Dangers and fears when arriving in Paraguay

There are common anxieties one may have when arriving in Paraguay

1. Phone service. 
   Will you be safe without it at first? Yes.
2. Cash withdrawal. 
   Will you be ripped off at an ATM? Not really.
3. Transportation. 
   How can you safely travel from the airport to your accomdation. Take a taxi.

Phone Service in Paraguay

Do you need a working SIM card and phone service the moment you land in Paraguay?

No. Phone service the moment you land in Asunción is not critical. As long as you know your address, you can just give that to one of the cab drivers at a kiosk in the airport. Of course, it's nice to have phone service, and airport wifi isn't always a fast connection, but phone service is not critical at first. This means you can relax about potentially choosing an eSim and correctly activating it ahead of time. However, make sure you know your address ahead of time, as well as instructions to get into your airbnb and the wifi password there.

How to get phone service in Paraguay

We recommend going to a Claro store and purchasing one of their physical sim cards. At the store, they will install the sim card and test it to make sure you're all set up.

While Claro is a large international latino conglomerate that covers many countries in Latin America, the Claro Paraguay branch is likely a different service and phone number than a previous country you may have had Claro in. This means that if you got a Claro chip in Perú, Colombia, or some other countries, you'll need to get a new one in Paraguay.

You can subscribe for a monthly plan, or you can simply prepay for a month. A month's worth of service will only cost about $12 USD, and you can stop by the Claro store to recharge it when needed.

The Claro stores in Asunción are easy to find. The closest ones to you are probably in Shopping del Sol, in the center of Villa Morra on Av Mariscal López. 

We recommend going to the one in Shopping del Sol, because it's open every day of the week. 9am - 9pm daily, and on Sundays it opens at 11am. Also, Shopping del Sol is a world class mall, which would be a great introduction to the mall culture in Asuncion. There are other locations, such as in Shopping Multiplaza, but that neighborhood is less polished and probably farther from your lodging, if you're staying in Villa Morra.

Spanish may be needed to communicate with the workers at Claro. Here's a list of Asunción's best spanish schools.

How to travel to the Claro store if you don't already have phone service

When you're connected to wifi at your airbnb, order an uber to the Claro store. It will probably cost between $1 and $4.

For a slightly cheaper ride, download the app "Bolt". It's usually cheaper, but the drivers are less vetted, the cars are older, the seatbelts don't work as often as those in ubers, and just in general a slightly worse experience than uber. But it is cheaper!

Withdrawing cash from ATM's in Paraguay

Nobody wants to get ripped off from overpriced ATM fees. The ATM at the airport charged the same fee as the ATM in Shopping del Sol, but only allows withdrawal half the cash that the on in Shopping del Sol allows. So technically, the airport ATM was twice as expensive. That being said, the fee was only about $3.50 USD.

If you aren't staying directly near a commercial area, we recommend taking some cash out at the airport ATM, just so you have it. Most professional experiences in Asunción accept credit cards, but cash is to have if you want to buy something from certain street vendors.

Neighborhoods near Villa Morra are safe, so you don't need to worry about being robbed near the ATM.

Money Exchanges in Paraguay

When you go to a currency exchange in Paraguay, they require you to present your passport. A photo of your passport is sometimes valid.

How to get from the Asunción airport to your AirBnB or Hotel

Take a taxi.

When visiting other countries, we often are warned to avoid taxis. At the Asunción airport, there is a taxi kiosk that is very safe, relaxed, and affordable. They are staffed 24/7, there's rarely a wait time, and it costs about $15 USD to get to Villa Morra in 20-40 mins, depending on traffic

Other options would be to take a bus or order and uber, but the taxi kiosk is the most convenient because there is no wait.