Is Paraguay Worth Visiting? South America's Hidden Gem

Table of Contents

When I tell people I’m in Paraguay for the second time, they usually ask, is Paraguay worth visiting? After all, this is not a country that receives many tourists. Only Suriname and Guyana receive less in South America.

I would say Paraguay is worth visiting. But I’m biased as someone who’s spent a fair few weeks in the country, has a Paraguayan girlfriend, and likes to explore the culture rather than solely tick off bucket list experiences.

Read on to find out who Paraguay is interesting for, what the highlights are and other important information including safety and costs. It’s a country that appeals to a certain type of person. Read the next section to find out if this is you!

Green trees and blue skies above a pond in the nature-rich Chaco region of Paraguay

Is Paraguay Worth Visiting?

Paraguay is worth visiting if you wish to immerse yourself in the culture and can appreciate a country that doesn’t have the star attractions you might find elsewhere.

I particularly love the food here. Paraguay has some of the best restaurants I have ever been to. Namely all-you-can-eat steakhouses with unlimited buffet food and desserts, with waiters often bringing various steak cuts to your table. These places are incredible even if you don’t like meat. There are dozens of options to choose from.

I have found the Paraguayan people to be friendlier than those in the majority of countries I have visited. They are more open than most, and happy to help if you ask them anything (in Spanish, few Paraguayans speak English).

Paraguay is not worth visiting if you’re coming here expecting a holiday which takes in numerous incredible tourist sites. You can see the Eiffel Tower in France, go volcano boarding in Nicaragua, trek through Patagonia’s glaciers in Argentina and Chile, explore incredible ruins in Guatemala and explore incredible temples in Myanmar.

You can’t do anything like that here.

Paraguay is home to only one UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Jesuit Missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana and Jesus de Tavarangue. This is the pinnacle of sightseeing in this country, and I’ll be honest, some of the Mayan and Inca ruins elsewhere in the Americas are much more interesting than these.

When I was first backpacking Paraguay back in 2022, I went to capital city Asuncion and the city of Aregua, famed for its strawberries.

I enjoyed both, but you won’t find any superstar attractions in either. Therefore Paraguay is a country where you will need to temper your expectations. It’s a country for a traveller not a tourist. And yes, I know many in the travel world despise that term, but if we’re honest here, anyone coming to Paraguay solely for sightseeing is going to feel underwhelmed.

If you travel for culture, people and food, you will love Paraguay. If you travel just for sightseeing and prefer mainstream “holiday” destinations, Paraguay is not the place for you.

What are the Highlights of Paraguay?

Tourism in Paraguay may be limited, but there are still a few cool spots worth checking out. Here are a few of the best ones I have been to:

Asuncion

Let’s start with the capital. There are several things to do in Asuncion. These include seeing where the president works at Palacio de los Lopez and visiting a mausoleum where many influential Paraguayan historical figures lie. This is called the Pantheon of Heroes.

Asuncion is also home to many incredible steakhouses as mentioned previously. Additionally, you can see how locals live their lives at busy Mercado 4, and enjoy rooftop views from Negroni, a great bar overlooking the Costanera (waterfront) alongside the Paraguay River.

The president's palace, Palacio de los Lopez, in Paraguay's capital Asuncion with a Paraguayan flag beside it. In front is a sign which says "Asuncion" — If you fancy seeing where Paraguay’s president works, you can take a cool picture of this sign right behind his workplace

Aregua

The city of strawberries and ceramics is worth visiting in the winter, when they host their annual strawberry expo, during which you can get numerous treats made from the little red fruits.

Elsewhere you can take a boat ride across Lake Ypacarai. I wrote separately about the best time for visiting Paraguay, however it is sunny most of the time here, which means there isn’t necessarily a bad time to take a trip to Aregua.

You can also ride a horse or grab an ice cream and chill on the beach. Aregua is a must on any Paraguay itinerary. I recommend doing it as a day trip from Asuncion.

San Bernardino

San Bernardino is the top Paraguay vacation spot. It’s a beach resort on the opposite side of Lake Ypacarai to Aregua.

The richest people from Asuncion come here for their summer holidays. It’s a place where you can chill, party, go to the incredible steakhouse O Gaucho, or try top-notch bollos (a bun with a filling, I recommend the dulce de leche here) at La Alemana.

I won’t say any more here. That’s because I wrote a whole post on all you should know before visiting San Bernardino which you should definitely read before visiting.

Encarnacion

If you like the beach, you will enjoy Encarnacion. But be aware, this is more of a summer (December-February) destination. In the winter, a lot around the beach is closed, and it’s much quieter. Encarnacion is home to one of the best beaches in Paraguay, with a long stretch of yellow sand and several places selling food including ice creams, although many of these are the ones that shut up shop for winter.

Away from the beach, I didn’t think Encarnacion was anything to write home about. You come here for three reasons really: to visit the beach, to use as a base for going to the nearby Jesuit missions, or to transit through to Posadas in Argentina, which can easily be reached by bus.

We spent a few hours in Posadas and nearly ended up in a troublesome situation with a motorbike gang who were lurking around the “Posadas” sign waiting for tourists like ourselves to take some pictures. Make of that what you will…

Encarnacion itself is fairly average, and I would only recommend visiting if coming for any of the three reasons mentioned above.

A yellow-sand beach in Encarnacion with the name "Playa San Jose" in big white letters — Playa San Jose is the beach which attracts lots of summer holidaymakers in Encarnacion

Jesuit Missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana, Jesus de Tavarangue and San Cosme and Damian

If you’re looking for Paraguay tourist attractions, you want to check out the Jesuit missions, which as I mentioned earlier, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Or at least two of them are. The missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana and Jesus de Tavarangue are the ruins protected under the UNESCO banner. They are easy to reach on a half-day trip from Encarnacion by bus, although you will need a taxi to travel between the two, which are around 10km apart.

The missions of San Cosme and Damian are in a separate town of the same name. It takes 3 hours to reach them from Encarnacion, and transport is scarce. Your only option for getting back without a taxi is a university bus which heads through the town at 4pm.

San Cosme and Damian also have a small observatory which you can visit at the same time as the ruins. This is included in the ticket price, and a guide will tell you all about how this place was important for astrological research. Must admit you will find it tricky to understand your guide unless you know Spanish.

Tickets to all ruins cost 40,000 guaranies (£4/US$5). The ticket covers all three sites and is valid for 3 days. You will also receive a Spanish-speaking guide for that price. However we weren’t given one at La Santisima Trinidad de Parana, so be sure to ask at the ticket office if they don’t give you a guide straight away.

Ciudad del Este

The gritty city of Ciudad del Este on Paraguay’s eastern border won’t win any beauty awards. It’s a place best known for selling cheap electronics, although they can often be of dubious quality.

It is also a key transit point, with tourists passing through on their way to visit Iguazu Falls in Argentina or Brazil, which are under an hour’s drive from this rugged Paraguayan city. This means crossing the crazy Triple Frontier border.

The city does however have some touristic reasons to visit, with some of the most popular places in Paraguay nearby. One of these is the Salto del Monday waterfall, which is located in a national park just south of the city. This spectacular site is overshadowed by Iguazu Falls, but still worth checking out. Paraguay does have some national parks worth exploring, including this one.

You also have the Itaipu Dam which lies across the Parana River separating Paraguay from Brazil. It is free to enter if you visit on the Paraguay side (it costs money to visit from Brazil). The dam is one of the 7 Wonders of Engineering alongside the likes of the Panama Canal and the Empire State Building. So it’s definitely worth checking out.

Paraguay Tourism: Why Don’t More People Come Here?

Of Paraguay’s neighbours, Brazil has Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon Rainforest, Bolivia has the incredible Uyuni Salt Flats and Argentina is home to Patagonia, whilst Iguazu Falls narrowly misses out on being Paraguayan, due to its position just across the Triple Frontier border, sharing territory with Argentina and Brazil.

Paraguay tourist attractions just don’t have the same mass appeal, which leaves the country heavily overshadowed by its more famous neighbours. Even then, some attractions such as the Jesuit Missions of San Cosme and Damian, can be pretty hard to get to and from.

Besides, Paraguay isn’t the easiest country to get to. I had a nightmare working out how to come here from the UK. The only direct flight from Europe is from Madrid, and that one isn’t too budget-friendly. In fact Paraguay has very few connections outside of South America. Sao Paulo in Brazil is the easiest place to fly from, when all things (cost, number of flights etc) are considered.

It’s also a country without the tourist infrastructure that South America backpackers are used to. This isn’t Medellin or Cusco where you can find a cheap hostel with great facilities and meet up with other travellers along the Gringo Trail.

Whilst Paraguay does have a handful of hostels, the choices are poor and prices are high considering what you’re getting. I stayed in one when I first came to Asuncion and it was little more than a bed in a dingy cold room, for a price similar to some of the more upmarket hostels I stayed in whilst visiting Colombia and Ecuador among other countries.

Transport can also be tricky to navigate if you don’t speak Spanish or have local friends. Fortunately I’ve made your life a little easier by writing an article detailing how to use the buses in Asuncion and surrounding areas.

An entrance between two pillars, left over from the Jesuit Missions of San Cosme and Damian — The Jesuit Missions of San Cosme and Damian are a major tourist attraction in Paraguay, but hard to get to

Is Paraguay Safe for Tourists?

Fortunately, Paraguay is a very safe country by South American standards, in fact it is one of the safest countries in Latin America.

Crime does exist, but it’s much lower than in most South American countries. Avoid the violent hotspot of Pedro Juan Caballero and be wary of not-too-distant Concepcion which also has a fair bit of crime, linked to drug smuggling gangs who operate across the Brazil border.

Asuncion is relatively safe aside from the Chacarita slum, Mercado 4, Calle Ultima and some small parts of the city’s outskirts with nothing of interest to tourists.

Read my Paraguay safety travel guide for a lot more detailed information on safety in Paraguay.

Is Paraguay Expensive for Tourists?

Paraguay is a cheap country for tourists. Bus transport costs around £1/US$1.25 for a one-way ticket covering short journeys. It will cost little more than £10 (US$13) for a long distance bus.

Hostels, apartments and hotel rooms can be found for similar prices to each other starting from around the £5-10 (US$6-12) mark.

Food is also super affordable with a cheap meal costing as little as £2/US$3 and all-you-can-eat steak at a posh restaurant being available for a bargain £10-17 (US$13-21).

Activities vary in price depending on what you do, but in general you will be looking at £5-10 (US$6-12) to either enter an attraction or go on a group tour. Smaller attractions will cost less than this. Only private tours can be considered expensive in Paraguay.

Is Paraguay Worth Visiting? South America’s Hidden Gem