Currency in Paraguay: what to use and how to exchange

Paraguay runs on the guaraní, written ₲ or PYG. It is a cash economy with a card layer on top: in Asunción, Encarnación and Ciudad del Este you can pay by card at hotels, supermarkets, chain pharmacies and mid-range restaurants, but taxis, buses, market stalls, small shops and almost everything in the Chaco expect notes.

The guaraní is a high-number currency, so prices look large: a coffee is a few thousand, a meal tens of thousands. Count zeros carefully, keep a rough mental rate, and use the notes you have rather than breaking a ₲100,000 note for a ₲3,000 purchase. Vendors often have change but not always at the start of the day.

For exchange, banks and casas de cambio (exchange houses) in central Asunción and Ciudad del Este give the best rates; the airport and hotel desks are convenient but cost more. US dollars are the easiest foreign currency to change, and notes should be clean and unmarked. Euros and Argentine pesos are changeable in the border and city areas, at worse rates. Ask for a mix of small notes — ₲10,000 and ₲20,000 are the useful ones.

Cards: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in cities; American Express much less so. Tell your bank you are travelling, and expect a foreign-transaction fee unless your card waives it. ATMs in Asunción and Ciudad del Este usually take foreign cards; outside those cities, plan on cash. Withdraw in larger amounts to limit per-transaction fees, and keep a second card and some dollars as backup.

Budgeting: Paraguay is one of the cheaper countries in South America. A dorm bed, a market lunch and a bus ticket can be covered with a few ₲100,000 notes; a mid-range hotel and restaurant dinner cost more but still less than in Brazil or Chile. See the country pages for current bands.