Iguazu Fall, pre cruise,from Rio

We are booked on the Jan 27, Antarctica crusie and would like to see Iguazu falls pre cruise. I would appreciate any information on booking flights from Rio, luggage storage at airport, hotels in Iguazu, etc..Or should We just book the HAL cruise tour?

Thanks,

Paul:)

Try this website: iguassufallstour.com We did this two years ago, got an excellent package, including one night in hotel in Rio, flights to and from Iguassu, two night in hotel (the one in Brazil right on the edge of the falls) there, private guide for two days, an evening folk dance program and dinner, plus a motorboat ride under the falls. It came to about $600 each. On our own we added a helicopter tour of the falls. The first day we visited about a half dozen overlooks on the Brazilian side. The next day we drove into Argentina to view the falls from there.

After we flew back to Rio, we stayed two more days in a five star hotel on Cococabana that I "won" on Skyauction.com for $50 a night. Then we boarded HAL's Amsterdam for a three week cruise around the horn to Valparaiso.

Iguassu is awesome!

Thank you for your response, this was very helpful.

Paul

I live in Rio. I'd advise not booking the ship tour. As indicated you can save a bundle touring Iguazu independently. Try GOL or Tam airlines to book your flights if you choose not to use a tour agency package. RT air from Rio is about 250 pp. Less from Sao Paulo.

The Sheraton hotel right in the Iguazu national park is about $250 per night and is ideal for a 1 or 2 day visit. It's very easy to arrange tours after you arrive. No need to plan that ahead.

Is it necessary to get Yellow Fever shots if going to the falls? :confused:

No you don't need the yellow fever shot. That is only for the Amazon region. We did the Amazon cruise and had to get it. When we did the Antarctic cruise and planned to go to Iguazu Falls I thought we were smart having the shot already. However, it was not necessary but at least we had out Brazilian visa which is good for I believe 5 years. I certainly agree with Owl61 not to do the ship's tour. We booked privately. I would definitely opt to stay on the Argentinian side - we stayed at the Sheraton. There is so much more to do on that side and you can take a day tour to the Brazilian side if you choose. Be sure to take the boat ride under the falls. It is spectacular and you will appreciate the cool water because it is soooo hot and humid there.

The only problem we had (not really a problem but expensive) was the price they charge for overweight luggage on the domestic flights. We flew into Buenos Aires but cruised out of Rio so we couldn't leave our luggage anywhere. Maybe someone else can tell you if you can get a locker at the airport or elsewhere. Enjoy your visit and cruise we loved it.

I would definitely opt to stay on the Argentinian side - we stayed at the Sheraton. There is so much more to do on that side and you can take a day tour to the Brazilian side if you choose. Be sure to take the boat ride under the falls. It is spectacular and you will appreciate the cool water because it is soooo hot and humid there.

Having just returned from a trip that included a visit to Iguassu Falls, it was my impression that there are a lot more hotels on the Brasil side than there are on the Argentina side. Other things to do on the Brasil side include seeing one of the evening shows and a visit to the Itaipu Power plant (the largest in the world). The views of the falls on the Brasil side are quite different from those on the Argentina side, and if you are already in the area, you should certainly see both!

As for temperature, when we were there the high temps were around 60 degrees F and the lows near freezing. It may be hot much of the time there, but we were certainly unprepared for the low temps at the falls.

We were there in mid November 2005, the temps in Rio when it was raining were in the 70s and 80s when it was sunny. At Iquassu the temps were in the 80s.

You can save a lot of money not booking the cruise tour. I would estimate about 1/2 or more. I was not able to book cheap tickets on TAM's webpage with an US credit card and we had to have a Brazilian TA book our airfare. We had a private guide for four of us that picked us up at the airport and took us to the hotel and arranged tours and boat ride into the falls. We stayed in Argentina at the Sheraton. Our guide took us over the border into Brazil and we toured the park there. She offered to arrange helicopter tours and anything else, we opted to go shopping for souvineers instead. The falls are amazing and in my opinion this is a must excursion.

If you want any information about my TA or the guide, feel free to send me an email at the address in my signature.

jc

We're on the same cruise. Originally we'd planned to do the Iguassu trip, but we're spending the time in Rio instead.

I'd done all the research and booked the hotels (2 nights in a falls view at the Sheraton in the park on the Argentine side and 1 at the Cataract (?sp) on the Brazilian). Doing it ourselves (as suggested earlier) was MUCH less expensive than the HAL package. I believe it was going to cost us half of what HAL wanted and we were staying longer at the falls.

Where we ran into problems was the timing of the flights to Iguassu. There aren't a lot of options from Rio. We had a little over 2 hours from when our flight from Atlanta would land until the TAM flight to Iguassu departed. We didn't want to overnight in Rio and transfer to/from the airport another time. The severe weight limits on TAM and GOL were also a concern. There are lockers at the Rio airport we could use, but the limited time between flights (having to allow for delays, customs, immigrations) and would our luggage fit in the lockers..... For us, it was getting to be just too much of a bother. DH was getting stressed out, not a good way to start our vacation. For you, your situation could be very different.

We do have a roll call going for the cruise, come check us out.

Thank you everyone for your info, you have been very helpful.

Mary Ellen, we'll be joining you soon in "Roll Call" to meet up with other fellow cruisers.

Nancy

If the price is close, pick TAM as the flight is non-stop. Also, if you're flying into the Brazilian side, the Tropical Hotel das Cataratas is the way to go - Inside the park, close to the airport, great ambiance, nice evening BBQ by the pool, good bar with music, Quati wandering about, ...