Monali's Personal Iguassu Falls itinerary

Dear Monali,

Here's your personal Iguassu Falls itinerary for you to consider. This plan of activities is only a suggestion and we can change it anytime once we are together in Iguassu Falls.

I'm including all extra expenses involved in our activities, most of them are payable in cash in local currency or USD. Please click on the related links for in-depth information of each of our activities.

I designed the plan of activities taking into account Sonia's short age and the little time we have available. If we can do all what is planed we will cover the most important attractions on both sides of the falls and, if we are lucky with the weather, we will also experience the falls to the light of the moon!

We are having rather chilly weather here with minimum temperatures of 12 C or 54 F. During the day the temp goes up to 20 C or 68 F. During our day activities you can wear a cotton T-shirt and long pants with a hat to protect yourselves from the sun. Don't forget to bring sun shielding lotion or cream. During the night you will need to wear a sweatshirt or jacket.

Tue May 20th 9:04 am.

I will pick you up at the Puerto Iguazu airport and transfer you to the Cataratas hotel for your check-in.

After the hotel check-in we will travel to Brazilian territory. On our way there we will cross the Tancredo Neves international bridge over the Iguazu River. We will make a short stop there to enjoy the beautiful view and shoot some pictures.

Before entering the Brazilian National Park you will experience flying over the falls. This unforgettable helicopter flight is not cheap (your daughter flies for free) but worth every penny because it gives a unique "birds view" of the giant Iguassu Falls system including the Devil's Throat with great chances for photo shooting.

viewing the Devil's Throat from Brazil

After the helicopter flight we will enter the Brazilian National Park, buy our tickets and board a double deck bus to travel 20 minutes into the heart of the park. From there we will walk the northern shore of the Iguazu River canyon with the magnificent falls right on front of us. We will get very close to the Devil's Throat. This hike will give us a panoramic view of the falls only possible from there.

Toco Toucan

Out of the Brazilian National Park we will make a break for lunch. After lunch we will visit the Birds Park where we will personally interact with many specimens of the Iguassu Falls rich bird fauna inside giant aviaries. I'm sure Sonia will especially enjoy this experience.

Iguassu Moon Walk

Out of the Birds Park we will return to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, and back to your hotel so Sonia can rest a little before our next adventure, the Devil's Throat moonlight walk in the Argentine National Park which we will do at 8 pm.

Expenses for this day are:

Helicopter flight over the falls USD 160 total.

National Park tickets USD 40.

Lunch in Foz do Iguacu USD 60.

Birds Park tickets USD 36.

Moonlight walk USD 50

Total expenses USD 346.

Wed May 21st 9:00 am.

This day will be fully dedicated to visit the Argentine side of the falls. This will be a completely different experience of the falls, we will literally get into them!

We will drive to the Argentine Iguazu National Park. After parking our car our first activity will be visiting the Devil's Throat. After a short walk through the jungle we will board the Park's little train to transport us to the Devil's Throat station. From there we will walk 1,100 m (3,600 feet) on an elevated walkway over the upper Iguazu River that will put us right on top of the biggest waterfall of the Iguazu system.

rafting the upper Iguazu river

Back from the Devil's Throat we will board a raft to drift down the upper Iguazu River. This will be a great opportunity to enjoy the peaceful environment of this part of the Park. We might sight caimans, turtles and many kinds of birds that live there.

Our next activity will be walking the Upper Trail. This walkway will put us right on top of some very beautiful waterfalls, like the Bossetti (third largest) and very close to the San Martin (second largest).

Then we will stop for lunch and a deserved break inside the Park.

Next we will walk the Lower Trail. In my opinion, this trail gives some of the most beautiful views of the falls. The trail ends right below the Bossetti waterfall where a mixture of mist, rainbows and thundering water sound will cover us.

vultures in San Martin island

But the best is yet to come!

We will walk down to the Iguazu River and cross on a small ferry to the San Martin Island. We will experience a privileged view of the giant San Martin waterfall, explore the island's jungles and discover the place where hundreds of vultures live. Some of the most breathtaking views of the falls are possible from there.

Back from San Martin Island we will wait for our turn for our baptism in the falls! We will ride the lower Iguazu River surrounding the San Martin Island on a powerful speedboat that will put us almost under the Three Musketeers and San Martin waterfalls before we go down 5 miles the rapids. Our destination will be Macuco Port. From there we will board a 4x4 truck to ride trough 4 miles of dense jungle and all the way back to the Visitor's Center where we started our day. It will be approx. 5 pm by now and we will be soaked and tired, time to go back to your hotel. End of my services for the day.

Note1: It's a good idea to use a light rain-coat to keep your top dry and warm during the speedboat ride. We can buy disposable plastic rain-coats inside the park. A large water-tight bag is provided on the spot to keep things dry.

Note2: We can split our activities of this day in two days if we consider it's too much for Sonia. We can decide this on the spot depending on how she's feeling.

Total expenses for this day:

National Park tickets USD 35.

Rafting + Speedboat ride + 4x4 truck ride USD 97.

Lunch USD 30.

Total expenses USD 162.

Thu May 22nd 10:00 am

This morning we will take it easy or do the activities we may have missed doing the day before. If we completed all of our planed activities on Wednesday we will do a short ferry trip to the Tri-Frontier navigating from Puerto Iguazu's pier on the Iguazu River all the way to Paraguay's pier on the Parana River. This is the place where these two great rivers and Argentina's, Brazil's and Paraguay's borders meet. We will return right back to Argentina without getting off the ferry.

Then we will visit the cheese and wine fair in Puerto Iguazu for a taste of Argentine food in a place with a very local and informal ambience where only the locals go.

Finally I will transport you to the airport for your 14:15 flight back to Buenos Aires. End of my services.

Expenses for the day:

Ferry tickets USD 10.

Lunch USD 15.

My guiding fee USD 300.

Total expenses USD 325.

Mona, hope you like the virtual tour, remember that this entire plan is only a suggestion and it can be changed anytime once we are together.