Iguazu Falls Pre-cruise

[Lvntrvl]

Starting to plan for a pre-cruise trip to the Iguazu Falls. The cruise departs from Buenos Aires. We are considering flying from the US to Rio for a few days, then traveling to the Iguazu Falls for a day or 2, before heading to Buenos Aires. Does anyone who has done this have any suggestions? It appears that the cheapest airfare has us flying into the Brazilian side and out of the Argentinian side. Is there adequate transportation between these two airports to make this a reasonable DIY option? 

[Shella73]

I do not have a DIY option.  I have done it in 2023 with the help of a travel agency, and believe i got the best prices and experiences because of their guides,and bulk buying power,and experience in doing it. Our cruise went from Chile to BA and we flew home from Rio. It was a fantastic experience I can't recommend enough you find out a way to do. The tour company was about $250 pp per day and included breakfast in most cases.

[Mercruiser]

We just completed a DIY trip to Iguazu. It was a great trip and was easy to do, the way we did it.

 

1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina 

2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina

3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. 

[Mercruiser]

If you want to fly into Brasil, then modify my trip to fly into IGU airport on the Brasil side. See the Brazil side first, then cross the border to Argentina and see the Argentina side, and then fly from IGR on the Argentina side to Buenos Aeries for your cruise. AEP airport in Buenos Aeries is right next to the cruise terminal.

 

The Tours by Locals guide we used took us across the border as needed. He said you can pay a taxi driver to take you across the border. But we didn't do that so I cannot provide any first hand experience. 

[Mercruiser]

Here is the tour we booked

https://www.toursbylocals.com/iguazu-falls-in-two-days

 

The boat ride on the Argentina side was extremely fun. You'll get soaked, but it is hot so it feels good. 

 

Edited February 15 by Mercruiser

[Dancing Shoes]

1 hour ago, Mercruiser said:

We just completed a DIY trip to Iguazu. It was a great trip and was easy to do, the way we did it.

 

1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina 

2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina

3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. 

This is what I want.  Do you mind sharing a ball park figure and what hotel you booked.  

[Mercruiser]

We booked all of these about about 4 months in advance. Prices may have gone up since 

 

1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina We booked on Aerolineas Argentinas. It was about $55 per person one-way. We booked in the Argentina web site in Spanish. It will cost more if you book on the USA site. The seat pitch was the smallest I'd experienced since domestic India flights. If I had to do it all over, I'd pay the upgrade for a roomier seat up front.

 

2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina - ”Secret Garden Iguazu”. I booked on booking.com Check your dates for prices 

 

3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. Click the link in post 5 and get a price. I paid about $550 with cancel for any reason option.

 

I really liked having a private tour guide for both days. It really made the trip low-stress, enjoyable, and easy. You can get group tours cheaper of course. But I really liked the private tour. We never had to wait for anyone else, and the tour guide customized the stops according to our wishes.  

 

 

In addition you will have to pay admission fees to both parks. I'm remembering it's around $20 pp x 2 parks. You can check on their web sites.

Edited February 16 by Mercruiser

[Lvntrvl]

Thank you so much for your responses. This is exactly what I was looking for.

[cccole]

We recently used the services of Iguassu Private Tours, iguassuprivatetours.com.  Edir was great at planning our transportation and tours.  Our guide for 3 days was Gabriel, and he was fabulous.  We stayed at the Gran Melia Iguazu and I didn't want to leave.  I think staying inside the park is worth the extra $.  We made our own flight reservations and hotel reservations.  Edir may also be able to help with that.  We visited both sides of the falls.  The cost of everything regarding our tours and transportation was very reasonable.  Cherie

[milolii]

On 2/13/2024 at 4:21 PM, Lvntrvl said:

Starting to plan for a pre-cruise trip to the Iguazu Falls. The cruise departs from Buenos Aires. We are considering flying from the US to Rio for a few days, then traveling to the Iguazu Falls for a day or 2, before heading to Buenos Aires. Does anyone who has done this have any suggestions? It appears that the cheapest airfare has us flying into the Brazilian side and out of the Argentinian side. Is there adequate transportation between these two airports to make this a reasonable DIY option? 

This is what we want to do.  What airlines or site are you using for the 2 flight information? 

 .

[milolii]

On 2/16/2024 at 3:01 AM, Mercruiser said:

We booked all of these about about 4 months in advance. Prices may have gone up since 

 

1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina We booked on Aerolineas Argentinas. It was about $55 per person one-way. We booked in the Argentina web site in Spanish. It will cost more if you book on the USA site. The seat pitch was the smallest I'd experienced since domestic India flights. If I had to do it all over, I'd pay the upgrade for a roomier seat up front.

 

2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina - ”Secret Garden Iguazu”. I booked on booking.com Check your dates for prices 

 

3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. Click the link in post 5 and get a price. I paid about $550 with cancel for any reason option.

 

I really liked having a private tour guide for both days. It really made the trip low-stress, enjoyable, and easy. You can get group tours cheaper of course. But I really liked the private tour. We never had to wait for anyone else, and the tour guide customized the stops according to our wishes.  

 

 

In addition you will have to pay admission fees to both parks. I'm remembering it's around $20 pp x 2 parks. You can check on their web sites.

Wonderful, thanks for this.

[Mercruiser]

3 hours ago, milolii said:

This is what we want to do.  What airlines or site are you using for the 2 flight information? 

 .

 I used flights.google.com to track pricing. When I clicked on the cheapest non-stop flight, it took me to

https://www.aerolineas.com.ar/

The fare was priced in Aregentina pesos and was $55 when converted by my credit cards company to USD.

 

I then tried booking booking on the USA site, so that I could use English,  and the price was higher. So I went back and booked on  the Aregentina (Spanish) site. The only disadvantage of this is that all subsequent emails and texts were in Spanish. It's not a big problem with Google Chrome (and probably other browsers), because they can translate automatically.

[milolii]

@MercruiserTy, Yes, Ive been trying to work my way through this.  My Spanish is so so for booking, but relying on it for flight updates … maybe not.   We are on the Sapphire Princess -January, 2025, RT Buenos Aires.  

 

We want to fly to Rio from the US, then on to IGU.  Overnight on the Argentina side, then on to Buenos Aires from IGR.   I’m having trouble getting the Brazil  flight information for this portion, with all flights changing planes in San Pablo.  Oh well, it’s probably a bit early anyway. I’m sure there are direct flights.  Princess wants an insane amount of money to do this in a 5 day cruise tour. 

 

I heard from the guide today as I sent him a message through tour by locals. I told him, he was recommended on cruise critic. He can start us in Brazil and end in Argentina. This part seems perfect, Ty. 

 

 I also  learned about the Visa for Brazil, so looking at that now. The financial document requirements are a little concerning.  But also not sure about the arrival and departure portion. This means I need to purchase the airfare (OK) but not sure how I show departure if in a car.  Maybe if I purchase the tour with Tour by Locals? Hmmmm… 
 

Ideally,  I would like to secure the visa before committing.  
 

Thanks for your expertise. 
 

[Mercruiser]

12 minutes ago, milolii said:

@MercruiserTy, Yes, Ive been trying to work my way through this.  My Spanish is so so for booking, but relying on it for flight updates … maybe not.   We are on the Sapphire Princess -January, 2025, RT Buenos Aires.  

 

We want to fly to Rio from the US, then on to IGU.  Overnight on the Argentina side, then on to Buenos Aires from IGR.   I’m having trouble getting the Brazil  flight information for this portion, with all flights changing planes in San Pablo.  Oh well, it’s probably a bit early anyway. I’m sure there are direct flights.  Princess wants an insane amount of money to do this in a 5 day cruise tour. 

 

I heard from the guide today as I sent him a message through tour by locals. I told him, he was recommended on cruise critic. He can start us in Brazil and end in Argentina. This part seems perfect, Ty. 

 

 I also  learned about the Visa for Brazil, so looking at that now. The financial document requirements are a little concerning.  But also not sure about the arrival and departure portion. This means I need to purchase the airfare (OK) but not sure how I show departure if in a car.  Maybe if I purchase the tour with Tour by Locals? Hmmmm… 
 

Ideally,  I would like to secure the visa before committing.  
 

Thanks for your expertise. 
 

 

I had to ask Edson (my guide from Tours by Locals) to write me a letter to submit for the Brasil visa showing that he was driving me in/out of Brasil.

 

The day after I applied for the visa, Brasil pushed back the visa requirement date. So I didn't need the visa after all. We were approved for the visa on the first try. I now have a ten year Brasil tourist visa. We hope to go on an Amazon river cruise in the future, so the visa will eventually be useful to us.

 

The flight updates in Spanish were not really a problem. They came by email, and I use Gmail, which has a Translate button right in the app. Easy-peasy. YMMV if you use a different email app.

[milolii]

Ah!  Thanks.  We are using Edson, based on your  recommendation.  Yep, I use my Gmail account. 

[travelling8]

On 2/21/2024 at 9:38 PM, Mercruiser said:

 

I had to ask Edson (my guide from Tours by Locals) to write me a letter to submit for the Brasil visa showing that he was driving me in/out of Brasil.

 

The day after I applied for the visa, Brasil pushed back the visa requirement date. So I didn't need the visa after all. We were approved for the visa on the first try. I now have a ten year Brasil tourist visa. We hope to go on an Amazon river cruise in the future, so the visa will eventually be useful to us.

 

The flight updates in Spanish were not really a problem. They came by email, and I use Gmail, which has a Translate button right in the app. Easy-peasy. YMMV if you use a different email app.

We’ve just booked with Edson for our trip next February. Thank you for all of the info.

[ljsanantonio]

We are in the process of booking Edson for our trip end of February 2025 as well!  Considering changing up the tour to go from IGR (arrive noonish) to the Belmond on day one, starting early on day two for the  Argentine side.  That gives us day one and day three to explore the Brazil side before midafternoon flight.  This seems to be different from what most tour providers recommend.  Is there any reason this might not work?  Thanks to all

[Shella73]

I can't speak to how the tou operators do it,but I will say don't miss it! It's awesome.