Friday, September 30, 2016

How to get from Foz do Iguacu to Puerto Iguazu and back on a public bus

This blog is a bit of a PSA. I spent HOURS trying to verify details of the public buses between Foz do Iguacu in Brazil and Puerto Iguazu in Argentina (and on to the Iguazu Falls). There is very little information online but it's actually fairly easy so long as you're not in a rush.

To get to the park on a public bus from Foz do Iguacu in Brazil is entirely possible: the buses leave from outside the local bus terminal, on the corner of Av. Men de Sa and Rua Taroba. The bus stop has both the Brazil and Argentine flags on it.

There seem to be at least three companies running the Foz-Puerto Iguazu route: Rio Uruguay, Crucere del Norte, and Itaipu. I think the Itaipu buses are supposed to be at 30 minutes past the hour and I got the '7.30' bus which arrived at 7.40ish. However I'd say get the first bus which arrives. It's R$4 single at the moment.

At the Brazilian border the bus will probably stop to let someone off or pick someone up. If you're foreign you need to get off and go through Brazilian immigration. Now a Spanish couple on my bus didn't, and I saw them later at the falls so they evidently got into Argentina. I don't know how having Argentina stamps in their passports will affect them later without the corresponding Brazilian exit stamps, and frankly I don't think it's worth the hassle not to do it.

If you're on an Itaipu bus, get a pass off the driver to get back on again. The bus won't wait. Just complete the formalities, and then go back to the bus stop and just catch the next bus which arrives, which will probably be a different company and you'll probably have to pay another R$4 - but if you wait for the company you started out with you might end up waiting a while. If you have the pass from Itaipu and you end up on a different bus for the Argentine bit of the journey, hang on to it as it may come in handy on the way home!

At the Argentine border everyone has to go through immigration and there's a cursory bag scan, but the bus will wait for all passengers here and it takes no time at all.

My bus driver stopped on a corner in Puerto Iguazu opposite a stop for the falls, but you can also pick up a bus for the falls at the bus terminal. Either way, they're run by Rio Uruguay, they're about every 20-30 minutes, and I was charged A$65 each way. My whole journey including immigration and waiting for buses took less than two hours.

On the way back to Foz just repeat the process in return but with one important caveat: get off the bus in Foz at the Brazil-Paraguay stop which is opposite the terminal on Av. Juscelino Kubitschek. I was on an Itaipu bus and expected it to turn right into Mem de Sa to stop at the place I got on. Instead, the bus carried on and looked as though it was heading to Ciudad del Este and I had to jump off in a random place and find my way home.

If all this sounds like too much of a faff, then I understand taxis aren't too expensive and the driver will help you through immigration. There are also plenty of tour companies doing the trip, but that does tie you down to a specific timeframe at the falls.

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