Iguazu falls logistics
Jul 15th, 2016, 05:59 AM
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Iguazu falls logistics
I could do with some help re our forthcoming visit to Iguazu in September.
Last time we visited Iguazu we had plenty of time just got the bus to the Argentine entrance from the bus station in Puerto Iguazu. When visiting the Brazilian falls, we did the same, as I recall, with a couple of changes of bus, one on the road to the falls and another in Foz. Being UK passport holders we don't need visas and then ( in 2008) it was the norm not to get passports stamped. We will this time.
This time we have a lot less time and have two friends with us. The plan is to visit the Argentine side on our first and only full day, getting there for when the park opens and stay as long as it takes.
On our last day our flight to BA leaves at 18.00 so I am thinking of going to the Brazil side early as I recall, it doesn't take as long as the Argentine side.
A few questions:
1. Does this plan make best use of the time we have?
2. What would be the approx. cost of a tour per person?
3. What would be the cost of a taxi to the Brazil and Argentina park entrances from PI?
4. On our last day, would it be better to leave our bags in lockers at the Brazilian park HQ! Or in our hostal for getting to the airport?
5. If the former, how easy is it to get a taxi at the Brazil park entrance and how much would it cost to the airport?
6. Approx. cost of a boat ride under the falls on each side?
7. Is it necessary to book boat rides in advance?
Any information and suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Last time we visited Iguazu we had plenty of time just got the bus to the Argentine entrance from the bus station in Puerto Iguazu. When visiting the Brazilian falls, we did the same, as I recall, with a couple of changes of bus, one on the road to the falls and another in Foz. Being UK passport holders we don't need visas and then ( in 2008) it was the norm not to get passports stamped. We will this time.
This time we have a lot less time and have two friends with us. The plan is to visit the Argentine side on our first and only full day, getting there for when the park opens and stay as long as it takes.
On our last day our flight to BA leaves at 18.00 so I am thinking of going to the Brazil side early as I recall, it doesn't take as long as the Argentine side.
A few questions:
1. Does this plan make best use of the time we have?
2. What would be the approx. cost of a tour per person?
3. What would be the cost of a taxi to the Brazil and Argentina park entrances from PI?
4. On our last day, would it be better to leave our bags in lockers at the Brazilian park HQ! Or in our hostal for getting to the airport?
5. If the former, how easy is it to get a taxi at the Brazil park entrance and how much would it cost to the airport?
6. Approx. cost of a boat ride under the falls on each side?
7. Is it necessary to book boat rides in advance?
Any information and suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Jul 15th, 2016, 06:54 AM
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Hi Crellston. Glad you will get to revisit Iguazu; it's one of my favorite places. Here are some answers to your questions:
1. Absolutely! The Brazilian side of the falls takes about 2-3 hours, depending on how much you linger. If you go first thing in the morning (the park opens at 9am), you can visit the falls, have lunch, and then go back to Argentina with plenty of time to go to the airport to catch your flight.
2. I'm not sure you need a tour to visit the falls. It's easy to visit both sides on your own. On the Brazilian side, it's one long and well-signposted trail. On the Argentine side, you enter the part and take the train to the viewpoints. You can also walk between the different viewpoints. Assuming that all the trails are open, you can easily spend two full days on the Argentine side.
3. I remember the taxi from our hotel from Puerto Iguazu to the Brazilian park and back to be about US$80 (for four of us), although we had the driver for a full day to take us to the helicopter embarkation point, Itaipu Dam, the town, etc. The Argentine side, if I recall correctly, was about US$10pp. These were 2014 prices.
4. If you are flying out of Argentina, then leave your belongings at your hotel. Much easier than bringing it into Brazil and back.
5. I suppose you can make arrangements with your drivers to come pick you up at a certain time. I recall taxis at the entrance, although most were waiting for visitors. We had ours for the day.
6. I don't recall the prices but I remember it being more economical on the Argentine side.
7. We did not book in advance, but I suppose it depends on how busy it is on the day you visit.
Hope this helps.
1. Absolutely! The Brazilian side of the falls takes about 2-3 hours, depending on how much you linger. If you go first thing in the morning (the park opens at 9am), you can visit the falls, have lunch, and then go back to Argentina with plenty of time to go to the airport to catch your flight.
2. I'm not sure you need a tour to visit the falls. It's easy to visit both sides on your own. On the Brazilian side, it's one long and well-signposted trail. On the Argentine side, you enter the part and take the train to the viewpoints. You can also walk between the different viewpoints. Assuming that all the trails are open, you can easily spend two full days on the Argentine side.
3. I remember the taxi from our hotel from Puerto Iguazu to the Brazilian park and back to be about US$80 (for four of us), although we had the driver for a full day to take us to the helicopter embarkation point, Itaipu Dam, the town, etc. The Argentine side, if I recall correctly, was about US$10pp. These were 2014 prices.
4. If you are flying out of Argentina, then leave your belongings at your hotel. Much easier than bringing it into Brazil and back.
5. I suppose you can make arrangements with your drivers to come pick you up at a certain time. I recall taxis at the entrance, although most were waiting for visitors. We had ours for the day.
6. I don't recall the prices but I remember it being more economical on the Argentine side.
7. We did not book in advance, but I suppose it depends on how busy it is on the day you visit.
Hope this helps.
Jul 15th, 2016, 07:04 AM
#3
I was there more recently than you (2012), and there was a direct bus from Puerto Iguazu bus station to the Brazilian falls. Brief stop at Argentinian immigration where everyone got off the bus, brief stop at Brazilian immigration where the bus driver just made a note on a form and no-one got off or showed their passports.
Oct 21st, 2016, 09:44 AM
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Second week of reseraching our February/March trip to BA and Iguazu Falls. I love that moment in trip planning when I've read enough to know who to look for here...when I see thursdaysd or tripplanner001 or - goes without saying - avrooster - I know I'm in good hands. Thanks one and all.
Oct 21st, 2016, 12:11 PM
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Alleged? No, definite.
Perhaps she needs you to hold an umbrella gallantly over her so the falls don't melt her, to stave off the aggressive coatis with your cane, or possibly to take up residence on the Zodiac dock to hand her and any other fragile females carefully into a seat in the the boat (which you would, of course, have solicitously dried first with that ever present jaunty handkerchief in the breast pocket of your immaculate white seersucker suit)?
Perhaps she needs you to hold an umbrella gallantly over her so the falls don't melt her, to stave off the aggressive coatis with your cane, or possibly to take up residence on the Zodiac dock to hand her and any other fragile females carefully into a seat in the the boat (which you would, of course, have solicitously dried first with that ever present jaunty handkerchief in the breast pocket of your immaculate white seersucker suit)?
Oct 21st, 2016, 06:13 PM
#8
I have been a committed feminist for decades. I used to get upset when men held the door open for me, but that was back when the attitude in the US megacorp I worked for was that women only held techie jobs because of government fiat. We are, I hope, well past that, and I am fine with some old-fashioned gallantry in non-work life.
@caseyhen - thanks for the compliment! If you haven't already read it, if you click on my name you will find my SA TR, with a link to my blog where there are some photos of the magnificent falls.
@caseyhen - thanks for the compliment! If you haven't already read it, if you click on my name you will find my SA TR, with a link to my blog where there are some photos of the magnificent falls.
Oct 23rd, 2016, 06:10 AM
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OP, one thing I don't see mentioned is the Bird Park near the Brazilian park entrance, a must see IMO.
thursdaysd--
Sadly, "way back when" was last week, in the US anyway, when most (hands on) mechanical engineering firms for just one example are male except for a secretary, women often still defer to a male opinion in the workplace, and women are still paid 70 cents for every dollar a man earns. Can't imagine it is different in Argentina, and it certainly is not in Brazil. What does it say about a woman's competence (and what effect does it have have on her thinking about herself) in the competitive workplace if she demonstrates that she must wait for a man to even open the door for her? To such a person, "old-fashioned gallantry in non- work life" is also an anathema.
thursdaysd--
Sadly, "way back when" was last week, in the US anyway, when most (hands on) mechanical engineering firms for just one example are male except for a secretary, women often still defer to a male opinion in the workplace, and women are still paid 70 cents for every dollar a man earns. Can't imagine it is different in Argentina, and it certainly is not in Brazil. What does it say about a woman's competence (and what effect does it have have on her thinking about herself) in the competitive workplace if she demonstrates that she must wait for a man to even open the door for her? To such a person, "old-fashioned gallantry in non- work life" is also an anathema.
