We had purchased a 3-day Iguazu Falls package from Project Expeditions who we had used a couple of times before. The package included our flights to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires and 2 nights at a reasonable hotel including several excursions. The cost was well less than half of what the cruise lines charged to go there. We headed out to the airport at 6AM and arrived in Iguazu Falls just after 10AM. Our guide was at the airport to meet us, and we went to the hotel first to change quickly before heading to the Brazil side to see the falls from there first. When you enter the park you have to have a ticket which is used to board a bus which takes you to the falls. It is a very long way from the entrance to the falls and walking isn’t very practical.
Our first view of the falls was absolutely amazing! This was a bucket list item for us, and it lived up to expectations. The park has done an outstanding job of building walkways, platforms and even an elevator to help people see these magnificent falls. Iguazu Falls isn’t one fall, but it is a series of many falls along a long length of the river. It is amazing how much water falls in the river below. Only a rain forest can create this magnitude of water. After taking 20 pictures of the falls and us we were talked into having a photographer take some pictures of us in front of the falls. They came out very nice and we bought a set of them for a reasonable price (after a little negotiation). We walked along a path and took more pictures at different angles. We could also see the falls on the Argentina side where we were going the next day. After spending a few hours there, we took the bus back to the entrance. From the entrance of the park, we walked to a helicopter tour office where we had purchased a ride to see the falls from the sky. It was hard to take good pictures, but we got a great perspective of the falls and did manage a few pictures to keep.
We went back to the hotel and had dinner there. There is a small town that has some restaurants, but we were pretty tired and the food at the hotel turned out to be pretty good. Although the hotel was nice the location is a few miles from the falls, and we were cautioned not to walk on your own from the hotel because of the animals in the jungle. Sharon even ran into a very large rat snake that wouldn’t let her cross the hotel’s path for a few minutes. The hotel did have a very nice pool, but we really didn’t have time to enjoy it. There were two hotels that are inside the park, and you can see the falls right from the hotel. One hotel was on the Brazilian side and one on the Argentinian side. These hotels cost about $800 per night but if we were to do this trip again, I am sure we would choose to stay at one of these hotels so we had more time to view the falls and take pictures.
On the second day we stayed on the Argentina side but instead of taking a bus to see the falls we were able to walk from the park entrance. There were two levels of viewing paths in addition to a train that would take you to the long path to see Devil’s Throat. This is the largest and most powerful falls on the Brazilian side which has a very large viewing platform directly over the falls. Unfortunately, the mile plus walk way to Devil’s Throat was wiped out by a flood last October and the repair of this pathway will take many more months to complete. We did spend several hours walking both the upper and lower-level paths and got some great pictures. Once again it was amazing to see the falls up close and the walkways that were built were perfect to allow you to walk over the falls and rivers to get such great views. After viewing the falls from the walkway, we boarded a bus that took us to the zodiacs which would take us up river to see the falls from a totally unique perspective. You can really get a great view of the falls when they drive you directly into the falls with the water drenching every part of you! It was an enjoyable boat ride and once again we got some great photos.
This turned out to be a great side trip on our way to Antarctica. The weather was hot and sunny which wasn’t preparing us for the cold weather in Antarctica. The falls were everything we had hoped and more!
The next day we flew back to Buenos Aires to join the Hurtigruten group and start our cruise.
Iguazu Falls – First Bucket List Item of the Year – CHECK!
Our first view of the falls was absolutely amazing! This was a bucket list item for us, and it lived up to expectations. The park has done an outstanding job of building walkways, platforms and even an elevator to help people see these magnificent falls. Iguazu Falls isn’t one fall, but it is a series of many falls along a long length of the river. It is amazing how much water falls in the river below. Only a rain forest can create this magnitude of water. After taking 20 pictures of the falls and us we were talked into having a photographer take some pictures of us in front of the falls. They came out very nice and we bought a set of them for a reasonable price (after a little negotiation). We walked along a path and took more pictures at different angles. We could also see the falls on the Argentina side where we were going the next day. After spending a few hours there, we took the bus back to the entrance. From the entrance of the park, we walked to a helicopter tour office where we had purchased a ride to see the falls from the sky. It was hard to take good pictures, but we got a great perspective of the falls and did manage a few pictures to keep.
We went back to the hotel and had dinner there. There is a small town that has some restaurants, but we were pretty tired and the food at the hotel turned out to be pretty good. Although the hotel was nice the location is a few miles from the falls, and we were cautioned not to walk on your own from the hotel because of the animals in the jungle. Sharon even ran into a very large rat snake that wouldn’t let her cross the hotel’s path for a few minutes. The hotel did have a very nice pool, but we really didn’t have time to enjoy it. There were two hotels that are inside the park, and you can see the falls right from the hotel. One hotel was on the Brazilian side and one on the Argentinian side. These hotels cost about $800 per night but if we were to do this trip again, I am sure we would choose to stay at one of these hotels so we had more time to view the falls and take pictures.
On the second day we stayed on the Argentina side but instead of taking a bus to see the falls we were able to walk from the park entrance. There were two levels of viewing paths in addition to a train that would take you to the long path to see Devil’s Throat. This is the largest and most powerful falls on the Brazilian side which has a very large viewing platform directly over the falls. Unfortunately, the mile plus walk way to Devil’s Throat was wiped out by a flood last October and the repair of this pathway will take many more months to complete. We did spend several hours walking both the upper and lower-level paths and got some great pictures. Once again it was amazing to see the falls up close and the walkways that were built were perfect to allow you to walk over the falls and rivers to get such great views. After viewing the falls from the walkway, we boarded a bus that took us to the zodiacs which would take us up river to see the falls from a totally unique perspective. You can really get a great view of the falls when they drive you directly into the falls with the water drenching every part of you! It was an enjoyable boat ride and once again we got some great photos.
This turned out to be a great side trip on our way to Antarctica. The weather was hot and sunny which wasn’t preparing us for the cold weather in Antarctica. The falls were everything we had hoped and more!
The next day we flew back to Buenos Aires to join the Hurtigruten group and start our cruise.
Iguazu Falls – First Bucket List Item of the Year – CHECK!
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