Iguazu Falls are a set of 275 waterfalls on the Iguazu River. They are the largest waterfall in the world and they really are astounding. Iguazu Falls sits across Brazil and Argentina with Paraguay nearby. However most of the Falls are located on the Argentinean side.
I visited the Falls in August 2019 on a holiday in Brazil, I can honestly say they are the most impressive waterfalls I’ve seen! Nothing prepares you for thundering falls that plunge down from the Devil’s Throat. Each section of the Falls is unique and there are so many stunning viewpoints along the various different trails. I would recommend visited both the Brazilian and Argentinean side of Falls. The city in Brazil where the Falls are is called Foz de Iguazu and in Argentina it’s Peurta Iguazu.
From the Brazilian side, you get more of a zoomed out view. Then from the Argentinean side you’re right in the middle of the action and stand right on top of the plunging the water. We stayed in Foz de Iguazu so visited the Argentinean side on a day trip. Here is my guide to visiting both the Brazilian side and the Argentinean side of the Falls.
Visiting the Brazilian side of Iguazu falls
The easiest way to get to the Brazilian side to take an uber from your hotel. They’ll drop you at the gates where you can buy your entrance ticket. You can also book a boat tour to take you up close to the falls. I would suggest doing this from the Argentinian side as it is slightly cheaper and you’ll have more time there.
Once you’ve bought your ticket head to the shuttle bus that takes you closer to the falls. Get off at the last stop. Here you’ll get your first view of the falls. You’ll also see these animals called coatis. They’re like a mix between a racoon and a badger and they love food!! Definitely keep your food in your bag!! If they see food they will climb on you. You’ll probably see many more coatis whilst you’re walking around so keep an eye out.
Continue following the trail which will take you closer to the falls. Along the way you’ll want to take photos every time you see a new view. We got closer and realised that the path ended up going out into the river and even closer to the falls. Everyone seemed to wearing rain ponchos and we were wondering why. As we got closer we felt more of the mist from the falls but luckily we didn’t get too wet. Then turn around and head back along the path up to the top of this tower. Here you’ll end up being so close to one of the falls.
This was the end of the Brazilian side. Now it’s time to get back on the bus to go back to entrance to make your way to your hotel. We tried to get an uber back to our hotel but we had several cancel on us. So we got a local bus that went into the centre and we walked back to our hotel. It was a quite a long walk back so if you can get an uber or know which bus you need to get on.
For opening times and ticket prices check the website here.
Visiting the Argentinian side of Iguazu falls
Similar to the Brazilian side you’ll be dropped at the entrance. Here you can buy your tickets paying by either cash or card. To buy your tickets you’ll need your passport so make sure you bring it!
Once you’re inside, make your way straight to the train as this will take you to the Devil’s Throat. Where you’ll walk along a path and be right on top of the falls! Once you get off the train follow the crowd (and signs) to the Devil’s Throat. After walking for what feels like a long time on a bridge in the middle of the river, you’ll start to hear thunderous roars.
Then you’ll find yourself staring across and down at the huge waterfalls! The pictures and videos just don’t do the place justice. Standing next to these magnificent Falls reminds you of how tiny you are. It was unbelievable, I had never seen anything like it before! After spending a lot of time admiring the falls, it’s time to get back on the train to go to the start of the lower and upper falls trail. You’ll have time to do both of these trails if you have the whole day. They both offer different views of the falls. You can see some monkeys and coatis along the way. Many people were feeding the monkeys here, then they wonder why monkeys attack them. I personally don’t agree with as this monkeys become aggressive to humans because we tease them with food.
When you want to eat lunch, it’s quite strange. You’ll probably ended up eating in a cage so that coatis don’t try and attack you to eat your food. This cage however doesn’t stop them trying to climb the edge of the cage. I suddenly understood what it felt like to be an animal in the zoo, it’s not a great feeling. After we’d finished lunch we were waiting round in the area, this woman came out from the shop with two packs of crackers. A coati ran up to her which made her jump and drop a pack of crackers. The next thing we knew 30+ coatis were running to the crackers trying to get a piece, it was kind of scary!
If you have time and it’s something that appeals I’d definitely recommend booking a Gran Aventura boat tour! You can read about it below.
Once you’ve walked along all the trails you want head back to the park entrance and take a bus/taxi back to the cross the border to repeat what you did on the way here. We took the same taxi that brought us here and then took a bus once we’d crossed the Argentinean border which would take us to the Brazilian border then to the Foz de Iguacu centre.
For opening times and ticket prices check the website here.
Falls Boat Trip
You can do a boat trip to Falls from both the Brazilian and Argentinean side. Both the tours do the exact same thing but obviously start/end at different places. When we went the Argentinean side was slightly cheaper so we went for that. Also because we were visiting the Brazilian side the same day we flew in, we didn’t want to book in case anything happened with our flight.
We booked with Gran Aventura, this experience combines the jungle and the waterfall in one! You’ll depart from the visitors centre in specially designed trucks and drive down to the river. Along the way your guide will point out different type of trees and animals. You’ll then have to walk down a long staircase to get to the dock. Once here you’ll be given a dry bag for your belongings and a life jacket. Now is good time to switch from wearing trainers to flip flops!
Then take your seat on the boat, we stupidly decided to go right at the front. The boat will then take you up close to falls where you’ll be able to sit at the front of the boat and have your photo taken! The views from here are amazing!
It was time to go into the falls, head first. We sat in our seats, we moved forward and went straight in, the water was so freezing. I ended up gripping onto the side for dear life, I couldn’t even open my eyes as I was wearing contact lenses. I was screaming as loud as I could, we then came back out and we moved around and went straight into another waterfall, once again, screaming as the cold water was poured over us! As cold and as shocking as it was, this boat ride was so much fun and so exhilarating! I’d definitely recommend it to anyone it was so much fun!
You’ll definitely be grateful when you get back to the centre to change into your dry clothes.
How to get to the Argentinian side from the Brazilian side
There are lots of different ways to get to the Argentinian side, you could book a tour, a private driver or use public transport. I would say a private driver is easier but then again who likes easy. I had read how to get there using public transport the night before. It seemed we had to get on multiple buses from the centre of town to the border, then get off the bus, then get on another bus, then cross the Argentinian border then get another bus from the centre of Puerta Iguazu to get the falls, if you’re reading that and feel a bit confused don’t worry that’s exactly how we felt. Yet we still chose to do it because who doesn’t like a bit of an adventure.
We took an uber to the border from our hotel, however the uber drivers can’t cross the border so he dropped us off. We then had to get our passports stamped at the border crossing. Once we left the small building we saw a bus stop, which is where we waited for a bus to take us over to the Argentinian side of the border. You could walk but it’s about 4km. There was no timetable at the bus stop or any information, there was this older lady who was waiting who gave us some hope. So we sat there and waited, watching 3 or 4 coaches go by, contemplating whether we should walk the 4km to Argentinian border…
I started regretting the decision of not booking a private transfer, but then there was a hope. We saw a coach coming. This time it pulled into the bus stop, we jumped on, paid 10 reals and we were on our way. We got to the Argentinian side, where we had to jump off and get our passports stamped. The bus waits for each passenger to get back on after getting their passport stamped, so don’t worry about it leaving without you.
As we were walking back to the bus we saw there lots taxis who were offering to take us straight to falls for 50 reals. We decided to go for this than get back on the bus. This is because the bus would’ve taken us to Puerta Iguazu centre where we then would’ve had to find another bus to take us to Falls. So we only paid about 20 reals more than we would have to go straight to the Falls which saved a lot of time.
To sum up if you want an easy trip over the border and aren’t on a tight budget then book a private transfer, the driver will pick you up from your hotel cross both borders and drop you off at the Falls. To use full public transport it will take longer as the buses from the border go to Puerta Iguazu Centre from there you’ll need to take another bus to the Falls. I would recommend taking a mix of taxi and bus to save money and time!
Top tips for visiting Iguazu Falls
- Many websites will say that you need to take cash as they don’t accept card on the Argentinean side but they actually do so don’t worry about that!
- Taxi’s and buses on the Argentinean side will also accept Reals, in fact the taxi journey was cheaper in Reals than it was in Argentinian Pesos.
- Bring a towel, flip flops and a change of clothes if you’re planning on doing the boat ride. You will get soaked!
- I would bring a packed lunch and snacks for throughout the day
- Be careful when eating food as the coatis do not care about anyone or anything if any food has been dropped
For more ideas about what to do in Brazil read my itinerary here!
