Find a Travel Partner in Paraguay
Everything you need to plan Paraguay with a travel partner - key facts, current tourism trends, live local data, and exactly what your passport needs to enter.
🇵🇾 Paraguay at a glance
- Capital
- Asunción
- Largest city
- Asunción
- Official languages
- Guaraní, Spanish
- Area
- 406,752 km² (157,048 mi²)
- Population
- 6.9 million2024 · World Bank
- Currency
- Paraguayan guaraní — PYG (₲)
- Region
- South America
- Time zone
- America/Asuncion
- Calling code
- +595
- Plug type
- Type C
Data updated: weather just now · rates 4 min ago · sources: Open-Meteo, ExchangeRate-API
About Paraguay
Paraguay is the country South American travelers skip - and that's precisely its appeal. Landlocked at the continent's heart, the least-visited and one of the least-known nations in South America, it offers something increasingly rare: a place almost entirely untouched by tourism, where you travel for the texture of real, unposed life rather than a checklist of sights. It's also one of the continent's most genuinely bilingual countries - Guaraní, the indigenous language, is spoken by nearly everyone alongside Spanish, woven into daily speech in a way found nowhere else, a living link to a deep pre-colonial culture. The headline sights are the ruins of the Jesuit missions - Trinidad and Jesús, UNESCO-listed remnants of the remarkable 17th-18th century "reductions" where Jesuits and Guaraní built a utopian society of art, music and faith (the story dramatized in the film The Mission), their red-sandstone churches now hauntingly beautiful in the green countryside. The capital, Asunción, is a faded, sultry riverside city of crumbling grandeur, leafy plazas and an emerging food-and-art scene. To the west sprawls the Gran Chaco - a vast, hot, thorny wilderness of surprising wildlife (jaguars, giant anteaters, armadillos) and isolated Mennonite colonies, one of South America's great empty frontiers. And the mighty Itaipú Dam near the Brazilian/Argentine triple border is an engineering colossus, an easy add-on to nearby Iguazú Falls. For travel partners Paraguay is for the curious and the off-the-beaten-path-minded - it's extremely cheap (one of the continent's best-value countries), warm and welcoming precisely because foreigners are a novelty, and rewarding in an unhurried, authentic way. Sip the ubiquitous tereré (ice-cold mate, the national obsession in the heat), explore the missions, and experience a side of South America that mass tourism forgot. Share the discovery - it's a country that surprises everyone who bothers to come.
Tourism in Paraguay
International tourist arrivals over the most recent years with available data - roughly #8 of 10 in its continent by reported arrivals (sources vary by country).
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Create your tripBest time to visit Paraguay
Paraguay is hot, and timing is mostly about avoiding the worst of it. The most comfortable months are the cooler, drier winter season (roughly May-September), when temperatures are pleasant for exploring the missions, Asunción and especially the brutally hot Chaco (summer there is genuinely punishing). Summer (December-February) is very hot and humid (35-40°C+ is common), with afternoon storms - lush but sweaty, and the Chaco becomes extreme. Spring and autumn are warm transitional shoulders. The tereré-drinking culture makes sense the moment you feel the heat. For the Jesuit missions and general travel, target the May-September window for comfort. Holy Week and various religious festivals are culturally rich times; the country's pace is unhurried year-round.
Top places & experiences in Paraguay
Jesuit Missions (Trinidad & Jesús)
UNESCO-listed red-sandstone ruins of the remarkable 18th-century Jesuit-Guaraní 'reductions' - hauntingly beautiful churches in green countryside, the story behind 'The Mission'.
Asunción
A faded, sultry riverside capital of crumbling grandeur, leafy plazas, the Panteón Nacional and an emerging food-and-art scene - South America's most under-the-radar capital.
The Gran Chaco
A vast, wild, thorny frontier of jaguars, anteaters and isolated Mennonite colonies - one of the continent's great empty wildernesses for the adventurous.
Itaipú Dam
A colossal hydroelectric engineering wonder on the Paraná near Ciudad del Este - an easy, impressive add-on to the nearby Iguazú Falls and triple border.
Areguá & Lake Ypacaraí
A charming strawberry-and-ceramics town of cobbled streets and faded mansions on a lake near Asunción - the country's gentle, artsy weekend escape.
Encarnación
Paraguay's relaxed 'beach' city on the Paraná river with a summer carnival and sandy riverfront - the comfortable base for the nearby Jesuit missions.
Budget & costs
Estimates in USD for planning only - your style and season change everything. Use the live exchange rate above for local-currency budgeting.
Getting around
Paraguay's transport is basic but functional and very cheap. Intercity buses are the main way to travel - frequent and affordable between Asunción, Encarnación (for the missions) and Ciudad del Este (for Itaipú/Iguazú), with overnight services on longer routes; comfort varies, so pick the better companies for long hauls. The roads on the main eastern corridor are reasonable; the Chaco's roads are rough, remote and best tackled with a 4x4, a guide or an organized trip (it's genuine wilderness travel). Asunción has cheap (chaotic) city buses, taxis and ride-hailing (Bolt, MUV) which are the easy choice for visitors. Renting a car gives freedom in the east but isn't necessary for the main sights. For the missions, base in Encarnación and use local buses or a taxi/tour. Distances and the heat make for slow travel - lean into the unhurried pace.
Money & connectivity
Paraguay uses the guaraní (PYG) - confusingly, the same word as the language - and it's one of South America's cheapest countries, so your money goes a long way. Cash dominates outside Asunción's hotels and bigger restaurants (which take cards) - carry guaraníes for everything in the field (ATMs in cities and towns; US dollars and Argentine pesos are also accepted in some border and tourist contexts). Tipping ~10% is appreciated. SIMs (Tigo, Personal, Claro) are cheap with decent coverage in populated areas, sparse in the Chaco. Wi-Fi is common in city accommodation. Spanish and Guaraní are both official and everyday - Spanish gets you everywhere, but a word of Guaraní delights people enormously (it's a point of deep national pride). Most nationalities get visa-free entry - check yours. Bargaining is mild; prices are low to begin with.
Health & safety
Paraguay is generally safe and relaxed for travelers - it sees so few tourists that visitors are more a curiosity than a target, and violent crime against foreigners is uncommon. Use normal precautions in Asunción and especially in Ciudad del Este (a busy border-trade city with more petty crime and contraband - watch valuables, be alert near the border). Check current advisories for any specific cautions (some remote northern/Chaco areas and certain border zones warrant care). The bigger practical risks are health and environment: the intense heat and sun (hydrate constantly - tereré exists for a reason), mosquito-borne dengue (repellent), and in the Chaco the remoteness, heat and need for proper preparation. Drink bottled/filtered water. Medical care is limited outside Asunción - insurance is wise. Roads and bus travel are the everyday hazard - choose better bus lines, avoid risky night driving. Emergency number: 911. Overall, a low-key, low-stress destination for the prepared.
General guidance, not medical or security advice. Check your own government's latest travel advisory and a travel-health clinic before you book.
Culture & etiquette
Paraguayans are warm, easygoing, family-centered and genuinely pleased to meet the rare foreign visitor - a friendly, patient, humble manner is met with real hospitality, and curiosity about you is affectionate, not intrusive. The Guaraní language and identity are a deep source of pride - using even a single word ("Mba'éichapa" - how are you?) lights people up and breaks every barrier. Tereré, the ice-cold shared mate, is the social glue: being invited to share the gourd is friendship, and you drink from the communal straw and pass it back (don't move the bombilla). Greetings are warm (handshakes, cheek kisses among friends). Dress is casual; dress modestly at churches and the missions. The pace is unhurried - patience and a relaxed attitude are essential and appreciated. Religious tradition runs deep. Useful phrases: "Hola / Mba'éichapa" (hi / how are you?, Spanish/Guaraní), "Gracias / Aguyje" (thank you), "Por favor" (please), "¿Cuánto cuesta?" (how much?), "Iporã" (good/nice, Guaraní). Warmth and curiosity are your best tools here.
Visa & entry requirements for Paraguay
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