Rio to Paraguay and Iguazu Falls advice needed
 

In May, 2011, my 22 yr. old daughter will be visiting her good friend who is in the Peace Corps in Paraguay in the Cordillera section. We have snagged an ultra low miles FF ticket to Rio for dates that work for her. Now we need to figure out getting her to Asuncion and back to Rio for her outbound flight. She will be picked up by her friend in Asuncion. At some point during her approx. 2 week stay they plan to go to Iguazu Falls, probably traveling by bus, low budget, etc.

My question is whether her best plan would be to fly one way Rio-ASU and then plan the Falls trip at the end so she flies back to Rio from either Foz or maybe Cuidad del Este rather than trekking back to Asuncion to get a flight out??

My daughter is a dual American-Italian citizen so she can use her Italian passport to enter Brazil and Paraguay without the expensive visa, though her friend would need the Brazil visa if they go to the Brazil side.

Does anyone have experience visiting the Falls from Paraguay and then leaving Paraguay from that area? How long is the bus ride from an area near Asuncion out to the Falls? Sounds like there are more low budget places to stay on the Argentine side, but I'm having a hard time figuring out about the transportation from one country to the other to the other.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this for us.

The most common way to arrive is through "Ponte da Amizade" (Friendship Bridge) which connects Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. There are frequent bus connections, also to and from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina. Taxis sometimes do the trans-border trip as well.

A couple of kilometers south of Ciudad del Este, where Rio Paraná and Rio Iguaçu join, is a ferry crossing to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina without crossing Brazilian territory. The ferry runs hourly during daylight hours for AR$5.Best way to go to save Brail Visa cost from Paraguay.

CDE pretty dodgy

review www.travel.state.gov Paraguay for a heads up

choose top www.hostelbookers.com hostels

or CDE and Puerto Iguazu hotels of quality

www.directrooms.com www.expedia.com

www.insuremytrip.com

fly back to Rio on a cheap local

www.brazilnuts.com www.brazilforless.com

Happy Journey,

CDE is about five hours by bus from Asuncion.

Despite the name, the town of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, across from CDE, is not at the falls themselves. They are about 15 miles away.

The least expensive flight to Rio should be from IGU, located between the town of Foz do Iguacu, Brazil and the park entrance on the Brazilian side.
There are hostels and relatively inexpensive pousadas on the Brazilian side.
Local public buses run between Foz and Puerto Iguazu, and between the towns and park entrances.

The OP is from 2010