Foz Iguazu – Trouspinet travels

Wow, what a journey that was! Argentina jumps effortlessly into the list of my top 5 destinations of all time, and for scenery, it would be No. 1. However, this trip required lots of planning, and I also learnt a lot as I was travelling. In this post I list my personal highlights and give some tips for planning (valid as of November 2022).

TROUSPINET’S HIGHLIGHTS

To help you plan your trip, here is my ranking of the places I visited on this trip:

Quebrada de Humahuaca (northwest Argentina)
Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia
Foz Iguazu
Mount Fitzroy, Patagonia
Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia
The drive from Mendoza to Aconcagua
The drive from Salta to Cachi
Puerto Varas and the Chilean Lake District
Buenos Aires
Mendoza’s vineyards
Bariloche and the Argentine Lake District
Salta

I put Bariloche and Salta bottom because there are places in Europe a bit like them, whilst the other places are unique in the world. But I really enjoyed even my lower-ranked locations on this trip – I simply didn’t have a single bad travelling day.

TROUSPINET’S TOP TIPS

Be Selective – Distances are huge, as is the choice of places to visit.

Unless you have the time (and endurance) for 12-36 hour bus rides, you will need to fly if you want to see many of the country’s highlights. I went for nearly one month, usually flew between destinations, but still did not have time to see everything I wanted to. After much thought, I regretfully excluded Ushuaia and some of the national parks from my list. You will also have to make some hard choices.

Check which Internal Flights operate

The main flight operators in Argentina are Aerolineas Argentinas, JetSmart and FlyBondi. Argentine airlines have a bad reputation for reliability and punctuality, but I had no major delays in any of my seven internal flights.

Check when flights go direct from one regional destination to another (eg Salta to Mendoza), without having to go back to Buenos Aires and out again. These flights will save you a lot of time and money, but they don’t operate every day. The popular and very convenient Bariloche-El Calafate flight only operates in the peak tourist season – late November to February. If you do have to fly back to Buenos Aires, remember it has two airports – the very convenient Aeroparque Newberry (AEP) located in the city, and Ezeiza (EZE), which is a long way out of town. Book ahead for anything In, To or From Patagonia over November – February. The region is hugely and justifiably popular in the southern summer. I went in November – not the peak season – and even then, I heard that the buses from El Calafate to Bariloche were fully booked for several days.

Accommodation – Check the Exchange Rate when you book

I used Booking.com to book hotels. You get quoted a price in US$. Once you have made a booking, contact the hotel to ask if they apply the official exchange rate if you choose to pay in pesos. Most of my hotels agreed to this; only one asked for the blue rate (so I cancelled and booked somewhere else). If you pay like this, you save 50%! More expensive hotels add 20% VAT to their bills, which can you avoid by paying with a foreign credit (but then you get the official exchange rate, so it is still better to pay with cash).

AirBnB is not recommended, because you pay in advance in your own currency. It may have been bad luck, but the one place I booked with them was of very poor quality and seemed more aimed at local tourists.

Don’t Rely too much on Guidebooks

Things change quickly in Argentina. Our guidebook claimed to have been reprinted in January 2022, but was hopelessly out of date.

Packing

Check average weather conditions and pack accordingly. Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego are cold even in the southern summer and need very warm clothing and waterproofs. Aerolineas Argentinas (but not the other airlines) has a limit of 15kg for checked baggage, so you may also need to pack light and fully use the allowances of 8kg for carry-on baggage and 3kg for a personal item. The 15kg rule is not strictly enforced – we were usually a couple of kilos over, but the check-in staff ignored this.

Learn some (Argentine) Spanish

In touristy areas like Patagonia and parts of Buenos Aires, you can get by with English. But in most other places, few people other than hotel staff spoke a second language. If you already speak some Castilian Spanish, be aware that there are big differences in the pronunciation of “y” and “ll”, and that the second person singular “tu” is replaced by “vos” – with different verb endings. I didn’t find any good books on Argentine Spanish, but I found this website (for intermediate speakers) to be very good- https://argentalk.com

That’s all for now. I could write a lot more, but I am worried I will bore my readers. If anyone has a question, please leave a reply at the bottom of this page. Happy Travelling!

My itinerary next took me to the exact opposite end of the country – Foz Iguazu, on the border with Brazil and Paraguay. It was a long day’s travel to get there, with a change of airport at Buenos Aires. My airline had warned that many people wanted to travel that day and urged me to check in early. When I arrived, I realised that the reason for the warning had nothing to do with the volume of passengers and everything to do with…….el fútbol. All the passengers and many of the staff were watching Argentina beat Poland on a huge screen. As a result, check in was slow but good humoured.

The far north of Argentina was completely different to Patagonia, with lush green jungle and hot, humid weather. I set off to view the famous waterfalls. First I headed to the Brazilian side of the river, where there are the best panoramic views. Crossing the border was quick and easy and soon I was admiring an amazing spectacle. Foz Igauzu is not just one waterfall, but dozens or even hundreds of falls spread out over a few kilometres.

My first view of Foz Iguazu – from the Brazilian side

Visitors follow a path running along the river bank, giving a range of views. After a short walk I stopped for drink, and was met by a small friend (a coati) looking for food. I had none, which was just as well, since although coatis look cute, they can get aggressive in their search for something to eat.

She was probably hungry because she had to feed this lot……..

The path reached the main set of falls on the Brazilian side. There, a walkway led out into the middle of the river to the Garganta del Diablo – the Devil’s throat, probably the most spectacular fall of the lot. The cool spray of water (I was soon soaked), constant roar of water and amazing view into the heart of the falls made for a unique experience.

The Devil’s Throat – Foz Iguazu, Brazilian side

The view from the middle of the river, Foz Iguazu Brazilian side

The next day, I visited the falls from the Argentine side. I set off early to avoid the mid-morning crowds and had the pathway along the “lower circuit” almost entirely to myself. This side of the river offered a very different experience – you could approach the falls more closely along walkways running through pretty jungle.

I finished the “lower circuit” just as the first tour groups began to arrive and started the “upper circuit”. This had more amazing views, but at times was unpleasantly crowded. It was hard for someone small like me to get a view, and when I climbed up onto the railings to take photos, I worried about getting knocked off by tourists jostling to take selfies. The path back from the falls went through some interesting jungle, where I saw a baby crocodile…

Late morning – rush hour at the Argentine side

After the two classic circuits of the Argentine side, I tried a much less popular short trail through the jungle. The signs at the start promised of the possibility of seeing monkeys and toucans, and gave advice about what to do if I encountered a puma or a jaguar. This raised my expectations, but sadly I saw only some birds, huge butterflies and giant ants.

On one of the jungle trails at Foz Iguazu

The short hike took me about an hour, and it was now one o’clock. I had “done” everything and thought about going back to my hotel, but instead went back to try the upper circuit again. Maybe all those tour groups had a lunch break? I had guessed right – in the heat of the early afternoon, I had the upper circuit almost to myself and could now focus on taking pictures without being jostled.

An added bonus was that the early afternoon sun made rainbows at many of the waterfalls

The second visit to the upper circuit was a great way to end my visit to Foz Iguazu, which is one of the wonders of the world – a destination truly at the end of the rainbow.

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Tag: Foz Iguazu

Trouspinet’s Top Tips and Highlights for Argentina

Water, Water Everywhere – Foz Iguazu