Where to stay in Puerto Iguazú: the three areas and what changes

Direct answer: Puerto Iguazú has three accommodation areas: downtown, along Avenida Victoria Aguirre, within walking distance of restaurants, the bus terminal and the Three Borders Landmark; Selva Iryapú, known as the "600 hectares", a forest reserve where the large hotels sit; and Ruta 12, the road linking the town to Iguazú National Park. The park is about 17 km from the centre, and the bus there leaves from the terminal.

The three areas at a glance

Downtown

This is the choice if you are not renting a car. Downtown holds most of the restaurants, the hostels, the currency exchanges and the bus terminal, which is where transport to Iguazú National Park departs from. It is also a few minutes from the Hito Argentino, the marker for the triple border on the Argentine side.

The practical advantage is double: dinner is a walk away, and you do not depend on a transfer for the main excursion.

Good for: travelling without a car, keeping costs down, short stays.

Selva Iryapú, the "600 hectares"

Iryapú means "distant sound of water" in Guaraní. It is a forest reserve of around 600 hectares, with large old trees, where the town's biggest hotels were built, several with spas and pools.

The experience is nothing like downtown: no city noise, forest all around. The trade-off is dependence: there is no restaurant on the corner and no bus stop at the door, so every trip becomes a car, transfer or taxi. Factor that transport cost into the trip.

Good for: rest and hotel facilities, couples, travellers with a rental car.

Ruta 12

This is the road out of town toward the National Park. Hotels here sit halfway: closer to the Argentine falls and further from the restaurants. It makes sense if you have a car and want to be at the park gate early.

Getting to Iguazú National Park

The park is about 17 km from the centre of Puerto Iguazú along Ruta Nacional 12, a journey of roughly 25 minutes. Regular buses leave the town's bus terminal through the day, with short gaps between departures.

The Área Cataratas is open from 8am to 6pm, with last entry at 4pm. If you are staying away from the terminal, add your transfer time to that: arriving at 3:50pm is not the same as arriving at 10am, because the longer trails no longer fit into the day.

The step by step is in planning a 2-day itinerary on the Argentine side.

Puerto Iguazú or Foz do Iguaçu?

That is the question most people are really asking. Both answers hold up:

• Staying in Puerto Iguazú makes sense if the Argentine side is the focus of the trip: you reach the park early, and it is large enough to deserve a full day, without depending on the bridge for your main excursion.
• Staying in Foz makes sense if you are seeing the falls from both sides plus Itaipu, Parque das Aves and Paraguay. Foz has more hotels and more restaurants, and you only cross on the days you go to Argentina.

What usually decides it is not price, it is the crossing: sleeping on one side and sightseeing on the other means depending on the Tancredo Neves Bridge twice a day, and late afternoon is the least predictable window. Before crossing, check the live bridge queue.

Bring identification: see what is required in do you need a passport for Puerto Iguazú. It is also worth knowing that Argentina records entry digitally, with no passport stamp.

To plan your dates, see when to go. On the Brazilian side, the areas are covered in where to stay in Foz.