After disembarking our Amazon riverboat we headed straight to the airport to move onto our next and final destination in Brazil. Iguazu Falls was definitely on the Brazil must see list, but of course it's nowhere near Rio or the Amazon. It required a long flight to Sao Paulo and then a connecting flight to Iguazu. Because of the flight times we ended up staying the night (which happened to be New Year's Eve, happy 2024 from Sao Paulo!) at a hotel near the Sao Paulo airport, and then took our connecting flight over to Iguazu the next day. This turned out to be a great plan, because a pitstop to clean up, rest and mentally recover from our week in the jungle was exactly what we needed. After a good night's sleep and a refreshing clean-up we were much better prepared to face our last adventure at Iguazu.
First glimpse of Iguazu falls exploring the Brazil side
Happy 17th Birthday, Trevon! As we traveled on New Year's Day, our first full day in Iguazu fell on Trevon's birthday. It turned out to be a pretty amazing day. We love this kid!
We spent our first day in Iguazu exploring the beautiful vistas of the falls from the Brazil side. Incredible expansive views that kept changing as we carried on down the path.
After exploring the entire length of the Brazil side of the falls we had a wonderful buffet lunch at the restaurant at the end. After which we took the shuttle bus partway back to have one final Brazil falls experience. We took a RIB boat ride up to and even under the falls. They dunked us under the rushing falls again and again completely soaking every thread. We were not expecting to get quite that wet, but it was actually just so much fun. After the boat ride we took the shuttle bus out of the park and returned to the hotel for an afternoon of relaxation and more birthday fun.
Our hotel had a water park, and our birthday boy was in heaven going down the water slides and looping around the lazy river.
For dinner we took a taxi into town where I had booked Trevon's birthday dinner at a Texas BBQ restaurant. It was amazing! Super authentic and excellent service. A great birthday feast. Our birthday boy enjoyed every bit, including birthday presents to cap off a wonderful day.
For our second day at Iguazu we hired a driver to do a blitz tour including three different countries. Iguazu sits on the border between Brazil and Argentia, so part of the falls are in Brazil and the other part are in Argentia. The experience visiting each is very different. Here you're also across a river from Paraguay. We, of course, had to find a way to do it all including a visit to Paraguay. It was a tall order to accomplish in one day requiring multiple border crossings. Passports in hand, we were on a mission. Three countries one day, go!
Crossing the bridge into Paraguay we pass through the frontier shopping town of Ciudad del Este. Interesting to drive through, but glad we didn't make this our destination spot in Paraguay. It had strong Tijuana vibes, and I'd give it a skip.
Instead we spent the morning at the Monday Falls. These falls are pretty incredible and I'm certain they'd be on the map if they weren't next door to Iguazu. The sheer size and scale of Iguazu dwarfs everything else around, but we give the Monday Falls a thumbs up. We arrived before they opened and enjoyed the falls all to ourselves.
Argentina! After our visit to the Monday Falls in Paraguay we crossed over into Argentina! First stop was the visit the Tres Fronteras monument, the point where the three countries meet. Each of the three countries has a similar monument painted in its flag's colours, and from any one of them you can see the other two. It's a neat spot to visit.
Paraguay Tres Fronteras from Argentina
Brazil Tres Fronteras from Argentina
Last up was a visit to the Argentina side of Iguazu Falls. I wondered how I could possibly enjoy the falls any more than I did from the Brazil side; it was just spectacular. But we followed sound advice and scheduled time to see it from the Argentina side. Totally different experience. From Brazil you see the falls more as a panoramic view, but as most of the falls are actually in Argentina the experience from the Argentina side is totally different. You are more on top of the falls so the views are more immersive. And now I can’t decide which is best and so yes, you should definitely see both. Totally worth the extra time and immigration hassles.
Ciao Brazil!
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