Post cruise Land Tour: Rio de Janeiro to Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires

Has anyone done a post cruise land tour (HAL, other cruise line, private) from Rio to Buenos Aires via Iguazu Falls? Would be interested in experiences.

I took Hal's post cruise excursion in February 2017 and although it seemed to be high in cost compared to what one could arrange for themselves, I was very happy with the services that I received from HAL. A small group we were, we had a guide with us from the time we left the ship until we returned 2 days later. In talking to a person at the hotel the first night who was on an independent tour and was a little unhappy their room overlooked the parking lot- mine had a gorgeous view of the valley leading up to and including the falls .On the return flight to Buenos Aries our guide had been informed early that morning that our flight had been cancelled but had already had tickets on another flight . The falls themselves were indeed worth the effort and cost but be prepared to go from a temperature a few days earlier in Port Stanley of 35-40 degrees F to that of 90-95 degrees F with a humidity of over 90%.Smooth sailing.:)

Do it.

We did a post Celebrity tour of BA and Iguazu which was outstanding - BA is the Paris of the south. Iguazu is beyond believe and please do the jet boat ride to the base of a large fall. Please know it is very hot and humid there.

Make sure you get a Brazilian visa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You need it for Rio and you can then go to the Brazilian side of the falls which really is the best viewing spot.

Privately we flew to Rio for 4 days and stayed at the Sofitel on the beach, paid a bit extra for a beach view - Rio is fabulous. We used a private guide, car, driver and totally recommend it. They know the traffic and get you to the front of the line for the transport to top of sugarloaf and redeamer. They also take pictures of you so you have remembrances of your trip. It is dangerous in Rio (particularly post olympics), so a private guide is a must to be frank.

We are sold on private guides - in Rio we simply waited till the morning fog lifted and got amazing views of Rio. If you would be on a guided tour - time to go and miss the view.

Last year we did it on our own. Did some research and found that we really did not need a guide. Arranged our own air, hotel, etc.

It was one of the highlights of our trip. We started in Uruguay, crossed to BA for a few days, then to Iguazu, came back to pick up the cruise.

Thanks for the replies, but I'm interested in the specific itinerary noted in the original post description: Start in Rio (cruise terminates here), go to Iguazu, end in Buenos Aires.

Thanks for the replies, but I'm interested in the specific itinerary noted in the original post description: Start in Rio (cruise terminates here), go to Iguazu, end in Buenos Aires.

Shouldn’t be hard to do. Just got back from BsAs -> Iguazu -> BsAs -> HAL Around the Horn. I talked with several people who did a similar itinerary to what you want. Also, several stayed at the hotel inside the Brazil park, then transferred to the Melia.

For my trip I booked all portions prior to boarding with 01Argentina and got a reasonable deal, including single supplement. I stayed at the Melia. (I would recommend that hotel. They are doing renovations now and only half the hotel is available for the next year. ) if I were to do it again ( with DH in tow this time), I would book with the same agency but forgo the tour on the Argentina side and just walk it on our own. A guide on the Argentina side is just not necessary, but having all transfers and the Brazil transportation set up worked so well. Others on our roll call used Say Hueque or Diego ( I think he’s with Tours Uruguay).

Do it.

 

We did a post Celebrity tour of BA and Iguazu which was outstanding - BA is the Paris of the south. Iguazu is beyond believe and please do the jet boat ride to the base of a large fall. Please know it is very hot and humid there.

 

Make sure you get a Brazilian visa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You need it for Rio and you can then go to the Brazilian side of the falls which really is the best viewing spot.

 

Privately we flew to Rio for 4 days and stayed at the Sofitel on the beach, paid a bit extra for a beach view - Rio is fabulous. We used a private guide, car, driver and totally recommend it. They know the traffic and get you to the front of the line for the transport to top of sugarloaf and redeamer. They also take pictures of you so you have remembrances of your trip. It is dangerous in Rio (particularly post olympics), so a private guide is a must to be frank.

 

We are sold on private guides - in Rio we simply waited till the morning fog lifted and got amazing views of Rio. If you would be on a guided tour - time to go and miss the view.

Another vote for the Sofitel in Rio, we had three great days there.

We love Rio, one of the world’s great cities. We used Letitica Levy as a private guide for everything but Sugarloaf. We took a cab there and spent half a day up there, truly mesmerizing views.

I haven't done this but will offer some suggestions based on my experience. I'll suggest going for at least 2 nights. I think you will find flights better within a country so my first choice would be to start by flying from Rio to the Brazil and probably spending the first night in a hotel on the Brazil side. It should not be too hard to find a tour company that will show you the Brazil side of the falls and return you to a hotel on the Argentine side. The next day see the Argentine falls and the 3rd day fly on to Buenos Aires.

As I type, I'm having second thoughts. I believe luggage limits on the flights to Iguazu are quite light. This is what I did when I disembarked the Crystal Serenity in Rio and boarded the Zaandam in BA a week later:

Emirates has a flight from Dubai to Rio and on to Buenos Aires. The second leg of the flight is in the evening and has a light passenger load. Book that flight when you leave Rio and find a nice hotel in Buenos Aires. Take only what you need to Iguazu and store the rest of your luggage at your hotel. That worked like a charm for me.

You then have many options for a tour from BA which can visit both sides of the falls. Since you will already have a Brazil Visa, crossing the border is no big deal. More than you asked for but I did my tour with Viatour using a long distance bus option which was a unique experience. The bus is equipped for overnight travel and accommodations were much like Business Class in an aircraft. My report on that trip is here:

https://aroundamericabitbybit.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/day-iguazu1-thursday-friday-march-16-17-buenos-aires-to-iguazu/

Roy

Roy:

That's actually a very good, 'out-of-the-box' alternative to accomplish the same thing.