Welcome to another post of helping a reader travel! As I’ve mentioned before, I have not been to every destination (unfortunately), but do get questions from friends and other blog readers on all sort of travel destination questions. Thus far, we’ve been able to help other readers travel to Maui, The Greek Islands, Pacific Coast Highway, Argentina /Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, Cape Cod & The Islands, Iceland, Geneva, Canadian Rockies, Rome, Israel, Peru / Inca Trail, Stockholm, Chicago, Paris, Hanoi, Austin, Puerto Rico, Bruges, Salzburg, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Jamaica, India/Golden Triangle, Auckland, Singapore, Moscow, The Oregon Coast, Seattle, Portland, Hawaii Islands, Alaska Skiing, Brazil, Prague, and Budapest.
So this weeks travel destination includes Paraguay. I received the following email from reader Jeremy:
“I’m planning a visit to Paraguay this summer and would love some help during your ‘Help a Reader Travel’ post. I will be going in August.”
I didn’t receive much more information from this reader (it was actually an instant message conversation), but if you’ve ever been to Paraguay and can help out reader Jeremy, I am sure he will appreciate it! You can leave your suggestions on where to stay, things to do, places to eat, etc. by commenting below.
Also, if you have any upcoming travel where you need some help, feel free to email me at dealswelike@gmail.com to be a featured “Help a Reader Travel” Monday special. Thanks!
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I went to Paraguay in March of this year. It was sweltering (summer there), so I can’t comment on what it will be like in Winter, hopefully much milder. The people were very friendly and helpful, but very little English was spoken outside of my hotel. Speaking of the hotel, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza, which is in the city center of Asuncion, and was surprisingly excellent (AA puts its crews up here for the MIA flights btw), and reasonably priced. Be sure to take an ‘official taxi’ upon exiting customs and ignore all the offers for private coaches. Take note to ask for the meter rate around town, as taxis are very cheap and the drivers try to negotiate off the meter. Asuncion was otherwise a pretty dull place, nothing too exciting and adventurous. Next time I’d take more time and visit iguazu falls.
I visited Paraguay in December 2011 so it was quite a festive time full of holiday decorations and what not throughout the country. I mainly visited Asuncion and Ciudad del Este (by Iguacu falls) and the Jesuit ruins near Encarnacion.
In Asuncion, I stayed at the Sheraton Asuncion which is not in the city center but is located in a ritzy neighborhood. While staying there during the weekend, there was a wedding held there so it was cool to see a Paraguayo wedding. There was also a very nice mall across the street where I went shopping. The city center was just a taxi ride away (or a public bus away) along the main road and indeed taxis are very cheap.
Chase is right that not many people outside the hotel really spoke English, but overall it was a charming country outside of the typical tourist circuit of Peru/Brazil/Argentina/Chile. Have a great time!
Stayed at the Asuncion Palace Hotel back in May 2012. The country is rather poor, the people are friendly, but English speakers are not very common. Like Burma, it has charm and is off the beaten path. For railroad buffs, there is an old turntable down by the train museum.
The book “At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig” by John Gimlette is a fascinating read on travels through Paraguay