Puerto Iguazu

Overview

If you find yourself in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, then you are here for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to visit the famed Iguazu Falls.  While you may only find yourself in this little town for that reason, there is still plenty of great food and wine to enjoy, while even some of the lowest price hostels have pools and great areas to hang out in.

Getting There/Arriving

Air- The Puerto Iguazu airport is about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) from the town, near the falls themselves.  A flight from Buenos Aires is about an hour and a half, so if you’re short on time, by all means fly.  However, if you are on a longer trip and have the time, don’t be put off by the long bus transit time.

Bus- A bus trip from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu can take about 18-20 hours, and while the thought of spending that long on a bus may seem crazy, Argentine buses are posh, so don’t dismiss them.  We actually took a 26 hour bus from Salta to Puerto Iguazu, then the 20 hour ride to BA, and not only was it not miserable, it was quite comfortable. The bus station is centrally located, and many accommodations can be walked to from it.  If you don’t care about staying in town, there are more places to stay, many of them more upscale, closer to the falls.

Getting Around

Puerto Iguazu *

Puerto Iguazu is not a very big town, so getting around from your hostel or hotel to restaurants and grocery stores can be done on foot if you are staying in the town.  As stated above, the bus station is centrally located, so it’s easy to walk there as well when catching the bus to the Falls.  If you have a lot of luggage, cabs are available.  Cost for a taxi ride to the airport is about $10US, and a cab to the falls is about $16US.  Check out the tips for visiting Iguazu Falls for more information about transport to and from the falls.

Where to Stay

I would suggest staying in the town itself as there’s plenty of nice little restaurants to eat at.  Most of the budget accommodations are in the town, and many have a pool, which is quite nice, especially if you’re staying for several days.  There are more places to stay in between the town the falls themselves.  While backpackers can still find a few budget places closer to the falls, most are more expensive and cater to people on short trips to Iguazu.

Where we Stayed- We stayed at a place called Residencial Uno, Fray Luis Beltran 116, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina 3370.  We really enjoyed ourselves here, and we ended up staying for five nights.  We had a private room with private bath and a/c, which included breakfast.  The hostel itself was very large and very nice, with tons of room to hang out, including a pool, a huge area outside the pool, an outside bar, several computers (and free wifi) and a room with couches, a television, and a vast DVD library, and a really nice sized kitchen for cooking your own meals.  We paid $26US/night for our room, which was well worth it.  It was also down a quiet street in a residential area, but only a few blocks away from several restaurants and the bus station.  The owners are both super cool people and as helpful as can be, which is always a welcome plus at any hostel.

Food and Drink

There are plenty of little markets in Puerto Iguazu **

In the interest of saving money, we cooked a lot of our meals at the hostel.  There is a nice little market right across the street from the bus station, on Av Cordoba, that has everything you may need to cook your own meal.  They also sell plenty of beer and wine to consume while sitting around the pool.  We did eat out some, though, and most meals we had were pretty damn good, especially for such a touristy town.

• A Piacere- This restaurant was close to the bus station and had a really nice outside seating area.  A little nicer than we were used to on the trip, this was your typical Argentine touristy restaurant.  They served the usual parilla items plus plenty of pasta and good wine for a fairly affordable price, at least when compared to western standards.
• El Charo- This was more of a parilla than A Piacere, and we took advantage, ordering steak and having our first encounter with items like morcilla (blood sausages–be sure to check out Monday’s post on Eating your way around Argentina).  It was a big place with a nice outdoor seating area, and while it wasn’t the nicest place in town, the food was excellent and cheap.

Things to Do

Obviously any traveler coming to Puerto Iguazu are coming for the falls.  There is plenty of information on this site for visiting the falls, including a Tips and Information for visiting Iguazu Falls post and an Iguazu Pictures post that will be up tomorrow.  Be sure to come back to see plenty of pictures of one of the world’s greatest wonders.

While many people get in and get out of Puerto Iguazu, we found the town itself quite pleasant.  Many cities built around an attraction like Iguazu are filled with expensive, crappy restaurants, souvenir stands, and touts, but not here.  While it may be a bit more expensive than other Argentine towns of this size, it’s still cheap compared to western standards.  You’re not going to get an authentic Argentine experience here, but it’s the polar opposite of a place like Agra, India, home of the Taj Mahal, and if you have to stay an extra few days, there’s certainly worse places to spend them.

*Picture by superturtle-Creative Commons

**Picture by total13-Creative Commons