Visiting Iguazu Falls from Puerto Iguazu: Argentina & Brazil | The Daily Packers (2025)

The Iguazu Falls were one of the highlights of our 3-month backpacking trip in South America. Little did we know that the waterfalls would be so breathtaking. To this day, they remain the most beautiful we have ever seen.

The Iguazu Falls are located on the border between Argentina and Brazil in South America. The falls are situated in the Iguazu River, which flows through the Iguazu National Park in both countries.

• On the Argentine side, the falls are located in Iguazú National Park, in the province of Misiones. About 80% of the falls are located on the Argentine side, offering close-up views and various walking trails that lead directly to the falls.
• On the Brazilian side, the falls are located in Iguaçu National Park, in the state of Paraná. The remaining 20% of the falls are on the Brazilian side, providing sweeping panoramic views of the entire falls from a distance.

Both sides of the falls offer unique perspectives, and many visitors choose to visit both sides to fully experience the grandeur of Iguazu Falls. The nearest town is Puerto Iguazú in Argentina, while the Brazilian town closest to the falls is Foz do Iguaçu.

It is also good to know that the Argentine side is known for its more immersive experience, with visitors able to get up close to the falls, while the Brazilian side offers broader, more scenic vistas of the entire waterfall system.

We traveled from São Paulo, Brazil, south along the coast through Uruguay to reach Argentina. To visit Iguazu Falls, we found that the easiest option was to travel to Puerto Iguazú from Buenos Aires.

Reaching Iguazu Falls depends on whether you’re coming from the Argentine or Brazilian side, as well as your starting location. You also have to remember that you can only fly to either airport from the country it’s located in. Meaning, you couldn’t fly from Buenos Aires to the Brazilian airport; you could only fly to the Argentinian side. The most common ways to get there:

1. From Buenos Aires, Argentina (to Puerto Iguazú):

• By Air: The quickest option is to fly from Buenos Aires (AEP or Ezeiza International Airport) to Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport (IGR), which is about 15 minutes from Puerto Iguazú. Flights typically take around 1.5 to 2 hours.
• By Bus: If you prefer to travel by land, you can take an overnight bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú, which takes approximately 18-20 hours. Several bus companies operate this route.

2. From Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil (to Brazilian side):

• By Air: If you’re flying into Brazil, the nearest airport is Cataratas International Airport (IGU) in Foz do Iguaçu. You can find flights to this airport from major Brazilian cities like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.
• By Bus: Buses connect Foz do Iguaçu with other Brazilian cities, and there are buses from Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) to Foz do Iguaçu as well. The bus ride across the border typically takes around 30-45 minutes.

Once you are in either town, you can easily cross the border to reach the other side of the waterfalls. But we will talk about that later.

You can choose to stay in either Puerto Iguazú or Foz do Iguaçu; there’s no need to change accommodations to visit the other side. We personally stayed in Puerto Iguazú, which was really convenient.

Accommodation options range from budget to more luxurious options:

• (€) The Host Puerto Iguazú
• (€€) Iguazu Jungle Lodge
• (€€€) Gran Meliá Iguazú

Make sure to set aside two days to fully explore both sides of the falls. This way, you can enjoy the unique experiences each side offers without feeling rushed.

The Gran Meliáis the most luxurious hotel on the Argentine side. However, while it offers stunning views of the waterfalls, it comes at a particularly high price. Additionally, even though the hotel is close to the falls, you cannot access them outside of the regular park hours. This is where the most luxurious hotel on the Brazilian side comes into play.

Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel is the only hotel within Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park, making it an ideal choice for guests who want to be as close as possible to the falls. You can enjoy direct access to the falls through a private entrance, allowing you to explore the park at your own pace—before or after it opens to the public. This offers a fantastic advantage, as you can experience the beauty of Iguassu Falls without the crowds, especially during the early morning or evening hours.

So, if you’re looking for a luxurious experience, it’s worth considering Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel, even if you’re staying on the Argentine side, as crossing the border is quick and easy.

But there are lots of great and more affordable hotel on the Brazilian side:

• (€) Pousada Cris Garden Bed&Breakfast
• (€€) JL Hotel by Bourbon
• (€€€) Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel, Iguassu Falls

As we arrived from Argentina, we stayed in Puerto Iguazu, therefore we visite the Argentinian side first. But to be honest, it doesn’t really matters. Both side are amazing and both offers a very different experience.

We preferred the Argentinian side, as there was more to see and it feels less crowded. Of course, this depends when you visit the falls.

Some people also like to finish with the brazilian side, as you get much closer to the falls.

Let’s start with the exploration of the Argentinian side. To visit the falls in the Argentinian side, we had to get to the Iguazu National Park Nature Interpretation Center.

There are totally 6 treks to do there, we did:

1. Devil’s Throat
2. Upper trail
3. Lower trail
4. Green trail

We didn’t do the Macuo trail that brings you to a small waterfall nor the San martin island trek because it was closed.

The easiest and cheapest way to get to the waterfall is by bus (of course, you can also get there by car, motorbike, bike, etc.).

There are various bus options depending on your location in town. In our experience, we used the city bus operated by a company called Rio Uruguay. These buses run from the bus terminal in Puerto Iguazú to the waterfalls (Cataratas).

The buses operate every day from 7:00 am to 10:15 pm, and there are also night services for special occasions.

The easiest way is to ask where you’re staying for the nearest bus stop. For us, it was on Avenida Victoria, across from EOS Supermarket.

The park opens at 8:00 am, so we decided to arrive as early as possible. We left our guesthouse at 6:55 am and caught a bus at 7:10 am (the 7:00 am bus from the terminal).

At that time, there weren’t many tourists on the bus. It was just us, two Chinese ladies, and the rest were park employees.

The ticket cost 200 pesos (approximately €1.10) per person, and you can buy it directly on the bus. The bus made a few stops along the way before arriving at 7:40 am at the park.

There are two rows of ticket offices, one on the right and one on the left of the entrance. Most of the people already there were on the right side, so we went to the left side where the bus dropped us off, and where nobody was waiting.

We purchased our tickets and stood in front of the gates to wait for the park to open at 8 am.

Because of Argentine inflation, the price of entrance fluctuates a lot, so much so that even the park’s official page cannot keep up. At the time, we were there, we paid 1600 pesos (approx. 20€ for two).

Also called Garganta del Diablo, this is the largest waterfall in the complex, with a height of approximately 80 meters.

To get there, you first need to reach the central train station. Before boarding, however, you must grab a ticket for the train. In the square before the station, there is a small counter on the right side where people hand out tickets. We didn’t know this at first and went straight to the train, but we couldn’t board without the ticket and had to walk back to get one (free of charge).

Luckily, we caught the first train at 8:20 am. Once we arrived, the great thing was that it wasn’t too hot and wasn’t too crowded. We followed the trek (which is more like a long series of bridges) along gorgeous landscapes until we first saw the river dropping, and then discovered the gigantic waterfall.

After staring at this massive flow of water for a while, we headed back and took the train back at 9:30 am to the Cataratas station (first stop).

From there, you can follow the upper circuit and lower circuit in that order. As most people were heading to the lower circuit, we decided to visit the upper circuit first.

Along this trail, we saw many other beautiful waterfalls. This trail, which runs along the top of the waterfalls, allowed us to discover the Sisters, Chico, Bossetti, Adam & Eve, Garganta del Diablo, Mbiguá, and San Martín.

There are signs along the trek that provide information about the waterfalls.

Once we finished the upper circuit, we headed straight to the lower circuit. At the lighthouse, we took the stairs on the right (you can continue straight as well, but it’s longer since it’s designed for wheelchair access).

The lower circuit first took us back to the Sisters and Chico waterfalls, before following the path along the coast opposite San Martín Island, and later leading us to another set of waterfalls, Lanusse and Alvar Núñez.

The main difference is that the lower circuit takes you to the base of the waterfalls, whereas the upper circuit is at the top.

As we passed the last waterfall, we were lucky enough to witness a group of birds flying in a circle—it was magnificent.

It was also at this point that we first saw the Coati, a local animal with a long nose.

It was now noon, so we took a lunch break at the end of the lower circuit. At each trail or station, there is usually a small store selling fast food, sandwiches, salads, and snacks. There are also restrooms and seating areas.

We found a nice spot and ate what we had prepared in the morning. At this point, many Coatis appeared from everywhere—guess they knew it was human lunchtime.

After a good hour, we strolled around the area and then started heading back to the Cataratas station to take the green trail back to the main station and exit the park.

On the way, we saw even more Coatis and some monkeys. By this time, the park was much more crowded compared to our arrival at 8 am.

We lingered in the hope of spotting a Toucan, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance.

We didn’t really plan an order for our visit to the Iguazu falls, but we’re glad we did it this way. Since Garganta del Diablo is the most popular attraction in the park, it gets overcrowded quickly. By visiting it first, we avoided the trail being packed. Later, the upper circuit was also not crowded, and we only started seeing more people in the lower circuit.

We didn’t rush and took plenty of time to admire the waterfalls, but 5 to 6 hours would be enough to explore the park.Optional attractions include:

• Boat tour to get under the waterfalls (10 minutes) – 3000 pesos per person
• Boat ride instead of the train to Garganta del Diablo – 700 pesos
• Helicopter tours (10 minutes) – around 120 USD per person

The easiest and cheapest way to get to the Iguazú Falls is by bus (of course, you can also get there by car, motorbike, bike, etc.).

For us, it was really easy. Knowing that the park opened at 9 am, we left our accommodation around 7:55 am and walked to the bus station. By 8:08 am, a coach arrived with a large sign that read “Brasil Cataratas Iguazú Falls.” We simply raised our hands to stop the bus and hopped on.

It was a yellow bus named “Crucero del Norte.” When we boarded, we bought 2 tickets (300 pesos each) to get to the falls. The driver informed us that the return bus was at 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm. Since we weren’t sure how long we’d need, we decided not to buy the return ticket right away.

The bus was comfortable and not crowded at all; there were maybe 7 people on it.

Tip: Once we returned, we also noticed that RIO URUGUAY, the bus operator, had services with both city buses and coaches going to the Brazilian side.

Neither Tina nor I needed a visa to enter Brazil or Argentina, so passing through immigration was quite easy.

After about 5 minutes, the bus made its first stop at the Argentine border. We got off the bus, entered the immigration office, received an exit stamp, and exited the building from the other side, where the bus was waiting for us.

Once everyone was back on board, we crossed the bridge between the two countries and made another stop at the Brazilian border. This time, we first had to walk to the other side of the building to enter the immigration office, moving from Argentina to Brazil.

Once that was done and everyone was back on the bus, we continued on to the national park and arrived at 8:41 am.

As mentioned earlier, the Brazilian National Park opened at 9 am. While we could buy tickets before the park opened in Argentina, here the ticket offices only open at 9 am sharp!

When we arrived, we first lined up to get our tickets. If you don’t want to wait in line, you can also purchase tickets at electronic terminals using a credit card.

A bit later, we purchased our tickets for 72 BRL (approximately €13). We still had Reais from Brazil, but you can also pay in pesos, euros, or dollars.

The entrance fee to the park is as follows (for tourists):

• 59 BRL (approximately €11) to enter
• 11 BRL (approximately €2) for the bus into and out of the park
• 2 BRL (approximately €0.40) for the foundation

Tip: You can also bring your bike and walk if you don’t wish to take the bus, but it’s approximately 11 km.

Once we had our tickets, we lined up to take the bus. But first, it was picture time: together, hands up, kiss! When you exit the park, you can buy your photos.

The bus ride took about 15 to 20 minutes, and by 9:40 am, we were at the beginning of the trail.

Once you’re ready, you can either return on the trail or take the bus back to the entrance. We took the 12:20 pm bus to the entrance of the park. By this time, there were fewer people entering the trail, and later, it was also less crowded at the ticket office. However, it was much warmer.

From there, you simply go back to the spot where the coach dropped you off and wait for it. The process will be the same as when you entered: first, you go through immigration.

We also enjoyed the Brazilian side and loved taking our time to watch the falls, but it’s not always easy as people come and go, wanting to take pictures and quickly move on.

Here as well, one day is enough to see everything.

Once at the airport, there are 4 ways to get to town:

• Renting a car
• Taking the shuttle from Four Tourist (our choice)
• Booking a complete organized tour
• Taking a taxi

For the Four Tourist shuttle, as soon as you exit the baggage claim area, you’ll find their counter. You can purchase a ticket to the city for 280 pesos each (a taxi costs 950 pesos). When buying the ticket, they will ask for the address of your accommodation, as they will drop you off directly in front of it.

There is no city bus service from the airport to town.

These are the same options as when arriving.

To get back to the airport, since there is no city bus service, the only option is Four Tourist. You can arrange a pickup from your hostel in advance, or if you call at the last minute, you can be picked up from a main street.

The easiest way is to ask your guesthouse or hostel to book it for you. If not, you can also call them at 03757 42-0681.

We called them on a Sunday at 11:10 am to arrange a transfer to the airport. The only options available were a pickup from the main street at 11:30 am or 1:00 pm. We quickly ended the call and rushed to the meeting point on the main street. We made it in time and caught the shuttle. It cost us 280 pesos each, and we paid once we arrived at the airport.

That's all for now =)