The flight from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú (pronounced Ig-wa-zu) was only 2 hours and we grabbed a cab from outside the front of the airport. The taxi company there charge you 12k to get into town, there is a local bus but it only leaves every hour! Before I go any further, if you’re going to Iguazú, make sure you have a lot of cash! Our hotel, taxi, the local buses to the park and to the Brazilian side only take cash and we didn’t have enough. A return bus trip to the Argentinian falls is 6k pesos and return to the Brazilian town is 4K.

Before I get into all of that, we did have a lovely first night in Puerto Iguazu before the cash issue! Once we had checked into our hotel, we walked to the main street to get some lunch. We stayed at Hotel Posada La Sorgente which was very run down if I’m honest, it’s only saving grace was that it did have a pool and the aircon was strong. The room was dark and a little bit mouldy but it only cost us £20 per night so what I can say apart from if I was to come again, I would definitely stay somewhere else!

We had been warned that there was nothing to do on the Argentinian side of the falls so we were worried that we had too long here. However, although it is a small town, there are loads of bars and restaurants and nice ones at that, so we were pretty happy! We got lunch and had a couple of beers at Bambu.

For dinner we had booked the ‘Argentine Experience’. There is one in Buenos Aires and one in Iguazu so we decided to do it where we thought there was apparently nothing to do! This evening was so much fun, it’s a 7 course interactive dining experience – we made our own Argentinian cocktails and empanadas, we tried 3 different wines (you could ask for as much as you want!) and a classic array or Argentinian specialities including mate, a traditional Argentinian energy tea. It was so much food! I was so full by the time we left but everything was delicious and I would highly recommend the whole experience. Just make sure to book in advance!

Now back to the cash drama. By the time we paid our hotel we only had 7k left between us. This meant when we were headed to the falls the next morning, instead of a relaxing breakfast before getting the bus, we got in a 45 minute queue for an ATM.

Thankfully, we bumped into a girl we had met in San Pedro and she gave us 20k to get us to the end of our trip! Don’t worry, we gave her our left over Bolivianos as she was headed there next in exchange! We immediately walked into the bus station and bought all the tickets we needed so that we knew we wouldn’t get stuck again!

Once that panic was over, we went to El Árbol by the bus station and got a selection of pastries, empanadas and sandwiches to eat for breakfast and take into the park as we had heard the food in the park is expensive and not that great. Our aim was to get to the park around 11am as we had the waterfall boat booked for 11:30am. Try and book this a couple days in advance as it can sell out.

The buses to the park leave every 15 minutes from the bus station and the journey is around 30 minutes. You can get a taxi to the park but that’s normally 30k for a return which seems crazy when the bus is 6k per person.

Inside the park there are 3 main circuits you can walk to see the falls – Circuito Superior (along the top), Circuito Inferior (along the bottom) and Garganta Del Diablo (around the top in the jungle) as well as one to a waterfall you can swim in (Sendero Macuco). We decided to do the Circuito Superior but more on this later.

Once we arrived and paid the entrance free (20k and you can pay by card, you can also pay online and the park has free wifi), we found our boat operator, Iguazu Jungle, which was just past the entrance next to the visitors centre. You have to make a reservation before they give you your ticket so if you haven’t booked online, go and speak to one of the staff hanging around before you get in the queue for the kiosk, you’ll just have to queue again if you do don’t do this! We booked the ‘Gran Adventura’ which is a ride on a 4×4 down to the river and then a boat through the falls, it is expensive (60k) but it was so much fun!

The trip starts by you boarding a truck-like vehicle and drive through the jungle for 20 mins till you get to the river. Your guide tells you about how your trip will go and a bit about the jungle and the wildlife you may see. Once you get to the river, you walk down about 300m to the boat. On your way down you’re given a dry bag and a life jacket – trust me when I say that you and everything you have with you will get soaked, like you’ve just been thrown in a pool, so make sure everything important to you is in the dry bag! You can also put your shoes in there once you’re onboard.

You’re on the boat for about half an hour and it’s so much fun! They drive really fast, you bounce off rapids and waves, you get unparalleled views of the falls and then you just dunked under them. Not only once but 3-4 times! It was 35 degrees with 70% humidity when we were there and it was SO nice. They take photos and videos that you can buy for 10k on your walk back to the truck. For me, this was a 10/10 experience – such a good laugh and a fun way to see the falls from the bottom.

As I’ve just mentioned, we’d now seen the falls from the bottom so decided to do the Circuito Superior which takes you around the top. It’s a super easy walk and it does not take 2 hours like the sign says, I would say closer to 1 and I imagine this would be the same for Circuito Inferior. Again, the views from here were stunning, the falls were so much prettier than I imagined! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any wildlife past butterflies, lizards and catfish, but you can see tapiers and lemur like animals called coatiese.

If you follow the exit signs from Circuito Superior you end up on the small train that takes you near the exit. It’s a small open-air train, more a novelty than anything else but still cute! Finally, on our way out we were given a free postcard and boarded the bus back to town. It was such a fun way to spend the day, I really enjoyed it.

In the evening we went to the Italian attached to the hotel called Ristorante La Toscana and was pleasantly surprised! We both had a combo meal which meant choosing a meat and a pasta, I had the ribeye and the mushroom tagliatelle and it was honestly delicious! We also shared a dulche de leche crepe for dessert, had to get a final one in Argentina before we head to Brazil tomorrow, adios Argentina!

In the morning we went back to El Árbol, we sat in this time and omg, if you’re in a rush don’t do this! Took over 45 mins to get a coffee, scrambled eggs and some croissants. We finally got the 11:30am bus to Foz do Igacu, you can get a bus straight to the falls but we got it to the bus terminal. The boarder crossing was straightforward, however a word of warning, our bus left us. There was only 6 of us getting our stamps at the border and when we came out it was gone and we were told to wait for the next bus which would be an hour! If you’re getting the bus to the falls instead of the town, they will wait for you as you don’t need to go through proper immigration. So either way, we did the right thing as we needed an entry stamp. We actually managed to get an Uber from the boarder straight to the falls which was only 15 mins away and cost R$25/£4.

It was actually a blessing in disguise as the falls are closer to the border (and the airport if you’re coming from there) than the town. Once at the falls a lovely lady helped us buy our park entrance tickets (R$100 per person) and lockers (R$30). There are loads of lockers and they are big enough for big rucksacks.

On your ticket it gives you a group number and boarding time for the bus, make sure you’re on time! If you’re not doing the boat tour, get off the bus at the second stop, it should take about half an hour.The Brazilian side is much simpler than the Argentinian and you only need 2-3 hours there. There is only one trail but you get really close to the water so it’s definitely worth a visit! You also see the falls from a completely new perspective as you’re now on the other side of the river. There is also a walkway you can walk along where you get soaked by the spray which is fun.

By 3:30pm we now felt as if we’d seen the falls from every possible angle so got an uber to our hostel, Hostel Bambu. We were not having any luck with our Iguazu accommodation! The reviews for the place looked so good but it was disappointing, our room was a bit gross (at least there was AC), and the whole thing was just a bit dark and sad. They did have an outside area where we sat for most the evening as there were fans which made the heat bearable. There is a pool but there was no way I was getting in that thing! They did have a bar to be fair and a kitchen, so after we got cash from Bradesco (no ATM withdrawal fees), we bought food from the supermarket to get us through until we flew to São Paulo in the morning. OK, I’m probably making the hostel sound worse that it was, if there was a group of you you probably could have made it fun, I think I’m just craving a bit of luxury.

Iguazú Falls Summary

• Length of stay: 2-3 nights maximum, you need 2 days. If you really wanted you could cram it all into one day but I’m glad we split ours. I do wish we had just flown out after our second day though and not stayed the night.
• Where to stay: From the state of our bookings, I can’t really recommend anywhere. However, no matter where you stay, try to make sure its near the centre of town and the bus station.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Argentinian side of the falls, Day 2 – Brazilian side of the falls
• Top tip: Bring a lot of cash!