Iguazu or not to Iguazu--that is the ?

[mljatsea]

We will be ending our Infinity cruise in BA on Feb. 26 and trying to decide whether to visit Iguazu Falls at the end of the trip. It is a pricey trip and we have heard rave reviews on CC. Does everyone think it is worth the price? We know some things live up to or exceed expectations: Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal, while others disappoint: Great Wall for example. How do you rate Iguazu? Did you do it on your own or through a tour co?

[ilovhywd]

We thought it was spectacular and well worth the price.

 

However, we visited it as an add-on after a land tour, not a cruise, so the land tour company made all our arrangements for flights and hotel.

 

The only annoyance was having to purchase (expensive) visas in order to visit the Falls from the Brazilian side as well as the Argentinian side; however, we figured we were unlikely to visit the same area again so we might as well see it all.

 

If you are interested in seeing magnificent birds, there are 2 bird parks, one on each side. The Brazilian park was more fancy; the Argentinian park was more of a bird rehab facility. Both were excellent.

[celle]

We will be ending our Infinity cruise in BA on Feb. 26 and trying to decide whether to visit Iguazu Falls at the end of the trip. It is a pricey trip and we have heard rave reviews on CC. Does everyone think it is worth the price? We know some things live up to or exceed expectations: Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal, while others disappoint: Great Wall for example. How do you rate Iguazu? Did you do it on your own or through a tour co?

 

If it's the only chance you will ever get, you should go. It's spectacular - and worth the extra cost to go to the Brazilian side.

[MVPinBoynton]

mljatsea,

Iguazu exceeded our expectations and was the highlight of our Infinity SA cruise. We love waterfalls and with the water flow being very high this year, it was an awesome sight. I have seen photos from years where there were drought conditions and I might have been very disappointed if I had gone at those times. Even if there was a drought though, I believe that the Devil's Throat would still be quite impressive.

 

It is very easy to book on your own and will reduce the cost. We chose not to go to the Brazil side, since I didn't think the extra cost would be justified. I don't know if it would be or not; but I am glad I didn't, more so because I didn't have enough time to go to the other side. Spending two nights at the Sheraton only gave us about a day and a half to see the falls. Since we went on the front end, we couldn't get an early morning flight there, plus we had flown all night, so we were tired on the afternoon when we got there. Going at the end of a cruise, you might be able to fit more in plus get almost two full days to see both sides. If you only go to the Argentine side, you will be blown away by the beauty. It would be nice to see the falls from the Brazil side, as it would also be nice to see it from a helicopter. I don't think it is possible to get tired of seeing this beautiful sight from as many angles as possible.

 

If you can afford to go, my recommendation is to not miss seeing it. You will not regret it and you will remember the experience for the rest of your life.

[ellbon]

i am going im march and really looking forward to it. many stay at the sheraton

[dileep]

It is well worth it. It beats Victoria Falls! If you do it on your own it will cost much less than a post cruise excursion from Celebrity. The real thing is better than my You Tube video!:)

[MVPinBoynton]

It is well worth it. It beats Victoria Falls! If you do it on your own it will cost much less than a post cruise excursion from Celebrity. The real thing is better than my You Tube video!:)

 

dileep,

Friends of mine just got back from a South Africa trip including Victoria Falls. In looking at their photos, including those from a helicopter, I thought Iguazu looked like a better experience. In fact I have now taken Victoria off of our "must see" list when we do go to South Africa. The Victoria extension really increased the cost of the trip.

[Bowie MeMe]

I am still upset that THE FALLS will not be part of our Jan. 2012 trip. I researched the trip and would have made the arrangements on my own (probably adding it to my LAN Visit SA airpass so not so expensive) but then I checked out the weather. The average temperature according to weather underground.com for late Jan and Feb. is 92 to 95 degrees F. and the humidity is around 80-90%. This combination would literally make me sick (I don't sweat -- I faint) and I would have trouble breathing. :eek:

Not much reason to go to this site if you can't walk and enjoy the falls.

For these reason I gave up seeing one of the finest waterfalls in the world. I am :(.

[ilovhywd]

Thank you, MVPinBoynton (neighbor!!) for posting that info about Victoria Falls.

 

We are researching Africa for 2012, and you just saved me $$$$.

 

(Sorry for being off topic here!) I think the original poster has gotten the message that Iguasu is not to be missed.

[MVPinBoynton]

Thank you, MVPinBoynton (neighbor!!) for posting that info about Victoria Falls.

 

We are researching Africa for 2012, and you just saved me $$$$.

 

(Sorry for being off topic here!) I think the original poster has gotten the message that Iguasu is not to be missed.

 

Please don't just take my opinion of Victoria from the photos I have seen. Since Dileep has actually been to both places, I would value his opinion more. Check out photos on line and you could come to the same conclusion. I think Dileep might also have videos of Victoria to view.

[Orlando Vic]

i am going im march and really looking forward to it. many stay at the sheraton

 

We went 4 years ago and still rave about what we saw. Spectacular is not sufficient to describe this place. There may be as few as 275 separate waterfalls during the dry season and as many as 350 during the wet season.

 

The Sheraton can't be beat for convenience, although it is a little pricey. We booked a falls-view room, but would not do this again. We realized that you are hardly in your room long enough to enjoy the view of the Devil's Throat. The restaurant downstairs, where you eat breakfast, has large, plate glass windows with an outstanding view. The rest of the time you are in the park.

[MVPinBoynton]

We went 4 years ago and still rave about what we saw. Spectacular is not sufficient to describe this place. There may be as few as 275 separate waterfalls during the dry season and as many as 350 during the wet season.

 

The Sheraton can't be beat for convenience, although it is a little pricey. We booked a falls-view room, but would not do this again. We realized that you are hardly in your room long enough to enjoy the view of the Devil's Throat. The restaurant downstairs, where you eat breakfast, has large, plate glass windows with an outstanding view. The rest of the time you are in the park.

 

We got a jungle view room through an AARP rate that was $245 per night. We also didn't spend much time in our room.

[fendbass]

Take the trip, you will never regret it. One of the great experiences of our lives

 

We flew in the day before, stayed at a resort about 7 or 8 miles away, hired a tour guide to take us over to the falls, then, back to the airport the same day. I mean, how long can you look at water?

 

I would recommend Sabrina Brazil Travel to plan this trip

[dileep]

dileep,

Friends of mine just got back from a South Africa trip including Victoria Falls. In looking at their photos, including those from a helicopter, I thought Iguazu looked like a better experience. In fact I have now taken Victoria off of our "must see" list when we do go to South Africa. The Victoria extension really increased the cost of the trip.

 

We went to South Africa in Oct 2002 and did take a 2 day side trip for the "must see" Victoria Falls. At that time there is not as much water in the falls, but that means that you can see the falls instead of a huge spray! We did take the 15 minute helicopter ride which was the best way to see the falls. Not having seen Iguazu, we were impressed compared to Niagara Falls! I do have a full 15 minute video of the helicopter ride somewhere on a mini-DV tape.

[dabear]

We visited the Falls 2 years ago on our own, precruise from BA and saved alot of money over the ship's tour. We booked the air on the web and arranged for a private guide to pick us upat the Igusau airport, take us on a tour of the park and return us to the airport at the end of the day. We did the trip over one long day since I know my wife would enjoy an extra day in BA instead. It was a great experience and we saw alot in one day by using an expert guide, but we did not go on the Brazilian side.

[Cinder Again]

We spent 3 days there pre-cruise, booked it ourselves and saved tons of money by staying in Iguazu proper. We flew in flew in from San Paulo, and flew out to Rio, where our cruise originated. One thing to consider is the unreliability of their flights. Build lots of "wiggle room" into any interior flights you do. We were about 6 hours late arriving in Rio.

We started out on the Brazilian side (since we had a visa already) and actually took a public bus from Iguazu to the Falls. We spent a lovely day there. Theres a buffet resturant with a great view of the Falls. It is hot and humid, so take water with you. The following day, we got our hotel to hire a driver for us to take us to the Argentinian side. That turned out to be well worth the money, because you have to cross the border. Our guide seemed to "know" someone at the border, we never even got out of the taxi, even though we could see long lines of people getting off buses to go thru customs. He waited for us at the end of the day, and then we paid him. It was not an expensive add on, and I don't think the extra $ is worth being in a hotel right at the Falls, unless you are springing for a beautiful view or don't plan to do all the walking required to really see it. All in all, one of my favorite add ons to a cruise and a great way to decompress after the long flight.

As their ad says "It's Niagara on ******"!;)