Thinking of going in April. Any recommendations on hotels? Activities?
We will be coming from within Brazil. Is it necessary to go to the Argentine side? Which is better? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Check out this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/Forum31/HTML/000035.html

I recommend going to both sides, as they offer very different views of the falls. As for hotels, on the Brazilian side stay in Cataratas Hotel. On the Argentinian side, stay in the Sheraton. It is easy to rent a car and drive from one side to the other.

Try to sit on the left side, window seat when you fly in. Our Varig pilot did a 360 around the falls as we came in. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/eek.gif

Also, try to rent a copy of "The Mission", with Robert DeNiro. The falls feature prominently in the movie.

JP

[This message has been edited by j379pa (edited 12-09-2002).]

Our LAPA pilot did the same on the approach to Puerto Iguazú. Left side window was the best.

For activities don't miss the walking trails on both sides (one main one on the Brazil side and two on the Argentinian side, plus a third you take a train to on the Argentinian side). They will all take you right up to the falls, whether on top looking down or at the bottom looking up. Bring plastic bags to place water-sensitive goods. You'll get soaked.

Try to do one of the "Safari" type tours--both sides offer them and they include a boat ride right up to the falls.

The chopper rides are only on the Brazilian side, and the Brazil side has the wilder boat rides.

Forget the Parque des Aves (Bird Park) on the Brazilian side. Shopping is better in Foz do Iguacu, a much larger city than little Puerto Iguazú.

The only thing the Sheraton has going for it is its location. It was about worth the low 85 USD we got.

From CNN:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">...Khalid Shaikh Mohammed spent nearly three weeks in Brazil in December 1995, visiting a region with many Arabs, Brazilian police told CNN on Saturday.

International and regional intelligence officials said the area Mohammed visited in Foz de Iguacu, along Brazil's porous border with Argentina and Paraguay, has been a source of funds and a haven for terrorist groups, including some believed to work closely with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Police data show that Mohammed, the terror network's reputed operations chief, was in Brazil from December 4-25. He entered the country via Sao Paulo from Pakistan and left for Holland from Rio de Janeiro, police said. ....</font>

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/03/08/mohammed.brazil/index.html

So if anyone is paranoic, the leading contender in the Argentinean presidential election runoff is former president Carlos Menem whose parents are islamic Syrian immigrants (he converted to Catholicism to get ahead).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
So if anyone is paranoic, the leading contender in the Argentinean presidential election runoff is former president Carlos Menem whose parents are islamic Syrian immigrants (he converted to Catholicism to get ahead).</font>

Very interesting .. I didn't know this.
Now I found this:

with his wife Zulema whose family, like his, came from a small Syrian town north of Damascus. Both were born in the Muslim faith, though Carlos soon recognised he would get nowhere in Argentine politics as a Muslim. So he became a Catholic....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/argentina/story/0,11439,621151,00.html

And this ... hello GAUCHO100K:
...but his marriage to a younger woman helped reaffirm Menem's image in a country where macho exploits still command admiration.....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/argentina/story/0,11439,940210,00.html

Flying into Foz from Brazil is best if you sit on the left side of the plane and you can see the falls from a mile away or so on the approach.

Both sides are great to vist and take the catwalks over and under the falls. The place is fabulous.... The Sheraton is fine, especially from an upper falls view room. It is worth more than $85. Some of the food was good, and you cannot beat the cheap prices. You can hike, take boat rides, bike ride, swim, etc.

Foz is much bigger than Puerto Iguazu. You can also park and walk across into Paraguay, but it reminded me of Tijuana near the border.

I really enjoyed the three days there, and would definitely recommend it.

so...we ended up going and had a great time. Our guide Valdir picked us up at the airport Sunday afternoon, we went straight to the Brazilian side of the falls, went on the hike, took the boat ride and finished the tour. We went into town, stopped off at the tourist stop and picked up some souveniers for the folks back home, and then went to check in to our hotel, the Continental Inn. The hotel was very nice, about 3 stars, but they had a nice pool and an exercise room and was absolutley fine. Monday Valdir took us to the Argentine side where we did almost all the trails, and the boat ride again. We spent the entire day there. Both nights we were pretty tired so we skipped the dinner and show and just ate in the hotel, but I heard the show in Foz is very nice.
Tuesday morning we went to Itaipu, the hydro-electric generator-dam, the largest in the world. It is absolutely amazing, I was astounded and am still in disbelief and awe. The sheer size of it is breathtaking. We were also lucky that the spillover was open so we got to see some man made waterfalls too.
Then off to the parque do aves- bird park, where I was given a souvenier by a parrot about 20 feet above me. In Brazil they say that it is a sign for good luck and to become rich, I think it just means you have bird crap on you.
Finally to the tri-border area where the Iguacu and Parana rivers meet and you can see Argentina and Paraguay, some nice photo-ops. Then back to Sao Paulo. We had a great time and recommend a 48 hour stay.

Hello, where did you find tha guide tour?

Laura




Thinking of going in April. Any recommendations on hotels? Activities?
We will be coming from within Brazil. Is it necessary to go to the Argentine side? Which is better? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hello, where did you find tha guide tour?

Laura

We stayed here: http://www.bourbon.com.br/index_iguassu.php

They have a (outside) travel agency. This agency managed our tour. Very friendly, very professional.