214 - Paraguay travel advice

Paraguay travel advice from independent travellers who have just been. We cover visas, Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion, the Jesuit ruins and the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion.

Our world fact book claims that Paraguay and Bolivia have a very similar GDP, but our experience of Paraguay was that it was much more affluent and faster-growing than its andean neighbour. There seems to be more indigent people living in Asuncion than the other cities we visited, and there are large areas of farmland that provide little more than sustenance living for its workers ... so maybe those stats are true.

All in all, we felt very safe travelling in Paraguay, even when walking the streets in the late evening or on long bus trips. While we've heard reports of some scams, we encountered none at all. We never felt threatened, hassled or oversold because we were foreigners ... which was a nice contrast with our time in Bolivia.

Paraguay's a great destination, with lots more to see. There are wonderful natural sites, an intriguing and accessible modern history, and is very well priced. I really don't know why more people don't visit, so plan to go soon before tourism really picks up.