As part of a business trip to Miami in early October I'm going to make a quick run to EZE to get enough miles to maintain 1P status for next year.

I've always wanted to see the waterfalls at Iguazu but I only have 4 days in Buenos Aires, including the day I arrive and the day I leave.

I arrive at EZE on a Thursday morning after an overnight flight from MIA. I'm thinking about flying to IGR (Iguazu Argentina) Friday morning from AEP (Newberry Airport Buenos Aires), spending two nights at the falls, and return Sunday afternoon to AEP. My UA flight to MIA leaves EZE that same Sunday evening.

Questions:

1. For those in the know, are two days enough to get a taste of the falls? Or am I being too optimistic or ambitious with this idea?

2. Is it easy to get from AEP to EZE; how long should one allow assuming afternoon rush hour traffic in Buenos Aires.

3. Fares AEP-IGR are pricing out at around $250 r/t. Is it cheaper to book the tickets in Argentina upon arrival? What about package deals to Igauzu including hotels?

4. Any thoughts relative to comfortable lodging at the falls?

Thanks for any insights!

I suspect this thread has nothing whatever to do with MP and might be better placed in TravelBuzz?

I have been to Iguassu several times, the last being for Xmas day last year.

It is a "must" to visit. One full day there is tons to cover the basics. Two if you have the time. Transfer from domestic to It'l airports in Buenos Aires is a long way, and is very done via the Manuel Tienda Leon AC bus. Peanuts a ticket. A de facto city tour. Stops right by one of the Sheratons downtown. Allow a lot of time - an hour IIRC.

You *must* visit both sides of the falls - no contest. Both are very different. The Brazilian side has the superb Hotel Das Cataratas where I stay each time, perched right on the edge of the Falls - everything else is 30 miles away in a grotty dangerous city of Foz Iguazu. And the park closes for buses transfer in evening anyway.

Do the raft tour right into falls on the Argy side. HUGE walk to anything in falls from Argy side, despite s weird little train. The bird park on Brazil side is stunning - worth a visit on its own - largest in the world. Saw Toucans in the wild on both sides. GREAt birds. Transfer to Brazil - Argy is fast and simple and cheap from either side.

Aregy peso is now a quarter what it was earlier year so enjoy. The Brazil Real is ditto under pressure lately, so things are dirt cheap.

My guess is booking a tour package WITHIN EZE or on line will be far cheaper than from USA.


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~ Glen ~

I've done AEP-EZE in a taxi before and it was roughly 40 minutes. At that time it was about a $30 ride, but would probably come out at half that with the peso devalued. Checkin at EZE's UA terminals is very fast!

It is certainly going to be cheaper if you purchase the tickets locally. Although I only figured this out afterwards, you can get MP credit on LAPA, the other domestic carrier in Argentina. They fly really old B737-200s though on the route to Puerto Iguazu, but you may get lucky and fly one of their new 737-800s.

If you speak Spanish, you can give "The Travel Store" a call at +54-11-4394-4814 (they are on Florida, across from Galerias Pacifico). They arranged my tour and I found them to have pretty competitive rates. You certainly want to spend two days at the Falls. You don't need two full days, but if you want to do the Argentine side justice, you have to spend an entire day there (that is basically how the park is set up). The Brazilian side can be done in a morning (but getting there and back to the airport will take the entire morning and the border crossing may be delayed). Many tour operators will bring you back to the airport after a morning on the Brazilian side (otherwise, you can participate in the tour of the Itaipu dam and a city tour of Foz do Iguacu. If you are inspired, you can also take a trip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay from IGR. Finally, don't forget to get your Brazilian visa in advance if you are planning to see both sides. There are ways around this but ...