Iguazu Falls dilemma
 

Hello,

My parter and I will be going to Buenos Aires early April and are contemplating a visit to Iguazu Falls. We definitely plan on visiting from the Argentine side but we are torn on whether or not to visit from the Brazilian side primarily due to the high cost of the visa (reciprocity fee) of $130/each.

Is the Brazilian side worth the extra money, or will a boat trip help us see the falls in all their glory?

Thanks for your input.

I see little reason to waste your money. Lots of better things to do with $230 IMHO.

You can see plenty from the Argentine side: Devil's Throat, upper circuit, lower circuit, etc. You won't be disappointed.

my husband and i spent 2.25 days on the argentinian side and left w/o doing all we wanted there. its awesome. u can look across and see brasil for free!

cheers
AndrewDavid

ps we splurged and stayed in the park at the sheraton and liked being in the park at night. didn't spend $ on falls view were happy on jungle side. the falls view from the hotel is distant ( although kewl) but more mist than falls

misterfuss, i topped my in process report for u if interested; haven'yt gotten to iguasu yet tho
'
cheers A/D

Well, i haven't gone yet, but we chose to spend the 130.00 each and go to the Brazil side...hopefully it wasn't a mistake, but we will soon find out as we leave next week!!

tracy....we loved the Brazilian side, staying at the Hotel Das Cataratas....superb close-in views....

stu T.

http://www.hoteldascataratas.com/web...a_a2a_home.jsp

We did not visit the Brazilian side either. I am sure it's stunning, and perhaps if we had gone I might have thought it was a better view, but trust me, you don't visit the Argentine side and feel that you are missing out on anything. It's gorgeous and incredible and the park is set up extremely well. The walkways make all different levels of the falls easily accessible and you feel safe throughout. Do try to take the boat tour that goes under the falls, it's a great way to really experience the falls. Just bring a zip-loc bag to put the things you don't want to get wet. You'll be soaked, but it's really fun. Have a great time!

My husband and I stayed at the Argentine side last summer. As soon as we arrive at the aiport and hailed a taxi to our hotel, the taxi driver offered to take us to the Brazil side, without a visa. Apparently, they do this often and the border patrol allows them to take tourists over to see the falls only. He then waited outside the park for us for us while we walked around the Brazil side of the falls for 3 hours. The view on the Brazil side just spectacular and cannot be missed!! I think he charged us $150 or $200 and you don't have to go through all the trouble of getting a Brazil visa.

I was torn about getting the $130 visa too... but I kept reading on websites that they aren't checking visas at the border for brazil.. so i asked the tour agency that set up the iguazu portion of my tour (argentina 1 day/brazil 2nd day) if it was definitely necessary and she said that for the group tour.. yes...but if i just want to grab a taxi then there shouldn't be a problem getting across the border to brazil and seeing those sides of the falls.. so that's what i am doing. spend your money on your Yellow Fever vaccination and take a taxi cross border

I don't like that "shouldn't be a problem".. I guess I'm a chicken, but I wouldn't cross without the visa. And I see no reason to spend that kind of money on a visa. I'm sure we'll be very happy seeing the Argentina side of the falls. We are splurging on the hotel.

Thank you everyone for your replies. We are still torn about whether or not to go to the Brazilian side. I am a U.S. citizen but I also hold an Irish passport. Based on this I believe that I wouldn't have to pay the visa fee. So for the two of us it would be just $130, which is a bit more reasonable. Also, I believe the accommodations on the Brazilian side may be a bit more inexpensive. Any thoughts?

"Also, I believe the accommodations on the Brazilian side may be a bit more inexpensive. Any thoughts?"

When we went last April, the US-Argentina exchange rate was actually better than the US-Brazil exchange rate. That meant that prices were much better on the Argentina side. I encourage you to check the two exchange rates in effect now.

Read this for a good discussion on the subject:
http://tinyurl.com/2vqwn5

hi, right, re exchange rates, the brasilian money is worth DOUBLE the argentine, ie 1 US$ = 3 aregtine pesos and onloy 1.6 reais , which makes a big difference.
Re the value of visa, Brasil has an exchange edal with US, what US does to us Brasilians , we do back, ie you charge us, we charge you, you demand fotos, visas, interviews, etc, Brasil does the same back. Shame but there it is and understandable. Hope this helps.

Just got back from Argentina and loved Iguazu. You will be so blown away from all of the views from the Ar. side that I wouldn't waste my money on the Brazil side. Take the boat ride up to the base of the falls, it's a blast!

question. the price quoted in one of the responses (about what the taxi driver charged for crossing border,staying and driving back.. that was Argeninian Pesos, right?

Hi Misterfuss

We were in Iguazu this past weekend. According to our taxi driver, there is a new law crossing to the brazilian side (since a couple of weeks ago) ...even they have to get their papers checked every time they cross with tourists.
We stayed in the Argentinian side as my family had already been to both sides.... save your money.. there is plenty to do on the Arg. side.. it is breathtaking.
We stayed at the Sheraton with the falls view... worth every penny!! Had a delicious bottle of Argentinian wine in our balcony and could not believe the beauty of watching and hearing the roar of the falls!!!
Have fun!!!

Well, I'm convinced that I would not bother with the Brazilian side of the falls and I am not asking the question!

However, I do have a question for Redionny and anyone else for that matter who has troubled to get the Yellow Fever vacination. Is it necessary? Our HMO advises it, but after reading the literature on the side effects, I worried about getting the shot, so the last time we were in AR, I just skipped Iguazu, but since we are planning a return trip to AR next yr, and I am really interested in seeing the Falls, I wanted some feedback on the necessity of the shots, especially during April/ May. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

we choose not to get it for our trip in january and rely on the best insect repellent. turned out we were indoors as dusk approached so didn't see any mosquitos

cheers
AndrewDavid