When I think about everything I researched before my trip across South America, one concern stands out. Figuring out which side of the falls to stay at seemed to cause me the most stress.
WHICH SIDE IS BETTER?!
I read tons of posts, stalked influencers, youtube videos, blogs, everything I could find. I think I ended up just saying ‘F&%$ it’
SPOILER ALERT: I didn’t find the falls to be amazing, so unless you’re really just determined to see them, there’s better falls around the world to spend time and money seeing. Which side you go to is also going to depend on where you’re coming in from because there are two different airports you can fly into. Lastly, make sure you get your park pass online before you get there – the site is tricky.
Advice #1: Stay at the Expensive Resort
The best and only recommendation I can make is this: Pay the extra money to stay at one of the resorts (Grand Melia or Hotel des Cataratas). It doesn’t matter which side you stay at. Once you get over the sticker shock, let me tell you why you won’t care once you get there!
Budget Way: All the hotels you spend $50 a night for are located about 20 minutes from the park. And in the morning when the park opens they bus you in like cattle. Every been to Disney World on Spring Break? Imagine waking up early, to wait in line, to still be the 500th person in line to be bumped into shoulder to shoulder with everyone holding their selfie sticks and camera phones up to get the perfect photo. And the best shot you can get is a selfie with 10 other people in your shot. Oh — it’s 80 degrees and humid out. If that sounds like your perfect day– go for it!
Alternative: You wake up an hour before the falls officially open to the public and you take the path from the resort to go see the falls. You just walked through a spider web because no other soul has walked the path yet today, and all you hear is the roar of the falls…. becuase you are one of maybe a handful of people who have access at this time. You set up your tripod and take all the unadultered photos and videos you want because there are no lines, no crowds, no tourists. When you are done exploring the falls, you go back to your pool or patio that overlooks the falls and relax watching the throngs of tourists now file in. Wave to them with your glass of champagne 🙂
Advice #2: Seeing the Falls
You need a park pass to see the falls. Save time and stress by getting it online before going. The website is pretty terrible, so give yourself plenty of time to do it when you have good wifi. It took me like three tries for it to finally go through. When do show up to see the falls, if there is an option to buy a pass to skip the lines – DO IT. It saved me hours waiting in line in Brazil.
Advice #3: Seeing Both Sides
Most people see both sides of the park. If you want to experience it through staying at a resort, then you need two FULL days there, which means 3-4 days of your trip will need to be dedicated to the falls. I did it in one day, I chose to stay at Grand Melia (Argentina side) and enjoy that side before hiring a car to cross the border to see the other side with the masses. It cost me $250 to hire a car/taxi to cross the border, wait for me to see the falls, and drive me back. It also was a full 8 hour day to do this even though the drive should probably have only taken maybe 30-45 minutes each way.
It really comes down to what you want your experience to be. If you’re just looking to check it off your bucket list – choose one side, enjoy seeing the falls and relax at the resort the rest of the day. My personal opinion is it is NOT worth the stress, money, and crowds to see both sides
Advice #4: There are two airports
There are two airports, both ~20 minutes from the falls. One is on the Brazil side and the other the Argentina side. As you travel through South America you’ll see that most airports only fly to certain other airports. So a lot of your decision is going to be based on your travel plans. You might only be able to fly into one side or the other. Also make sure you don’t fly into the Argentina side, but book your hotel on the Brazil side. It’s also totally possible to fly into Argentina and out of Brazil depending on your travel plans. But note that crossing the border by car can take hours, so please plan accordingly and give yourself plenty of time. “RUSH” doesn’t translate in Argentina 😉
Advice #5: Brazil vs Argentina!?
This is going to come down to personal preference. Both resorts are beautiful. Both resorts offer private time at the falls in different ways. In Brazil you’re close enough to the falls to hear the roar. In Argentina, you have a view from the hotel, it’s just farther away.
The Views in Argentina felt more like a jungle walk where you could get up close and personal, but it felt like you were too close to appreciate it, but not far enough away to appreciate it either. I did both the lower and the upper passage (all with seeing less than 5 people the whole time)
The brazil side was a concrete side walk the entire way, with stop off areas to grab photos. The brazil side gave you the ability to get up close and personal to the falls (be ready to get soaked) while also being far enough away to see “ALL” the falls.
So even though I had to fight the crowds on the Brazil side (which was absolute hell) the views on the Brazil side were much better. If I went back again, I’d stay in the resort in Brazil, skip Argentina, and drink mimosas all day!
For ease of comparison I added some Argentina vs Brazil views
This is the up, close, and personal view on the Brazil side. You can see on the far left you can get even closer. I thought this view and experience was far superior (despite the crowds). It felt more like sight seeing but overall better views.
This was up, close, and personal on the Argentina side. You were actually able to walk over the top of the falls. It felt more intimate, close, and jungle adventure walk through the falls.
Argentina Gallery + Views from Hotel:
Brazil Gallery:
Read the full trip: South America & Antarctica in Six Weeks →
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