Rio day trips

[jackhammer91406]

Guys, I was hoping to do a visit to the falls midweek. I am told to plan on being gone at least one night. So I guess I would leave Wednesday Oct 29 and come back on Thursday 30. Is this a practical idea and timeline? (reason I ask is that I may never get the chance to come back and the falls are something I would like to experience). Also want to take the half day drive up into the rain forest maybe Tuesday . Are these side trips I should book through Carlo? Is it necessary to book these before I get to RIO or are reservations pretty easy to come by that time of year? Thanks for the info and help.

[sf traveler]

I'm going to the Falls before I get to Rio, but I'm spending more time there. From what I've read, you could do it in a day but my feeling is, if you're going all that way, why not see it all in a more relaxed manner? I'm spending 3 days--which both Carlo and my Portuguese teacher think is a bit too much--but I don't like to feel pressured by time constraints. I'm also going with a Brazilian friend, which also helps. As to day trips in Rio, you don't need to book in advance, but since this isn't really the high season, you might enquire if what you particularly want is available everyday, or just some days of the week. I plan on going to Petropolis this trip, but I'm not planning on making the arrangements prior to getting to Rio. SF Traveler

[trilingual]

Yes, it's doable. You leave Rio in the morning and spend the afternoon exploring the Brazilian side of the falls. The next day you go over to the Argentine side, tour the park and falls there, then get driven directly back to the Brazilian airport for your return flight to Rio in the mid/late afternoon. My friends from Berlin did exactly that (although they added on by stopping over in Curitiba for a night and touring the city the next day before returning to Rio).

 

Because it's low season, it shouldn't be too difficult to get reservations. However, because you're going to be doing a lightning trip, you really want to stay at the Tropical Hotel right in the park on the Brazilian side. It's much less convenient and more time-consuming to stay at one of the other hotels outside the park. The Tropical fills up quickly because it's in demand pretty much year round (and large blocks of rooms are held by tour companies) so the earlier you make your plans, the better.

 

I think Carlo should be able to help arrange this for you. This is the kind of deal where you should buy a package, because you'll probably get a break on the airfare and you can get one of those rooms that's being held by the tour operators. It'll probably include airfare, hotel and transfers in Foz de Iguaçu, plus a tour of the Bird Park or other attraction on the Brazilian side. This is what my friends from Berlin did. Upon arrival, they made arrangements at the tour desk in the lobby of the Tropical to go over to Argentina the next day. They were picked up after breakfast, driven over to the Argentine side, spent the day touring the park, and were driven back to the airport in Brazil for about US$40, as I recall. If you do this, you may need to ask the hotel tour desk to cancel the included pickup there for your return flight, because you'll probably be using another driver or company to go over to Argentina and get back to the airport.

 

Another thing: I don't think there are any non-stops from Rio to Foz do Iguaçu any more, they all stop in SP or Curitiba I believe. When you make your travel arrangements, ask if there are any one-stop flights (not connections) between Foz and Rio's convenient Santos Dumont (SDU) which is right downtown. As I recall, there were when my Berlin friends made the trip. That'll save you time and money in Rio.

 

A "jungle" tour in Rio can be done in a morning or afternoon. I'd suggest morning, personally. However, if you take the funicular up to the top of Corcovado one day you'll get a mini-glimpse of the same urban jungle, and the park area around Iguassu Falls is also jungle (one of the major remaining remnants of the Mata Atlântica) so you'll see quite a bit of it while you're there. Take that into consideration if your time is limited. Since there will be jungle at the falls, you might want to think instead about doing something like the Gray Line tour to the Imperial Museum in Petropolis, which is also a day trip and can also be arranged by Carlo. I joined my Berlin friends for that excursion, because it had been years since I went to Petropolis, and it was a very pleasant day!

 

BTW, bring a light sweatshirt or sweater to layer with. It's still winter in Brazil and it's been cool recently in Rio. Iguaçu and Petropolis (and SP and Curitiba) are all at higher altitudes and it can be downright chilly there when you're out of the sun or at night. Also the tour buses tend to have ultra-efficient air-conditioning, so it could be useful there, too.