Iguazu Falls: Everything You Need to See the 7 Wonder from Brazil AND Argentina
Iguazu Falls ranks as one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world. So, if you’re planning a trip to Brazil, Argentina, or both, be sure to make time to see this New 7 Wonder of Nature. Much like Americans and Canadians are used to sharing Niagara Falls, Iguazu Falls sits on the border between the southern part of Brazil and northern part of Argentina. Most of the falls start on the Argentina side, but some of the best views are actually in Brazil. We’ve had the opportunity to explore both sides of the falls pretty thoroughly, so we though we’d share our itinerary, recommendations, and tips for your trip!
Preparing for Your Trip to Iguazu
Which Side has the Best Views of Iguazu Falls: Brazil or Argentina?
When we were initially planning our 1-week trip to Brazil, we realized we had only a day or two to visit Iguazu Falls. We wanted to know which side had the best views, in case we could only pick one side. According to the blogs we initially read, Argentina wins.
From experience, Brazil has the best views of Iguazu Falls.
Here’s why Brazil wins:
- Argentina has spectacular views of Iguazu because you can get a LOT closer to the falls. However, most of the falls are physically on the Argentina side, which means you’re viewing the falls from the side.
- Brazil, on the other hand, because it has less falls, has a better overlook directly out into the throat of the falls.
Argentina wins for getting closest to the falls. Brazil wins for being far enough from the falls to get a wider view.
Should I Make Time for Both Argentina and Brazil?
Our short answer is, yes. Unless you are local to South America, or planning on visiting again, if this is a once-in-a-lifetime-trip, see both sides. We believe both sides have different vantage points and experiences, so you should do both if you can. But, if you had to pick only one side, we would recommend Brazil – less walking and better views.
See both sides if you can! If you have to pick, see the Brazil side.
If you’re crunched for time, know that it is possible to see both sides of Iguazu Falls in 1 Day. We outline all the details in our blog post dedicated to a 1-day complete itinerary.
If you’re planning on visiting Brazil, don’t forget to stop by Rio de Janeiro. Check out our post: Rio de Janeiro: Don’t Miss the Best of the City in this 3-Day Itinerary!
What is the Best Time of Year to Visit Iguazu Falls?
In terms of weather, almost any month is a good time to visit Iguazu Falls. Winter, in Brazil, will span during May-August and will have the driest and coldest weather (10C or 50F at the lowest). December-January, Brazil summer, will have the hottest and rainiest weather. But, you’ll get wet at the falls anyways, so there isn’t too much harm in a little rain. We visited in end of December, which is peak heat, humidity, and tourists. During the December holidays, many Argentinian and Brazilian families visit the falls on vacation. But, even in peak season, we were some of the first out on the upper circuit. And, it wasn’t unbearably hot. The weather app had rain forecasted up until a few days before our trip – we ended up with clear skies!
By 2-4pm, however, the best views of Iguazu Falls were pretty crowded in December. If you want to avoid the crowds, visit during the shoulder season. March-May and September-November, as long as you avoid holidays such as Easter, and go during a weekday, will get you smaller crowds.
Any month is good! Go in March-May or Sep-Nov on a weekday for the smallest crowds.
How Many Days to Explore Iguazu Falls?
You need A MINIMUM of a half day to see the falls from either the Argentinian or Brazilian side. Realistically, you should budget a day for each side to not feel rushed and be able to do a boat tour. Here’s what we would recommend:
- Absolute fastest: 1 day to see falls from Argentina (morning) and Brazil (afternoon).
- Realistic: 1 day for Argentina, 1 day for Brazil (plus time to visit Parque das Aves).
- Plus: travel days, account for airline delays
Budget 1-2 days to visit the falls, plus travel to and from.
PSSS… check out our 1 Day Iguazu Falls itinerary.
How to Get to Iguazu Falls?
Though we’ve heard there are busses or bus tours that go to/from Iguazu Falls, the easiest way to get there from another major city in Brazil, is via airplane. There are two major airports in the area: Foz do Iguazu International Airport (IGU) on the Brazil side and Cataratas of Iguazu International Airport (IGR) on the Argentinian side. The airport you land in will be determined by your departure country – Brazil airports fly to IGU while Argentinian airports fly to IGR.
The easiest way to is to fly to either IGU (Brazil) or IGR (Argentina).
Where to Stay in Iguazu Falls?
There are two major towns/cities that have developed around Iguazu Falls: Foz do Iguaçu (coined “Foz”) on the Brazil side and Puerto Iguazú on the Argentina side. There are many hotels, ranging from 2 star and higher in both cities, though we found the Argentina side seemed to have a wider selection available. We booked our stay through Expedia, and ended up staying at Viale Tower Hotel for ~$150 USD/night during peak season at the end of December. As long as you pick a hotel with decent ratings that is close to restaurants/other buildings, it doesn’t seem like you can go wrong in this area. While walking the streets at night, we felt safer here than we would have in Rio or Salvador.
What’s the Ticket and Hours Situation?
If you know what time you will be arriving and entering the park, you should buy your tickets in advance. If you don’t, you can buy a timed-entry ticket at a counter is kiosk. We did the kiosk tickets for the Brazil side during peak season of December holidays and the worst that happened was we had to wait 30 minutes for the next entry time.
Argentina Side Details
- Hours: 8am – 6pm (last entry at 4:15 pm)
- Online Tickets: Here
Brazil Side Details
- Hours: 8am – 6pm (last entry at 4:30 pm, last bus back to entrance leaves at 5:30 pm)
- Online Tickets: Here
Should I Book a Tour?
There are a couple of types of tours you can book for Iguazu Falls:
- Fully guided tour of either falls or both
- Transport to/from the falls
- Boat tour
And the answer is – yes! Whether you’re trying to do everything as quickly as possible or take your time, you’ll either want some sort of travel to/from the falls or want to book a boat tour to bring you up to the falls on the water. We ended up booking a transport that took us from our hotel in Brazil, across the border to the Argentina side, back across the border to the Brazil side, and back to our hotel. The transport saved us time and stress – we were able to see both sides of the falls in one day and they helped us skip the line at customs at the border. More details on our cross-border transport here.
We also booked a boat tour on the Brazil side and definitely recommend it. The views of the falls from the river are nothing compared to the viewpoints in the park. And if its hot, it’s incredibly refreshing!
Itineraries for Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls, despite being the main attraction in the area, is not the only thing you should enjoy! If you’re going to be in the area, might as well see as many spots as you can. For your convenience, we’ve put together a few itineraries for you to enjoy!
Top Things to Do in Iguazu Falls
1. Iguazu Falls: Argentina
On the Argentinian side of the falls, there are 3 main areas you want to explore.
Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo)
Devil’s Throat is the the TOP destination in Iguazu Falls on the Argentina side, because, the trail takes you to the top of the waterfall so you can look down into the rumbling mist. Unfortunately for us, because of the high water level in 2022, the path was closed for us in December 2022. Nonetheless, here are the details:
- How to get there: take the train from Estacion Cataratas to Estacion Garganta, walk 1.3 miles
- Distance: 1.3 miles out & back walking
- Elevation gain: 150 ft
- Alltrails link
- Time to spend: 2 hours (30 min each way for the train, 30 minutes for hiking, 30 minutes extra for photos)
Upper Circuit (Paseo Superior)
True to its name, we found the Paseo Superior far superior to the Paseo Inferior. The Upper Circuit is a loop that takes you to spectacular views of the smaller falls on the Argentinian side. Smaller than Devil’s Throat, but there are so many of these little falls it is just as incredible to see. We found that the Upper Circuit had better views than the Lower Circuit, and the trail brings you to the top of some of the falls.
- How to get there: From Estacion Cataratas
- Distance: 1.6 miles out & back walking
- Elevation gain: 209 ft (wheelchair friendly option)
- Alltrails link
- Time to spend: 1.5 hours (40 min total walking, plus pictures or getting stuck behind slower walkers)
Lower Circuit (Paseo Inferior)
Out of the three destinations we’ve listed, we would save this path for last. The Lower Circuit still takes you to spectacular views of the falls, but a little farther away, and at a lower elevation. So, you get a wider-angle view of the falls.
- How to get there: From Estacion Cataratas
- Distance: 1.3 miles out & back walking
- Elevation gain: 150 ft
- Alltrails link
- Time to spend: 1hour (30-40 min total walking, plus pictures or getting stuck behind slower walkers)
2. Iguazu Falls: Brazil
Compared to the Argentinian side, the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls is much easier to navigate. There is essentially one long trail, partially paved with boardwalk, that takes you along the best viewpoints. Upon entering the park, you have to wait in line for a bus, which will drop you off at a designated bus stop where you want to start your adventure: boat tour or first viewpoint. You can see the map here. We got off at stop 10 for the boat tour. After, we hopped back on the bus and go dropped off at stop 12 to walk the viewpoints. The walking portion took no more than 2 hours with long lines for photos.
One of the coolest parts of the Brazil side, is the boardwalk that takes you into the base of Devil’s Throat. While the Argentinian side takes you to the top of the falls, in Brazil you’re at the bottom looking up and out. The picture above doesn’t do it justice. This is a spot where you will definitely get wet, so bring protection for your phone/camera if needed.
- How to get there: Take the bus to stop 12
- Distance: 1-2 miles out or out & back (you can take the bus back instead of walking)
- Elevation gain: 347 ft
- Alltrails link
- Time to spend: 2 hours (1 hour+ walking, plus pictures)
3. Boat Tour
If you have time (you’ll need at least 2 hours), we recommend stopping for a boat tour. There are essentially two boat tour options:
- Iguazu Jungle on the Argentina side
- Macuco Safari on the Brazil side
If you are trying to knock out both countries in one day, like us, we recommend booking Macuco Safari the day-of. Just in case you’re running late, save it for the afternoon that way you can make sure you have enough time for it. If you’re planning on spending a few days at the falls, or a full day on the Argentina side, go with Iguazu Jungle. Unfortunately Macuco Safari didn’t take us very close to the falls, which was a bit of a disappointment.
The cost is about $60-80 USD/person for the tour depending on the company you choose. It’s a little pricey, so if its not in your budget, don’t worry, the views from the trails are still spectacular.
4. Parque das Aves
We’re adding Parque das Aves to the list because, if you’re going to be in the area, you need to see it! This is a cute little bird park that is VERY well managed and worth it whether you’re 5 years old or 50 years old. Tickets are $80 R or ~$16 USD/adult, children 8 and under are free. Budget 1.5-2 hours for the park. If you’re in a rush, you can technically do it in 1hour like us, but its too fast to see everything. Since it’s very close to the airport, they have nice and big lockers for luggage storage!
1 Day in Iguazu
And now, for the grand finale – the itineraries. Here’s how to crank out both sides of Iguazu Falls in one day:
- 7:45 AM: Arrive at Iguazu Falls, Argentina
- 8:00 AM: Enter on your pre-purchased ticket
- 8:15 AM: Catch the train at Estacion Central to Garganta Station
- 8:35 AM: Arrive at Estacion Garganta and walk to Devil’s Throat
- 8:55 AM: Arrive at Devil’s Throat, take pictures, then walk back to the station
- 10:00 AM: Depart Garganta Station to Estacion Cataratas
- 10:15 AM: Do the Upper Circuit from Estacion Cataratas
- 11:00 AM: Do the Lower Circuit
- 12:00 PM: Lunch and walk back to park entrance
- 1:00 PM: Leave on a private shuttle to Iguazu Falls, Brazil – if you can’t do a private shuttle, cut out the Upper and Lower Circuit and ride the bus between the parks
- 2:00 PM: Arrive at Iguazu Falls, Brazil
- 2:30 PM: Enter on your timed-entry ticket
- 3:00 PM: Get off at bus stop 12, walk the waterfall trail to Porto Canoas
- 5:30 PM: Get on the bus at Porto Canoas to the park entrance
- 6:00 PM: Park closes, check out the gift shop and head out for the night
Regardless of where you are staying, we recommend seeing the Argentinian side first, because it opens earlier and the Brazil side closes later. If for some reason one of the trails is closed, like it was for us, leave earlier and catch a boat tour on the Brazil side. The biggest downside of this itinerary is, unfortunately during peak or busy seasons, the Brazil side will be very crowded in the afternoon. If you have 2 days, we recommend going early to both sides – see the itinerary below!
2+ Days in Iguazu
Day 1: Argentina
- 7:45 AM: Arrive at Iguazu Falls, Argentina
- 8:00 AM: Enter on your pre-purchased ticket
- 8:15 AM: Catch the train at Estacion Central to Garganta Station
- 8:35 AM: Arrive at Estacion Garganta and walk to Devil’s Throat
- 8:55 AM: Arrive at Devil’s Throat, take pictures, then walk back to the station
- 10:00 AM: Depart Garganta Station to Estacion Cataratas
- 10:15 AM: Do the Upper Circuit from Estacion Cataratas
- 11:00 AM: Do the Lower Circuit
- 12:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM: Iguazu Jungle Boat Tour
- 4:00 PM: Depart
Day 2: Brazil
- 7:45 AM: Arrive at Iguazu Falls, Brazil
- 8:00 AM: Enter on your timed-entry ticket
- 8:30 AM: Get off at bus stop 12, walk the waterfall trail to Porto Canoas
- 12:00 PM: Get lunch at Porto Canoas
- 1:00 PM: Get on the bus at Porto Canoas to the park entrance
- 1:30 PM: Head to Parque das Aves
- 2:00 PM: Enjoy the bird park for the afternoon
- 4:00 PM: Depart
Found this post helpful? Subscribe to our blog or follow us on Instagram for our latest travel tips!
