VacationSelector
The Iguazu Falls in the green jungle, Puerto Iguazu
Puerto IguazuThe Iguazu Falls in the green jungle
Ushuaia below snow-capped mountains, Ushuaia
UshuaiaUshuaia below snow-capped mountains

Photos: Puerto Iguazu by Muhammed Ballan, Pexels License; Ushuaia by Jan Tang, Pexels License.

Puerto Iguazu or Ushuaia?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Puerto Iguazu for

  • day trips
  • families
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Puerto Iguazu’s own page.

Choose Ushuaia for

  • culture and sights
  • food and drink
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Ushuaia’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Puerto Iguazu 5, Ushuaia 3: Puerto Iguazu leads by 2 points.
Food & drink. Puerto Iguazu 28, Ushuaia 40: Ushuaia leads by 12 points.
Culture & sights. Puerto Iguazu 9, Ushuaia 22: Ushuaia leads by 13 points.
Nightlife. Puerto Iguazu 14, Ushuaia 18: Ushuaia leads by 4 points.
Nature & outdoors. Puerto Iguazu 95, Ushuaia 88: Puerto Iguazu leads by 7 points.
Day trips. Puerto Iguazu 33, Ushuaia 14: Puerto Iguazu leads by 19 points.
Good for families. Puerto Iguazu 55, Ushuaia 40: Puerto Iguazu leads by 15 points.
Getting around. Puerto Iguazu 54, Ushuaia 45: Puerto Iguazu leads by 9 points.
Shopping & style. Puerto Iguazu 17, Ushuaia 22: Ushuaia leads by 5 points.
Affordability. Puerto Iguazu 48, Ushuaia 42: Puerto Iguazu leads by 6 points.
Live music & performing arts. Puerto Iguazu 7, Ushuaia 10: Ushuaia leads by 3 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Puerto Iguazu 34, Ushuaia 26: Puerto Iguazu leads by 8 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Puerto Iguazu and Ushuaia.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Too close to call, 2 points apart

Puerto Iguazu
33match

Wins on day trips and families with your weighting.

Ushuaia
31match

Wins on culture and sights and food and drink with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Puerto Iguazu in July

22 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
103 mmrain in the month
5 hsunshine a day
11 hdaylight a day

Ushuaia in July

4 °Cdaytime high
0 °Cnight-time low
36 mmrain in the month
2 hsunshine a day
8 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
Puerto IguazuUshuaia

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Puerto Iguazu: 1991-2020 normals, Iguazu Aerodrome (17.8 km from centre). Ushuaia: 1991-2020 normals, Ushuaia Aerodrome (1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasurePuerto IguazuUshuaia
Official languageSpanishSpanish
CurrencyArgentine Peso (ARS)Argentine Peso (ARS)
SocketsCI220 V, 50 HzCI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC-3UTC-3
Emergency number117 or 911117 or 911
Elevation162 m23 m
Main airportCataratas Del Iguazú International Airport (IGR)18 km from centre8 non-stop destinationsUshuaia - Malvinas Argentinas International Airport (USH)4 km from centre9 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year16 days16 days

By the numbers

MeasurePuerto IguazuUshuaia
City population54,90382,615
People per km²-3,592
Museums within 10 km05
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km10

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Puerto Iguazu or Ushuaia somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.