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Forum Question Posted By: Replies:
Foz do Iguaçu
travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 05:36 AM UTC
hi
i will be arriving in foz (igu) for a couple days... i am hoping for any suggestions on safe places to stay (single female traveler), as well as how much it costs to travel from brasil side to argentina side, how long it takes to pay for reciprocity fee for us citizen for entry in argentina (i have brasil visa already) and suggestions on tours... i read there is horse back riding to the falls, is this safe? is it worth what ever price it is? where is the best place to look for tours? is there a fee or a waiver of visa for entry to paraguay? i am hoping for a relaxing/safe/clean/easy/falls filled stay... any information is greatly appreciated.
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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 05:58 AM UTC
I would not go into Paraguay if I were you. The entire environment on the other side of the river is very unsafe feeling, and there are many over there that will try anything they can to get whatever they can from tourists. Except for cheap pirated goods, there really isn't any reason to go over there anyway.

The National Park is some distance from the city. There is a main road that goes between the city and the falls. The airport is located along this road. A number of the hotels along this road are less expensive and safer than what you will find in the city itself, because most people want to be close to the restaurants and action in the city. It isn't that the hotels are unsafe, but the fact that you are on a city street means that it is easy to go out and have troubles right outside your door. This is less of a problem at the more remote hotels, but also means you are further from places to dine. There are, perhaps a dozen or more hotels along this road, and suggest you use Google maps to explore the area there.

There is a city bus route that runs along this main road as well. It goes from the city to the airport and then to the national park. You do not need to go on a privately operated tour to the National Park if you don't want to. (By the way, it is called "As Cataratas" on all the signs - Foz do Iguaçu is the name of the city itself, and not what they use on the street signs or the bus destination boards to tell you where the national park is).

There is no horse back riding on the trail on the Brazilian side. It is walking only. There are a number of trails, including ATV trails and a walking trail, through the forests near the falls, but you can not see the falls from those trails.

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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 07:01 AM UTC
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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 01:18 PM UTC
Foz is a quiet small city, and contrary to what has been stated, IMO as a solo female there, it was quite comfortable to wander around in the few minutes :-) I was not actually in the park. No problems whatsoever. A basic clean and fairly inexpensive hotel is the Hotel del Rey, which also has a small pool, very refreshing after a sweaty day at the park. It is located just a half-block form the little bus depot where the bus for the Brazil side of the park originates and the bus for the Argentine bus station as well. There is also a hostel out on the road to the park. The buses are fine to use, but of course you could pay for a taxi. A tour is not neccessary IMO.
There is no fee for US passport holders entering Argentina by land (just by air), but you can get get your passport stamped. When I went, on the way back, the border officer just took a look inside the bus and waved it into Brazil.
I agree that Paraguay is a waste of time. Dosee the Bird Park near the Brazil park entrance. I also liked the boat ride under Devil's Throat.
Plan some time (and take/wear a bathing suit) on the Argentine side in the shade next to a shallow, narrow little river (runoff from a small falls) where many people were swimming and cooling off.

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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 07:24 PM UTC
It is a small city, and for the most part it is safe, but there is enough crime that spills over from the Paraguay side of the river that the city actually has a very high crime rate, compared to the population, based on the statistics. However, something like 90% of the victoms are males between 19 and 25. The problems with the crime seem to be caused mostly beteen groups of young men involved in the movement of illegal goods out of Paraguay.

Following basic travel safety rules (it is a very popular tourist city and therefore there are those that take advantage of tourists, as there are at any major tourist city) and being especially careful around the bridge to Paraguay will pretty much guarantee safety.

I don't mean to imply that the city is hugely unsafe for tourists compared to any other, but it is also true that the hotels on the road out to the Falls are far less accssible, and therefore there is far less of a chance of trouble there.

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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Fri February 10, 2012 09:09 PM UTC
You have stated that "the fact that you are on a city street means that it is easy to go out and have troubles right outside your door." which probably applies equally to any urban area in the world just because of numbers of people, and is not of particular relevance to a tourist in this small quiet town of Foz. How does this information really help the OP, who is not dealing in "muamba" (smuggled goods),or do you have another agenda? In fact, in Brazil, an isolated location such as those along the road to the park might be even more of an invitation to crime, a home invasion or of a hotel/hostel with 'rich' tourists or muamba dealers loaded with cash. But this still is highly unlikely to apply to the OP. And with all the bogus interpretation of "statistics" about Salvador right now, I'm a bit fed up with people using statistics to prove specious points. Mark Twain had a fitting saying: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."

OP, enjoy your trip and don't worry.
P.S. "how much it costs to travel from brasil side to argentina side" on the bus is about R$2,50

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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Sat February 11, 2012 04:24 AM UTC
I've visited Foz in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, and twice in 2011, for various reasons. I can assure you I have seen the good parts of the small city, but I have also seen some of the bad parts of visiting there.

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Foz do Iguaçu
Re: travelling to foz last minute...all suggestions welcome...thank you
Posted: Sat February 11, 2012 11:47 AM UTC
Which I can assure the OP, who is going to be there only "for a couple days", she will not. And most casual tourists also will not see other than a small tranquil city in which to base for a couple of days at the park. So why worry the OP unneccessarily? Whose agenda is being served here?

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