I know it's tired, but pls. help! Trip to Iguazu Falls!

[katiemcaldwell]

We are planning a trip to the Falls this weekend but are also wanting to extend our trip to include a few days on the beach somewhere. Iguazu appears to be inland but a coworker told me there is a beach there? IS this true? And if not, are there any on the way back to Buenos Aires that would not be completely out of the way? We cannot go into Brazil as we are Americans and do not have the visa and do not have enough time to obtain one. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I am dying to lay on a sunny beach for a few hours! Muchas gracias!

 

[sesamosinsal]

As far as I know, there isn't a beach near Puerto Iguazu or Foz de Iguaçu.

If I were you, I'd head to Brazil. If you're here in Buenos Aires, you can get a 90 day tourist visa in about two days. I got a visa to travel to Brazil last week. I submitted my documents on Tuesday, received the visa on Thursday, and left for São Paulo on Friday. I really cut it close.

You can also get a visa the same day in Puerto Iguazu. I think they usually give one day visas or something for the falls? I'm sure you get more time if you showed them a roundtrip bus ticket to Florianópolis, a beach town in southern Brazil.

 

[katiemcaldwell]

Thanks for the info, it is much appreciated - but there are 4 of us going, so we would be cutting it REALLY close to see if all 4 of us could get our visa in time, plus isn't there an expense associated with it? We are already over our budget. But again I do appreciate the suggestion! Any other beaches on our way back down we could hit?

 

[Delfina]

Hey Katie, as you are not going to Brazil, maybe you could check the River Uruguay coast, or Ituzaingó in Provincia de Corrientes (Represa Yaciretá, Paraná River). Of course I know that a river beach is not what you are used to! But it will be certainly cheap and close to Iguazú...

I have friends from Posadas and Corrientes who tell me that Ituzaingo is fun in the summer - Can`t personally recommend it since I`ve never been there, but here is my granito de arena.

 

[Attorney in BA]

I've never been to the falls, but I have been told that the falls are in the Argentine side and the view of the falls is in the Brazilian side. Check this out before going, in case you make it there and miss the view.

 

[syngirl]

I've never been to the falls, but I have been told that the falls are in the Argentine side and the view of the falls is in the Brazilian side. Check this out before going, in case you make it there and miss the view.

No the better view of the falls is on the Argentine side. You can walk all through the falls, take a speedboat up to and almost under them. The Argentine falls are the ones that are in The Mission. The famous hotel is inside the Argentine side of the park.

However to compensate for their not so glorious view of the falls, the Brasilians have a lot of activities. We didn't bother going to the Brasilian side -- we did a 4WD trip on the Argentine side. Definitely do the speedboat thing.

You can also go to Paraguay on a boat trip from the city, it's supposed to be kind of cheesy, they do some dance to greet the boat or something.

You really don't need much time in Iguazu -- one day to see the falls, maybe one other day to do activities, ie the 4WD thing, ziplining, a trip to the Brasil side or Paraguay.

Apart from the one five star hotel, all accommodations are far away from the falls, so you need to go with an organised tour. The town itself doesn't have a lot to do, or it didn't 4 years ago, it may have changed by now. Most of the accommodations do have pools though so you can hang out there.

If it rains, the entire town floods pretty quickly and half the roads weren't paved when I was there so be prepared to get muddy!

If you've got time, the Jesuit ruins are supposed to be worth the trip, we didn't bother doing it, opted for spa and some cocktails instead, haha. It's a full day as well, if you're 4 people you might want to figure out prices of going with a tour versus renting a car between the four of you -- may be cheaper to do it that way.

Have fun -- the falls are really beautiful, but beyond them there's not a lot to do up there. No beaches, so you may want to go to the Esteros del Ibera (south west of Iguazu in Corrientes province I believe) -- I have not been but it is meant to rival Brasi's pantanal for birds and wildlife: http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/latamer/argentin/top_twenty14.htm

The other place to consider closer to BA on your way back would be PN Palmar, another national park on the Parana river, more accessible than Ibera.

 

[Delfina]

PN el Palmar is in the Uruguay River coast, and is a very good choice as it would leave you closer to Buenos Aires on your way back. Also Concepción del Uruguay and Gualeguaychu in Entre Rios have river beaches.

Esteros del Ibera is one of my favourites places - the problem is that you can´t swim in the lake there, because there are palometas (a sort of piranha). Still, as you must have guessed, some people swim there, but under their own responsability...

The Iguazu Falls´view from the Brazil side is less amazing but more abarcative than the Argentine - at least for me. But you are not getting the visa so maybe we should stop talking about that!

 

[intljournalist]

a coworker told me there is a beach there? IS this true?

The beach that your coworker is probably referring to is an Isle San Martin. It is an island (though actually it a peninsula) in the center of the rio Iguazú right below the falls. Apparently, people can take a little boat there and lay on the beach and relax to the sounds of the waterfalls and hike around the island. However, I was there two weeks ago and because the water was at such a high level, the island was closed. The beach was actually completely submerged underwater.

 

[2GuysInPM]

...We cannot go into Brazil as we are Americans and do not have the visa and do not have enough time to obtain one....

Hi Katie... You can get same-day Brazil Visa service at Puerto Iguazu. Just drop off your application, photos, passport and fee at the Brazilian consulate in Puerto Iguazu (early morning). You can then pick up your visa same day by 1pm. See this my post about it here, or search for "iguazu visa" here in the forums.

I've done this a few times. If you have any questions, let me know.

Good luck!

 

[sesamosinsal]

The cost is something like $550 ARG for the Brazilian visa.

(The website says $525 ARG, but I think I paid $545 ARG last week.)

I've never applied for the visa in Puerto Iguazú, but I've applied for two visas in Buenos Aires and one in Chicago. (And after spending more than $300 USD on Brazilian visas, I wish the U.S. would just drop the damn fee imposed on Brazilians.)