My family and I are cruising from Sao Paulo to BA, Uruguay, back to Sao Paulo over Christmas week. When the cruise ends I would like to take them to Iguazu Falls to see both sides. Can anyone recommend how to organize a two day itinerary to maximize what we see and do? We arrive back in port by 7 am on Dec 26, and fly home late night on the 28th. Where to fly in and out of, where to stay (prefer Starwood), etc...
Thanks in advance!

You may find the following thread helpful

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ghlight=iguazu

The Sheraton Iguazu is the only hotel actually inside the park so you are right by the trails and can get an early start on them before visitors start entering the park from the outside.

Two days will give you ample time to visit the main attractions on both the Argentina and Brazil side of the falls. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

We flew from the Sao Paulo domestic airport to the Brazilian side of Iguazu. This map gives you an idea of the area. We stayed at Hotel Cataratas on the Brazilian side.

There is a Sheraton right at the falls on the Argentinian side.

I highly recommend staying at one of those hotels rather than in town. It is very special to be able to walk from your hotel to the falls.

The falls are spectacular. Enjoy!

Let me see if I have this straight...I am flying from GRU to IGU or IGR. Are they two separate airports? If so, since I would like to save money on the hotel, I would like to be able to stay at the Sheraton both nights, even though the first day we would likely see it from the Brazilian side. If it is two airports, am I correct to assume that we should fly to the Brazilian side, go right to the Falls, then go to the Sheraton after that. The following day we would tour the Argentine side and then fly back from the Brazilian side? Actually, we have wiggle room in that we dock on 12/26 am, and we don't depart until very late on 12/28. Technically, we end up with an extra day. I guess we could relax on that last day by the pool prior to returning home. Or, we could see the Falls on the 27,28th instead of the 26th/27th.
I'll welcome any input.

Yes, they are two separate airports. IGU is on the Brazilian side and IGR on the Argentine side.

Indeed, it would make sense to arrive at IGU then go to the Falls on the Brazilian side before checking in at the Sheraton. If you can plan to arrive earlier in the day you will have plenty of time to take in several of the activities on offer including a hike and jungle ride, to name a couple. The hike is easy on paved pathways and I think all in I spent about two hours there but could have easily spent more time.

I would also suggest returning from IGU (I think I read somewhere that from IGR you would need to go via Buenos Aires back to Sao).

As noted previously, if you are starting in Sao Paulo you will fly to the Brazilian side of the falls. You can visit the falls from there first. The bird park is there also. I'm not sure what you will do with your bags. Leave them at the airport? Perhaps the Hotel Cataratas will keep them for you? Or the taxi driver you will later use to take you to the Sheraton?

After seeing the Brazilian side, take a taxi to the Sheraton, and by all means stay there. It is perfectly located. If necessary I would pay for a falls view room, but there are spectacular views from the lobby, the plush bar, and the terrace. And coatis are roaming everywhere. The only drawback is you are limited to eating at the Sheraton, but it's not expensive to take a taxi into town for dinner.

We arrived at the Sheraton about an hour before the trails closed, and were able to see quite a bit, which wouldn't have been possible if we had stayed in town.

In the morning we went out to the furthest point before the (small) crowds even got near the entrance to the park and pretty much had everything to ourselves. We were able to return to the hotel for R&R, then go out and walk around more. Remember this a jungle - humid and quite warm even when it's cold in Argentina.

It wasn't until the end of our second day that we walked over to the "official" entrance to the park that people enter through if they stay in town. I didn't care for it, although there is a nice nature exhibit there. Staying at the Sheraton made the park like your exclusive domain as you just strolled across the grounds and went out on the walkways. No tickets, no admission booths, no tram, no tourist shops. Perfect.

Before, or after, your visit, you should Netflix "The Mission" with Jeremy Irons. It was filmed at Iguazu and features the falls extensively and has some historical information about the mission and the natives.

The trails on the Argentine side are more developed than the Brazilian side. A guest at the Sheraton who had some movie backshop job told me the wonderful raised walkways were paid for by the movie company as part of a deal in return for using the site to film. You will see some remains of the old walkways and be very glad there are new ones. BTW, for the "trails" you won't need hiking gear. It was amusing that most of the guys were outfitted for combat while their female companions were in tank tops, shorts, and flip flops carrying nice little Guess purses. Much of the falls are wheelchair accessible.

Enjoy your trip! The falls are still the highlight of all my travels. But I haven't been to Everest. Yet.

I would definitely agree with staying at the Sheraton on the Argentina side. My wife and I went for our honeymoon, and enjoyed the infrastructure and view of the Argentine side much better. The trails walk right over the river above the falls through the forest and you can walk on the catwalk to "La Garganta Del Diablo - the throat of the devil"... aka- the main throat of the falls. We spent a day on the Argentine side and a 1/2 day on the Brazilian. The Brazilian side does give a nice panorama of the entire falls, though.

I second lili's suggestion to watch "The Mission" before going!

Cheers and enjoy your trip!