Planning & Information – Paraguay

Where: Asunción, Areguá, Capiatá, Caacupé, Yaguarón, Salto Cristal, Encarnación, Jesuit Missions Ruins, Yacaré Yrupé
Transport: Airlines, Car
Who: One backpacker
Currency: Paraguayan Guaranis
 

Orientation
This itinerary takes you through some of the best places around mid and south Paraguay for five days, but if you have a few days more then include some of the other wonders of the country as well, especially Chaco region.

Visa
Make sure to check if you need a visa to travel to Paraguay. We did not require to get a visa prior to our trip, so it was a breeze going through the immigration at Asuncion airport.
 

Here are some tips that I experienced on my trip to Paraguay:

• Cash or cards – Credit cards are not widely used in Paraguay but ATMs and currency exchange centers are located almost everywhere in the big cities. Small town and villages expect cash, than credit cards.
• Transportation – Taxis are not expensive and Uber is available in big cities. Public buses run across the country and driving is also great in Paraguay.
   

  Driving in Paraguay With a huge network of highways and paved roads in the country, driving in Paraguay is a breeze. Spectacular highways connect mega cities, networking in to single-lane paved roads leading to small towns and villages. Most speed limits are 80 km, while small roads it’s 35-50 km. Passing (overtaking) is common on highways with clear markings of go and no-go zones. The traffic across the north-south (Asunción-Encarnación route) was pretty empty with a few trucks passing through because of the access to Argentina on both sides, and very few personal cars.

   

• Utilities & others
  • Tap water is not recommended to drink. One liter bottle of water from a local market will cost PYG 5,000 (approx $0.70).
  • Wi-fi – Available in most hotels and cafes in big cities.
  • Mobile services – The SIM card from Tigo Paraguay costs PYG 16,000 for 8GB data and network is available all across the country (at least on our trip).

I booked hotels before traveling to Paraguay. These were booked after reviewing them on Google, TripAdvisor, booking.com and WikiTravel.

Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = PYG 7000 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.