Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Programs: AA EXP 1MM, UA Silver, HHDmd, MBvLTPLT, PCAmb/Dmd, HYT Dis
Posts: 1,578
My experience is also dated - back in 2001. But we did the following:
- Flew GIG-IGU early morning on Varig (direct flight, but with a quick touch down along the way - I think in CWB).
- Had a driver pick us up on the Brazil side, saw the falls from there for a few hours, then drove us across the border to the Sheraton on the Argentina side to spend the night.
- Woke up early the next morning and explored the Argentina side of the falls.
- Took a late afternoon flight IGR-AEP on LAPA and continued the trip from Buenos Aires onward.
We could have stayed another night there as there were more trails to explore on the Argentina side. But we also had other places we wanted to explore over our two plus weeks in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Glad we made the visit as short as it was.
At the time, I had a MercoSur Airpass which made the flying very affordable. Though I ended up purchasing the GIG-IGU flight on Varig's Brazil site as it was even cheaper than the pass segment and much cheaper than what the US/external sites were showing. Definitely check the Brazil/domestic sites of the airline options for specials.