Getting around in Foz do Iguaçu

So, I am getting the feeling that Foz do Iguaçu is slightly bigger a city than Gramado, so It will be more of a challenge to get from place to place.

We are not renting a car bc we are going to argentina one day (and driving a rental in argentina gets tricky), and we are going to be near our hotel on another day. The airport is a few minutes walk from the hotel as well.

So we figured we are not renting a car for one day and having to worry about parking, etc.

Of course this could all change in a few days. We still have a good 55 days till vacation.

Anyway, this is a good site:

http://www.clickfozdoiguacu.com.br/   - it gives you some information on public transportation at the very bottom of the page.
and so is this:

http://www.visitefoz.com.br/

 this one gives some transportation info


there's also:
 http://www.busbrazil.com/#!buses-from-foz-do-iguacu/c1zy6 

and

http://rodoviariaonline.com.br/rodoviaria/foz-do-iguacu/

 which give you the address to the bus terminal and their phone number.

check out other options

so I am checking out other turism companies, because there is always a chance that we might be getting a bad deal.

one example is the Grape and Wine tour.
One company offers is for R$120 without including the Choo-choo train trip ticket. Another includes it and it costs R$195. Well, it turns out that the train ticket is R$86 (

http://giordaniturismo.tempsite.ws/mfumaca/passeio.php

 ), so yeah, pay for the more expensive trip and save money. These trips are available at gramadosite.com.br

Now, there is an even more expensive one that includes one extra stop it's R$235, so 40 extra reais, to stop in one more place. I have emailed them and asked if their price includes the same items as all the others. This one is done by VentoSul. I sent them an email asking about the specifics of their tour. The funny thing is their website doesn't advertise that particular tour. Gramadosite (which is a legitimate intermediary) does. Still, I sent the email to VentoSul.

Another example is the Rural Tour. The gramadosite has them for anywhere between R$95 and R$115 a person. However they do include everything.

There is a much smaller place called Jardineira das Hortênsias that does the trip for only R$44 a person, but they include no fees. When I can't find fees on my own, I email them and ask. (or call them, but I have not been lucky with the phone today). www.jardineiradashortensias.com.br


Finally, gramadosite also does dinner trips. I wanted to pay for the Gaucho dinner (Gaucho is what we call something or someone from the state of Rio Grande do Sul). Well, I emailed the restaurant and found out they actually charge less for the dinner, but more than turism companies if they also include your transfer in/out. Well, a quick search on distance (about 30 Km round trip) , car fuel economy (about 11km/l), and current gas prices (about R$3,39/l), I figured it was a better deal to get dinner with a turism company. However, because I am afraid we will be late from an afternoon trip, I chose to make the reservation directly at the restaurant, without transportation.
http://www.garfoebombacha.com.br

transfer in/out or rental car?

When I checked the price of the transfer and compared to the price of the rental car, it was definitely cheaper to rent.
Even if we don't use the car when we are in Gramado, we will still save money for renting to get there.

Here's why:
Rental: U$ 117 (using kayak.com)

Transfer out using private car - U$98 (R$280)
Transfer in using inter-city bus U$ 13 each (R$ 35each)

However it could have been cheaper if we could get a transfer out with VMC Turismo, at R$55 each (That's U$20 each - 20+20+13+13=U$66) it could have been a better idea.

Grape and Wine tours

There are a number of different tours offered by several different companies in the website gramadosite.com.br

You can buy the tours right there on the site, without having to go to each individual company.

I put the ones I liked the most in a chart and chose the one that was not the cheapest, but it visited more places, and did not include the Epopeia Italiana show.

Here is what my chart looks like:

Parque do Caracol ou Parques da Serra?

I have opted for Parque do Caracol.  Here's a chart showing why:

Parques da Serra website: http://parquesdaserra.com.br/		Parque do Caracol website: http://parquedocaracol.com.br/
cost: R$36/each		cost: R$18/each
hours: 9-17:30		hours:8:45-17:45
ATTRACTIONS gondolas to view the falls		ATTRACTIONS lookout point to view the falls
ecotrail		ecotrail 360 observatory
		stairs to the bottom of the waterfall

Bus Tour of Gramado/Canela

Here is a description of the Bus Tour provided by brockerturismo.com.br

BUS TOUR

Time: 8:15-18:30

Cost: R$49,00

Phone: (54) 3282-5400, (54) 3286-5405, (51) 3358-2254

Address: Av. das Hortênsias, 1845, Centro, 95680-000, Gramado/RS

Website: http://www.gramado.com.br/diversao-passeios/bustour    www.bustour.com.br

áudio em português, inglês e espanhol com as principais informações histórico-culturais das cidades de Canela e Gramado, espaço para cadeirantes, bicicletas e além de monitores treinados e capacitados para informar e acolher nossos clientes com dois roteiros regulares.

Descontos

Brocker Turismo Canela e Gramado

Para passageiros BusTour 5% de desconto nos passeios opcionais e ingressos para os espetáculos

Alpen Park

Para passageiros BusTour 10% de desconto nas atividades

Terra Mágica Florybal

Para passageiros BusTour 10% de desconto no ingresso do parque

Parque Vale dos Dinossauros - Grupo Dreams

Passaporte 'Grupo Dreams" com 5 museus por R$ 60,00 para passageiros Bustour comprando na bilheteria. Valor normal do passaporte:R$ 150,00

Bondinhos Aéreos

Apresente o ticket BusTour e ganhe 10% de desconto no ingresso do parque

Castelinho Caracol

Para passageiros Bustour 30% de desconto no ingresso

Play House Florybal

Para passageiros BusTour 10% de desconto em compras na loja

Café Colonial Gramado

Apresente o ticket BusTour e ganhe 10% de desconto no Café Colonial, o único do roteiro!

Museu de Cera e Harley Motor Show - Grupo Dreams

Passaporte 'Grupo Dreams" com 5 museus por R$ 60,00 para passageiros Bustour comprando na bilheteria. Valor normal do passaporte: R$ 150,00

Super Carros - Grupo Dreams

Passaporte 'Grupo Dreams" com 5 museus por R$ 60,00 para passageiros Bustour comprando na bilheteria. Valor normal do passaporte: R$ 150,00

Museu do Automóvel - Grupo Dreams

Passaporte 'Grupo Dreams" com 5 museus por R$ 60,00 para passageiros Bustour comprando na bilheteria. Valor normal do passaporte: R$ 150,00

Mini Mundo

Para passageiros BusTour um presente especial

Snowland

Para passageiros BusTour 5% de desconto no valor do ingresso

Cristais de Gramado

Para passageiros BusTour um presente especial

Le Jardin Parque da Lavanda

Para passageiros BusTour 5% de desconto em compras

Mundo Encantado

Pasa passageiros BusTour 10% desconto no ingresso

Artesanato Noel

Para passageiros Bustour 10% de desconto em compras

Reino do Chocolate Caracol

Para passageiros BusTour ingresso GRATUITO

Mundo a Vapor

Para passageiros BusTour um presente especial

Aproveite para almoçar nos melhores restaurantes da região, apresente o ticket BusTour e peça seu desconto!!!

Passaporte Gastronômico

Solicite em uma das lojas Caracol Chocolates em Gramado ou Canela seu passaporte gastronômico com até 50% de desconto nos restabelecimentos abaixo:

Caracol Gourmet; Galeto Mamma Mia; El Fuego Restaurante; Mamma Pasta

Olimpia Restaurante - Canela e Gramado

Ganhe 5% de desconto no almoço apresentando o ticket BusTour

La Famille de Gazon - Gramado

Ganhe 10% na sequencia do fondue apresentando o ticket BusTour

Restaurante Carazal - Gramado

Ganhe 10% de desconto no almoço colonial apresentando o ticket BusTour

Ratatoulle - Gramado

Buffet livre no almoço e Sequencia de fondue no jantar, ganhe 5% de desconto apresentando o ticket BusTour

Subway - Gramado

Apresente o ticket BusTour e ganhe um cookie!

Duração

Os ônibus circulam o dia todo, desta forma, cada ônibus, nos pontos centrais (centro de Gramado e Canela e Avenida das Hortênsias) passará várias vezes ao dia a cada hora aproximadamente. 

Bike in Gramado

So, it turns out you can also rent a bike to go around. They say the rental is R$37,00/day and that you can reserve it online. The only problem is, at least in my computer, you can not pick the dates from their calendar. So I guess you're better off calling, or just going there.
http://viajargramado.com.br/estabelecimento/eko- bike-center

transportation in Gramado

Okay, so we might not rent the car that would cost us $117 for 5 days and instead get a few alternate transportation modes.

To get from the airport in Porto Alegre to Gramado we will take an inter-city bus from the company citral.
http://www.citral.tur.br/inicio.php

I've been watching www.booking.com to get a decent hotel downtown or within walking distance to minimize our need of long distance transportation

Then to get to the places that are further away, hop-on hop-off bus with brocker turismo:

https://www.gramadosite.com.br/atividades/idempresa:brockerturismo/idproduto:2011/alone:1/idadv:39399/from:afiliado

This page has a link to the map of all the stops. One day ticket costs R$49.00

And to go back to the airport, since it is an early flight, we will have to schedule a shuttle. There are a number of companies that do that:
brocker, vmc, liga, jusepe ...
here are some links:
http://www.brockerturismo.com.br/pacotes/transfer-in-out
http://www.integracaoturismo.com.br/passeios/hotsite/id:38
 http://www.gramadosite.com.br/coisaslegaisprafazer/filtros:transfers/nome:
http://www.suagramado.com.br/catalogos/transfers