Iguazu Falls Excursion?

[DoggyDaddy]

We are thinking of taking the 44 day Voyage of the Americas on the Koningsdam in March 2020 and would like to take a side trip to see Iguazu Falls. One option is a multi-day overland from Rio for $2999 pp and meets back to the ship in Buenos Aires. The other option is a day trip from Buenos Aires for $1099 pp. The one problem with the short trip is HA states that the total viewing time at the falls is from 1/2 to one hour, which is not very long.

 

Has anyone done this excursion from a HA ship, and if so, how was it. 

 

DD

[TiogaCruiser]

I did not do it through HAL.

I did book it for 2017 through HAl and had to cancel 4 days prior to leaving due to a family emergency. Those who did it from our rollcall sounded happy, but the HAL version did not include the Brazil side.

 

I DID do it the following year, booked through a separate vendor. Through HAL, it included 1 night in BS, a half day tour of BS, flights to and from Iguazu, 2 nights at the Sheraton ( now Amelia), and 2 half day excursions on the Argentina side only. I got 3 nights at Melia, 2 nights in BsAs at the Dazzler (1 block from HALs hotel), flights to and from Iguazu, tour of Argentina side and tour of Brazil side, all transfers, including to the port and being picked up from EZE for about $1k less, single occupancy on both trips.

 

If I were to do it again I would either book it all on my own or use the same vendor but skip the Argentina tour ( because a guide just isn’t necessarily). From the hotel you just walk a few hundred yards and you are on the trails overlooking the falls. I got an inexpensive upsell at check in and ended up with a Falls View Room, which was very nice. I could hear the falls all night with the slider closed. 

 

Honestly, I would not even consider the day trip option. The scant time at the falls would do more to frustrate me. With 30-60 minutes you won’t even have enough time to do a complete trail. 

 

With essentially almost 3 days there, I had not run out of love for the park. I’m not sure a 4th night would be warranted unless San Miguel island was open..... but if I was there longer I would have done the river boat trip below the falls, and the visitor center. And I’m hoping my DH will eventually say “yes” to a trip to Iguazu. It was so worth it.

 

Also, be aware that it is common for flights to get cancelled or delayed. I had a 9:00a flight from the domestic airport and the flight after me was delayed due to weather and a lightning strike at the tower at IGR so the pax who were on that flight didn’t get in until 9:00p. My vendor would not take my reservation without an extra day in BsAs coming back (despite our ship being docked 2 days in BsAs.

 

Does the HAL offering for your trip include the Brazil side and the Argentina side?

 

 

Edited July 13, 2019 by TiogaCruiser

[john2003]

I agree the short HAL trip makes no sense.  We were there in 2002 so a while back.  I dont think it is critical to see the Brazilian side although it was good. The Argentine side is huge so you need time to enjoy it. Try to stay at what was the Sheraton.  We did it precruise, before embarking on Rio. We flew in and took the bus out. 

[TiogaCruiser]

I totally agree about the Melia. Note that my original post refers to “Amelia” but that was an incorrect spell-check change. It is meant to be Melia. It is the only hotel inside the park (Argentina side). It literally takes less than 10 minutes to walk to a trail overlook. And the hotel has fabulous views of the falls. The attached photo was taken from my porch.

 

There is a hotel inside the park on the Brazilian side, and at some point I wouldn’t mind staying there as a huge splurge.

[janmcn]

It takes two days to really see this...no way would I spend money on a day excursion. We did it on our own after leaving the ship inBuenos Aires, flew to iguazu, stayed at Secret Garden B and B two nights, then flew home from B A. Great trip. An hour at the falls? Forget it.

[iancal]

Like others we did our own.  Easy to do. Made air reservations, hotel in town for two nights and a full day at the falls.   Cannot remember but I think we spent less in total for that trip than Princess wanted to charge us for one person.  Agree with others...one day trip is not worth your time.

 

We called down to the Aerolineas call center in BA.  The flight costs were about 30 percent less than booking on the web.  English not an issue.

Edited July 13, 2019 by iancal

[sansterre]

13 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

I totally agree about the Melia. Note that my original post refers to “Amelia” but that was an incorrect spell-check change. It is meant to be Melia. It is the only hotel inside the park (Argentina side). It literally takes less than 10 minutes to walk to a trail overlook. And the hotel has fabulous views of the falls. The attached photo was taken from my porch.

 

There is a hotel inside the park on the Brazilian side, and at some point I wouldn’t mind staying there as a huge splurge.

I just wanted to say Hi to my cruising friend from several years ago to Antarctica.  Wondering if this is from that cruise - perhaps you stayed in Argentina after the cruise.  We have not been to the falls yet, but this photo is awesome and makes me want to get there ASAP.  Best regards!

 

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, sansterre said:

I just wanted to say Hi to my cruising friend from several years ago to Antarctica.  Wondering if this is from that cruise - perhaps you stayed in Argentina after the cruise.  We have not been to the falls yet, but this photo is awesome and makes me want to get there ASAP.  Best regards!

 

Hi Jean!

Good to hear from you. 

 

Actually, this was a different trip. I found my way back to South America, both to see the falls (the main objective) and to try to complete some of the “unfinished business” we left when our cruise missed Falklands, P. Montt and Ushuaia. This cruise (2018) we had beautiful days in Ush and the Falklands, but we did miss P. Montt again. (Maybe i’ll get there eventually if i can convince my Better Half to try Iguazu and a land trip through the glacier and lakes districts of Argentina and Chile. At least i can dream.....)

 

Laura

 

[HokiePoq]

We did this after a cruise.  We deviated our return air and flew to the Falls with a private tour company.   We spent two nights at a hotel and had an included all day tour.   You need at least that long and I could have stayed longer.   This cost less than the ship's excursion off Celebrity that didn't spend the night and freed up the day in BA for another tour.    Definitely worth the trip!

[lcand1923]

I did this with HAL about eight years ago.  Everyone who was on the HAL excursion was booked at the Sheraton with rooms overlooking the Argentinian Falls.  I was the only one in my group who had arranged a Brazilian Visa pre-cruise.  The guide who was with us from HAL arranged for me to have a guide take me to the Brazilian side of the falls.  It was a full afternoon trip.  I had to skip a boat ride on the Argentinian side to see the Brazilian side.  You definitely need two full days at Iguazu to see everything.  I was very satisfied with the HAL excursion and would not hesitate to recommend it to others, especially since the HAL passengers had the best rooms at the in-park hotel. 

[KirkNC]

You can easily do the trip on you own for 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost HAL charged.  An hour at the falls is ridiculous.  We went on our own for two days, saw both sides.

[CruiseMGM]

We did a private excursion to Iguazu Falls after our Zandaam arrival in BA this past February (we were there overnight and disembarked the next day). While the Falls were definitely worth it to us, we would absolutely recommend more time than a single day. For starters, our flight out of BA was delayed, which ended up with our arrival in Iguazu early afternoon. It was HOT, hot and humid, and crowded. Starting early in the day would be a lot better. I'm glad we saw what we did, but would much prefer to have spent more time there, and start out early in the mornings. As it was, I was utterly pooped and drained after the first hike out to Devil's Throat, and sat out the second hike. My husband's pictures show the second hike as even more beautiful, and I'm very sorry I missed it. Take the time and book something longer than a day trip from BA, I really don't think you'll regret it.

 

Have a great trip!!