Crossing the border from Argentina to Brazil

The main border crossing point between Argentina and Brazil is located in the small town of Puerto Iguazu, which is also the location of the Iguazu Falls.  Therefore if travelling between the two countries it makes sense to also stop to visit the most amazing waterfall in the world!

When approaching the border in a car you will need to join a lane of cars and wait your turn to drive up to one of the immigration kiosks where the attendant will take your documents to see if you were legal in Argentina and then stamp you out of the country.

If you are going to Brazil in one of our cross border services our vehicles use a special lane for tourism vehicles which is often much shorter than the general public lanes and allows us to cross people much quicker.  Your driver will also help with getting your documents processed for leaving Argentina.

From the Argentine immigration you drive across a bridge and a further 1.5 Kilometers (about 1 mile) to the Brazilian immigration offices where you must park, exit your vehicle, then enter the building and queue to have your documents processed for your entry to Brazil.

You must be aware that local Argentine and Brazilian citizens are not required to stop at the Brazilian immigration and you will see that most vehicles continue past the passport control point.  Therefore, if you are a visitor to Brazil you must be conscious that you need to stop and enter the building to process your documents, or risk having to drive back to the border later to get your stamp because you will need one if you will be travelling inside of Brazil.  Our drivers know that you need to stop and will show you exactly where to go.

* If you are crossing by bus, please read the transport from Puerto Iguazu to Foz do Iguacu section below for more specific information.

By Local Bus

When your bus arrives at the Argentine immigration everyone must exit and make a queue to enter the building to get your documents checked for exiting the country, before everyone enters the bus again to drive across the bridge over the Iguazu river to the Brazilian side.

Please note that local buses which operate between Puerto Iguazu and the city of Foz do Iguacu in Brazil may not stop at the Brazilian immigration if you do not request it. This is because local Argentine and Brazilian nationals who usually make up the majority of the passengers are not required to stop at the Brazil side of the border.  Therefore let your bus driver know you are going there and they will pause at the bus stop for you to exit with your luggage, and then they will continue on.  *See below for information about which buses will stop and wait for you.

At the Brazilian border, you enter the building and queue for your turn to approach the immigration windows where officials will check your documents and ask a few questions about the purpose of your visit.  After stamping into Brazil you need to go back to the bus stop you were dropped off and wait for the next bus.

*There are some buses that will stop and wait for you at the Brazilian border, and they are: 

• Tourist buses destined to just go to the Iguazu Falls on the Brazil side. 
• Long-distance coaches coming from the interior of Argentina and who will terminate in Brazil.
• Buses that are just passing through Brazilian territory to go to Paraguay.  These buses do not stop at the Brazilian immigration, and you cannot exit these buses until you reach the Paraguayan immigration.

By Transfer

As the local leader in cross border transfer in Iguazu, we offer a variety of services which will transport you across the border.  See below to choose your ideal transfer service depending on where in Puerto Iguazu you need to be collected, and wherein Foz do Iguacu you are going to.

If the vehicle you are travelling in has what is called a Carta Verder (Green Card) which allows it to enter into Brazilian territory, then it is possible to drive from Argentina to Brazil at the Iguazu border.

All our vehicles have this document and also are permitted to use the tourism lane to make the crossing into Brazil faster than for the general public.

Getting there by bus

From the Argentine town of Puerto Iguazu, there are regular buses which depart the bus terminal which will take you to Foz do Iguacu.  When your bus reaches the Argentine immigration at the border the whole bus is required to process your papers for exiting the country.  When everyone on the bus has been processed you enter the bus again to drive across the bridge spanning the Iguazu river to Brazilian territory.

Be aware that the local buses are not required to stop at the Brazilian immigration because local Argentinians and Brazilians do not need entry stamps.  Therefore you must make your bus driver aware you will need to exit the bus there.

The bus does not wait for you, so after you enter the immigration building and stamp into Brazil, you then need to go back to the same bus stop to wait for the next bus with Foz do Iguacu written on it.

Getting there with a transfer service

Having a private vehicle to bring you from Puerto Iguazu to Foz do Iguacu is definitely the easiest and fastest way to get from Argentina to Foz do Iguacu.  The car is going to take you to the exact location to process your travel documents on both the Argentine and Brazilian side, wait for you to complete immigration, and then drop you off at exactly where you need to go.

This is the transfer service from Puerto Iguazu hotels to Foz do Iguacu hotels

Go to this page to find transfers from the Puerto Iguazu IGR airport to Foz do Iguacu

There is also an airport transfer from Puerto Iguazu hotels to the Foz do Iguacu IGU airport.

With normal traffic it takes about 1 hour to do passport control on the Argentine side, then drive across to Brazil to do immigration procedures there.  If you cross early in the morning before 08:00 am there is less traffic and the crossing normally takes around 40 minutes.

On public holidays, long weekends and during the high season from November to the end of March there are more tourists and the crossing can average 1.5 hours to 2 hours on really busy days.  

If you make the crossing on one of our services, the vehicles we use to take you across drive via a tourist lane on the Argentine side of the border which allows us to cross faster than the non-tourist lanes.

Yes, you are required to stop at the passport control between Argentina and Brazil and have your passport stamped even if you are going just to see the falls on the Brazilian side for a couple of hours.

If your nationality requires a visa to enter Brazil, then you will need to have a visa to go see the falls on the Brazil side, even if you are only staying a short while.

Getting there by Bus

There is a bus company called Crucero del Norte that has daily departures from the Puerto Iguazu bus terminal in Argentina to the entrance of the Brazil side of the falls.

Round-trip private transfer (fastest option)

Having a driver pick you up from your accommodation to take you across the border to the entrance of the Brazil side of the falls is the fastest and easiest way to get there.  Your driver will guide you through the passport control stops and when you reach the entrance to the national park in Brazil, they will discuss the timing of exploring the falls, and you both agree on a time to meet again for your return to Argentina

You can read more about this option here: Round trip private transfer