Carnival in Rio Cruise: Iguazu Falls
In this final post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Iguazu Falls after finishing her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara.
Back for my second cruise on Azamara…this time I am exploring South America. The 15-night Carnival in Rio cruise is round-trip from Buenos Aires, going up to Rio de Janeiro and back. Join me as I explore the many wonderful ports in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil along the way!
Carnival in Rio Full Itinerary
Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Post-Cruise Days 2 and 3 at Iguazu Falls. Looking for info on earlier stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!
- Pre-Cruise – February 9 & 10: Buenos Aires, Argentina (embarkation)
- Cruise Day 1 & 2 – February 11 & 12: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Cruise Day 3 & 4 – February 13 & 14: At Sea
- Cruise Day 5 – February 15: Santos, Brazil
- Cruise Day 6 – February 16: Ilhabela, Brazil
- Cruise Day 7 – February 17: Parati, Brazil
- Cruise Day 8 – February 18: Buzios, Brazil
- Cruise Day 9-11 – February 19-21: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Cruise Day 12 & 13 – February 22 & 23: At Sea
- Cruise Day 14 – February 24: Punta del Este, Uruguay
- Post-Cruise Day 1 – February 25: Buenos Aires (disembarkation)
- Post-Cruise Day 2 – February 26: Iguazu Falls, Brazil
- Post-Cruise Day 3 – February 27: Iguazu Falls, Argentina
Post-Cruise Day 2: Iguazu Falls, Brazil
After flying into Foz do Iguaçu/Cataratas Airport in Argentina the evening of February 25th, I was met at the airport by my driver. He drove me to the border, where I was transferred to another car and driver to cross the border into Brazil. I needed to cross the border because the hotel I was staying in was on the Brazilian side. Luckily, I had arranged this excursion through a tour operator called G Adventures (Adventure Travel & Tours – Book Your Trip – G Adventures) and they made all of the arrangements for me! I finally got settled into my hotel room late that night and rested up for a fun few days ahead.
Arriving at the Falls
The morning of February 26 was my first of two days exploring Iguazu Falls. This is the largest waterfall system in the world and makes up part of the border between Argentina and Brazil. There are around 275 drops (falls) within the full system. The number fluctuates depending on the water levels. Today’s visit was to the Brazilian side of the falls. This side provides more of a panoramic view of the full system. I was in a group tour with five others – two couples from California, and a solo traveler from Scotland. The six of us met our guide at the hotel and set off for the falls.
…and Then the Rain Came
Shortly after arriving at the falls (and snapping that first selfie above!), the skies opened up and we quickly found ourselves in a huge downpour! I quickly pulled out my rain poncho, but by the time I managed to get it on I was already soaking wet. Our small group huddled under the small overhang of a snack bar and waited for the rain to stop. When it didn’t show signs of letting up after about 20 minutes, we agreed to soldier on and continue the tour in the rain. We were already wet, and we had come a long way to explore these falls, after all!
Gorgeous (and Soggy!) Views
Even in the pouring rain, the views from the Brazilian side were still absolutely gorgeous. We started at one end of the system and made our way along a paved walkway through the rainforest that ran parallel to the falls.
There were several viewing platforms tucked along the way, and each one offered some amazing views of the falls. There had been some steady rain upstream the past few days, so the falls themselves were very full and strong. Even our guide was a bit surprised at how much water was flowing…they had been in quite a drought for several months prior.
Up Close and Personal
As we made our way to the end of the walkway, we came to one large platform area that went out over the falls. Walking out onto this platform gave us a fantastic up-close view of some of the largest falls. Even if it hadn’t been raining all day, we definitely would have still gotten wet here! But at this point, a little extra water didn’t bother us a bit.
After going out on the platform and feeling the full power of the falls up close, we made our way up the tower to get some final panoramic views. The top of the tower has a large observation area.
From the observation area at the top of the tower, the views of the powerful falls were pretty amazing!
Post-Cruise Day 3: Iguazu Falls, Argentina
After the first soggy day on the Brazil side, we headed over to the Argentina side of the falls the next day. As we were heading back to Argentina, this trip required another border crossing to get from our hotel to the falls. Luckily there wasn’t too much traffic and it was a pretty quick experience.
Along the way we drove over a bridge where you can actually see three countries at the same time! In the below picture, Argentina is on the left bank of the river, Brazil is on the right bank, and Paraguay is directly ahead.
Exploring the Falls
After crossing the border, it was a fairly quick drive to get to the falls. We entered the park and set off exploring the Argentinian side. This side is a much more intimate view of the system as compared to the more panoramic views from the Brazilian side. Today we were hiking in and around all of the falls that we saw from the Brazilian side yesterday.
More Gorgeous Views
There are several different trails leading through the park here. Our group set off on our first trail this morning and started getting our first glimpses of the mighty falls. Luckily, today was a much drier day than yesterday so no ponchos were required!
Many of the trails lead directly over the falls, so it was pretty awesome to be so close to everything. The water was still very high and rapid today after all of the rain, and it was pretty loud!
As on the Brazilian side, there are some absolutely amazing views on this side as well. The trails and walkways meander along, through, and over the water. Some of the area is calmer and flatter, and other areas are very active falls. We even started getting some glimpses of the speedboats…more to come on that a bit later!
The park is also in the middle of a lush, green rainforest. So hiking through the trails also provided some great views of the vegetation and wildlife in the area. One of the rest areas within the park is a popular hang-out spot for the local monkeys…and we saw a lot of them as we stopped for a mid-morning break.
After our mid-morning break, we continued exploring a few more trails within the park.
Speedboat Adventure
The final part of our tour today was an excursion on a speedboat. We first hopped onto a large 4×4 vehicle for a 20-minute drive through the heart of the rainforest to get down to the water’s edge. Once at the shore we were given a large dry bag and a life jacket before boarding the speedboat. The boat gave us some fantastic views of the falls from the bottom up. We alternated between a leisurely sail along the shore to some high-speed zipping through the water as we made our way to the bottom of some of the largest falls in the park. Once at the bottom of the falls we then sailed directly in and under the falls…it was very, very intense!
Here are a few selfies of me before, during, and after the boat went through the falls. It started as a calm sailing, then got a bit windy as we picked up speed. We then approached the falls and I got just a little wet! After the speedboat tour was finished, there was a place to dry off and change into dry clothes, so all’s well that ends well.
A Festive Dinner
Later that evening, we were invited to the tour operator’s home for a traditional Brazilian churrascaria dinner. I was the only one in our group of six who chose to go, but there were three others tour groups at that time. So, I got to meet the others from the other groups. There were probably about 30 of us all together. The owner and his family (our guide, Liliana, is his daughter, and the gentleman who drove me across the border my first night is his son, so it’s a family affair!) provided a phenomenal dinner of grilled meats, traditional side dishes, and free-flowing caipirinhas (the traditional Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça, sugar, and lime). We all relaxed and chatted over dinner. After dinner, we also got to enjoy a live Samba performance.
Heading Home
The next morning, February 28, was the start of my long journey home. After an absolutely phenomenal time on the cruise and after the cruise, it was time to head back home and get back to reality. My trip home consisted of three separate flights, so I enjoyed a tall latte and a quick breakfast at the Aeroporto Internacional de Foz do Iguaçu Cataratas before boarding my first flight.
Flight #1
My first flight took me from Foz do Iguaçu back to Buenos Aires. Shortly after takeoff I got some spectacular views of the falls I had been exploring the past two days. It was amazing to see them from the air and to see just how large the whole system really is. I also got some wonderful views of the bustling, busy city of Buenos Aires as we arrived.
The views of the Buenos Aires skyline were pretty from the air. I even got a view of the hotel I stayed in the very first night of my trip (which seems like a million years ago at this point!). Once I arrived back at the small domestic airport, I took a taxi back to the international airport to catch the second flight. The layover was quite long, so I had plenty of time to get from one airport to the other and to wander around the airports.
Flight #2
I got to enjoy one last yummy empanada before boarding my second flight. I also had some good news on flight number 2, an overnight flight and the longest of the three flights which took me from Buenos Aires to Houston…I managed to score an upgrade to a comfy Premier Economy seat for the nearly 11-hour flight!
Flight #3
The flight to Houston was uneventful. We even managed to arrive ahead of schedule. However, we actually got in so early that the customs staff were not yet there! So, after the long overnight flight, we had to stay on the plane another 30 minutes before we could get off and go through customs. But after all was said and done, I made my way quickly through customs (thank goodness for Global Entry!) and got to my third and final flight.
This third flight took me back home to Tampa, Florida. After nearly 24 hours of travel on three different planes, I was delighted to see the Tampa skyline again. I once again stopped to say hello to Phoebe, the new (very large!) flamingo sculpture in the Tampa Airport, before finally making my way back home. My two cats, Penny and Jasper, were a fantastic welcome-home committee as always…they were especially happy to see me after three long weeks!
Conclusion
Iguazu Falls was an absolutely perfect way to end this absolutely phenomenal trip. I had read a bit about the falls before the trip, but nothing could prepare me for how awesome (in the true sense of that word) they actually are. Being able to see the falls from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides is a great experience as each side provides a different point of view and experience.
I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling along with me as I have explored Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil on this journey!
Links
Click the buttons below for earlier parts of the series:
Click the buttons below for more information about Azamara, and to read about my first cruise on Azamara in June 2022:
