Buenos Aires- Iguazu Falls
 

If you were going to be in Buenos Aires for close to 7 days, would you take a one or two-day trip to Iguazu Falls? I figure we could spend the first half day and 3 full days (4 nights) in BA, two full days (1 night) in Iguazu, and return to BA for one more day and our late flight home.

Day 1 - arrive BA early afternoon, night in BA
Day 2 - full day in BA, night in BA
Day 3 - full day in BA, night in BA
Day 4 - fly to Iguazu Falls, night in IF
Day 5 - day in Iguazu, return to BA, night in BA
Day 6 - full day in BA, night in BA
Day 7 - full day in BA, fly out at 9 p.m.

Is that crazy? Should we just stay in BA the whole time?

Iguazu Falls is amazing. I highly recommend 2 nights and see both sides. I did 2 nights and I believe I had 3 nights in BsAs. I flew on LATAM and was quite satisfied.

No it’s not crazy at all but, like hpeabody above, I do think you are short changing one of the natural wonders of the world.

We have been a couple of times, the last in 2016. Details and photos of that tripa are on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/categor...ica/argentina/

I would highly recommend seeing both the Argentine and Brazilian falls. Clearly the same falls but you get a completely different perspective. The Argentine side allow you to get up close and th Brazilian side provides a much more panoramic view.

I suppose it might be possible to see both sides in a one night stay depending off flight times (e.g. an early flight up and a late flight back) but it would be very rushed.

A lot depends on flight times etc. Normally I make sure I am in the city of departure before a long haul flight but as your flight out is not until 9.00pm maybe you could fly back to BA on your last day??

I agree you shouldn't miss Igazu. I'm not sure about the Brazilian side, It was too complicated and costly for us to get the required visas to go into Brazil. We were traveling with American passports . But I really couldn't imagine doing it with 1 night. What time are the fligts?f if you visit the falls on the morning of your 2nd day, where would you leave your belongings, and would you be comfortable traveling in the same clothes? I remember getting wet at some of the viewing areas. We stayed 2 nights and were able to enjoy the hotel pool on our 3rd morning before departing for the airport.
By the way I highly recommend the boat trip to the 'devils throat if you adventurous. It was a blast!

Good luck!

Thanks - well look not two nights. We already figured out that $320 for visas for Brazil doesn’t make sense since we aren’t going elsewhere in Brazil on this trip

Brazil changed the visa program to a new eVisa program. You might reconsider as the price is no where near the old $160.00 per visa. You apply on-line. Here is a Google. https://www.google.com/search?ei=PKz....0.iZ_RSdYpxD4

Wow,thanks. I didn't come across previously, but I was just reading forums. The change occurred in October, and the price is now $40 per person.

"t’s about to get much easier for American citizens to get their Brazilian visa. Back in October, Brazil announced that it would soon allow travelers from certain countries to apply for an e-visa, making it easier to get to the country without having to apply for a visa in person at an embassy or visa center abroad. And as of Thursday, the Brazilian e-visa site is open for applications.

Effective Thursday, nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan and the US can apply for their Brazilian visitor visa via the new e-visa service. In addition, the cost to get a Brazilian visa has dropped from $160 to just $40 — plus an online service fee of $4.24. The new visitor e-visa is valid for both business and leisure travelers."

I think Buenos Aires is extraordinarily overhyped here, there are a few Fodorites who visit regularly or live/lived there. IMO it's a no-brainer to give up a day or two in BA for Iguassu if you prefer nature to cities. I'm sorry I didn't, but the old visa rules still applied back when I went.

We love cities AND nature!!

I do also, but Buenos Aire is my least favorite of all the major cities I've visited so far in South America, which includes Lima, Bogota, Medellin, La Paz, Quito, Montevideo and (lastly ) Santiago. (plus most of the second tier ones like Cusco or Cartagena)..YMMV...I'd still hit it for a few days but not give up anything else for it.

I'd say only Barranquilla would be worse. because it is another one of those super-hot ones! Like Buenos Aires, flat and on a river/swamp rather than a beachy shoreline...

So we decided on 3 nights in Buenos Aires, followed by 2 nights at Iguazu Falls, then one more night in Buenos Aires (which will give up about 1-1/2 days in IF and 4 days -- 3 full days and 2 half days -- in Buenos Aires). Thanks for the advice.

Good choice
 

Not crazy at all, and definitely worth the ride! three month ago we went on a 10 days trip from Rio to Iguazu to Buenos Aires. Giving that we spent 4 days in Rio, your 7 days plan without is ok. We had a great time with a local guide helping us out, making some changes to the plan we found here
https://ollami.com/tour/3458/rio-de-...u-buenos-aires
Maybe he can help you also fix it for your amount of time.

This is our plan for Iguazu Falls - please let me know if you see anything that just won't work.

Day 1 - We will arrive early evening at the Argentina airport (IGR). We would rather fly into Foz but couldn't find any non-stop flights from Buenos Aires. Transfer via taxi to the Belmond in the park on the Brazilian side.

Day 2 - Hotel shuttle to Argentina side, and spend the day. Shuttle back to hotel.

Day 3 - Spend the morning in the park on the Brazilian side. I've heard that's not more than 4 hours, including the bird sanctuary which I will skip because I am phobic about birds. Spend the afternoon at the hotel. Taxi to airport for evening flight back to Buenos Aires.

• Does that seem doable?
• Do we need a guide on either side of the falls? Is there transportation within the park, or do you just walk everywhere?
• What specific walks/sights/activities do you recommend at the falls?

That seems like a good plan. You don’t need a guide for either side and transport is mostly by walking, buses on the Brazil side and train on the Argentine side. We found that in Argentina it worked best to get te early train all the way to the end of the line and work back.

Trips include boats up to the falls and helicopters over. Details and photos of our time there on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/2016/09...er-everywhere/

Not crazy at all. We've done Iguazu twice. Depending on your flight time, you can see a lot of the Falls on arrival; stay overnight at the Sheraton (not the greatest but best thing to do); see more of the Falls in the morning (do not miss the boat to the Devil Falls) and catch a flight in the late afternoon. Iguazu is NOT to be missed!