Iguazu Fall in one day?

[WA Bubbles]

We will have one full day in BA and would like to take a self planned trip to Iguazu Falls, leaving early in the morning and returning in the evening, has anyone done this and would it be enough time?

[Artemis]

Yes, it's not ideal, of course, but you can do it. It beats not doing it! Book the first flight up and next-to-last return (to give yourself a backup if you really, really need to be back in BA that night) and plan on a full day of wonder on the Argentine side. Check out my Itinerary and Planning docs for more info: https://sites.google.com/site/splendourbrazil/

[Floridiana]

I wouldn't do it, I am the nervous type when it comes to timing. Our flight out of BsAs was delayed! But if you can book flights to and from Puerto Iguazu in one day with a few hours time at the falls, it is possible.

 

When you arrive at Puerto Iguazu's small airport, a taxi desk will assign you to a taxi. Let them know that you need a ride back at a certain time. The entrance to the Argentinian side of the falls is in the forest between the airport and the actual town.

 

You should have time for the most dramatic part of the falls which is at the end of the small train ride that you have to take and which is included in the entrance fee. I thought the falls were absolutely spectacular!

[Bethandler]

I suppose you could do it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Iguazu is spectacular, and walking along the catwalks directly over the falls is fabulous. There's also a boat ride, and if you go to the Brazilian side, you get a panoramic view. Also, a great hotel right in the park. We spent 3 days.

[WA Bubbles]

Thank for the info and advice. I am also a little worried, since there was mention of LAN not being able to fly in and out of Iguazu. Definitely don't want to miss the flight. Lots of thinking to do.

[kyriecat]

I found this link on how another CC member scheduled Iguazu in a day. I'm going to try it next month.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1820984

[VidaNaPraia]

It's simply a long way to travel for so little time at the destination, and for leaving at least half of the basics unseen.

[bling19572010]

Yes, it's not ideal, of course, but you can do it. It beats not doing it! Book the first flight up and next-to-last return (to give yourself a backup if you really, really need to be back in BA that night) and plan on a full day of wonder on the Argentine side. Check out my Itinerary and Planning docs for more info: https://sites.google.com/site/splendourbrazil/

 

 

Artemis...awesome information. Thank you so much for sharing!!:)

[hihilo]

my advice would be a S T R O N G no. we just came back from 3 days and 3 nights, --- staying at the Sheraton in the National Park, and we

LOVED it, and in no way could we have seen enough in 1 short day.

Its an AWESOME and fabulous and marvelous place---- Just too beautiful for words----- and deserves at least 3 days. we could have / would have happily stayed longer. :-)

[Orlando Vic]

You would be seriously selling yourself short.

[kyriecat]

I was at Iguazu Falls on Friday (21st) for just the day. It was not ideal and I did not see EVERYTHING in the park. However, I feel like I saw plenty and believe that seeing most of Iguazu was better than missing it completely.

 

My husband and I took the earliest flight offered by Aerolineas Argentinas from Buenos Aires to Iguazu. The flight left BA at 5:45 AM and arrived at 7:30 AM. We spent about US$400 pp for the tickets. We each only brought a small backpack so we were able to walk off the plane and not wait around for luggage. There is a 5 kg limit for carry-on bags. Ours must have looked lighter than that because AA did not weigh them when we boarded. We saw them weigh others that were suitcases and some people did have bags taken away to be checked.

 

When we arrived at Iguazu, we found a taxi driver outside who offered a roundtrip for AR$270 (around US$35 today). It seemed like a reasonable rate, but we found out later that we could have paid AR$120 each way and saved about US$4. We liked knowing we had a return trip to the airport. The driver did not take any money until he dropped us at the airport at the end of the day.

 

It took about 15 minutes to get to Iguazu from the airport. The park doesn't open until 8 AM. Our driver took us to a map located outside the park and spent a few minutes describing the various trails and giving a recommended itinerary for the day. The entrance fee was AR$170 pp, cash only, no credit cards or foreign currency. There is an ATM next to the cashier booth for those needing pesos.

 

The driver recommended taking the train to its last stop (Devil's Throat) and working our way back towards the entrance. The train didn't leave until 8:30 so we stopped in the visitor's center and looked around a few of the shops on the way to the train station. All the shops and restaurants that I noticed had signs that they accepted pesos, dollars, or euros. Most of them took credit cards too, but many of them said you had to spend at least AR$100 (around US$13) for a credit card transaction. The prices shown for the items were in pesos. Their posted exchange rate said 7 pesos/dollar and 10 pesos/euro. I think the actual exchange rate was 7.7 pesos/dollar so you got a better bargain paying in pesos.

 

It took about 10 minutes to get to the Devil's Throat stop. They really pack people onto the train so it's a good thing it's a short ride. From there it is 1.1 km (0.7 mi) walk on paved trail and bridges to reach the overlook. The view from the overlook is amazing, but there is a lot of spray coming from the waterfalls. If someone does not want to get wet, a pancho or raincoat is recommended. We meandered along and saw birds, insects, and butterflies on the way to and from Devil's Throat. We spent about 1.5 hours around Devil's Throat.

 

When we finished with Devil's Throat, we took the train to the Cataratas stop, where there are several trails. We started with the upper circuit trail, which is also paved and has bridges. There were more fabulous waterfall views plus we saw a small gator, turtles, and several coatis along the trail. There were a few stairs but not many. We spent about an hour for the upper circuit.

 

When we finished the upper circuit, we were getting hungry so we stopped for lunch at the food area near the lighthouse. They had empanadas for AR$10 each that were really good. They had fruit salad that was AR$18. Water was AR$25 for 0.5l bottle and sodas were AR$28 for 0.5l bottles. I had an empanada, salad, and Coke and husband had 3 empanadas and Coke for AR$114 (about US$15), which isn't too bad for "park" pricing. We didn't bring any food or water into the park with us, but many other people did.

 

After lunch, we took the lower trail to the boat dock, which involves climbing up/down some stairs and a few steep/slippery areas of trail. We had wanted to take the boat over to San Martin to take that trail, but the island was closed. We ended up taking the Nautical Adventure boat ride under the falls instead. The Nautical Adventure was AR$180 pp (cash only, no foreign currency) and there is a booth to pay next to the trail. We just missed the boat so had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one. They provide "wet bags" to stow your non-waterproof items. You will need them! Some people had clothes to change into after the boat ride. Shoes are required for the boat so some people brought cheap flip-flops to wear and put their shoes in a wet bag. The boat ride was only about 15 minutes, but I got thoroughly soaked! I had a waterproof camera and took a few up-close pictures of the falls. I didn't bring extra clothes or shoes so I had to drip-dry, which doesn't take that long in the sun.

 

After the boat ride, we completed the lower circuit trail, which I thought had the best views of the falls. We spent about 1.5 hours walking on the lower trail. We saw butterflies, lizards, coatis, and birds along the lower trail.

 

After the lower trail, we returned to the entrance area and walked a little of the Macuco trail. It's a packed dirt, 3.5 km (2 mi) trail through the jungle to a waterfall. We only walked about 1/3 to 1/2 of it before turning around because we wanted to go through a few of the shops before they closed at 6.

 

We made a few purchases before we had to meet our driver. We met him in the lobby bar at the Sheraton hotel at 6:45. The train stops running at 4 so we used the Green Trail to walk back to the path that leads from the park to the Sheraton. Our flight was scheduled to leave Iguazu at 8:35 and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. There was a 7:55 PM flight that I could have booked, but I wasn't sure if that would be rushing too much so booked the 8:35 one. We arrived in BA around 10:15 and caught a cab to our hotel.

 

We didn't have time to see the Brazilian side of Iguazu. We didn't want to get a Brazilian visa for one day so we probably wouldn't have gone to that side even if we had more time. If San Martin island had been open, we probably wouldn't have had time to walk any of the Macuco trail. To be honest, it was my least favorite trail since most of what we saw was jungle growth and insects. I might have a different opinion if we had walked to the end of the path and discovered that the waterfall was fabulous. If we had looked at the boat schedule in advance, we wouldn't have had to wait around for it and had more time to walk around.

 

Although we didn't see absolutely everything and there were a couple paths that I would have liked to walk a second time, I think the 10 hours that we spent in the park was adequate. We didn't rush through and took several breaks to admire the scenery as we were walking. It was a very long day, but I am really glad I did it.

[sahara1]

I was at Iguazu Falls on Friday (21st) for just the day. It was not ideal and I did not see EVERYTHING in the park. However, I feel like I saw plenty and believe that seeing most of Iguazu was better than missing it completely.

 

My husband and I took the earliest flight offered by Aerolineas Argentinas from Buenos Aires to Iguazu. The flight left BA at 5:45 AM and arrived at 7:30 AM. We spent about US$400 pp for the tickets. We each only brought a small backpack so we were able to walk off the plane and not wait around for luggage. There is a 5 kg limit for carry-on bags. Ours must have looked lighter than that because AA did not weigh them when we boarded. We saw them weigh others that were suitcases and some people did have bags taken away to be checked.

 

When we arrived at Iguazu, we found a taxi driver outside who offered a roundtrip for AR$270 (around US$35 today). It seemed like a reasonable rate, but we found out later that we could have paid AR$120 each way and saved about US$4. We liked knowing we had a return trip to the airport. The driver did not take any money until he dropped us at the airport at the end of the day.

 

It took about 15 minutes to get to Iguazu from the airport. The park doesn't open until 8 AM. Our driver took us to a map located outside the park and spent a few minutes describing the various trails and giving a recommended itinerary for the day. The entrance fee was AR$170 pp, cash only, no credit cards or foreign currency. There is an ATM next to the cashier booth for those needing pesos.

 

The driver recommended taking the train to its last stop (Devil's Throat) and working our way back towards the entrance. The train didn't leave until 8:30 so we stopped in the visitor's center and looked around a few of the shops on the way to the train station. All the shops and restaurants that I noticed had signs that they accepted pesos, dollars, or euros. Most of them took credit cards too, but many of them said you had to spend at least AR$100 (around US$13) for a credit card transaction. The prices shown for the items were in pesos. Their posted exchange rate said 7 pesos/dollar and 10 pesos/euro. I think the actual exchange rate was 7.7 pesos/dollar so you got a better bargain paying in pesos.

 

It took about 10 minutes to get to the Devil's Throat stop. They really pack people onto the train so it's a good thing it's a short ride. From there it is 1.1 km (0.7 mi) walk on paved trail and bridges to reach the overlook. The view from the overlook is amazing, but there is a lot of spray coming from the waterfalls. If someone does not want to get wet, a pancho or raincoat is recommended. We meandered along and saw birds, insects, and butterflies on the way to and from Devil's Throat. We spent about 1.5 hours around Devil's Throat.

 

When we finished with Devil's Throat, we took the train to the Cataratas stop, where there are several trails. We started with the upper circuit trail, which is also paved and has bridges. There were more fabulous waterfall views plus we saw a small gator, turtles, and several coatis along the trail. There were a few stairs but not many. We spent about an hour for the upper circuit.

 

When we finished the upper circuit, we were getting hungry so we stopped for lunch at the food area near the lighthouse. They had empanadas for AR$10 each that were really good. They had fruit salad that was AR$18. Water was AR$25 for 0.5l bottle and sodas were AR$28 for 0.5l bottles. I had an empanada, salad, and Coke and husband had 3 empanadas and Coke for AR$114 (about US$15), which isn't too bad for "park" pricing. We didn't bring any food or water into the park with us, but many other people did.

 

After lunch, we took the lower trail to the boat dock, which involves climbing up/down some stairs and a few steep/slippery areas of trail. We had wanted to take the boat over to San Martin to take that trail, but the island was closed. We ended up taking the Nautical Adventure boat ride under the falls instead. The Nautical Adventure was AR$180 pp (cash only, no foreign currency) and there is a booth to pay next to the trail. We just missed the boat so had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one. They provide "wet bags" to stow your non-waterproof items. You will need them! Some people had clothes to change into after the boat ride. Shoes are required for the boat so some people brought cheap flip-flops to wear and put their shoes in a wet bag. The boat ride was only about 15 minutes, but I got thoroughly soaked! I had a waterproof camera and took a few up-close pictures of the falls. I didn't bring extra clothes or shoes so I had to drip-dry, which doesn't take that long in the sun.

 

After the boat ride, we completed the lower circuit trail, which I thought had the best views of the falls. We spent about 1.5 hours walking on the lower trail. We saw butterflies, lizards, coatis, and birds along the lower trail.

 

After the lower trail, we returned to the entrance area and walked a little of the Macuco trail. It's a packed dirt, 3.5 km (2 mi) trail through the jungle to a waterfall. We only walked about 1/3 to 1/2 of it before turning around because we wanted to go through a few of the shops before they closed at 6.

 

We made a few purchases before we had to meet our driver. We met him in the lobby bar at the Sheraton hotel at 6:45. The train stops running at 4 so we used the Green Trail to walk back to the path that leads from the park to the Sheraton. Our flight was scheduled to leave Iguazu at 8:35 and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. There was a 7:55 PM flight that I could have booked, but I wasn't sure if that would be rushing too much so booked the 8:35 one. We arrived in BA around 10:15 and caught a cab to our hotel.

 

We didn't have time to see the Brazilian side of Iguazu. We didn't want to get a Brazilian visa for one day so we probably wouldn't have gone to that side even if we had more time. If San Martin island had been open, we probably wouldn't have had time to walk any of the Macuco trail. To be honest, it was my least favorite trail since most of what we saw was jungle growth and insects. I might have a different opinion if we had walked to the end of the path and discovered that the waterfall was fabulous. If we had looked at the boat schedule in advance, we wouldn't have had to wait around for it and had more time to walk around.

 

Although we didn't see absolutely everything and there were a couple paths that I would have liked to walk a second time, I think the 10 hours that we spent in the park was adequate. We didn't rush through and took several breaks to admire the scenery as we were walking. It was a very long day, but I am really glad I did it.

 

Do you remember the cost of the taxi to your hotel and if so where was your hotel? Thanks

[kyriecat]

We stayed at the Fierro Hotel in the Palermo district for two days. It was about 15 minutes from the Newbery (AEP) airport. Since we needed to be at the airport early, we asked the hotel reserve a taxi to pick us up around 4 AM for our flight. That was 91 pesos, which included a surcharge for early morning (before 6 AM) pick up. On the return, we caught a cab from the taxi stand at the airport. I think it was around 70 pesos.

 

The area near the hotel has several restaurants and bars within walking distance. The room was clean with modern furnishings and breakfast was included. We didn't get breakfast at the hotel before heading to Iguazu because it was too early. The desk staff said that if we had let them know in advance, they could have prepared some pastries for us to take. The hotel staff was really nice and offered suggestions for dinner and drinks. The hotel has a restaurant (same place breakfast is served), but it is small, popular, and requires a reservation. We didn't eat there for dinner but the breakfast on our second morning was good.

 

Our flight home didn't leave until 10:30 PM and they held our luggage so we were able to spend the day in Buenos Aires unencumbered. When we got back to the hotel to pick up our bags, the staff offered to let us use a room to shower and clean up before we left. It was 290 pesos (270 pesos for cab plus 20 pesos for tolls) for a taxi from the hotel to the international (EZE) airport.