flew into Argentina. That's a lot of criss crossing the borders, sometimes they make you stop, sometimes they don't

I don't want to try and talk you out of staying at the Sheraton as I understand it's inside the park and probably has great views but if you are flying in and out of Brazil, you might think to stay on the Brazil side, see the Brazilian side in the morning, the Argentina side in the afternoon, head back to Brazil and then you will be on the right side when you have to fly out in the morning. We stayed at a lovely resort on the Brazil side but it wasn't inside the park.

And now you're assuming they aren't going to Buenos Aires from Iguazu, flying out of the airport (IGR) on the Argentine side (cheaper to BsAs), a very typical trip (Rio or S.P. to Iguacu/Iguazu to BsAs).

Great information, thanks to all for your help. We are flying into IGU, arriving from Lima. After Iguazu Falls, we're heading to RIO from IGU. Thanks for the info on needing a Visa. The boardwalk that I referred to, after reading your replies, I now understand to be in Brazil. Thanks for helping with that location. Looks like a great place to view the falls. Staying at the Sheraton becasue I have hotel reward points for a free stay. The bird park also seems very interesting. I am interested in seeing the Falls from both Brazil and Argentina sides, as well as doing the boat trip, and bird park. I'll have a full day, I hope I can do it all in one day.

Don't wait too long to apply for the Brazilian visa, I live in Chicago and there's an embassy here so I took my application and fee to the embassy and then I had to go pick it back up so it wasn't a quick process. You also needed a full page for the visa so if you are well traveled and don't have a full page left, you may have to get pages added into your passport. Things change though so be sure to check out the current regulations.

But why choose to use your points at such an out of the way location, inside the Arentine side of the park, considering you are arriving and departing from the Brazil side, making your logistics much more cumbersome? You'll make up the costs and lose enough time to make the "savings" of even a free hotal negligible. Why not use the points, for example, in Rio, whose Sheraton location is also a bit isolated too, though, ot at another time? Stay in Foz itself or one of the places between the town and park entrance.

You have to understand the way things are at the border here between Argentina and Brazil.

The falls are on the border, but the bridge between the two countries is in the city of Foz do Iguacu itself, not in the national park. To get between the Argentine side and the Brazilian side of the park you have to go all the way back out of the park, into town, and then go all the way back out the park again on the other side of the border.

Both sides of the falls really are good, but to do it right you really need at least two days to do this (one day on the Brazlian side, one on the Argentine side) because of the travel time. This aasumes you are not doing much in the way of activities there, such as the forest trails, the bird park, the zip line, etc. For those you would want to add more days.

You are going to be pressed for time as it is, so trying to cram that many border crossings into one day as well as see all the stuff you want to see is going to make for a long day, and mean less time actually at the falls.

I certainly understand the desire to use the hotel points, as the hotel in the Argentine side of the park is a very expensive hotel. However, your time on such a short visit is also going to be worth quite a lot too.

Agree with member 'glabah' !!!