Puerto Iguazu

With our cruise to Antarctica already booked, we wanted to take advantage of our trip to Buenos Aires by seeing Iguazu Falls before we headed back to the United States. Unfortunately, by the time we made this realization, we had already booked our return flight to Los Angeles for a day AFTER our cruise returned to Buenos Aires. Therefore, if we wanted to see the famous landmark which is located between the countries of Argentina and Brazil, we were going to have to get creative and FAST. Naturally, I accomplished this feat by putting the task off for about 7 months. (Yay, procrastination!) 

However, once I got serious about figuring this out, I started where I always do, by going to Google Flights and Skyscanner. Right away, I was met with heavy opposition: Every flight from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu (IGR – the only airport closest to the Argentine side of the Falls) on the day the cruise got back was either way too expense for 2 people or left way too early to make. 

Okay, I was out of luck for both airports in Buenos Aires. But then, I decided to take another look at our cruise itinerary. The day before our cruise arrived back in Buenos Aires, it was scheduled to make a stop in Montevideo, Uruguay. So, I searched flights from Montevideo to IGR and…voilà! I found a one-way flight on Aerolíneas Argentinas for $193.77 pp that was leaving roughly 3 hours after our ship arrived in Montevideo. If all went according to plan, Missy and I would disembark the cruise a day early in Montevideo, fly to Puerto Iguazu (IGR), Argentina from Uruguay, spend the night there and have the next day to explore Iguazu Falls and fly back to Buenos Aires before our return flight back to the States. 

Well, that was the plan anyway. I had even found and booked a return flight from IGR to EZE (Buenos Aires) on Jet Smart for $52.70 that departed the day after our arrival in Puerto Iguazu. Then, in late December (less than 2 months before our trip to South America), everything fell apart. Aerolíneas Argentinas cancelled our flight and only offered 2 alternatives that would no longer work with our cruise’s scheduled arrival time in Montevideo.

Just like that, I was back to the drawing board. Only this time, I had no choice but to abandon all hope of staying in Puerto Iguazu and search for flights to the Brazilian side of the Falls instead. 

Final Cost Breakdown on Flights:

$193.77 pp from MVD (Montevideo) to IGR (Puerto Iguazu) with a layover in AEP (Buenos Aires) on Aerolíneas Argentinas. 
$52.70 pp from IGR (Puerto Iguazu) to EZE (Buenos Aires) on Jet Smart.