Iguazú Falls - Brazil
January 24th, 2026
Today we will see the Brazil side of Iguazu falls. The Iguazu river separates Brazil from Argentina, so half the falls are in Brazil.
Our guide is from Brazil, so she was very helpful in getting us through the border crossings. We had to go through passport control to leave Argentina, then again to enter Brazil. We had prepared for this trip as we knew we needed visas to enter Brazil. (We had two copies of our visas ready in hand when we arrived). The process can be long (over two hours per our guide), but we made it though in under 30 minutes.
The entrance to the park is close to the border, so it did not take very long once we cleared border patrol in Brazil. Private cars are not allowed in the park, but busses and tour guides can get special driving privileges. Our guide had the pass to drive in and we drove into the park after paying for our entrance fees.
At the end of the road is the Hotel Das Cataratas and the Iguazu waterfalls. It is a different viewpoint of the falls and we can see many more parts that are not viewable from Argentina. The trail along the falls is easier as it only goes one way (down). We got some fantastic photos of the falls from this side.
After the hike, we took a boat ride with Macuco Safari Tours on the Iguazu river to get a closer look at the falls. This involved a bit of transportation variety. First we rode an open electric vehicle through the rainforest. There was a guide that pointed out various flora and fauna in the forest. Then we had to catch a jeep for the next segment. The road is too steep for the electric vehicles, so we had to switch. Then we rode a funicular rail car to complete the last steep segment of the trail to the river.
We were warned that the boat ride would be fast and wet. They recommended that you did not wear glasses ar carry anything on board. We left our shoes and bags with our guide and boarded the boat. It was a zodiac style boat with about 20 seats. The driver of the boat took us up river through the rapids and to the falls. There was a lot of sharp turns with big sprays of water. If that did not get you wet, he took us UNDER the falls. We got totally soaked. It was great fun!
Back at the car, we changed into dry cloths and got some lunch. Our guide also took us to a souvenir store near the border for some final shopping before we left Brazil.
Once again, we had to go through border control to leave Brazil and enter Argentina.The lines were a bit longer and it took us about an hour to get back into Argentina.
Time to relax back at the room and we went out for one last night on the town. Found a restaurant called Sara Bar. The food was basic local food. I tried the tacos and Sandy had the Empanadas. Both were good.
We fly back to Buenos Aires tomorrow. Now we need to go back to the hotel and pack.
