PSPandBA

It's worth allocating a full day to the Argentine side and Brazilian side. Sheraton is nicely redone and you are right up close to the Falls. 2 minute walk into the park. Brazilian side is totally different and you can get quite close. Views are amazing. Sheraton is out of town, but in a beautiful spot. Buffet breakfast was excellent, enjoyed one dinner as well. Used upgrade for very nice Falls side suite.

washeelers747

any datapoints on transfer from IGU (Brazilian side) airport to Sheraton? Hotel offer $600 peso ($70 USD) for vehicle transfer service, and wondering if it's worth the cost for less hassles and no worry about taxi scams. Many thanks (obrigado & gracias too!)

MSPeconomist

No, but (for USA and many other passports) doing it this way means a visa for Brazil and paying the reciprocity fee of about $150 in advance for Argentina. You might want to think about whether it's worth it for you to spend a little bit of time on both sides of the border at the falls. Also check any health requirements for these regions of each country.

As a comparison data point, the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires offers car service from EZE at rates starting at about US$100, depending on the vehicle. In good traffic, it's about a one hour ride.

Remember too that you should plan to pay the hotel in cash, using Argentinian pesos acquired at the blue exchange rate. Bring nice new clean US$100 bills with you. See the Argentina destination forum for more details.

chalten

Are you getting a MB or Audi? if you get the ride on Citroen C4, Peugeot 408s and so on, should not be more than 50 max...

As to the cost of IGU/Sheraton, also check the car you are getting for it. Most MB as used for the Casino gamblers of Iguazu Grand Hotel.

Cheers!

MSPeconomist

I think it's a Mercedes.

washeelers747

Apologize for not mention several important infos - I got visa, since i'll visit Rio then fly down to IGU. I recently paid $160 for Argentina, and probably will visit both countries again in future. I read little bit about blue dolar rates, and little unsure if it's that common in the Falls. I used cash & points for my stay to drive down costs.

Anyone recently took hotel's prepaid vehicle pickup, or ride taxi? My friend and I would love to rent a vehicle but heard about stingy rules on taking it to Argentina from IGU, along with no knowledge how to operate manual transmission vehicles .

mahasamatman

So you're not really a driver, but only a vehicle operator.

I've read that the best security feature you can have on a car in the U.S. and Canada is a manual transmission because so few Americans and Canadians can drive one.

TerryK

What stingy rules? I was planning to rent from Hertz IGU and drive over, is it not allowed? I can only find something about extra insurance requirement which is not usually enforced.

chalten

Rules? quite simple, the insurance has to be a Mercosur type and not limited to Brazil. The rental car has to have the paperwork done for it. When you book it BE SURE to request it.

BUT many rental car companies try to avoid the frontier crossing and drop off for logistical reasons. Same brand both sides, but just franchises and that means the drop off car has to be collected by someone and driven back for the next rental. They will charge for this of course, but nevertheless it is a painful process for them.

Side note, the import/export process of Argentine rental car vehicles was complicated needing extra paperwork, and rentalcar companies try to avoid it as much as possible. It is a very simple process though...

TerryK

OK. Good to know. What is so stingy about it? Is it very expensive? I plan to return it back to IGU, just need to drive over to Argentina and stay overnight.

chalten

IMO just laziness to avoid clerk paperwork. Just be sure to reconfirm that the vehicle has the authorizations to cross the border.

TerryK

Thank you. I will check to make sure. Still doesn't sound all that difficult, or stingy, to me.

EDIT: I just called Hertz and was told that IGU location doesn't allow cars to be driven outside of Brazil.

chalten

LOL!!!! unbelievable and dissapointing, it is just so easy...

any case, do you need to drive yourself for some reason, other than the joy of it? transfers are quite inexpensive and there is not much driving to do either. straight road from airport to airport...

TerryK

I thought early comments about Sheraton is that it is a good idea to have a car. I plan to visit both Brazilian and Argentinian sides. To visit Brazilian side without a car seems to be complicated.

chalten

not at all... quite simple indeed. been there too many times, last time was 2 fridays ago.

the problem with the brazilian park is that only authorized vehicles can enter the park (there is a big legal action on this topic, but do not know the specifics of it). rental cars cannot enter it. You get to the park entrance, buy the ticket, and then go to the shuttle buses that leave every x minutes. the bus has some stops in the view points, and then you take the bus back to the entrance. The helicopter station is about 150 metres from the park entrance.

if you want to do the boat ride, check when you are there, on either side you have options, but with the current state of the water flow, there are days when these do not operate. Last week there were 2 days that only the Brazilian company operated... makes no sense as it is the same river!

honestly speaking, you will not spend much money buying a shared or even a private tour and will surely enjoy it, specially if the tour guides knows a whole lot about nature. will save you time, and their vehicles can ride inside the park.