marymarathons

Hi!
I'm planning for a family trip to Iguazu in early July 2008. I am hoping to see wildlife- especially monkees. My two teen girls are very excited about seeing monkees in native habitiat.The research I have done so far indicates that it is unlikely we will see monkees. Is this accurate?
Can anyone tell me if they have seen monkeys? Any advice on where and when to hike or where to stay to increase our chances of seeing monkeys?
Would love to hear any reports on ANY wildlife seen in Iguazu area.
We are avid hikers and don't mind an energitic outing.
Thanks,
Mary

AudPul

Hi,

My family and I got to Iguazu yesterday. This afternoon I was sitting by the pool and saw a monkey going from balcony to balcony at the Sheraton. It was kind of far away but I enjoyed watching it mess with people's things and steal food. I think it was either a black howler monkey (mono caraya) or a brown capuchin. Hopefully you will see some monkeys when you come!

-Audrey

marymarathons

Audrey
Thanks for the reply. The Sheraton seems to be a popular spot for monkey spotting. I wonder why? I guess we may not have to hike to a remote spot to see monkeys!- just relax by the pool.

What other wildlife have you and your family seen at Iguazu?

Is it very busy now at Iguazu?

Yes we really would love to see monkeys!

Mary

yestravel

We too saw lots of monkeys at the Sheraton. We went on a supposedly "wildlife" tour for a couple hours somewhere and saw nothing! Perhaps it was the time of day..don't know, but it was a disappointment. We were there in December.

marymarathons

Yestravel

Thanks for the reply.

Were you staying at the Sheraton?

What time of day did you see the monkeys?

Mary

yestravel

Yes, we stayed at the Sheraton. Sorry, but I don't remember any particular time that we saw the monkies. Seems like they were around most of the day, but I could be wrong as its been a couple years since we were there.

gypsyluce

hi, just wondering where else you will be apart from Iguazu. I have seen few monkeys there, and have been about 5-6 times ( I lead groups around south america ) If you really want wildlife I recommend you go to the pantanal, where you will see lots of wildlife. If you are coming to Rio there is great likelihood you will see monkeys because of all the forest surrounding and in the city. In Iguazu you will possibly see caiman, toucans and def. cuatis, which are like racoons and go for everyone's food. You'll also see more birds and lots of butterflies, but as for other wildlife not guaranteed. There are hikes into the jungle at iguazu, but these are lead and you may not see much. It's not easy to go off on your own and do hikes in the parks that way. Any more questions etc please ask. have fun.

marymarathons

gypsyluce

Thanks for the reply. In spite of the posts about monkey sitings, it still seemed somewhat unlikely that we could see monkeys on a 2-3 day visit. I'm re-considering whether it is worth it to visit Iguazu for a number of reasons. Not sure if we would be able to travel to Rio this trip.

oceania

If you do decide to go the Pantanal, be really careful of the company you go with. I saw more wildlife in Iguazu than I did in the Pantanal :-S

I was really disappointed with Ecological Expeditions...nothing ecological about them and they were highly recommended. For more info click on my name view the thread title 'Pantanal' - regardless you will absolutely love Iguazu but makes sure to visit the Argentine side too- if can only visit one side, it has to the Argentine side and make sure you go to La Garganta Del Diablo (the devil's throat)- to see falls properly on the Argentine side you will need a full day for sure.

Giovanna

"I'm re-considering whether it is worth it to visit Iguazu for a number of reasons."

I hope you will change your mind about not visiting Iguazu. You will miss what we considered one of the most beautiful sites we have ever seen. The falls are jaw dropping! I had hoped to see wildlife too, in particular Toucans, but not seeing any certainly didn't detract from our visit. The reason to go to Iguazu is to enjoy the incredible falls.

marymarathons

Hi Giovanna,

The trip from Buenos Aires would either be very expensive if we fly or very time consuming if we take a long distance bus. We are a family of 4 with 2 teen girls ages 16 and 17. I'm just not sure seeing the falls would be as exciting for them. The cost seems to be $450/person if we fly. I have to really be sure it's worth $1800.

It seems that the only viable option would be taking a long distance bus the total per person cost of a visit to Iguazu would be under $200.

Has anyone taken the bus from BA to Iguazu recently?

Giovanna

Agree that is a lot of money for a couple of days. Where did you get your airfare quote? I e-mailed a travel agent in BsAs when planning our trip in November 2005, and she arranged our Iguazu air, hotel and tour. Perhaps you've done that, but if not I'd recommend it as you may be able to save some money.

marymarathons

Giovanna,

I did the research myself. Looked at many different hotels and hostels in Puerto Iguazu and airfare at www.lan.com.

The only way to keep cost close to $400/person is by staying in a very inexpensive hostel. Otherwise cost is closer to $500/person.

I am somewhat interested in taking the long distance bus as this seems to be a unique way to travel. Not sure about safety of the double decker buses.

Mary

oceania

marymarathons i took the bus from iguassu to BsAs in December - it's pretty cheap (I can't remember exactly how much, around $30 CAD) and in includes a meal and accommodations for the night. Depending which bus line, you depart around 5 or 6pm and arrive 9-10am.

mjs

We did not see a monkey while in Iguazu in June. Lots of Coati but not a monkey. Should be able to fly AEP/IGR for less than $300 US. If you fly LAN or Aerolineas to Argentina you may be able to get RT fares closer to $200 RT.

gypsyluce

hiya, you poss wont have time to go to Pantanal this time but have a look at the following thread - want to do a safari in Brasil ? it's the experiences, mostly very positive of people who went to various parts of panatanal and what they saw and who went with etc, Have fun. And yes, try not to miss Iguazu, it really is an amazing site. I went for first time when I was 17 and was astounded, it's amazing. Keep your eyes and ears open and dont forget to look up, and try and get out either early in am or late afternoon when less crowds if you go so have better chance of seeing wildlife. Have fun.

marymarathons

oceania

Please tell me more about the bus trip from Iguazu to BA. How comfortable was it? Did the bus stop at the Jesuit ruins? How were the meals? Did you sleep well? What company did you travel with?

mjs

Yes the LAN fares are about US$230 now.

oceania

Mary,

Honestly, you don't have to worry about bus safety there, the services are very decent, good roads, they don't have cliffs (like along the coast of Peru which is scary) and the drivers overall are much better.

I actually took 2 long distance trips in Argentina, both good experiences, no complaints.

The only bus station in Iguazzu has ticket booths for every company that departs from there - they all offer pretty much same services - some are a little more luxurious than the others for an extra cost of course but not too much.

The ticket booth on the very far right is a informational booth that also sells tickets from all the major buslines, they are very helpful.

I took the first available one, with Crucero del Norte. It was an older bus (cheaper), the decor wasn't the greatest, navy and they had old TVs. The food was ok - start off with a candy or something. Next it's a glass of wine (or other drink in a real glasses not plastic) and you can get has many refills as you want. Then you get a 2 or 3 course meal (appetizers which I thought was the entree) entree and dessert. You get a choice of 2 meats, if you're a vegetarian bring your sandwich or something. Only about 5 or 7 people on the bus, so you can have 2 seats to yourself but there's plenty of leg and moving around room in one seat. I got the half cama which reclined most of the way but not all the way. There are toilets are the bus as well. They played 2 old movies on low volume (no headset) wasn't a problem if you didn't want hear it but if you did you had to listen hard. You also get a light breakfast in teh morning.

The 2nd bus was more luxurious because I took the cama bus with Andesmar - don't think that goes to BsAs but you can find same quality buses to and from Iguazzu. Better decor, these were cama seats which mean they recline all teh way back and you raise the foot res so it's an actual bed. You got headsets (good ones) for the movies they played, free CD of some local musician. The food was better as well. Again only a handful of people on the bus. Really quiet so you can definitely go to sleep if you're not a light sleeper (still hear outside noise but it's not bad).

Both buses have curtains on the windows so you won't be disturbed by the lights. You get pillows and blankets and real good and attentive service.

You can take a bus that stops of at Jesuit ruins, believe it's 5 hours from Iguazzu and then probably the next day you can take the bus to BsAs. I never made the stop because of time constraints but these are really popular routes so there's no problem.

Just a couple of other things. There will be men/boys at the bus stations iat Retiro and other cities (not Iguazzu) who will offer to take your luggage out (or put it in) the car, only accept their help if you're willing to pay them a tip and have it ready.

Be careful of fake money esp in BsAs. It feels different (thicker) and it usually looks new (not folded, wrinkled, etc). When you first get some pesos make sure pay attention to the way it look and feels so you will know the difference when someone tries to give you fake money.

Familiarize yourself with the city so you have a general idea of the layout and know when you're being taken for a ride.

Hope this info helps.

marymarathons

oceania
Thanks so much for the detailed info on buses. It is so helpful and reassuring to read about a first hand experience. I'm seriously considering this option for my family.

How the scenery along the way from Iguazu to BA?

Where did you travel on the second bus trip?

Mary

oceania

It's dark most of the way so you won't see much if you go at night but getting out Iguassu is quite nice ...small villages, farms, etc.

The 2nd trip was to Mendoza. Honestly you have nothing to worry about taking the buses.