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Looking for thoughts and advice on travelling to Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, and Rio.
Any hints or tips on what to do and see plus places to stay etc
It’s a great trip, well worth doing.
First decide which long sector flights you’d prefer. You can fly from Argentina or Brazil up to Iguazu.
There’s already plenty in these forums, perhaps start by reading about Iguazu.
Funnily enough, I was supposed to be in Rio this week, but had to cancel the trip, I have heard that Foz central is a little dreary to stay, when visiting the Iguazu falls, we did book the Sanma hotel, only for it’s vicinity to the falls, as it was a 5 minute walk to the Brazilian side of the falls.
There are plenty of options for both the Brazilian and Argentina sides of the falls on TripAdvisor for example, we had flights with Latem from GIG-IGU (LA3290) IGU-GIG (LA3685) £339.50 pp flexible ticket. These were booked late in the day, hence the price.
As for Rio, you are spoilt for choice re properties, but real estate is expensive in Rio, so prices are high, especially in the Copacabana beach area.
In Rio, you have for example, Tijuca Forest – Hike to Caves & Falls on TripAdvisor, cost £109 per couple,
I’d visit Christ the redeemer and sugarloaf mountain yourself. A quick search on Google gives lots of trip options.Depends on what time of the year you intend to visit, re the rains, but I’ve heard great things about Pantanal, a vast wetland known for its high jaguar population, and safaris along the Cuiabá River.
I will Reebok and include a trip to the Pantanal.
PS – Look at flight options with IB from MAD.
The Sheraton Iguazu on the Argentine side gives you early access to the falls – an hour before anyone else. From there we had a driver take us across the border and flew from the Brazil side airport down to Rio. Stayed at the Cococabana palace, a Belmont hotel, which was a very good hotel.
The Sheraton Iguazu on the Argentine side gives you early access to the falls – an hour before anyone else. From there we had a driver take us across the border and flew from the Brazil side airport down to Rio. Stayed at the Cococabana palace, a Belmont hotel, which was a very good hotel.
The hotel on the Argentina side is now a Grand Melia – it was very good when we stayed last summer. As mentioned, you get early access and would recommend going straight to the Devil’s Throat first thing as it gets very busy.
Here’s a few threads on Argentina that I used when planning our trip last year (BA – Iguazu – Patagonia):
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/argentina/
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/argentina-advice/Also worth noting that there may be a little research to do regarding changing money/using cards in Argentina as there’s been a lot of change over the last few years regarding the best approach. Helpful thread below however, I’d revive it for latest data points:
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/anyone-used-curve-in-argentina/page/2/
We had a guide for 3 days in Rio .., great .saw a lot, skipped queues etc. We stayed in the Belmond hotel inside the park for Iguassu falls which gave us access outwith opening hours. We also had a trip to the Itiapu Hydro dam ( second to 3 gorges) really interesting .
Did our own thing on Buenos Aires, saw a lot -ricoletta cemetery, gardens and a tour of the opera house. Really liked BA, and Iguassu was fabulousThe Sheraton Iguazu on the Argentine side gives you early access to the falls – an hour before anyone else. From there we had a driver take us across the border and flew from the Brazil side airport down to Rio. Stayed at the Cococabana palace, a Belmont hotel, which was a very good hotel.
The hotel on the Argentina side is now a Grand Melia – it was very good when we stayed last summer. As mentioned, you get early access and would recommend going straight to the Devil’s Throat first thing as it gets very busy.
Here’s a few threads on Argentina that I used when planning our trip last year (BA – Iguazu – Patagonia):
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/argentina/
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/argentina-advice/Also worth noting that there may be a little research to do regarding changing money/using cards in Argentina as there’s been a lot of change over the last few years regarding the best approach. Helpful thread below however, I’d revive it for latest data points:
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/anyone-used-curve-in-argentina/page/2/
Curve not currently supported in Argentina,or so they told me 3 weeks ago when I tried to use it. Halifax Clarity fine. Many places now take cards. Everywhere in Brazil takes cards, even the beach vendors.
Curve hasn’t worked in Argentina since December 2023. While credit cards are widely accepted, quite a few places impose surcharges and a 10-20% discount for cash is fairly commonplace. Western Union still offers a better rate than the ‘blue’ even allowing for fees.
Curve hasn’t worked in Argentina since December 2023. While credit cards are widely accepted, quite a few places impose surcharges and a 10-20% discount for cash is fairly commonplace. Western Union still offers a better rate than the ‘blue’ even allowing for fees.
Western Union has worked well for us, excellent rate. Can be queues though. BsAs has many places.
Just came back from two weeks in Argentina and we were able to do it completely without any cash – including a week of driving around in the north west mountains. Found actual charges on our Halifax Clarity card to be about 10-15% lower than the “official” exchange rate.
In Buenos Aires I would recommend staying in one of the Palermo neighbourhoods as they are very walkable and have lots of cafes, bars and restaurants. But it’s a huge city so you will have to uber around for some things regardless of where you stay! Recoleta / Retiro is where many of the large chain hotels are located, but while they have more shops and museums etc., my impression was that there is less going on in the evenings. Make sure you also visit San Telmo and La Boca.
We did the BA flight via Rio on the way back, and even in Club it was not ideal to have to stay on the plane for two hours while they cleaned it and waited for the rest of the passengers to board. If flying in from short haul destinations, ie. Brazil or Argentina, I would recommend looking for flights to AEP as opposed to EZE as it’s smaller and much closer to the city (kind of like a big LCY).
visit San Telmo
Has to be on a Sunday. The Sunday street market is still one of the best in the world.
@omicron – I’m not sure how how you managed for two weeks in Argentina without cash! We have been here for three weeks now and end up using large amounts of cash at places that either don’t take cards or offer substantial discounts for cash. The rate you got on your credit card is the MEP rate which is generally better than the official rate.
Palermo can be a nice area to stay, but you have to be careful where you choose as some places can be very noisy from 10pm until the early of hours of the morning. It’s also an area that’s got a bit touristy/crowded and often priced accordingly.
PS in addition to the Rio stop problem you mention, the timings of the BA flight aren’t ideal either. With Iberia, there’s the choice of three daily flights.
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