Paraguay

Spanish and Guaraní are both official languages, and most Paraguayans speak both, often switching between them mid-sentence in a blend known locally as jopara. Guaraní is the language of the pre-colonial Guaraní people and remains the first language for many rural communities; it is also a source of national pride, present on street signs, radio, and in everyday greetings. English is limited outside upscale hotels and tour operators in Asunción, so a handful of Spanish phrases go a long way, and even a few words of Guaraní are warmly received.

Prepaid SIM and eSIM cards are inexpensive and easy to buy at the airport or any phone shop, generally requiring only a passport to register. Coverage is strong in cities and along main highways but drops off in remote parts of the Chaco. There are no unusual content restrictions or service blocking for travelers.

Tap water is treated but not consistently safe to drink; stick to bottled or filtered water, including for ice in smaller towns. Pharmacies are widespread in cities and department capitals, many open late or around the clock in Asunción, and pharmacists can advise on minor ailments without a prescription. No vaccinations are mandatory for entry, but protection against yellow fever and hepatitis A is commonly recommended, and mosquito precautions are worth taking in lowland and Chaco areas where dengue occurs seasonally. Travel insurance with medical coverage is strongly advised, since private clinics offer the best care and are not free.

Citizens of the United States, Canada, most of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand can enter Paraguay without a visa for stays of up to 90 days, extendable once for a further 90 days through the immigration authority. Travelers from countries outside this list should check with the nearest Paraguayan embassy, since visa processing can take several business days. Everyone needs a passport valid for at least six months beyond the planned stay, and immigration officers may ask to see an onward or return ticket.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Sharing tereré is a genuine social ritual, not just a drink: if offered the gourd and metal straw, it is polite to take a sip and pass it back rather than declining outright. Greetings matter — a handshake, or among friends a single cheek kiss, is standard, and skipping small talk before getting to business can come across as brusque. Modest dress, covering shoulders and knees, is expected at churches and at Basílica de Caacupé. Paraguayans tend to be understated and avoid direct confrontation, so blunt criticism or raised voices are best avoided even when frustrated.

Public holidays affect Paraguay more than in many countries: banks, government offices, and many shops close completely, and intercity buses run a reduced schedule. The religious holiday around December 8th, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converge on Caacupé, is worth planning around rather than into, since roads and accommodation fill up. Most shops keep a long midday break, especially outside Asunción, reopening in the late afternoon; Sunday is the quietest day for opening hours nationwide.

• By air: domestic flights are limited. Most travelers reach Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, or the Chaco by road; a short flight from Asunción's Silvio Pettirossi International Airport mainly saves time for the far Chaco or Pedro Juan Caballero.
• By bus: long-distance coaches connect every city and are the backbone of getting around, with comfortable executive-class services on main routes like Asunción–Ciudad del Este and Asunción–Encarnación. Buy tickets at the terminal a day ahead in high season.
• By river: passenger boats still run on the Paraguay River to remote northern towns, a slow but memorable alternative for travelers with extra time.

Paraguayan food centers on corn, cassava, and cheese, a legacy of Guaraní staples blended with the dairy and grilling traditions Spanish settlers brought. A typical breakfast might be a piece of chipa — a baked cassava-and-cheese roll — with strong coffee, while lunch is the main meal of the day for most families, often built around a hearty soup or grilled meat with rice or noodles. Dinner tends to be lighter and later, sometimes just chipa or leftovers.

The national dish is sopa paraguaya, which despite its name is not a liquid at all: it is a dense, savory cornbread eaten alongside grilled meat. Sunday asado, a slow family barbecue, is a weekly institution in most households, and a traveler invited to one should expect to eat well past feeling full.

No description of Paraguayan food is complete without tereré: yerba mate leaves steeped in cold water and sipped through a metal straw from a shared gourd, often mixed with medicinal herbs bought fresh at roadside stands. It is less a drink than a daily social pause, passed hand to hand among friends, family, and coworkers through the hot months. Most people eat at home, at simple lunch counters, or from street stalls selling chipa and other snacks; formal restaurant dining is mostly an Asunción and Ciudad del Este habit.

Asunción is the natural starting point: a walkable historic core anchored by Palacio de López and Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, with the riverside Costanera promenade and the cultural complex Manzana de la Rivera nearby.

East of the capital, the Central department's lakeside towns make an easy day out: Areguá is known for its ceramics workshops and hilltop views over Lake Ypacaraí, while neighboring San Bernardino is a longtime summer retreat with lakefront villas and restaurants. Nearby Caacupé draws visitors and pilgrims alike to Basílica de Caacupé, the country's most important religious site.

Toward the Brazilian border, Ciudad del Este is Paraguay's second city, built around cross-border shopping and the nearby Itaipu Dam. South of there, Encarnación sits on the Paraná River and is the closest base for the Jesuit mission ruins at Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad and Jesús de Tavarangue, as well as a lively riverside carnival each summer.

Smaller regional towns reward those with extra time: Villarrica has a relaxed colonial center in the Guairá hills, riverside Pilar sits among the wetlands of the Ñeembucú, and Pedro Juan Caballero in the north is the gateway to Cerro Corá National Park, site of the final battle of the War of the Triple Alliance. In the west, the Chaco town of Filadelfia is the center of Paraguay's Mennonite farming colonies and a jumping-off point for wildlife-watching in the dry forest beyond.