Taking a Speedboat Ride Under Iguassu Falls

As part of our vacation to the stunning Iguassu Falls in Brazil, we decided that we wanted to add a little bit of adventure to the trip. Some of the options included a guided hike through the surrounding rain forest and a helicopter ride above the falls, but we decided to go with a speedboat ride directly under the falls.

That’s what I’m talking about.

How to Book the Speedboat Ride

While at Iguassu Falls, we stayed at the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, the only hotel inside Iguassu National Park. Inside the Belmond Hotel is a tour desk that can book tours with local companies for you. We expressed our interest in the speedboat ride, so the woman at the desk confirmed us for the next morning with Macuco Safari company. (Tip: we paid for the speedboat ride with the tour desk because if you charge it to your room it is taxed and comes out a little more expensive.)

For just under $60/person, we booked the excursion, which also included shuttle transportation to and from Macuco Safari (also located inside Iguassu National Park), a small bottle of water, and a poncho. Don’t use the poncho. You’re about to take a speedboat ride under a massive waterfall. Get soaked. Just say no to the poncho.

The Preliminary Event

The shuttle ride from the Belmond Hotel is about 5-10 minutes long. When you arrive at Macuco Safari, the driver will bring you to the ticket window where you will pick up your entrance tickets.

From here, the excursion is broken down in to 3 parts: 1) an open air electric car ride through the rain forest, 2) a short hike to the water, 3) the speedboat ride.

For the first part of the trip, you’ll board an open air electric car (think amusement park train, minus the tracks) and take a 15-20 minute ride through the rain forest, stopping occasionally so the guide can point out interesting facts about the surrounding area.

Once you get off the car, you’ll be guided on a short hike to the river, where you’ll have the opportunity to stop at a small waterfall along the way.

The Main Event

Finally, you’ve reached the main event. Before being suited up with a life jacket and getting in line, you’ll have the opportunity to either use the bathroom or put any valuables you have in a locker so they don’t get completely waterlogged.

Standing in line, you can see all the people coming back from their speedboat ride. It’s like being in line for a roller coaster. When people get back from a roller coaster they’re either like “That was awesome!” and then throw up, or “Man, that sucked” and still throw up. For this excursion, it was the former…except no one puked.

Everybody getting off the boat looked like they had the time of their lives, soaked from head to toe. This got our group even more pumped. Not that we really needed the extra motivation. I mean, we’re about to take a friggin speedboat ride under one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world!

We got in the boat and it started out like any normal speedboat ride should start: fast. But then we got into the open water and our driver suddenly became Ricky Bobby at Talladega.

What am I doing?

We started taking hairpin turns at full speed. But the thing is, even though it was unexpected, everybody was hysterically laughing.

And our driver was a pro. From the waves he created from such a dramatic turn, he’d immediately turn the boat in the direction of the wave, plowing right into it and sending a tidal wave of water into the boat. At one point we hit a wave, but it was small, so everyone let out a disappointed “awwww.” So what did our driver do? He crushed the next wave and no one escaped it. It knocked my sunglasses right off and into the row of girls behind us. Well played, Mr. Speedboat Captain.

After a few minutes of crushing waves and trying to splash other boats, we headed for the falls.

Calm before the storm

Once the obligatory photo ops were complete, we headed right for the beast behind us. Needless to say, the falls were thunderous and we got pounded by water.

Here we go!

Drenched

The aftermath. Good view of the falls from below.

This trip was an absolute blast and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Iguassu Falls. It was over 90 degrees that day, it felt so good.

Also, props to our camerawoman for getting some great shots with her GoPro. She took video as well, but it’s too large to upload here.

Things to Know

Just as a reminder, here are some things to know before you go:

This excursion is lead by Macuco Safari company. Check out their website here for the most up to date information.
This is not a boat ride that will make you feel sea sick. Unlike our boat ride from hell that we took in Seychelles, this ride was great because you’re on a calm river and you have a strong breeze and lots of water hitting you.
There are lockers at 2 locations: at the ticket window and right before you get on the boat (small fee at both locations). If you want to take pictures of the car ride and hike through the rain forest, wait until right before you get on the boat to put your stuff in a locker.
Every boat ride comes with a guide that will take pictures and video. After the boat ride, you can purchase 1 or both.
If you’re staying at the Belmond Hotel inside Iguassu National Park, it is possible to charge the photos and video to your room if you don’t bring money with you. Just ask one of the employees at Macuco Safari and they will help you.
Dress appropriately. You’re going under a waterfall and walking through the rain forest…don’t wear nice things (I shouldn’t even have to say that, but it’ll happen).
Bring a towel and/or a change of clothes. We didn’t do either of these things, but because it was so hot and we wore bathing suits, we dried off fairly quickly.
The whole thing takes about 2-3 hours.