The two norths of the country in one trip: the subtropical jungle and the falls on the border with Brazil, then a direct flight west to the Andean north-west, with its colonial city, salt flats and wine valley. Three nights at Iguazú, three in Salta, flights, hotels, transfers and guided days included.
Arrival at the falls. An early flight from the Buenos Aires domestic airport to Puerto Iguazú, under two hours. Our guide meets you at the airport with a sign with your name, takes you to your hotel and gives you the pick-up times for the days ahead. The afternoon is free: the town, the hotel pool, or an early look at the Three Borders landmark.
Full day in Iguazú National Park, Argentina. Pick-up at the hotel at 8 am and a guided day on the walkways: the Upper Circuit along the crest of the falls, the Lower Circuit down among the spray, and the Ecological Jungle Train to the Devil's Throat, the balcony on the lip of the biggest drop of all, with more than two hundred falls along the way. The Great Adventure boat under the falls is an optional extra inside the park. Back at the hotel around 5 pm.
Half day across the border. Pick-up around 8 am and the drive into Brazil, passport in hand, to the Brazilian national park, whose single walkway faces the whole width of the falls and ends at a viewpoint in front of the Devil's Throat, reached by a lift. Then the Bird Park beside the park entrance, with toucans, macaws and hummingbirds in walk-through aviaries in the forest. Back at the hotel around 6 pm.
The direct flight west. Breakfast, transfer to the airport and the flight from Iguazú to Salta, across the whole north of the country. Our guide meets you in Salta and takes you to your hotel.
Salta city tour, in the afternoon. Around 4 pm we collect you at the hotel for a tour of the colonial centre: the Cathedral and the San Francisco church, the Cabildo on the main square, the Historical Museum of the North and the craft market. Then up to the top of San Bernardo hill for the view over the whole Lerma valley, and out to San Lorenzo, the leafy summer village just outside the city, before returning to the hotel. About 100 km and four hours.
Full day to Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca. An early start, around 7 am, for the longest day of the trip: north into the province of Jujuy and up to the Puna, with the road climbing to around 4,200 metres. The white salt flats of Salinas Grandes, where you walk out onto the salt and photograph the turquoise pools cut into it, and Purmamarca, the adobe village at the foot of the Hill of Seven Colours, with its square full of textiles and crafts and time for lunch. Back to Salta in the late afternoon. About 450 km and 12 hours, with a guide throughout.
Full day to Cafayate. Another early start, around 7 am, this time south along the Calchaqui Valley through the Quebrada de las Conchas, a canyon of red rock carved into shapes with names: the Garganta del Diablo, the Amphitheatre. In Cafayate, the wine village of the north, a visit to a winery with a tasting of Torrontes, the white grape that grows nowhere better than here, and time in the colonial centre and its craft market. Back to Salta in the evening. About 390 km and 12 hours.
Departure. Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Salta airport for the flight back to Buenos Aires.
Regular service as described; it can also be quoted private, and tailored to your dates, interests and budget.
Tell us your travel dates and how many of you there are. We send a free, no-obligation quote within 24 hours, with hotel options from comfortable to five-star.
Because of the flights. There is a direct flight from Iguazú to Salta, so the trip goes east to west without passing back through Buenos Aires, and it ends in Salta with a direct flight home to the capital. The reverse order works too if your dates favour it.
You cross an international border for the half day, so bring your passport. Whether you need a visa depends on your nationality and the rules change; tell us where you are from when you write and we tell you what we know before you travel.
No. The two national parks and the Bird Park charge an entrance per person, paid at the gate, as with every operator. We tell you the current amounts when we quote so you can budget for them.
As described it is a regular service, sharing the vehicle and the guide with other travellers on the excursions. We can also quote it private in both destinations, with your own guide and driver. Ask for both and compare.
Completely. Iguazú is hot, humid and green, at two hundred metres above sea level; Salta is dry, cool at night and climbs to four thousand on the Salinas Grandes day. Pack for both: light clothes and insect repellent for the falls, layers, a hat and sun cream for the north-west.
Yes. A fourth night at Iguazú adds the excursions around Puerto Iguazú; a fourth in Salta adds the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Cachi, Iruya or a night in the peñas. Tell us how many days you have and we lay them out.
Argentina has two norths that have nothing to do with each other. In the north-east, on the border with Brazil, the Iguazú River drops into a gorge along a front almost three kilometres wide, inside a subtropical forest full of butterflies and toucans. In the north-west, Salta sits at the foot of the Andes, colonial and dry, with the Puna and its salt flats above it and the wine valley of Cafayate below.
The direct flight between the two is what makes this week work: three nights at the falls, both sides and the Bird Park, then across to Salta without going back through Buenos Aires, for the city, Salinas Grandes with Purmamarca and Cafayate. It is the trip we recommend most often to travellers who have a week and want the north rather than Patagonia, and it pairs naturally with a few days in Buenos Aires at either end.
We include the three flights, six nights with breakfast, every transfer and the guided days in both places. Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling, and we come back within 24 hours with the week quoted as one figure.
The city, Salinas Grandes with Purmamarca and Cafayate, with flights and three nights.
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The city and the full train day to the La Polvorilla viaduct at 4,220 metres.
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The Quebrada de Humahuaca, Cachi, Iruya and a night in the peñas, to add to any of these.
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