Buying reservations in Foz do Iguaçu

this website is has good prices for a lot of stuff:
http://www.destinoiguassu.com.br - including car rentals.
If you don't pick up the car at the airport, you save money. But it also sells packages (passport style) to attractions around Foz. They actually had something that fit my needs!!!!

http://wikitravel.org/en/Foz_do_Igua%C3%A7u has some interesting information in English about Foz.

And to visit and buy tickets for Itaipu, the best bet is to go to their website:
https://www.turismoitaipu.com.br/en
They also give other kinds of information.

renting a car or taking public transportation to Puerto Iguazu

It is so hard to find information about bus from Foz to Puerto Iguazu.

I finally found out that it is necessary to have something called carta verde to drive legally in Argentina (because of so many demands they have on that side).

Avis and Hertz are the safest places to rent if you want to drive to Puerto.

In case you want to take public transportation the bus from Foz is Crucero del Norte, and you catch in across the street from the Hotel Bourbon, and from the Puerto Iguazu bus terminal you catch a buz called El Prático.

If you can read portuguese, this blog is great for little tips on how to visit Puerto Iguazu:
http://www.viajenaviagem.com/2010/05/puerto-iguazu-vale-a-noitada-e-ate-o-pernoite/
http://www.viajenaviagem.com/2009/12/iguacu-el-lado-argentino/
http://www.viajenaviagem.com/2010/05/foz-do-iguacu-carro-alugado-taxi-ou-onibus/
http://www.viajenaviagem.com/2013/02/roteiro-foz-do-iguacu-90-dicas/
http://www.viajenaviagem.com/2012/07/quatro-dias-em-foz-do-iguacu/#comment-223031

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