Iguazu Falls

[joybook]

After arriving in Rio in January on the Golden we are looking at going to the Falls and using RIPIOTURISMO for an accommodation/tour package of the Falls. Just wondering if anyone out there has used these people and how did you find them. We have our flights organised so it is just the accommodation and tour of the Falls that we are concerned about. Are they reliable and all above board? Thanks. I Have also put this on the South American board. :)

[Pam in CA]

Haven't used them (took a cruise line pre-cruise) but I would recommend spending at least three days there. One to walk and see the Brazilian side, one to see the Argentinian side and one to take a river boat into/under the Falls. It'll take quite a while to cross the border from one side to the other which is why you can't do justice to both sides on the same day. The boat trip is a hoot as well as an amazing experience.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The SA cruise is on our dream list (I refuse to call it a bucket list) because my hubby is a major waterfall fan. We'll have to see after we find out what colleges our girl gets into for next year.

[caribill]

Haven't used them (took a cruise line pre-cruise) but I would recommend spending at least three days there. One to walk and see the Brazilian side, one to see the Argentinian side and one to take a river boat into/under the Falls. It'll take quite a while to cross the border from one side to the other which is why you can't do justice to both sides on the same day. The boat trip is a hoot as well as an amazing experience.

 

I agree 100% with Pam. You have not seen the Falls unless you view them from both countries.

 

When we went we stayed at the Tropical Das Cataratas Hotel on the Brazil side which has a great view of the falls. It is on the lower left in the picture below.

 

We used a travel agency (not allowed to mention TA names ***** CC) in Florida that specialized in Brazil. They arranged plane flights from Rio to the Falls and back as well as the hotel reservation and a private guide for the three days we were there. The private guide made crossing the border quick in both directions.

[shepp]

If you have your flights booked already, your really don't need to pay for a tour operator. We only did the Argentinian side (not wanting to pay for a Brazilian visa for a few hours of a different viewpoint) and the site is very, very developed. Unless you need someone to help you with birding or something, I can't imagine, really, what a guide would add. It's a tourist mecca, not a wilderness experience.The place is flooded with South American families, and the trails are clear.

 

We actually spent almost two full days doing all the trails on the Argentina side and doing the boat trip. Just be aware that it's going to be bloody hot, and that it's a real schlep to get down to the river for a boat trip. Aside from that, book a hotel over the Internet and don't forget an Argentine visa, which I think you're going to need for the border crossing. (We used Sheraton points to book the very expensive Sheraton on the Argentine side, the only hotel within the park. Overpriced rooms, great location.)

 

The Falls are amazing!

 

Edit: After reading the previous post, I would concede that having a guide might expedite the border crossing, which we didn't do,

Edited August 15, 2014 by shepp

[shepp]

Just checked. Aussies have to pay a "reciprocity fee" of USD 100 to enter Argentina. While there were reports of people crossing the border without having paid, I wouldn't bet on doing that. Supposedly if you're leaving the country within 12 hours, you won't have to pay, but you need a boarding pass to prove it. I have no idea what that means in practice, but it looks like you can't just pay at the border.

 

While the Brazilian side provides the best panorama of all the Falls, the Argentine trails take you right down to The Devil's Throat, as well as many close-up vantage points.

[caribill]

While the Brazilian side provides the best panorama of all the Falls, the Argentine trails take you right down to The Devil's Throat, as well as many close-up vantage points.

 

Part of the reasons I said you have not really seen the falls until you have seen them on both sides of the border.

[caribill]

Unless you need someone to help you with birding or something, I can't imagine, really, what a guide would add. It's a tourist mecca, not a wilderness experience. It's like going through the Roman Coliseum or the Vatican Museum on your own or taking a tour with a guide. Yes, you can do it on your own, but you will not necessarily see the best parts or learn all about it.

 

Just be aware that it's going to be bloody hot, and that it's a real schlep to get down to the river for a boat trip. We did the motorized raft trip from the Brazil side. The company we used had a vehicle to bring us from the road down to the river and back up again.

 

see above in red

[shepp]

Part of the reasons I said you have not really seen the falls until you have seen them on both sides of the border.

 

Well, sure. But we had limited time, and I really didn't feel like I wanted to spend over a hundred dollars and go through the hassle of getting a Brazilian visa plus take the two-crossing transit time in order to get a fairly distant head-on view of the Falls as a whole and a different angle of the Devil's Throat.

 

Let's face it, almost all the port visits people make are compromises. Rome in a day? Sure. Four days to see all Hawaii? Done!

 

We're talking viewpoints here. I could conversely say that you really haven't seen Machu Picchu until you've climbed Huaynu Picchu and looked down at the ruins, or Yosemite Valley until you've climbed to the top of Half Dome. But I bet most of the people who never made it up Half Dome feel they really saw the Valley. From everything I know, the Argentine trails bring people much closer to the torrent, and that was good enough for me.

 

By the way, one of the great things about staying at the Sheraton was that we had access to the trails before the hordes of tour groups moved in and we were able to stay as late as possible, having the place mostly to ourselves in both the morning and evening. If you can swing $300 a night or have Starpoints, highly recommended.

Edited August 15, 2014 by shepp

[shepp]

It's like going through the Roman Coliseum or the Vatican Museum on your own or taking a tour with a guide. Yes, you can do it on your own, but you will not necessarily see the best parts or learn all about it.

 

There's a big difference between the Vatican Museum and a waterfall. Really there is.

 

But then, I already know a good deal about art, and read up on the Vatican Museum before the last time we went. We took the earliest possible train from the port and stayed at the Museum the whole day. (While we missed out on going through the group entrance to the St. Peter's, we'd already spent a good long time there on a pre-cruise day in Rome.) Honestly, I was just as happy not to follow some flag-waving guide herding forty tourists and struggling to be heard above the din. We were able to stay in a semi-secluded corner the Sistine Chapel as tour groups by the dozens came and went, and I was able to stand face-to-face with the Caravaggio Medusa - a personal favorite - for a good long time, and then head back again for a second look. I'm not even sure a highlights tour would decide that was a "best part" to be visited. I know I wouldn't have gotten that second look. And, you know, there's another pretty good way to learn about the Coliseum: reading.

 

Likewise, at Iguazu we went where we wanted when we wanted, and we stayed enjoying the unbelievable Devil's Throat a good long while until they were about to close the walkway, again while guided tours came, looked, and left. Wherever we went, if there was a crowd at a viewpoint, we were able to hang around until they left. I bet we saw all the best parts on the Argentine side.

 

I know that a lot of cruisers have very little interest in planning truly independent travel. And certainly there's something to be said for having someone else do the legwork, decide what you're going to see and when, and tell you what they think you should know. In fact, we've booked our very first all-inclusive group tour, to China and Tibet, and believe me, it's a whole lot easier than planning six weeks in Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam was. But when I see tour groups being herded through Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat or the Vatican Museum, do I feel deprived? Um, no.

[caribill]

Honestly, I was just as happy not to follow some flag-waving guide herding forty tourists and struggling to be heard above the din.

 

Likewise, at Iguazu we went where we wanted when we wanted, and we stayed enjoying the unbelievable Devil's Throat a good long while until they were about to close the walkway, again while guided tours came, looked, and left.

 

Please note that I said we had a private guide. The two of us and the guide went at the pace we wanted to and did not move on until we wanted to. The cost of the guide (and his driver) was very reasonable.

[Pam in CA]

I have to side with Bill here and re-iterate that the viewpoints and perspective from each side is very different. To use a different analogy, it's like going to the top of the Empire State Building and looking out at the city in only one direction. So if possible, it's better to do both. We already had Brazilian visas so that extra cost wasn't a factor. Like Bill, we stayed at La Cataras. Oh, and you HAVE to try a Pisco Sour. I'm not a drinker but even I'll admit it was good. :)

[joybook]

Thanks for all your comments. Its good to hear from personal experiences. It has always been our plan to do both sides of the Falls, however from your comments it would seem that we should certainly consider just doing it on our own. The tour operator mentioned in my original post was one I got off the 'net myself because we are having a few cost issues with our Travel Agent. Following your comments, doing it on our own becomes a very distinct possibility now.:)

[bcnvcanada]

Just a heads up our travel company we use in South America sent a email

that there had been a flood in the area and some trails and steps had

been washed out. They weren't sure when they would be totally repaired.

Just check and get an update.

[Aurora95]

We signed up for the Iguazu falls trip through HAL. Do we still need Argentine and Brazil visas?

[Pam in CA]

We signed up for the Iguazu falls trip through HAL. Do we still need Argentine and Brazil visas?

Yes. No matter who you do it with, you're still crossing borders and entering another country when you go from one side to another. I did mine through HAL (one of my all time great trips/cruises) and had an old but still valid Brazilian visa on an expired passport plus a new passport. I had to carry both with me and present both which was a pain. Edited August 15, 2014 by Pam in CA

[shepp]

Please note that I said we had a private guide. The two of us and the guide went at the pace we wanted to and did not move on until we wanted to. The cost of the guide (and his driver) was very reasonable.

 

I overlooked the part about the private guide (though I'm not sure that's what the OP was asking about). I'm certainly not opposed to guides per se. There are places where we've used guides. We had a driver/guide taking us through parts of Burma, where the infrastructure and transport options were otherwise pretty miserable. In the Peruvian Amazon, we would have been helpless without our guide, who was also an expert birder. Even recently at Mesa Verde, one of our ranger guides to the tour-only ruins added to our visit, pointing out subtle things I never would have known., and giving anthropological background I hadn't bothered to learn beforehand...some of which I guess I still remember. (The other ranger was just a tedious bore.)

 

But Iguazu - at least from my experience on the Argentine side - was like none of those. The viewpoints are all on well-signed, well-mapped, easy-to-navigate walkways. You're looking at falling water, not ruins or paintings. A very little pre-trip research gave me a good idea of everything I wanted to do. I guess a guide would make it easier to navigate the border crossing. But maybe your guide told you lots of interesting things about the Falls and took you to places that unguided tourists didn't get to. Glad you feel you took the best option.

[shepp]

I have to side with Bill here and re-iterate that the viewpoints and perspective from each side is very different. To use a different analogy, it's like going to the top of the Empire State Building and looking out at the city in only one direction. So if possible, it's better to do both. We already had Brazilian visas so that extra cost wasn't a factor.

 

I just refreshed my memory. A Brazilian visa costs US citizens $140, and since our cruise ended in Buenos Aires, and our flight home was from there, the only reason to get that visa would have been a couple hours on the other side of the Falls, and that would have been one expensive viewpoint. Would you have paid, oh, I don't know, another 50 bucks to see uptown as well as downtown from the Empire State?

 

We just paid $140 for visas for our China trip, but that amortizes out at eight dollars a day, not $70 an hour. I wish I were like my neighbor Mark Zuckerberg, and costs were irrelevant. But I'm not, and they're not.

 

BTW, I'm surprised that Brazil granted you a visa with a longer duration than that of your passport. The length of my China visa was limited because my passport will be expiring within a year.

Edited August 16, 2014 by shepp

[caribill]

BTW, I'm surprised that Brazil granted you a visa with a longer duration than that of your passport. The length of my China visa was limited because my passport will be expiring within a year.

 

Brazil visa was good for five years. Even after the old passport expired, it was still good when presented with the new passport.

 

Chile does the same with its reciprocity fee, except it is for 10 years. (Read on Cruise Critic that the Chile fee was eliminated recently.)

[caribill]

But maybe your guide told you lots of interesting things about the Falls and took you to places that unguided tourists didn't get to. Glad you feel you took the best option.

 

Our guide and driver were for all there days there, from airport pickup at the Iguassu Falls Airport (much appreciated in a rain deluge) to returning to the airport at the end of our stay there.

[jmlh]

We also did Iguazu on our own this past February. We booked our own flights - first from Rio to Iguazu on the Brazilian side. Here a driver from our B & B picked us and took us to the B & B on the Argentinian side. The same driver even drove us to dinner & returned us!

The next morning our same driver took us to the falls on the Argentine side and picked us up at the Sheraton at a predetermined time. We had a wonderful day hiking the trails at our own pace. The falls are just spectacular!!

The following morning the driver picked up ourselves (& our luggage) and drove us back to the Brazil side where we visited the Bird Park (highly recommended) and then we did the Brazil side of the falls. Wonderful.

We were then driven back to the airport in Argentina to catch our plane to Buenos Aires where we began our cruise.

Enjoy!! This was one of the highlights of our entire South America holiday.

[thinfool]

 

We used a travel agency (not allowed to mention TA names ***** CC) in Florida that specialized in Brazil.

 

In my several years on CC it seems that this is not true.

 

Discussion/naming of TA's involved in booking a cruise is definitely a no-no.

 

Other bookings, hotels, rental cars, tour companies (look in Alaska forum), etc, are very often discussed with mention of the travel provider the author used.

 

Use your own judgment. :D:)

[Pam in CA]

Brazil visa was good for five years. Even after the old passport expired, it was still good when presented with the new passport.

 

Chile does the same with its reciprocity fee, except it is for 10 years. (Read on Cruise Critic that the Chile fee was eliminated recently.)

Correct. My old passport's Brazilian visa was three years old so it was still good. :) I double-checked with the Consulate that I could bring my old passport and that the visa was still good before leaving.

 

And no, I don't think I would have paid the additional $140 visa cost just to see the other side of the Falls. I'm glad I was able to see both.

[shepp]

Brazil visa was good for five years. Even after the old passport expired, it was still good when presented with the new passport.

 

Chile does the same with its reciprocity fee, except it is for 10 years. (Read on Cruise Critic that the Chile fee was eliminated recently.)

 

Ah. That's much more generous than the terms of the Chinese visa, which is granted for a single entry, multiple entries within 6 months, or multiples within a year.