Stuff worth knowing if you ever plan an Iquazu trip:-
Q How do you get from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu?
A Probably by plane. Buenos Aires has 2 airports so probably not the one you landed from Europe. There are no trains. A car drive is 16-18 hour solid with no stops. There are no trains.
Q How do you get from the airport to Puerto Iguazu?
A We ordered a taxi via our AirBNB contact. He was holding a sign at the airport. The journey takes around 25 mins and there is little traffic. The taxi cost was approximately £15. You can also get a bus. There is a big bus station in town. Rio Uruguay is one of the companies that do it. Two bus tickets is probably comparable to a taxi cost.
Q How to get to the national parks and costs.
A The falls are on the Iguazu river. Brazil is on one side and Argentina on the other. We took buses to both sides. Rio Uruguay from the bus station again. Costs were approximately £15 for 2 people for the return journey each day. Same price each side. From the PA bus station it took about 40 mins to get to the Argentinian side and about 50 mins to get to the Brazilian side.
Q Prices of entry to the national parks?
A About £25 for 2 people each side. We got our tickets for the Argentinian side on line while in the UK ( will need to print out and bring along). On the Brazilian side there is a machine at the front gate.
Q How do you pay for stuff?
A Assuming you start from Puerto Iguazu, the buses and taxis are all cash. All shops, pubs, restaurants and snack areas all took our Chase debit card. However, the machine to get the park tickets on the Brazilian side didn’t like the Chase card but we were ok by using our Sainsbury’s credit card (think of the Nectar Points).
A What happens at the boarder and do I need Brazilian currency?
Q On the way out you have to get off the bus and they have a cursory look at your passport. Yes you need your passport. Coming back they do the same with your passport and X-ray your bags. We didn’t need Brazilian currency at all.
Q Tell me about the Argentinian side.
A We got on the bus at 7.30am to get there as early as we could. You have to walk to a small railway station. Then wait for an electric train. There is the central station where you start from then a middle station and an upper station. At the upper station there is the boardwalk to The Devil’s Throat. The middle station has 2 more walks called Superior and Inferior. We did everything. I would say the Devil’s Throat and the Superior walk were 10 out of 10. The Inferior walk was more like 9.5. The walks are easy and mostly boardwalk. No mud. Trainers are fine. Avoid stilettos and ballet shoes. It wasn’t apparent at the beginning but it is not necessary to take the train. You can walk. There are plenty of people there but it is a huge space. You might have to wait a minute or two to get that perfect selfie but there were times when we were walking on our own. Over the day we probably walked 4 or 5 miles but strung out over time so you hardly notice. There are also lots of birds, butterflies and other animals to see if you keep your eyes peeled. And of course the jungle is pretty good. You don’t get wet on the Argentinian side (unless it is raining). At the middle station we saw lots of coatis and monkeys which are not something you see every day. There are snack bars everywhere so you don’t need to bring too much food and drink. There isn’t much difference in the quality of the experience on either side but perhaps you could say that on the Argentinian side you see a lot of the falls close up (there are over 200 falls) and on the Brazilian side you see wider vistas of the whole thing.
On the Brazilian side the trains are replaced by buses. There is a top station and a middle station. Try to see as much as possible. Again, it is easy walking and there are snack bars everywhere. There is one promontory ( you will know it when you see it) where you will get wet with the spray from the water. The women put their coats on. The men get wet. Latin machismo! On both sides we didn’t encounter any mosquitoes except for a less traveled walk to the river at the lower station on the Brazilian side. Got bit a few times but never saw so many butterflies and we also saw a woodpecker so worth it.