Asuncion to Iguassu Falls

Old Mar 30th, 2004, 01:39 PM
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Asuncion to Iguassu Falls

My partner and I will be in Asuncion in late April and we are hoping to take a trip to see the Iguassu Falls for 2-3 days. Can someone provide me with some information as to how to best go about it? I assume the best method is to take a bus. How long does it take? How much does it cost? What town do we take a bus to? And then from there?

We won't have visas to enter Brazil (at least to stay overnight) but can enter Argentina without a problem. Taking this into account, where would be the best place to view the falls? And where would be the best place to stay for 2-3 nights? Nothing too pricey but nothing really cheap either.

Any suggestions for other things to experience in the way of culture, or see/do in the Iguassu area? Restaurants? Tours?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Matt
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Old Aug 23rd, 2008, 06:32 PM
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i have the same questions
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Old Aug 23rd, 2008, 08:16 PM
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Most direct way is Asuncion directly east to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, where you cross the border to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, and from there to the Brazilian side of the falls. Or you head south from Foz do Iguacu to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, to the Argentine side of the falls. But that means passing through Brazil and needing a visa. The Paraguay-Brazil border turns into the Paraguay-Argentina border south of Ciudad del Este, but I'm not aware of any official border crossing there that lets you avoid Brazil.

Speaking of visas, you have (or are getting) your visa for Paraguay?
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Old Oct 20th, 2008, 07:44 PM
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we have the same problem....how to get to the sheraton without going into brazil.....any ideas....i hope to make the trip on april 21...

matt---have you found anything else out about this...??

bob
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Old Oct 20th, 2008, 07:45 PM
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i just noticed that matt wrote this in 2004...duh....
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Old Dec 1st, 2008, 06:47 PM
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ttt
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Old Mar 15th, 2009, 07:16 PM
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any new comments on this thread
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Old Mar 17th, 2009, 02:01 AM
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Hi Rh, if you don't want to go through Brazil you can take a bus from Asuncion to Encarnacion, 4 hours then cross the International bridge to Posadas Argentina, once there go to the bus terminal and take a bus to Puerto Iguazu, very comfortable ride in wonderful buses; it will take you approx another 4-5 hours. Remember if you are an American you need a visa to enter Paraguay.No visas requiered to enter Argentina.Don't ever think of renting a car in Paraguay, it is a beautiful country with the friendliest people in S.A. but unfortunately police is very corrupt, you'll be stopped by them and then they'll look for excuses to fine you and take your money (bribes); this happened to friends of mine, several times on their way to Ciudad del Este, it turned out into a nightmarish trip, it helps if you can speak some Spanish. Any other questions I'll be glad to help. Carlimusa
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Old Mar 28th, 2009, 09:42 AM
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carl. thanks for this info.....we have hired a driver to take us to cicidad and from south of there we plan to take a boat to the iguazu area....hope it works...

others have suggested we can take the bus over the bridge at C and pass through brazil with no visa if we don't get off the boat....

while we leave in about two weeks from usa, we are sort of leaving it up in the air about how to handle all of this until we get to asuncion....
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Old May 20th, 2009, 07:02 AM
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here is what we ended up doing....hired a driver in asuncion...he drove us to ciuidad and then south about 10 miles to presidente...there we took the barge/ferry over to the argentine side of the rivers---all 3 rivers and countries come together at this point. immigration on both sides of the river. cheap river crossing...$5 for 3 adults and one car each way....driver then came for us a few days later and we repeated the route....worked fine except for my visa problem which ended up costing me $240. US in bribes....
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Old Jun 22nd, 2009, 07:32 AM
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Thanks for the information about the ferry! Do you know if the barge/ferry runs seven days a week or only Monday through Friday? And approximately how often?
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Old Aug 23rd, 2009, 07:45 PM
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I just got back on Friday. WHAT an adventure! Thanks to some great tips from Bob here on Fodor and some improvisation, I was able to experience a grand adventure to Iguazu Falls, starting off overland from Asuncion. After a week in Buenos Aires and a night in Montevideo (really liked it) my travel bud and I flew on to Asuncion and immediately took a taxi ($16 US) to the bus station. We chose one of the MANY alternative buses and headed off to Cuidad del Este (CdE). My Spanish is pretty good, so we had no problem asking tons of questions and understanding the answers . When we arrived at the bus station in CdE we decided to spend the night at a nearby hotel and venture off to Puerto del Iguazu (in Argentina)the following morning.

The next morning we walked back to the bus station and found a direct bus to Puerto del Iguazu, which drove through Brasil, but didn’t stop. One Brasilian asked to get on the bus in CdE but was refused by the driver, since we wouldn’t be stopping in Brasil. The bus simply drove through or around the customs window, after being waived on by the officer. I wasn’t sure what would happen, although the bus company assured us when we purchased the tickets in CdE that it wouldn’t be a problem, and we wouldn’t need a visa.

Our hostel was 100 yards from the bus station in Puerto del Iguazu, so that made it real easy. We caught a bus from the station to the falls for a couple of pesos and visited the park two days, paying $60 AR for the first days and $30 AR for the send day. At the end of the first day, we walked to the Sheraton for a cocktail, and to see the kind of view that Bob and his wife experienced - It was great. We met some wonderful fellow travelers, and after enjoying the views well past sunset, we headed back towards the park, which was now closed! LOL! After chatting with a few of the park’s employees who hadn’t yet headed home, we found the local bus which picked up employees of both the park and the hotel, and we headed back to town. I LOVE adventures like that, were there IS some adventure, but everything turns out fine. We decided to head back a little earlier the following day

Before having a great meal in Puerto del Iguazu that night, we walked to the point where the two rivers come together and the three countries of Paraguay, Brasil, and Argentina come together. It was maybe a kilometer from our hostel and the bus station. As we walked there, we came across the ferry crossing! It may have appeared remote when you came across, but it’s VERY close to the center of Puerto del Iguazu. What LUCK! We checked out the times for the next morning and jumped the ferry back to Paraguay. It was great and just a few kilometers to Paraguay on the boat. Of course, we were out in the middle of nowhere on the Paraguay side, which ended up being around 8 km from the bus station in CdE. After walking 500 meters up the side of the hill from the river, we were able to flag down a bus which took us by the station in town. We would have gone RIGHT on by it, had one of the locals not told us we were passing the station Everyone was SO helpful! The bus, by the way, cost maybe 80 cents for two of us, and a local taxi wanted $10 or $15, US. The bus ride was SO much more colorful. By the way, the bus ride over from Asuncion was on Nuestra Señora de Asunción which was pretty much an express, with only one or two very brief stops. The bus company we used on the way back to Asuncion was leaving sooner than the NSA company, and was 23,000 Guarani less, so we took it. Mistake It stopped 20 or more times, and also had a flat tire, so it took more like 7 and a half hours. I’d stick with NSA next time.

I won’t bore readers here with more details, but from CdE we caught the next bus to Asuncion and decided to stay in a hotel in the center of town – the Hotel Presidente, which was right next to the Hotel Guarani, the best ($150/night) hotel in the City. The Hotel Presidente was $50 a night and had a really good breakfast. Asuncion was an experience in itself, but that’s another story.
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