Niagara Falls – Left: US side Right: Canada side (Horseshoe falls)Both should definitely be placed on your to do list. Niagara resides on the border of Canada and the United States near Buffalo, New York. Many people don’t know about Iguazu Falls which resides at the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Iguazu falls is larger than Niagara and even wider as it has a span of falls throughout the area. Let’s compare!
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Iguazu Falls from Trail
The atmosphere at Niagara is of the city while in Iguazu more country. At Niagara you walk right along the road where in Iguazu there is a nature trail leading you throughout most of the park. Since Niagara is more commercialized (think of Orlando without all the rides), they have all the amenities available for a good old fashioned tourist trap: Starbucks, 360 degree revolving restaurant, and even casinos! Nothing like getting a little wet and losing money on the same day. All the restaurants and shops at Iguazu are cabin themed since you are literally walking through a national park.
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My business partner & I being attacked by Torrential Mist at Devil's Throat – Iguazu
The case of the torrential mist was realized both at Iguazu (picture above) and Niagara. Both parks offer boats leading into the falls. In Niagara they call it the maid of the mist (I like to call it maid of the torrential mist) while in Iguazu they call it “boat to the falls” (very unique I know). While both are worth while the boat at Iguazu is more fun since you are on a speed boat rather than a big ship. A very organized operation, maid of the mist grazes the area of the Horseshoe falls (Niagara on the Canadian side) getting you close enough to get a good picture. In comparison, at Iguazu you get so close to the falls you can feel the water bouncing of your face. You can also feel every wave as the Spanish tour operators dare you to ask to get closer.
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Close up view of Horseshoe falls
One thing that you have to see at Iguazu is the Devil’s Throat. There is a wooden walkway (a never ending wooden walkway) that leads all the way to the actual falls. The sheer size and volume of water that flows through the Devi’ls Throat is truly impressive. You can stand there for hours and admire the flow of water.
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Panoramic View from revolving restaurant – Horseshoe Falls
Getting to Iguazu Falls is a bit more difficult than getting to Niagara Falls. Niagara is a few hours either by plane or bus from any major city in the NorthEast United states and only an hour from Toronto, Canada. You can also get there via rail very easily as well. Both area offer incredible mass transit so you can get around with ease to and frmo both falls. You can fly into Puerto Iguazu but that option does get expensive. The best option is to take a bus: plush leather seats that fold out into beds, wi-fi, and breakfast and dinner. The only downside is that it takes about 16-20 hours to get there! Ouch.
Verdict: Definitely see both but if you have an option choose Iguazu. You can make that as a part of your trip to Argentina and/or Brazil. Check out our Top 5 section for things to do in Argentina and things to do in Canada!
Marcello Arrambide considers himself a fanatical entrepreneur. During his younger years, when CD burning software first came out, he burned CD’s and sold them for $5 to $10 a piece, worked at a bakery and took the leftovers to school and sold them to students for breakfast the next morning. He flew to New York City and found a contact in China to have purses and wallets shipped him directly to sell.
He has since tried sales, real estate, software and day trading, where he coaches others to learn and develop their skill in the market. He plans to show everyone how easy living and moving overseas can be on your own terms as long as you have high speed internet and a computer.
