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An Iguazú Falls guide from Buenos Aires is a must do on most adventure lists, and even for those not so adventurous. Iguazú Falls, one of the "new natural seven wonders of the world" are the largest waterfalls on the globe and are situated on the border of Brazil, which houses most of the rivers and Argentina, where most of the falls reside. You can enter the falls from either country, although each offers a different views of the rivers and falls. Over 1 million visitors per year tour Iguazú Falls.
How to Get to Iguazú Falls from Buenos Aires
Iguazú Falls is a one hour flight from Buenos Aires. We took Latam Airlines, from Buenos Aries Jorge Newbery Airport, known as Aeroparque (AEP) to Cataratas del Iguazú (IGR) Airport, staying fully in Argentina. Latam is a budget airline with R/T air around $100 USD, but they are strict with luggage requirements so read the site carefully. By bus or car, Buenos Aires is about 15 hours to Iguazú Falls.
Best Hotels in Iguazú Falls Guide
We stayed in a great hotel, Iguazú Falls Hotel Guaminí Mission, which is about a 20 minute drive to the Falls. The hotel is an old converted mission offering an on site infinity pool with views of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, a sauna, gym, restaurant and cafe. The hotel offers lovely rooms, gorgeous grounds, decent food and excellent and helpful staff. We paid roughly $100 per night for the Guaminí Mission Hotel and a taxi from anywhere in town to Iguazú National Park is $500 ARS one way and $800 ARS round trip.
Melia Iguazú Falls Hotel
If I could have, I would have stayed at the Melia Iguazú (formerly a Sheraton), which is the only hotel inside Iguazú Falls Park and offers breathtaking views of the falls from the restaurant, many rooms and other areas of the hotel. You walk out of the hotel and right onto the Upper Circuit Trail. It’s not the nicest hotel by any means, but the prestige is in being right in the park, allowing you to eliminate the park fees is what staying here is all about. The Sheraton has one decent tennis court and a pool with a view of the falls. I’m a tennis nut, so being able to play while looking at the Falls would have definitely been a dream for me!
Cost to Visit Iguazú Falls
The Iguazú Falls entrance fee is ARS 500 (although my credit card was charged only $16USD – but then there were a bunch of other small charges, so really, I have no clue) for the first day, and half price on a second day, as long as you get your ticket stamped before you leave the Park on Day 1. The ticket window accepts both credit cards and cash, however, don’t be surprised if your credit card declines the transaction, as that happened to 4 of the 5 people with whom I traveled. More Info: www.parquesnacionales.gob.ar/areas-protegidas/region-noreste/pn-Iguazú/
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Iguazú Falls Map (Argentina Side)
On the Argentina side, Iguazú Falls has several trails, each of which could take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, depending on how you set your pace. What surprised me the most about Iguazú was there were no actual trails. The short hikes are all metal suspension bridges over the water and you could easily spend the day in the park in sandals or flip flops and not need trail or running shoes at all. Another thing I loved about Iguazú is that it is accessible to all and we saw several private guides showing people around in wheelchairs.
The entrance to Iguazú Falls leads you on a 10 minute walk to the first train station. From there, you can either take the train to the trail heads or you can walk the easy Green Trail on concrete for about 10 minutes. Once at the trails, you choose between the Upper Circuit (Blue), Lower Circuit (Yellow) and Garganta del Diablo Trail (Orange – Devil’s Throat). The Devil’s Throat is the highlight of all Iguazú Falls and must see. There is nothing steep or particularly difficult about these trails, there’s no running and mostly it’s nice walks with thousands of photo opportunities along the way.
Will you get wet? You will never be surprised by the water at Iguazú. There’s one spot on the Yellow Trail (I think, may have been the Blue) where you have a choice to get super close to the falls and get drenched. You will also definitely get wet – after advance warning and being handed wet bags for your stuff – on the Adventure Boat Ride, which was really fun.
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Iguazú Falls Adventure Boat Ride
The Iguazú Falls Great Adventure Tour was the best part of the two days, in my opinion. You’ll see it online as the Boat Ride under the Falls, The Adventure Ride, The Adventure Boat Ride, and others – but it’s all the same thing – there’s only one. You can buy your tickets in the Park and you will get a scheduled time to come back for the ride. Or you can ask either your taxi driver or hotel to make the reservation for you and pay when you get to the park. But make the reservations a priority, as you need 2-3 hours for the tour and you want to plan your day around it. Note: There are some steep steps to get down to the boat. It’s a tour in a Jeep with English/Spanish speaking guides as well as a boat tour. The boat will let you know before you go under the falls and you will get wet bags for all your stuff. Don’t worry about taking everything off before you get on the boat.
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Food, Dining and Water Refills at Iguazú Falls
By the Lighthouse, there are three restaurants and snack shops, a Subway and a nice sit-down restaurant named Fortin. You can also bring food into the park to picnic. There’s plenty of places to get snacks at each train station as well as a place to refill your water bottle with agua potable (drinkable water).
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