Puerto Iguazú & the Iguazú Falls Chronicle

Here you'll find everything you need to know to plan a trip to Puerto Iguazú & the Iguazú Falls on the Brazilian & Argentinian sides.

Background:

The trip to the Iguazú Falls was one of 4 excursions we planned during our 5-week stay in Buenos Aires. The trip spanned Sunday (1/28/2024) to Monday (1/29/2024) - a short but action-packed trip that was incredible, leaving us WET.

About:

The Iguazú Falls are considered the largest waterfall system in the world with anywhere between 150 - 300 separate active falls depending on the season. The falls are surrounded by subtropical rainforests spanning across 2 national parks split between Brazil & Argentina with Paraguay close by. As of 2011, the falls were officially named as a Natural Wonder of the World.

Getting to Puerto Iguazú, Argentina:

Like our other excursions, we arranged our travel and stay in advance.

We purchased our roundtrip flights from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú, Argentina (following a generic Google Flights search) through Aerolineas Argentinas for 57.90 USD per person. The story with this is that we paid via Apple credit card and initially paid 125.34 USD per person; however, we soon received a refund totaling 134.88 USD, which ultimately brought the cost to the number mentioned above. It's unclear to us why this was issued. We did pay in Argentinian pesos so it may have to do with Apple correcting its conversion from the official to the blue dollar rate (see our Argentina post for more on this), or it was possibly related to the fact that Argentina was undergoing rapid inflation around the time we purchased the tickets. In any event, we ended up with a pretty good deal on our flights.

This might not be unique to some veteran travelers, but, unlike other flights we've been on in the past, this flight had a final destination of Salta, Argentina, and Iguazú was a stop along the way. In other words, we landed for Iguazú passengers to disembark and the plane continued with the remaining passengers to Salta.

Our Stay:

We booked our stay through Booking.com at a hotel-like establishment called Casa 24 in the downtown part of Puerto Iguazú (in Argentina). While there are of course many places to choose from, we appreciated this stay because we were right across the street from the main bus station in the town, which made our trip much easier. The stay itself was nothing extravagant but was what we'd call good value for the money spent. The night we spent cost about 60 USD. The manager was also very helpful in answering basic questions and providing useful logistics.

We initially were not sure about transport from the airport to our stay so we arranged a pick-up in advance with the hotel. This cost about 10 USD (12,000 ARS). We now know that there are buses from the airport to the town that run about 2.5 USD (3,000 ARS).

Exploring the Brazil Side of the Falls (Day 1):

On arrival to Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, we touched base with our hotel first. We were early for check-in (it was about 8 a.m. at this point), so we left our bags there and began figuring out how we would get to the Brazil side of the falls. As we were walking the street, a random driver flagged us down and asked if we needed a ride. Us, a bit tired and not having the energy to research further, engaged and ultimately paid 24 USD (30,000 ARS) to travel across the border into Brazil. Ultimately, our driver took us to the Brazil side, waited as we explored, and drove us back - all for 24 USD! However, we should note that we later discovered that bus tickets to the Brazil side of the falls would have been a much cheaper option, though would have taken twice as long. Although we did not specifically inquire about price, the bus tickets we would later purchase to get to the Argentina side of the falls only cost about 5 USD roundtrip per person so we assume the Brazil trip would not be much more (if not the same). As mentioned, there is a brief customs check upon entry and return which requires getting out of the vehicle and waiting in line at an office. However, the checks were not very time-consuming (20-30 minutes), but we suspect this is because of our early crossing - we can imagine that these lines get long so the earlier the better.

The Brazil side of the falls was magnificent, but it was packed and only seemed to be getting busier as the hours went by. Tickets to get into the park were about 20 USD per person for foreign tourists. It is recommended to either purchase these tickets in advance or first thing at the gate because you are required to enter based on the time on your ticket. When we arrived around 9 am, we weren't allowed to continue in the park until 9:30 am due to the amount of people already there. As the time went by, the wait to get into the park was only increasing. Overall, you need about 3 hours to explore if you're efficient but not rushing. The walking is very manageable and there are bathrooms and little gift shops/food stands along the way. The Brazilian side seemed to be structured in a way of following one singular circuit that allowed you to get up close and personal with the heart of the falls. During our trip, a similar path on the Argentinian side (The Devil's Throat Trail) was closed due to storm damage, so if you want to get close to the falls, you can only do so on the Brazilian side.

Views from the Brazilian side of the Iguazú Falls.

Upon our return to Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, we explored the town a bit and made our way to the three borders landmark (Brazil-Paraguay-Argentina). There are small shops in the area and it's a cute place to explore and view the Iguazú River.

Views from Puerto Iguazú at the Three Borders Monument.

Exploring the Argentina Side of the Falls (Day 2):

Having had our dose of the Brazil side the day before, it was time to explore the Argentina side of the Iguazú Falls. We read that this is referred to as the "better" side, and, in short, we must agree. Having learned our lesson from the Brazil excursion, we purchased roundtrip bus tickets to the falls for 5 USD per person. On arrival, we purchased tickets to enter the park for 17.60 USD (20,000 ARS) per person. The park is expansive and has a variety of circuits to explore the falls, which we will discuss in a moment.

Having done some research beforehand, we realized we wanted to do the boat tour on the Argentinian side. The Brazilian side also offers a boat tour, but we ultimately decided to go with Iguazú Jungle due to the raving reviews. We had purchased tickets for this boat tour before coming to Argentina directly from their site. The Gran Aventura tickets were about 38 USD (50,000 ARS) per person. From what we could tell, it does not seem like buying tickets in advance is mandatory; however, we wanted to secure an earlier time slot to then be able to explore the park afterward without worrying about coming to the front of the park to take the tour. Moreover, we could have just been one of the earlier groups to do the tour and there could be a risk of slots filling up if tickets are not purchased in advance. The meeting point for the tour is also close to the park entry point so, to us, it made the most sense logistically to start with it. The tour was totally worth it! You get a ride to and from the actual dock from which the boat departs. The ride is on an open-roof, tour-bus-type vehicle and it has a tour guide that provides information on the park and the falls. You will absolutely get soaked on the boat and it's wonderful, especially given the heat. Be sure to bring a change of clothes. Temperatures were pushing 95F while we were there and we were told that it was relatively mild compared to the typical summer temperatures of 100-110F! Nevertheless, the views are, of course, immaculate. Staff brings a GoPro to take photos and video that you can then purchase for about 8.80 USD (10,000 ARS). We went in our swimsuits and changed afterward (towel optional as it was hot enough that we virtually air-dried).

Gran Aventura Boat Tour

We then explored the park and the falls. The Argentina side is much more spread out. In many ways, it felt like we were almost at an amusement park. There are two main trails for viewing the falls - the upper and lower circuits. There was another 6-kilometer trail that is more off the beaten path but we did not traverse it. The other trails were closed when we visited due to previous storm damage (i.e., the Devil's Throat trail). Each of the trails (upper and lower) takes about an hour to an hour and a half to complete and the views are out of this world. It was also far less crowded than the Brazil side and pictures were a lot easier to take. Moreover, these trails were also very accessible.

Views from the Argentinian side of the Iguazú Falls + a Coatie

Overall Thought and Impressions:

Our trip to Iguazú was incredible and we would highly recommend it if your itinerary allows. If you can only go one extra spot in Argentina, these falls should be at the top of your list! It is easy to get here from Buenos Aires and the views are extraordinary (even if it was to be rainy).

We did not mention this earlier, but there is also the option of taking a 45-minute bus to Paraguay from Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. The main draw of Paraguay is the shopping as the USD is even stronger there than in Argentina. Shops open early and close around 5:00 p.m. most days and 3 p.m. Sunday. The border crossing into Paraguay from Brazil is also easy based on things we read. You should be able to walk across the bridge for easy entry as well from Brazil.

In addition, BRING SUNSCREEN AND MOSQUITO REPELLANT and apply them often.

Itinerary Budget Breakdown (per person):

Flights: 57.90 USD

Stay (1 night): 30 USD (60/2)

Taxi ride to Brazil side: 12 USD (24/2) (note that bus would likely be 5 USD per person)

Tickets (Brazil side): 20 USD

Bus ride to Argentina side: 5 USD

Tickets (Argentina side): 17.60 USD

Boat tour (Argentina side): 38 USD

Total = 180.5 USD (note that this does not include food and drink)

*Estimated Variable Costs (consisting of Ubers, meals, drinks, & souvenirs: 165 USD (330/2))

Views from the Gran Aventura Boat Tour

Views from the Argentinian Side

Views from the Brazilian Side