Iguazu Falls from Rio via Bus

Any advice on cost/bus lines/places to stay around Iguazu Falls? Any
interesting side trips en route? Thanks!!

Hi!

There is much to see between Rio and Iguaçu Falls.

First of all, you can go straight to São Paulo, wich is the largest
city in South America. It's really a huge city with many museums,
restaurants, malls, and history. You can take a look at these links:

http://www.easysaopaulo.com/easysp/index.htm
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok.../saopaulo.html
http://saopaulobr.ags.myareaguide.com/
http://www.sao-paulo.com/


If you rent a car, you can go from Rio to São Paulo by two roads. One
is the fast route (called Via Dutra). It follows a quite straight way
and it's the path of choice if you just want to move from one city to
the other. Midway between Rio and São Paulo in that road you can find
Aparecida do Norte, the brazilian Catholic faith center. There you
will find the largest Roman Catholic Church in the country ( I believe
it's the largest one at the Americas).

http://www.santuarionacional.com.br/
http://apostled.tripod.com/nova.html

The other way is called Rio-Santos, and it's an old road that follows
the coast. If you go by this way, you can stop at Parati, a very old
city that keeps it's colonial look and feel. There are also, of
course, many beaches that deserve a good look. I strongly suggest you
visit Ilha Grande (Big Island). It was once a prison, but now it's
just a beautiful place to be. The island is almost untouched by
civilization, and its beaches are worth seeing. You should also take a
look at Angra dos Reis, Ubatuba, Ilhabela, Maresias and finally
Santos, a big city by the sea very close to São Paulo. From there, you
will get to São Paulo climbing the "Serra do Mar", the mountains that
surround most of this part of brazilian shore. You can do that by Via
Anchieta, an old road with many curves and a beautiful view, or by Via
Imigrantes, the modern highway with many tunnels and bridges and also
a gorgeous view.

http://www.litoralvirtual.com.br/lit...o_santos_i.htm
http://www.paraty.com.br/iindex.asp
http://www.angra2000.com.br/english/
http://www.novapolis.de/brazil/paraty_e.html

If you take Via Dutra, you can go from Rio to São Paulo in 4 to 5
hours (it's aound 400 Kilometers). If go by Rio-Santos, I think you
won't mind counting the time it will take, but it will be at least 7
hours.

Of course you can also go from Rio to São Paulo by bus or by plane. At
São Paulo and Rio airports you can get flights from one city to the
other each 20 minutes or so.

From São Paulo to Iguaçu Falls, it's more 1100 Kilometers. You can go
by bus or by plane. If you decide to rent a car, you will take good
tolled roads from one city to the other. Between them, you will find
many nice cityes to be known like Londrina, the second largest city in
Paraná State, Maringá (100 km from the previous one, a very green
city, and the place my parents live - believe me, it's worth the
visit), and many others.

http://www.londrina.pr.gov.br/english/index.php3
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...214/marin.html

By the way, both Londrina and Maringá are part of Paraná State. The
State Capital City is Curitiba, 400 Km south of São Paulo. It's also a
beautiful city, very worth knowing. Going there would take you a
little away of the straight path from São Paulo to Iguaçu Falls (maybe
100 km more, give or take a few), but it's also a beautifull place to
see.

http://www.curitiba-brazil.com/

In Foz do Iguaçu, the city where the Iguaçu Falls National Park is
placed, you can find many hotels with different prices.

http://www.fozdoiguacu.pr.gov.br/
http://www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br/
http://www.hotel-em-foz-do-iguacu.com.br/ (this
link is in Portuguese, but you can find many other links through
Google)

Once you're there, I recomend you lodge in Brazil (at Foz do Iguaçu,
wich is a nice city) and see the falls both from brazilian and
argentinian side. I'm brazilian and I find argentinian side much more
pleasant. It could take you one full day to see everything over there.
On the other hand, I find the brazilian side much better for lodging.

Finally, the buses. Brazilian public tranportation is heavily based on
buses. From Rio you can get buses to all of the states capital cities
and most important brazilian cities.

http://www.novorio.com.br/ (Rio de Janeiro interstate
bus station)

Bus companies at Novo Rio Station (there are many others)

http://www.itapemirim.com.br/
http://www.pluma.com.br/


At São Paulo you can find also these companies:

http://www.princesadoscampos.com.br/
http://www.viacaogarcia.com.br/inter...ex/default.htm
http://www.viacaocometa.com.br/

Finally, the companies that DO go to Foz do Iguaçu a
Pluma(http://www.pluma.com.br/) from both Rio and São Paulo, and
Princesa dos Campos (http://www.princesadoscampos.com.br/) from São
Paulo only.

Don't forget that many companies have bed cars, much more comfortable
than the regular ones for a price that you will probably consider
fair.

There are also many travel sites in Brazil that can help you find many
interesting things to see in Brazil. Take a look at these ones:

http://www.backpacker.com.br/
http://www.embratur.gov.br/br/home/index.asp
http://viagemeturismo.abril.com.br/
http://www2.uol.com.br/proximaviagem/
http://guia4rodas.abril.com.br/


Don't forget Brazil is a large country, and there's really much to
see. What I'm telling you is just a sample of a small region of the
country. Take a look at the links and if you have some doubt, please
e-mail me: .

Have a nice trip.

Emerson P. Olinda


"flashy457" wrote in message om...
Any advice on cost/bus lines/places to stay around Iguazu Falls? Any
interesting side trips en route? Thanks!!

(Emerson Pereira de Olinda) wrote in message . com...
Hi!

There is much to see between Rio and Iguaçu Falls.


Very interesting and detailed recommendations. I have just one thing
to add. If this will be your first time driving in Brazil, I urge
caution. Brazil has produced several top notch Formula 1 drivers.
Most of the rest of them have their guts but not the skills. The road
signs are typically not clear or friendly. You almost have to know
how to get to your destination before undertaking the journey. By
that I mean where to turn or make for the exit. You can't just go
your merry way and rely on highway sign to steer you there. Many
towns place speed bumps on the road, for good reason because people
just speed through town if there are none. If you miss the sign
(especially driving at night) or the speed bump warning sign has been
taken down or is missing, god help you. You'll end up having severe
damage to your axles, exhaust, tires or the car.

Thanks for the advice to all, I'll check out the resources you mentioned.
I'll probably skip the driving!! : )

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...
(Emerson Pereira de Olinda) wrote in message
. com...
Hi!

There is much to see between Rio and Iguaçu Falls.


Very interesting and detailed recommendations. I have just one thing
to add. If this will be your first time driving in Brazil, I urge
caution. Brazil has produced several top notch Formula 1 drivers.
Most of the rest of them have their guts but not the skills. The road
signs are typically not clear or friendly. You almost have to know
how to get to your destination before undertaking the journey. By
that I mean where to turn or make for the exit. You can't just go
your merry way and rely on highway sign to steer you there. Many
towns place speed bumps on the road, for good reason because people
just speed through town if there are none. If you miss the sign
(especially driving at night) or the speed bump warning sign has been
taken down or is missing, god help you. You'll end up having severe
damage to your axles, exhaust, tires or the car.

Hi, again!

Flashy, if you decide to avoid driving, and still want to see the coast, you
can try to go from Rio to São Paulo in some small trips. There are many
short distance bus companies that could take you from one place to the
other.

You could for instance get a bus at Rio and go to Parati, and then from
there to Ubatuba, and then to Santos, and finally from Santos to São Paulo.
That is certainly going to take a lot of time and you probably will need to
find a place to sleep somewhere, but if you come in summertime I believe you
will appreciate the travel. It's also very easy to find hotels all over that
region, because it's really a touristic area. An exception to that, is that
at weekends people from S. Paulo and Rio spread all over those places, and
it could be a little harder to get a hotel. Good places to find hotels would
be Angra dos Reis, Parati, Ubatuba, Maresias and Santos.

About driving, I wouldn't say Brazil is the best place to drive in the
world, but it's also not the worst. There are really some dangerous guys,
but if you keep your attention and drive paciently, you will certainly keep
yourself out of trouble. If you decide to try, I also think you should not
drive by night, because if you do so, you won't see the landscape and many
other points of interest, like beaches. Brazilian roads themselves are
really not as good as we would like them to be, but most of the parts you
would take are really good. Finally, if you decide to drive a little,
observe the speed limits, keep one eye on the road and enjoy the trip.

On the other hand, if you decide to go by bus, don't you ever forget to get
a seat by the window. If you go by Rio-Santos, get a place by the window at
the left side of the buses (the drivers side). It will be worth it! :-)


Have a nice trip!



Emerson Pereira de Olinda
Anything you feed will grow


"flashy457" escreveu na mensagem
...
Thanks for the advice to all, I'll check out the resources you mentioned.
I'll probably skip the driving!! : )

"Yaofeng" wrote in message
om...
(Emerson Pereira de Olinda) wrote in message
. com...
Hi!

There is much to see between Rio and Iguaçu Falls.


Very interesting and detailed recommendations. I have just one thing
to add. If this will be your first time driving in Brazil, I urge
caution. Brazil has produced several top notch Formula 1 drivers.
Most of the rest of them have their guts but not the skills. The road
signs are typically not clear or friendly. You almost have to know
how to get to your destination before undertaking the journey. By
that I mean where to turn or make for the exit. You can't just go
your merry way and rely on highway sign to steer you there. Many
towns place speed bumps on the road, for good reason because people
just speed through town if there are none. If you miss the sign
(especially driving at night) or the speed bump warning sign has been
taken down or is missing, god help you. You'll end up having severe
damage to your axles, exhaust, tires or the car.