Iguazu Falls & Buenos Aires
 

So I have a conference in Buenos Aires in early November (staying at the Hilton) and will go up to Iguazu Falls for 3 nights. Was going to splurge on a night at the Belmond but since it's $500+ a night for the fall view room, I was going to do the other two nights more in the town (likely Argentina side). Any LBGTQ friendly spot? Also any fun suggestions for BA too!

Iguazu is really just a tourist destination. Are you concerned about a room for a same-sex couple? You may consider the former Sheraton on the Argentina side, which is now a Melia, a chain that tends to be LGBT friendly. It tends to be cheaper than the Belmond and is a very convenient location.

No I'm solo (BF staying home for this trip since we will have just been in Tokyo and then head to Melbourne not too long afterwards) but just wanted to aim for a more gay owned or friendly small biz. Something more cozy, simple and the Melia isn't the cheapest either...

Given the market, I'd be surprised if there was a openly gay-owned property. Purple Roofs doesnt list any.

Hence why I"m looking on FT! ;-)

The only LGBT spot on the Argentine side is Grindr. But if your goal is to meet people then stay at the village itself, not the falls. The village is lively at night and you are far more likely to find gays in the village than at the hotels next to the falls.

OK so I am SO glad that I spent the money on the Belmond (and not because I got upgraded to the Presidential Suite!!). IT's just amazing to have 24 hour access to the waterfalls. Make sure to get up early (I had the falls to myself before 8 am when the hotel arranged, way over priced walking tours start showing up) and the first tourists arrive around 930-10 am to the falls area. Then by 430 pm they are mostly gone. Also do the boat ride under the falls (FYI the hotel has free Havianas flip flops for all guests). Didn't make it to the Argentina side but plan to do so one day and staying also in the park there (and repeat the Belmond!)

The Belmond looks amazing!

Can you share how you got from Buenos Aires to the Belmond on the Brazil side? I'm looking at doing the same -- did you fly to IGR and then cross the border into Brazil?

I flew Aerolinas Argentinas from AEP (the domestic airport in the city) to IGR, which was $55 one way in advance. I just got a taxi to take me over to the Belmond, which you get dropped at their front gate and there's a hotel bus that comes every 20 minutes to get people from their gate to the hotel. It was like $20 one way from the Argentina side. I arrived at the Belmond around 8 am, got checked in, offered to have breakfast but went to the Falls instead. My room was ready around 1030.

At the border, the Argentina side you, do the border crossing from the car. The Brazil side, you get out and walk to the office. Pretty simple and short, fast lines. Don't forget you need a Brazil visa (easy to do online, need a digital passport like photo, which I just took against a white wall with my phone, and $45).

I have stayed at a few random places in the Iguazu town (Argentina) side, as well as at the Ibis in Iguacu (Brazil) side.
I do think it's worthwhile to see the falls from both sides. The third time I was there, I went with friends and we were on the Argentine side-- I left them for a day and went to the Brazil (Iguacu city) side. FWIW, comparing the three (Argentine Iguazu town, Brazil Iguacu city, and the Belmond, which is in the middle of a national park) the only place with a gay population would be the Brazilian side-- it's a much bigger city.
That said, Iguazu Falls is so stunning, this is one of those trips that you do and once you're there, you realize how stunning the falls is-- you don't really need much else.
Since we're talking falls trips, here are some things I did:
1) The DIY walking tours all around the Argentine side, which take a few hours and give you great views of the river and the falls
2) Once in three trips did the boat rides on the Argentine side, really cool
3) Better views from the Brazil side -- cliffside terraces--but a bit more removed from nature because of the landscape. Also a great pier you can walk out on the Brazil side almost underneath.
4) Did a bicycle/canoe tour on the Brazil side, and it was just two of us with a guide, super tranquil, really cool, and by far the cheapest tour. Loved it.

I just got back from Iguazu. We decided to save money and stay at the 100 a night Grand Crucero rather than shell out 400 usd a night for the Belmond.

It was stunning, and we just did the Argentine side...Im not paying Bolsonaro anything, so no Brazil.

Buenos Aires' nightlife has gotten even later. I recommend Flux Bar in the Microcentro as its the only bar that starts before 1am. Sitges does open early but its really only a lesbian bar before 1am.

A final note, Buenos Aires shuts down completely on New Years Eve. No Gay bars open, no special parties, no nothing. You can walk in the middle of a freeway. Deader than Id imagine Pyongyang would be. We eventually found 1 straight bar with some befuddled expats to ring in the new year. Actually it wasnt bad, but BAs NYE scene is amazingly dead.

If youre not staying at the Belmond, you need to be at the park gates by 730am to avoid the lines inside the park. You can do it in about 4 hours.

cabs are easy and relatively cheap in IGZ. The town has no Gay nightlife that I could discern, but was still fun enough.