Iguazu falls

Iguazu Falls is one for the bucket list, lying on the border of Argentina and Brazil, you can access it from both sides. In our opinion, there isn’t much of a competition between the two sides. Argentina wins by a land slide based on experience, size and price… here’s our experiences of both.

Brazil side:

We stayed in Foz Do Iguazu for one night before getting to the falls, the entrance fee is 70 reals, which at the time was about £14 p/p. We arrived at 10am and queued for an hour to get the bus down to the main track. We were greeted by an amazing view of the falls, and a few Coaties. These racoon looking animals will steal food from your hand and jump on your rucksack to rip it open if it smells anything tasty. It’s a relatively short walk down to the main viewing platform, made 4 times as long by the ridiculously slow speed of all of the tourists stopping every 2 seconds in the middle of the track to take pictures. There seemed to be a lot of older locals who visit the falls, they should have a separate ‘slow walkers’ lane, we're not ones to dilly dally if you can’t tell. Once we hit the viewing platform it was mayhem, people bashing in to each other to try get past, no care for queuing (which obviously being British, we find absurd) and no order of which side to walk on. It took about 30 minutes to walk 30m to the end of the platform, the view was nice and you got a small spray from the falls, but it was somewhat ruined by the experience it took to get there. A little further away just above the gift shop are some steps which lead to a small viewing platform, arguably this is the best spot due to the lack of people and great views.

Argentina side:

We crossed over the border over to Peurto Iguazu and spent two nights here. We were slightly apprehensive about spending more money on another day at the falls after the Brazil experience, but had read good things about the Argentinian side. The entrance fee was 800 Argentinian Pesos, which at the time was £11, but the currency fluctuates regularly so this may change. This side was much more official, the price includes all three walking trails, the Jungle train, the pathway to to the Devil's throat and the Arrechea Waterfall. The only extra cost would be the optional boat tours. We were keen on doing the tour, family have told us you get right up to the falls and get drenched by the water, unfortunately a landslide on one of the paths meant that the most popular and cheapest boat journey is no longer running, leaving only the Ecological tour, or the lengthy Gran Aventura, this tour is meant to be great, but would have set us back about £40 at the time, so we opted out.

Despite not doing the boat trip, we had the best day at the falls. The Devil's throat walkway is stunning, we saw fish swimming under us, rainbows above us and got to feel the full force from the top of the falls once we reached the end. The train is a bonus attraction, it takes you between all the major attractions and you walk the rest of the way. Both the lower and upper circuits give amazing views of the falls, a nice surprise was the Arrechea Waterfall on the lower circuit. I think you used to be able to swim here, but it was closed off when we went. The Coaties are everywhere on this side as well, so eat your food in a safe place and don't taunt them.

Another bonus about the Argentinian side of the falls is the delicious pasta restaurant in the town of Puerto Iguazu., La Mamma Pastas and Salsas We haven't found much good quality Italian food through South America, but this place changed our mind so much that we went twice. Worth it just for the pasta!

Summary:

Iguazu falls are spectacular, you can see it well from both countries but if you're visiting only one, then Argentina is the way to go. The park is bigger with more paths and scenic points to explore, there's more options for lunch, more options for the boat rides and generally organised better, its also slightly cheaper. The Brazil side is easily done in half a day, whereas the Argentina side could take a full day if you want to do all the paths.

Overall, amazing!

S&J