🧭 Paraguay: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Paraguay feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 55 written places.
Unhurried and deeply social; the shared terere gourd sets the pace of the whole day.
Cost level: Budget One of the friendlier destinations for a travel budget - daily costs sit well below western Europe. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Accept terere when the gourd comes round - sharing it is social acceptance
- Greet with a kiss on each cheek in social settings - men greeting men shake hands
- Learn a word of Guarani - Mba'eichapa as a hello opens smiles everywhere
- Plan errands for morning or late afternoon around the midday pause
✗ Better avoided
- Return the terere gourd half-full - custom is to drink it dry before passing it back
- Expect much open between roughly 12:00 and 15:00 - siesta is real, especially in summer
- Refuse hospitality abruptly - offers of food and drink carry social weight
- Mistake the slow pace for poor service - unhurried is simply the default
💡 Worth knowing
- Cash guaranies rule outside malls and big supermarkets
- Tipping is about 10% in restaurants and nothing in taxis
- Sunday is family asado day - many restaurants close or sit empty
- Most people switch between Spanish and Guarani mid-sentence - both are official
Plugs and voltage
Type C · 220 V travel adapter →
CurrencyGuarani (PYG)
LanguagesSpanish, Guarani
Driving sideright
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list the kind of gear we would pack ourselves.
Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.