Passmethesickbag

We booked a dirt cheap fare on JJ from EZE to GRU on Sunday which involves a stopover in ASU of no less than 3 h 50 min during the mid-afternoon. I presume the terminal will be a dire place without gourmet restaurants (there certainly doesn't appear to be any lounges). Is there anything sensible to do for this amount of time that wouldn't be foolhardy in terms of personal safety (I am likely to have a laptop in my carry-on) or risk of missing the flight? I understand that the city is a mere 15-minute taxi ride away from ASU. Wikitravel does not list much worth seeing or buying - but would it be absolutely insane to go through immigration (if the lines are short eough) and hop in a cab to a traditional restaurant like La Paraguayita?

SJOGuy

What nationality are you? If a US citizen, you'd need a visa to go through immigration and enter Paraguay. They are now issuing visas on arrival at the airport, but to the tune of $160. That would be an awfully expensive trip into town.

ASU is a very sleepy airport. I'd bring something to read.

YVR Cockroach

If the Silvio Pettirossi terminal hasn't been substantially improved in the past 20 years (chances are it hasn't), it is dire. Reminds me of the old Paya Lebar terminal of SIN (now QPG).

As said, bring a book. Not much to see/do in the terminal and Asuncion, though it is apparently the oldest European city in South America (if not the Americas) just hasn't very much of interest.

SJOGuy

My first trip to Paraguay was 24 years ago and I've been back many times since. (Wonderful little country, IMHO.) There have been some cosmetic improvements at the airport, but it is still the same quiet place. There is often a small group playing Paraguayan folkloric music when a flight arrives.

Passmethesickbag

Thank y'all for your responses. We'll be carrying one Swedish and one Brazilian passport. I can bring a book, but if I have to listen to folkloristic music for four hours I may feel the need to exit the secure area in order to buy a knife to slit my throat.

SJOGuy

Haha. No. The music is only to welcome an incoming flight, and there are very few of those.

Passmethesickbag

Just to close the loop here, in case somebody else finds themselves in this situation - we did end up leaving the airport for a meal, and we were happy we did. The immigration queues were the opposite of what one is used to seeing - a long one for citizens and no queue at all for visitors - Paraguay is not exactly a major tourist destination. Clearly, the officers were so unused to receiving foreigners that they failed to give us the copies of our immigration forms (we had to produce duplicates when exiting).

Once outside, we walked upstairs to the check-in counter because our boarding passes were from EZE to GRU. In the end, they ended up producing hand-written boarding passes - a first to me, but they did not attract any raised eyebrows when we reentered the airport. We were glad we did it before rather than after lunch, because when we returned there was quite a scrum at the check-in counter. The friendly ladies at the check-in advised us not to go all the way into the city, but rather to go to the Sheraton, a 10-minute taxi ride away. We did so - it came to 92,000 Guarani for the outbound in a radio taxi and about 60,000 going back in a metered cab. In spite of the rain, there was no traffic (but then again, it was a Sunday). The Sheraton had a pleasant Sunday buffet. We could also have chosen to go to the Entrecote Steakhouse opposite, which looked quite upscale (and seems to have mostly positive reviews on Tripadvisor).

Clearing Security heading out was a breeze, and we soon ourselves in the tiny terminal (which has four gates, although two would probably have been more than sufficient), where we were approached by a police officer who asked us some questions and asked to inspect one of our bags. Again, I would attribute this to Paraguay being such an unlikely tourist destination that suspecting a short-term visitor of drug smuggling is not unreasonable; the man was courteous and friendly. We were certainly glad not to have chosen to spend the whole four hours there. The terminal is well appointed with duty-free shops and shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. It has no less than two VIP lounges - unfortunately, neither of them seemed to be open to travellers on the basis of service class or status (one of them was run by Itaú Bank and the other one we didn't understand the admission criteria for, but it was entirely empty). So the only watering hole available to us was the Havanna café, which I've seen described as a kind of Paraguayan equivalent of Starbucks, whose only alcoholic option turned out to be (tragically) Miller Genuine Draft.

So those were my four hours in Paraguay. The souvenir shops sold slogans with the slogan "Heart of South America", which is probably the most positive spin you can put on the place. The people were friendly, the atmosphere was peaceful and it was interesting and rather refreshing to visit a place with so little tourism, but there is a reason for that and although we didn't make it to the centre of town, I can't say that returning and seeing more is high on my bucket list.

jammanxc

Paraguay is a hidden gem and I'm sure it won't miss you

Passmethesickbag

Care to elaborate instead of scoring points?

SJOGuy

I get to Paraguay every 12 to 18 months or so. I think it's a charming place. Other than visitors from Brazil and Argentina, who come primarily to shop, the country sees few foreign visitors, so they do make a big fuss over you.