Visiting One of the New 7 Wonders of the Natural WorldWe arrived back in Buenos Aires after our 21 days of luxury cruising ready to swing back into backpacker life. We had a day in Buenos Aires before we were due to depart the boat so we headed to the local bus station, Retiro, which was luckily within walking distance of the port. We purchased tickets to Puerto Iguazú, which is on the Argentinian side of the falls. This is an 18 hour overnight bus and we left at 1.30pm. The company we took was Singer and despite being the cheapest we found they were comfortable and the movies they played were modern and in English. On arrival we went to find the guesthouse that a friend of ours was staying in. We ended up at Hostel 10, which cost us $100 Peso ($8.45 AUD/$6.5 USD) each a night for a 28 bed dorm. Now this is the cheapest place we could find in the area, but you definitely get what you pay for. The bathrooms are grimy, the bunks aren't exactly comfortable (in fact some where actually broken) but it's cheap, has air con, a pool out the back, a very basic breakfast and a view of Brazil from the window. For $100 Peso we couldn't really complain! We spent the day wandering around town before getting up early the next day to go to the falls. To get to the falls you head to the local bus station and purchase your ticket from the information office. Tickets cost $130 Peso ($11 AUD/8.45 USD) each for a return ticket and the bus takes about 30 minutes. Once you get to the falls it will cost you $330 Peso ($27.90 AUD/21.40 USD) each for the entrance fee. This includes the cost of the train you take up to Garganta de Diablo. Tip: Do the inferior and superior trails in the morning which gives times for the queues to die down and head to Diablo in the afternoon. There are great wildlife spotting opportunities in the park. We saw coatis (which look like a combination of an opossum and a raccoon), native birds, caiman and we even spotted a monkey (although we were told this is rare). Our favourite trail was the 'superior' which gives you the most awe inspiring views of multiple cascades. It's a great day trip and if you have your ticket validated at the office when you leave you can return for a second day half price if you feel you need a bit more.
$After 3 sleepless nights (such a crash into reality from the ship) it was time to head over to Brazil. The border town on the Brazilian side is called Foz do Iguaçu. To get there you catch the local bus from the same bus station you catch the bus to the falls. It costs $20 Peso ($1.70 AUD/1.30 USD) and is relatively straightforward. At the Argentinian border everyone must exit the bus including the driver to go through customs. This means that you have plenty of time and the bus will wait for you. However Argentinians don't need to clear Brazilian immigration so you will need to inform the driver that you need to get off at the Brazilian border (this time the bus will not wait for you). This is a pretty quick and simple process too, provided you've filled out your immigration form before you get to the front of the queue. From here you go to the bus stop and wait for the next bus to come along. We hear the next step isn't always a smooth one. If the original bus driver has given you a ticket you should be able to use this to board the next bus from the same company (2 companies do this route from Argentina) however we have read that not all bus drivers allow this so you may need to pay again. Had this happened to us it would have been a pain, but it would only have cost 4 Brazilian Reals($R), so just make sure you have a little bit of currency when doing this crossing in case. In Foz you are dropped off at the local bus station. We had decided to stay a night in Foz and move on the next day so we checked into San Remo, which we found after wandering a short distance from the station. It was R$135 ($56.75 AUD/43.45 USD) for a triple room or R$100 ($42 AUD/32.20 USD) for a double, had aircon, a private bathroom, fridge and a great breakfast included! Now for the controversial bit....we made the decision not to visit the Brazilian side of the falls...not because they don't appear fantastic but because to do both sides is very expensive and where the Argentinian side is a day trip we were told that the Brazilian side has a lot less to do if you aren't going to combine it with other activities such as the boat trips. This meant that the R$60 each made it just too expensive to justify after we had already seen it from the other side. The Brazilian side is easily done on a day trip from Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) but make sure that as above you ask to be let off at Brazilian customs as you can get into a lot of trouble trying to get back into Argentina at the end of the day without the right stamps. Also some nationalities need a visa or to pay a reciprocity fee that does make this a very expensive trip if you're not carrying on into Brazil. The buses to the falls leave from the local bus terminal and cost R$2.90 ($1.20 AUD/0.90 USD) each way. These falls are truly sensational and well worth the time to visit them. The surrounding towns aren’t much to write home about but Puerto Iguazú is definitely the nicer of the two however Foz has better amenities. I would imagine that if you arriving from Brazil that seeing the Brazilian side first may be worth it. Both Dani and I left feeling that the views from the superior trail may just be one of the most beautiful natural sights we’ve ever seen. Budget Time $$$What it Actually Cost : 4 days = $403.70 AUD $236.18 on transport $52.21 on accommodation $48.30 on food $9.57 on drinks $57.44 on entertainment $0 on souvenirs $0 on miscellaneous This worked out at an average daily budget of $50.45 AUD per person. This is higher than we would have liked and also higher than our average daily costs in the rest of Argentina. The reason for this is the length of the trip. We are usually able to balance expensive transport or excursions with cheaper days but with a 4 day trip this isn't possible.
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