You eat inside the park. Leaving for Puerto Iguazú and coming back would cost about two hours, and on this day you do not have two hours to spend on lunch.
Inside the park
- El Fortín, the park buffet and the practical choice. Argentine grill, hot regional dishes, salads and desserts, with drinks, beer, coffee and a decent wine list. Celiac, vegetarian and vegan options are available. You are fed and back on the circuits in about 45 minutes
- Meliá Iguazú, a five-star hotel inside the park near the Lower Circuit, with a first-class menu and the falls visible from the terrace. Slower and pricier, the option for a day whose flights bought you the time. Reserve ahead through the tour: walk-ins queue, and the queue is daylight you do not get back
- Kiosks along the circuits for water, coffee and snacks, plus designated picnic areas if you would rather bring lunch than buy it
At the airport
Puerto Iguazú’s airport (IGR) has a Hard Rock Cafe. Useful for breakfast on the way in, and genuinely useful on the way out, when you have an evening flight and time to fill.
Two things worth knowing
Bring snacks anyway. Lunch lands around 12:30 pm and your day started at 4:30 am. That is a long morning, and the quarter of an hour spent queueing at a kiosk is a quarter of an hour not spent at a waterfall. Something in the daypack solves it.
Watch the coatíes. They are everywhere, they look charming, and they are experienced thieves who will go straight into an open bag. Eat only in the designated areas and keep the daypack zipped. Do not feed them, they bite, and the fines are real.
