Planning a Trip to Iguassu Falls
Iguassu, Iguazu, or Iguaçu depending on the language you are speaking, all translate to mean “big water” and aptly describe the largest waterfall complex in the world. The Iguassu park is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The park is divided 80% in Argentina and 20% in Brazil; Paraguay is also very close by. Visiting this spectacular park should be part of any Argentina or Brazil travel itinerary.
Getting here:
While there are people who fly specifically to Puerto Iguassu just to see the park and nothing else, most travelers add on Iguassu falls to a Brazil or Argentina travel itinerary. There are two options to fly into: Foz do Iguaçu International Airport (IGU) on the Brazil side (20 minutes from the Brazil side of the park), and Cataratas del Iguazu Airport (IGR) on the Argentinian side (10 minutes from the park). Crossing the border to visit the opposite side is not a far drive, but can take about 1 hour with immigration.
For us, we visited the falls as part of a 12 day trip to northern Argentina. The challenge is, the park is not close to any other major destinations. Flying is the quickest and most convenient, though of course not the cheapest. If contemplating bus vs. flight, keep in mind that an overnight bus ride from Buenos Aires will take you 24 hours to reach the falls. If time is money to you, it is worth flying.
From Argentina, it is easiest to fly into Cataratas del Iguazu Airport (IGR). Latam airlines has the most reliable flights in and out of Porto Iguazu; Bondi is a discount airline that also offers some direct flights from Buenos Aires and Mendoza. As in our previous post about traveling in Argentina, I would not recommend flying with Aerolineas Argentinas if it all possible…taking the 24 hour bus might actually get you there faster.
If traveling elsewhere in Brazil, you will fly into the the Foz do Iguaçu International Airport (IGU). Even though we stayed on the Brazil side of the park, there was no direct flight to IGU from Argentina (a transfer in São Paulo was required), hence we flew into IGR.
Where to Stay
When traveling, usually I recommend staying in a local neighborhood to experience a bit of local culture. However, compared to Argentina’s other popular tourist destinations, Porta Iguazu did not seem to have a lot going on besides a few cafés, run down hotels and a few touristy shops selling knickknacks. In researching hotel options, I found that there was one hotel on the Brazilian side that was located inside of the park, and there was one on the Argentina side with waterfall views. At the time of our travel, the hotel in the Argentina side, the Hotel Gran Melia Iguazu, was sold out the week we wanted to come; the Belmond Hotel del Cataratas, on the Brazilian side, did have occupancy. I was able to book our rooms through Hotels.com and was able to use a few Hotels.com gift certificates we had obtained from exchanging points we earned through our health insurance’s wellness app. This helped offset cost a bit. When we arrived, we quickly learned that spending a little more for lodging in the park is absolutely priceless, and I can’t recommend the Belmond highly enough. If you have a tight budget, I would recommend finding other ways to save money during your trip, such as flying for free on points/miles or opting for a budget hotel elsewhere in your trip. This is one location worth a splurge. If you do have to find lodging elsewhere, be sure to read recent reviews very carefully and be picky, there are a lot of dives in the area…Anticipate that you will be stuck indoors at least one day out of your trip due to rain – be sure that your lodging is some where that you’ll be comfortable hanging out with a good book should the weather not cooperate.
How long should you stay? Ideally, 3 nights will give you plenty of time to enjoy the area – and allow some cushion should the weather interfere with activities. I pity the tour buses that stop in for one day – if it is rainy or foggy, there is no second chance for some activities. Those who are tight on time should at least plan for 2 nights. The winter months of December to February are the most popular; March and April are ideal if you would like fewer crowds. To be honest, since we stayed at the Belmond, crowds weren’t a concern since the falls could be visited at any hour.
A Stay at the Belmond
The Belmond Hotel del Cataratas is quite picturesque and arriving here was a bit like a transport back in time. The hotel is designed in Portuguese colonial style with a tropical flair. After our one hour ride from the airport in Argentina (immigration was thankfully very fast), we were greeted with extremely friendly staff. We checked in quickly, and treated to a complimentary brigadeiro (chocolate fudge ball) and Guaraná Antarctica soft drink (we shared one – they are potent!). We headed to the bar for a quick bite and to enjoy our complimentary caipirinha (kai-purr-REEN-yah), which is the national cocktail of Brazil. We hadn’t booked any activities, and since it was a beautiful sunny day, we immediately booked a late afternoon boat safari for after lunch. While tours here can be booked in advance, it didn’t seem necessary – it might be best to see what the weather holds before you plan your day.
If staying at the Belmond, you will have your entrance fee covered in the hotel charge. You may not even need to exchange money unless you opt for off site activities or restaurants. We found that the hotel had plenty to offer that we didn’t do anything off site.
We had no complaints about the food served at any of the restaurants at the Belmont. They have a regular restaurant that offers a breakfast and dinner buffet, the breakfast buffet that is included with room reservations is served at this restaurant and it is huge – a mix of Brazilian, French (croissants!), and more traditional American type breakfast offerings. The free breakfast was more than substantial for us to serve as both breakfast and lunch for us. At night, there is the buffet as well as a fine dining restaurant with more elaborate options. We happen to be there over Valentine’s Day so we opted to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a tasting menu in the fine dining restaurant which was top notch. For a quick her bike, the hotel bar has a smaller a la carte menu and also has live entertainment. Overall, we had no complaints about the food and service in any of the restaurants, but for budget travelers, it is not inexpensive to eat on site.
Planning Activities
At the top of the list is simply exploring the falls and taking in all of the glorious views and incredible energy. The Brazilian and Argentina sides are quite different and each has their perks. The Brazilian side offers the beautiful full panorama of the falls; As only 20% of the park resides in Brazil, there are fewer trails and 2-3 hours Is plenty of time to take it all in. With a stay at the Belmond, you get to experience the falls outside of normal park hours, and I recommend going during sunrise and sunset for incredibly fantastic experience where you feel like you have the park to yourself. (Well, that is, you and the coatis, a cute little relative of the raccoon that you will see scavenging the trash bins after hours). On the Argentina side, there is a larger network of trails and you get to experience a close-up look at the falls. You want to budget a good six hours for the Argentina side. Whichever side you stay on, it is always possible to hire a driver to take you to the opposite side of the park, with or without a tour guide.
For those staying off site, you will visit the park by parking at a designated lot where you pay for your ticket (best to have local cash handy for this – get cash at the airport ATM before arriving). You will then be bused to the park itself. Buses run every 20 min, and the park is open 9am to 4pm.
We booked all of our activities directly through the Belmond hotel (read: easy), so I can’t comment on offerings from the Argentina side of the park. You can visit the main pages of each park or you can scroll through Viator to get an idea of what is available in the area. Activities offered through the Belmond (and to outside guests visiting the Brazil side of the park) include:
- Macuoco Safari – for those who like to get wet and want a bit of a thrill ride, this 2.5 hour boating experience offers close up waterfall views and is also a great way to cool off on a hot day.
- Black Well Trail tour is part rain forest hike, part boating experience; the one-way trail is actually a good option on a rainy day as there was still plenty to see and experience. The trail itself is flat, wide, and easy (we also saw bike tours traveling through the same rain forest path). The second half of the tour offers either a boat ride back, or an optional kayak.
- The Bird Park is also a great rainy day option, with 900 rare and colorful birds of 150 different species. There is also a behind the scenes tour option.
- The Forest Experience offers an insight into Guarani culture, with a traditional welcome ceremony, dance, food and the tobacco ritual. Unfortunately, it was rained out during our trip.
- Helicopter tours are a great way to see a birds-eye perspective of the falls on a clear day.
- Several other options exist; contact the Belmond for a current list of offerings or peruse Viator.
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