The 96th overland border crossing of our Trans-Americas Journey tossed in a twist with our first border crossing by ferry. Here’s some road trip know-how about crossing the Paso Tres Fronteras or Triple Frontier border between Argentina and Paraguay.
Here’s our truck parked in a line of vehicles waiting to load onto the ferry between Argentina and Paraguay. The bank on the right is Brazil and Paraguay is straight ahead across the river.
Paso Tres Fronteras is most commonly referred to as the Triple Frontier Border. The term “triple frontier” refers to any place on the map where the borders of three countries meet. This happens in around 100 locations around the world. The triple frontier we’re talking about in this post is the point at which the borders of Argentina to the south, Brazil to the north, and Paraguay to the west converge. Separated by the Iguazu River and the Parana River, Argentina and Brazil are connected by an International Bridge and Brazil and Paraguay are connected by an International Bridge about 5 miles (8 km) up the Parana River (a second bridge between Paraguay and Brazil is nearing completion). However, there is no bridge between Argentina and Paraguay so the crossing between those countries is made on a small ferry. Of all of the triple frontiers on the planet, this one is notorious because smugglers of all sorts are believed to favor this remote border area to facilitate the movement of drugs and weapons through the region.
From: Puerto Iguazu, Argentina
To: Puerto Tres Fronteras/Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
Date: March 18, 2024
Now we’re loaded onto the ferry and making the brief Triple Frontier border crossing from Argentina into Paraguay.
We exited Argentina at the border facilities on the Parana River in the city of Puerto Iguazu. It took about 10 minutes to exit Argentina including the cancellation of the Argentinean Temporary Importation Permit (TIP) for the truck. And we never even got out of our truck at the Argentinean facilities–the whole process was handled at small drive-past booths. Next, we purchased our tickets for the vehicle and passenger ferry that travels across the Parana River to the Paraguay side (10,000 ARS for the truck and driver and 3,000 ARS per passenger). Then we waited for about an hour for the ferry to load up for the 10-minute journey across the river. On the Paraguay side, we drove up a hill away from the ferry dock and stopped at a small immigration booth where it took about 5 minutes to stamp us into Paraguay. We then drove two minutes further up the road to the
aduana (customs) station where an official filled out a form by hand to generate our TIP (frankly, they seemed surprised we were asking for one). When we asked the customs agent how many days were given on the TIP for our truck in Paraguay he said 30 days and then added “Is that enough?” And no agent ever looked at our truck.
Elapsed time: 10:15 am to 12:05 pm including a 1-hour wait for the ferry
Days given: 90 days for us and 30 days on the TIP for our truck
Fees: none
Services: none
Approaching the Paraguay ferry landing across the Parana River.
You must have third-party insurance for your vehicle to drive legally in Paraguay and in Argentina. We bought a long-term policy that covers us in the MERCOSUR countries of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia.
Where to fill up: Fuel is available in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina and in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. When we crossed this border, fuel was cheaper in Argentina so that’s where we filled up.
These are the immigration facilities on the Paraguay side of the Tres Fronteras border.
Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay rub shoulders at this border area and there can be a lot of people moving from country to country, especially on weekends and holidays.
Overall border rating: The Tres Fronteras Triple Frontier border crossing between Argentina and Paraguay was smooth and easy with the added adventure of a short ferry ride.
Our video, below, shows the unusual ferry crossing between Argentina and Paraguay at the Tres Fronteras border crossing.
