Iguazu Argentinean Side

There were no direct flights available from El Calafate to the Iguzau falls so we did a route via BA. Due to the know relaxed pace of the Argentineans we had selected a later flight from BA to Iguazu, which meant we had a five hour stop over... Thankfully, upon arrival ar BA, we saw an ealier flight, and we were able to change our flight by paying the small difference. Whilst BA is a large airport with much to do, I would recommend trying to maximise your time at Iguazu, or any destination for that matter.

Our main reasoning was that we'd be staying in a nice hotel and wanted to maximise our time there. So having opted for the earlier flight, we rushed to check in and then to grab some food before running to the gate. Let me tell you, that was enough to get us a bit irritable with one another, as one was rather stressed and the other more chilled out. I'll leave you to guess which was which.

Flight caught (with time to spare) and a two hour flight later, we arrived at Iguazu Airport. Again here we were faced with the option to either take the bus into the town centre or a taxi. This time we opted for the taxi, as the bus would drop you off into the town centre and then you would be required to make your own way to the hotel. General guidance suggested that hotels tended to be far and wide apart and therefore we paid 260 ARG for the convenience of a taxi.

Luckily for us, the taxi was a good choice, as our friendly driver Caesar was able to provide us a deal for our whole stay there, which included taking us to Iguazu the following day and dropping us off to the Iguazu Airport on the Brazilian side for our flight. I would highly recommend negotiating this with a driver upon arrival, as most hotel tours are costly, and do not run everyday. Whilst it is possible to arrange a day taxi from hotels, they again can be quite expensive in comparison.

Note: when going to Iguazu ensure you have enough pesos as exchange houses are difficult to find and the National Park requires payment in local currency as cash only. Our hotel didn't do exchange in house, so the closest option was going into town, where the rate was poorer.

So upon arrival at our hotel, The Iguazu Grande, we were checked into the world's biggest room. I mean it had a living room, 2 bathrooms and a balcony, all for 2 people. There was also a spa and casino which we used, and we dined in the incredible restaurant. Dinner was a particular highlight, as we were greeted with champagne and amuse bouche to start, followed by a particularly good bottle of Malbec from Mendoza.

This was our view from the top of the falls

All the birds swimming in and out of the falls

Don't get me wrong, it's very busy up there and people are constantly pushing past you to get the perfect photo, whilst getting completely soaked, but there is something peaceful about hearing the water thrash down.

After the falls we went back down one stop on the train and decided to take the blue route walkway, which would show us other waterfalls along the way, and a different view of Iguazu itself. The walk took roughly 90 minutes, which also included us having a quick Subway sandwich (yes they have a Subway inside!), and allowed us some great photographic moments. This took us to 2.30pm when we hopped on the train back to the entrance and met Caesar, who dropped us back to the hotel.

Note: the food inside the park was pretty good and reasonably priced, but there are a ridiculous number of sloths who are not afraid of humans. We saw instances of them going through people's rucksacks for food and attempting to snatch food from those eating at snack bars. So be very aware of your surroundings!