Expert: Cintia - 11/10/2004

Question
Cintia
thanks for the help. A follow up question.. how long do you think i need to stay in the Iguazu Falls? I am planning to take early flight from Buenos Aires, stay one night, and next day leave from the Brazilian side and fly to Rio (at mid-day, as I heard it doesn't take that long in the Brazilian side to see what you need to see). is this too tight? which hotels, other than the Sheraton, would you suggest me to stay?
Thanks,Christina
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Followup To
Question -
Hi My husband and I plan to go to South America in Dec. and plan to stay 2 days in Iguazu Falls. my questions are:
1. How long does it take to fly from Buenos Aires to Iguazu? (what's the flight schedule?)
2. after viewing it from Argentina side, Can i then cross border to Brazil, then fly from there to Rio directly? what's the flight schedule? -- or can a take a bus at night? if so, for how long?
3. Do I need to take an organized tour, or can we do it indepedently?(we don't like the constraints of organized tours, but would do it if it's a huge hazzle to do it ourselves and if tour guide can show us places we would miss on our own.
thanks for your help in advance.. it seems you know so much about the waterfalls!
Answer -
Dear Christina,

Thank you for your enquiry.

These are the answers to your questions:

1) The flight takes 1 hour 50 minutes. The flights to Iguazu leave Buenos Aires between 10 AM-1 PM (approximately) and the flights from Iguazu to Buenos Aires leave during the afternoon.

2) I don't know where you are from, because the nationals of some countries must apply for a visa to enter Brazil, such as USA and Canada. This is in reciprocity because brazilians need to get a visa to enter those countries.
The visa costs USD 100 per person and should be obtained prior to going to Iguazu because the application takes several days.

3) To go to Rio you should cross the border, go to Foz do Iguassu airport (IGU) and take a flight there. You can just take a taxi on the argentine side for this purpose.

3) You don't need a tour to enjoy the falls. The National Parks both on the argentine and brazilian side have walking trails so it is just a matter of following the signs and walking along them. On the argentine side, once you are at the park, you can take a motorboat ride that takes you up to the falls, rent a kayak or take a 4 wheel drive tour in the forest. All these activities can be arranged at the park, no need to make reservations in advance.

Please note that December is a very busy month and I recommend you don't take too long to make a decision as the sooner you make up your mind the more chances you will have of finding good accommodation and flights.

Kind regards,

Cintia
Buenos Aires, Argentina  

Answer
Dear Christina,

If you want to explore the 5 different circuits that the National Park on the argentine side has, then you will need to stay there for 2 nights. You will need a little bit more than a full day to cover these 5 circuits, because they all require plenty of walking. Also, please bear in mind that in general the first flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu leaves at 10 AM, so by the time you get to the park it will be past noon. The park closes at 6 PM so you will actually have a few hours that will be enough to see the falls, but won't give you all the time you need to enjoy all the circuits.
As for the brazilian side, the park there has only one circuit, so just as you have heard, half a day will be enough.

Regarding hotels, the Sheraton is the best choice because of being inside the National Park. Otherwise you could try Cataratas (not Tropical das Cataratas which is on the brazilian side). The one I am talking about is on the argentine side, along the road that connects the city of Puerto Iguazu and the National Park. It is very nice, has a lovely pool and to get from there to the park you can just take a taxi.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Cintia Stella
Buenos Aires, Argentina