Iguazu Falls tour

[Travel2Learn]

Which is better and why, a 1 day tour and not messimg with another hotel, or staying 1 night at the Sheraton Falls. I do not want to go to the Brazilian side. The 1 day tour uses a charter flight.

[dabear]

It depends on how much you want. We did a full 1 day tour from Buenos Aires before our cruise & loved it. We arranged for a guide to pick us up at the Igusau airport, tour with us throughout the park and drive us back to the airport for a return flight. I knew my dw would prefer spending another day in BA. We saw everything from the Ar side. On the other hand, others will say that you must stay overnight. It depends on how long you want to see the falls (btw were spectatular) or ride under them. By doing it ourselves, we saved more than 50% of cost of the ship's tour.

[penfriend]

Which is better and why, a 1 day tour and not messimg with another hotel, or staying 1 night at the Sheraton Falls. I do not want to go to the Brazilian side. The 1 day tour uses a charter flight.

 

My wife and I visited Iguazu Falls a couple of years ago on our own. We found we needed that overnight to rest and to ensure that the day wasn't too frantic. (We didn't have a charter on stand-by;)). We thought viewing the falls from the Brazilian side was better, although the view from the Argentinian side is perfectly OK. They are quite different perspectives and the Brazilian nature reserve is very well organized and beautiful. If you are convinced that you don't want to see both sides then a one day visit should be alright.

[Chloe's mom]

Having just visited Iguazu Falls, I would strongly recommend staying at least one night. Although it is technically possible to see the major sights on the Argentina side (upper and lower circuit, Devil's Throat, boat ride) in a single day, you should take into consideration that you are in a jungle with temperatures in the 90s and high humidity. I think it would be exhausting to try to do everything in one day. We found, after two hours in the heat, that we wanted to shower and cool off before venturing out again. You should also consider that, even with a charter flight, there can be flight delays. Also there can be rain that will, of course, affect your views of the Falls. I was very happy that we stayed at the Sheraton, which is right at the Falls, so that we could easily return to our room. I also echo the earlier poster that the Brazilian side of the Falls is very much worth a visit.

[Travel2Learn]

dabear, penfriend and Chloe's Mom, thank you for your comments and suggestions. Each of you brought up something I had not considered. I will skip the Brazilian side because I do not want a yellow fever shot nor bother with getting a visa. Were mosquitos a problem?

[Chloe's mom]

I didn't get a yellow fever shot. I don't think that yellow fever is any more of a problem on the Brazilian side of the falls than on the Argentina side. We didn't have a problem with mosquitos. I didn't notice any. But I also didn't go outside at dusk, when they are supposedly more likely to be around. And I did use insect repellent--I had a sunscreen cream that contained repellent, and I also carried with me wipes impregnated with repellent in case I felt the need for a reapplication--as I said before, it was very hot, and we were sweating. One additional suggestion, take a washcloth with you, so you can wipe the sweat from your face/neck.

[findacruise]

T2L - I would echo OP about staying overnight. We did fly in from BA and experienced some delay, arriving about noon. We did the afternoon walk down and road the zodiak boat - much fun, But of course, you do walk back up! After that we took a ride through jungle in a large vehicle. We got back to the hotel before dinner and were ready for a shower and to relax.

 

The next day we went to devil's throat and walked the rest of the area. Beautiful and you really can see the force of the water. I would not want to try to do this all in one day. We were there in February and it was very hot. We stayed at the Sheraton and could see part of the Falls from our balcony. Lovely. Echo the insect repellant. I must have missed a spot and got stung by something. It took almost 2 weeks for it to clear up.

[Travel2Learn]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Since I have 4 nights post cruise, I chose doing a private package that includes spending one of those nights at the Sheraton. I hate being rushed to leave the ship early and being herded with a busload of people. "Hurry up and wait" gets old fast on a cruise. The next consideration is weather. It will be hot, and rain can be a concern in the jungle. Skipping the Brazilian side still stands. It sounds like getting a visa at this time of year takes more weeks than I want to risk. Also, the yellow fever shot is not for protection at the falls, but so I may enter other countries after having been to Brazil. Unless there is an easy way around this in Iguazu, no Brazilian side visit.

[findacruise]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Since I have 4 nights post cruise, I chose doing a private package that includes spending one of those nights at the Sheraton. I hate being rushed to leave the ship early and being herded with a busload of people. "Hurry up and wait" gets old fast on a cruise. The next consideration is weather. It will be hot, and rain can be a concern in the jungle. Skipping the Brazilian side still stands. It sounds like getting a visa at this time of year takes more weeks than I want to risk. Also, the yellow fever shot is not for protection at the falls, but so I may enter other countries after having been to Brazil. Unless there is an easy way around this in Iguazu, no Brazilian side visit.

 

Sounds like a great plan. We were with a group of under 20 people but there was still "the 1" that impacted the rest of us....you know what I mean! Stay hydrated, bug repelled and if you do take the zodiak (and you should) believe every word they say about getting soaked!:)

[phillipahain]

Iguazu is AWESOME and best seen from both sides plus the Bird Zoo on the Brazilian side is fantastic

 

the whole experience is to me one of the 7 wonders of the world Niagria or Victoria pale into insignificance behing Iguazu

[findacruise]

Iguazu is AWESOME and best seen from both sides plus the Bird Zoo on the Brazilian side is fantastic

 

the whole experience is to me one of the 7 wonders of the world Niagria or Victoria pale into insignificance behing Iguazu

 

I have not been to Victoria but wholeheartenly agree with your comment about Niagra! Did not have time to make it to the Brazilian side, but was still in awe on the Argentinian side.

[Travel2Learn]

I have not been to Victoria but wholeheartenly agree with your comment about Niagra! Did not have time to make it to the Brazilian side, but was still in awe on the Argentinian side.

 

Totally agree with both of you about Niagra. We stopped the on the way home from Boston a couple of years ago. I was shocked to see what a dump the American side had become.

[AWED23]

Iguazu is AWESOME and best seen from both sides plus the Bird Zoo on the Brazilian side is fantastic

 

the whole experience is to me one of the 7 wonders of the world Niagria or Victoria pale into insignificance behing Iguazu

.....It sounds to me from the posts here and things I have heard previously that the actual view is best from Brazil. We will have as much time as we wish and therefore I am considering spending at least 1 night on each side. Are there accommodations on the Brazilian side that are somewhat comparable to the Sheraton on the Argentinian side?....Thanks for any information you care to give...Rob:cool:

[MalibuCA]

Here's another question re Iguazu -

 

We are booked at the Sheraton for one night. Our original plan was to visit only the Argentinian side, but with all that I've read here about the Brazilian side, we are considering crossing the border to have a look. Of course our Brazilian Visas from our previous visit to the Amazon expire one month before our visit to the Iguazu Falls, but that's another issue. If we get new Visas, and we have one overnight, is it possible to see both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides and still get to the airport for a flight (hopefully in the late, late afternoon) back to Buenos Aires? I should add one more fact: We are not planning to take the wild boat ride, so I thought that we might use the time ordinarily allotted for that by going to the Brazilian side. Your thoughts?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Shelley