Loved my time in Iguazu, recommend to everyone. This is just logistical tips that I wish I knew:
My hostel was on the Argentinian side. I travelled alone so got everywhere via bus from the Puerto Iguazu bus terminal. You can pay for tickets at the counters in card or cash. I also took the bus from the airport where I paid in cash.
Found the two waterfall parks a bit confusing to navigate at first, here’s what worked for me / what I would have done differently next time:
Argentinian side - This is the longer side with multiple trails to walk. Entrance is 40,000 pesos - I got there at 10am, I would recommend getting there earlier when the park opens at 8am so it’s less crowded. - I went straight to the Devil’s Throat (Garganta de Diablo) as this is the most popular section. The earlier you go, the less crowded it is. To do this, you can take the free train from inside the park. - Note there are two different trains inside the park. For each train you have to collect a free ticket from the desk at the train station that will issue you a departure time. They do this on a first come, first serve basis with later departure times as people arrive. I waited about 40 minutes between collecting my ticket and boarding the train at my designated departure time. This should be less if you arrive at 8am! - I would recommend skipping the first train and just walking - it’s only a 15 minute walk to the Estacion Cataratas where you catch the longer train to Estacion Garganta de Diablo. You want to be in line as early as possible so you can collect the earliest possible departure times! - Once you finish the Garganta de Diablo, you can go back to the Estacion Cataratas and walk the Superior and Interior trails - amazing! - It was 3:30pm by the time I finished the trails and I was tired, so I skipped the boat ride and did it on the Brazilian side (see next point)
Brazilian side - This time I was smarter and arrived at 8:30am after a 7:30am bus. Entrance is 384 reals. - on arrival your ticket is also time stamped and you catch the bus 14km into the heart of the park. The earliest I could get was 9:30am. I waited for my designated departure time but they didn’t seem to be checking it, I probably could have just jumped in line earlier. You might get an earlier timestamp if you buy online. - i got off at the Macuca stop and did the boat ride on the Brazilian side first thing. So much fun! It was 114 reals. From what I can tell the trips are almost the same on both sides - same boats, just with different flags. The Argentinian side might get a bit closer to some of the falls but I loved the Brazilian side and we definitely got soaking wet. Top tip, rent a locker at the boat ride departure spot for 20 reals if you have to bring your passport to cross the border (like me) :/ !! - you access the trails by getting back on the bus. From there it’s about a 2 hour single path with a decent food court at the end - compared to Argentinian prices it was much cheaper (although still probably better to BYO food) - finished the day at about 3pm which included a 1 hour beer in the food court with a new friend I made on the trails.
Overall amazing and I had a wonderful time!