eSIM for Paraguay

Viasimo's Paraguay eSIM starts at $1.59 for 100 MB over 7 days, running on Claro with 3G where available. Plans last 3 to 180 days, arrive by email in minutes and install from your phone's settings, with no app.

Works everywhere in Paraguay

Alto Paraguay
Alto Paraná Department
Amambay Department
Asuncion
Boquerón Department
Caaguazú Department
Caazapá

Select your planIn stock

Duration

Quantity

Unlimited data · 3 Days$30.99

Unlimited data · 3 Days ×1

$30.99

Going to more than one country? See regional plans

Does my phone take an eSIM? Check now

Dial *#06# on your phone. If you see an EID number, your phone takes an eSIM. Most phones sold since 2019 do.

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Network

Which networks does the Paraguay eSIM use?

Host networks: Claro

Your eSIM picks one automatically; you do not choose or switch between them.

Data: 100 MB – 20 GB or unlimited
Validity: 3–180 days
Speed: 3G
Hotspot / tethering: Supported on most devices
Activation: Automatic on arrival
Speed management: Roughly 2-3 GB per day at full speed, sometimes less depending on the local carrier, then reduced
Top-ups: Add more data from your account, before the plan expires
Text messages (SMS): Data only: use an app for verification codes
Connects via: Belgium
Unused validity: 180 days before it must be installed

Setting up Buy, scan the QR code we email you, and switch on the travel line when you land. How it works

Choosing a plan

How much data do you need?

The allowances below are our sizing recommendations, not measurements. The plan beside each one is the cheapest option on this page that covers it.

Recommended data allowances matched to the plans sold for this destination
You are	Plan for	Cheapest plan that covers it
LightMaps, messaging and the occasional lookup	About 1 GB a week	$3.791 GB, 7 days
TypicalMaps, social, photos and some browsing	About 3 to 7 GB a week	$14.995 GB, 30 days
HeavyVideo streaming, video calls and uploads	10 GB a week or more	$25.0010 GB, 30 days
Working or sharingTethering a laptop, calls and cloud sync	20 GB a week or more	$50.0020 GB, 30 days

Work it out from your own habits

What a week abroad costs

eSIM, local SIM or roaming?

Charged per day

Your carrier roaming

Queue and plastic

A SIM at the airport

$1.59

Viasimo, one bundle

Only the Viasimo figure is a price: it comes from today’s live catalog. The other two rows are directional, not quoted rates.

About this eSIM

Most travellers reach Paraguay overland, from Argentina or Brazil, which means the connection question usually arrives at a land border rather than an airport. That is a good argument for having the line already sitting on your phone. Data here is concentrated in the eastern half of the country where nearly everyone lives; the western Chaco is a different proposition entirely, and worth understanding before you point a hire car at it.

Getting online when you land

Load the profile at home over wifi, keep it disabled, and switch it on when you cross. At Silvio Pettirossi airport in Asunción the walk through arrivals is short, so give the phone a moment on the apron before you expect bars. Coming in by bus from Foz do Iguaçu or Clorinda, turn the line on once you are through the immigration post rather than mid bridge, where your phone may still be clinging to the network on the other side.

Border crossings are the one place a working phone genuinely changes your day. Being able to check which terminal your onward bus leaves from, message a guesthouse that you are running late, or confirm a taxi price before you agree to it removes most of the friction from an arrival that otherwise involves a lot of standing around asking strangers.

The networks you'll be on

Your data runs on Claro, across 4G LTE. No 5G is on offer, and for what you will be doing that is a non issue. LTE holds up in Asunción, Ciudad del Este and Encarnación for maps, calls over data, photo backup and general browsing. Elsewhere the phone hops between LTE and 3G depending on how close the nearest town is, and out on the long routes it settles on 3G for stretches at a time. Plan uploads around wifi and you will barely notice.

Where coverage holds, and where it thins

The eastern departments are the connected part of Paraguay. Asunción and its sprawl across Luque, San Lorenzo and Fernando de la Mora are solid. So is Ciudad del Este, including the run out to the Itaipú dam and the border bridge, and Encarnación along its costanera. Route 2 and Route 7, the spine between Asunción and the Brazilian border, keep signal for most of their length, and the towns strung along them are fine.

Head off that spine and it gets patchier in a predictable way: villages have service, the countryside between them fades in and out. The Jesuit mission ruins at Trinidad and Jesús have coverage at the sites, but the back roads approaching them do not always. The national parks, Ybycuí and Ñacunday among them, are places to arrive with your maps already downloaded.

Then there is the Chaco, the flat dry expanse filling the west. It is thinly populated and thinly covered. The Mennonite colony towns, Filadelfia and Loma Plata, are islands of service; the Trans Chaco road between and beyond them has long gaps where you will have nothing, and the far north toward the Pantanal edge and Bahía Negra is effectively offline. Nobody should drive that road relying on a live map or a working phone for help.

What you'll actually use data for here

WhatsApp is where Paraguay does business. Guesthouses, remise drivers, tour guides and even some restaurants take bookings there and nowhere else, and a phone number is often the only contact detail a business publishes. Have it working before you need it.

The bus network is the other daily use. Departure times from the Terminal de Ómnibus in Asunción are more reliably confirmed by messaging the company than by any timetable you will find printed, and long distance services to Encarnación or Ciudad del Este are worth checking the morning you travel. Add to that: translation, because Guaraní sits alongside Spanish everywhere and menus mix the two; weather, because Chaco heat and sudden storms both shape what is sensible to attempt; and football, which you will end up watching with people whether you meant to or not.

Before you fly

Get the eSIM installed and tested at home so you know the profile is live before you are standing at a border with a queue behind you. Keep your usual SIM active for bank codes, and assign data to the travel line so your home number does not quietly roam.

Download offline maps covering Asunción, your route east, and the entire Chaco if you are going anywhere near it. Screenshot bus bookings, hotel addresses and the phone numbers of anyone expecting you, because those are the details you will want exactly when you have no signal. Carry a paper note of your accommodation address as well: it is a small redundancy that costs nothing and has saved a lot of people a long evening.

Unlimited runs at full speed up to a fair-use limit, then continues slower.

Before you buy

Important to know

This is a data-only eSIM. It carries no calls or SMS on its own number.
Your existing number stays on your primary SIM, so calls and verification texts keep working.
Your phone must support eSIM, and some carrier-locked phones cannot install one.
Signal varies with location, terrain, congestion and your handset. Dense urban areas are consistently better served than remote ones.
The eSIM selects a host network automatically. You cannot pick or switch between them.
Unlimited plans run at full speed up to a fair-use limit, then continue at a reduced speed. Read the fair usage policy

Looking for more information?

Frequently asked questions

Does an eSIM work in Paraguay?

Yes. Your Paraguay eSIM connects automatically the moment you arrive, with no roaming fees and nothing to set up at the airport. The host networks it can use are Claro. Coverage in Paraguay is 3G only on our host network, so expect slower speeds than you get at home. It is fine for maps and messaging, less so for video.

Do I get 5G in Paraguay?

No. Claro do not yet offer 5G to visitors in Paraguay, so your eSIM connects over 4G LTE or slower. Anyone claiming 5G for this destination is quoting a spec sheet, not the network you will actually get.

Which is the biggest mobile network in Paraguay?

Tigo, owned by Millicom, is the largest operator, with about 4.4 million subscribers at the end of 2025. Personal, Claro and the state-owned VOX are the others. This eSIM connects to Claro on 4G LTE, which works well in the main cities; on remote rural roads, coverage on each network can differ.

Do I need an entry stamp crossing from Foz do Iguaçu to Ciudad del Este?

Yes. The UK Foreign Office says you must make sure an immigration officer stamps, dates and signs your passport when you enter Paraguay. Without the stamp you'll be fined on departure, and bus drivers who say you can get it later in Asunción are wrong. Ask the driver to stop at immigration.

How long can I stay in Paraguay without a visa?

Visitors who don't need a visa, including British citizens, are normally given 90 days on arrival, and you can contact the immigration department if you need to extend. Your passport must be valid for the whole stay, and travellers from countries with yellow fever risk need a vaccination certificate.

Is it safe to hail taxis in Asunción?

The Foreign Office advises calling a licensed taxi through your hotel or by phone rather than hailing one in the street. Many taxis don't meet European safety standards and seat belts often don't work. After dark, avoid poorly lit areas, including the city centre, and use indoor ATMs.

What are the emergency numbers in Paraguay?

Dial 911 for the police, 141 for an ambulance and 132 for the fire service. In Ciudad del Este, the tourist police are on (595 61) 502 715. This eSIM is data only, so keep your home SIM switched on for voice calls.

How much data do I need for 7 days in Paraguay?

For 7 days in Paraguay, Viasimo sells 100 MB for $1.59, 1 GB for $3.79, and unlimited data for $68.00. Our sizing recommendation, not a measurement: maps, messaging and the occasional lookup, about 1 GB a week; maps, social, photos and some browsing, about 3 to 7 GB a week. The data calculator on this site works it out from how you actually use your phone.

Installing, keeping your number, topping up and hotspot work the same everywhere: see how it works →

Know before you go

Paraguay: what to know before you land

Paraguay has four mobile operators, Tigo, Personal, Claro and the state-owned VOX, and this eSIM uses Claro's 4G LTE network. If you arrive overland from Brazil or Argentina, the most important thing isn't the signal but the entry stamp: without one in your passport you'll be fined when you leave.

Emergency: 911 police, 141 ambulance, 132 fire
Plugs: ABCN 230V
Currency: Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)

Main airports

ASU Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Luque (Asunción)

Apps worth having WhatsAppGoogle MapsBoltUber

Tigo, Personal, Claro and VOX: where Claro fits

Paraguay's mobile market has four players:

Tigo, wholly owned by Millicom and by far the largest, with about 4.4 million subscribers at the end of 2025;
Personal, linked to Telecom Argentina and the ABC Color media group;
Claro, owned by Mexico's América Móvil;
VOX, the mobile arm of the state telecoms company COPACO.

This eSIM connects to Claro on 4G LTE. Claro has historically been one of the smaller networks by customers, so your Paraguayan friends and hosts will mostly be on Tigo or Personal. That matters less in Asunción, Encarnación and Ciudad del Este, where all the operators have masts, than on long rural drives, where someone on Tigo may hold a signal when you don't.

Mobile phones took off in Paraguay partly because the fixed-line network run by COPACO was always thin, and today almost everyone relies on mobile data and WhatsApp. Shops, guesthouses and bus companies are far more likely to answer a WhatsApp message than a phone call. The telecoms regulator, CONATEL, launched a new tender for mobile broadband spectrum in June 2026, so the network picture is still changing.

Getting your passport stamped at land borders

Many visitors enter Paraguay by bus over the Friendship Bridge from Foz do Iguaçu to Ciudad del Este, or from Posadas to Encarnación. These crossings are busy, and buses don't always stop at immigration. The UK Foreign Office is clear: make sure an immigration officer stamps, dates and signs your passport when you arrive. If you have no entry stamp, you'll be fined when you leave. Bus drivers who say you can sort out the stamp later in Asunción are wrong.

Before you cross:

Tell the driver you need to stop at Paraguayan immigration, and keep your bag with you if you get off.
Take a photo of the stamp once you have it, as proof of your entry date.
Keep your passport valid for the whole stay.

Many nationalities, including British citizens, don't need a visa and are normally given 90 days on arrival; contact the immigration department if you need to extend. You need a yellow fever certificate if you come from a country with a risk of transmission.

Ciudad del Este has its own tourist police, on (595 61) 502 715. Save the number before you cross, especially if you're shopping in the city's busy market streets.

Licensed taxis, Asunción after dark and the northern departments

In Asunción, bag snatching and pickpocketing are common on public transport, and muggers are sometimes armed. The Foreign Office advises using indoor ATMs, keeping valuables and phones out of sight, and avoiding isolated or poorly lit streets, including the city centre at night. Organised crime has caused isolated violent attacks, mostly aimed at security forces or rival gangs rather than tourists.

For getting around, many foreigners use taxis instead of buses. The advice is to call a licensed taxi through your hotel or by phone, rather than flagging one down in the street. Many taxis and buses don't meet European safety standards, and seat belts often don't work.

In the north, police checks are common in the Concepción and San Pedro departments, and criminal groups are active in border areas, where there have been a small number of high-profile kidnappings. Carry your passport and check the latest regional advice before travelling there.

The weather also affects plans. Heavy rain can flood parts of Asunción and nearby cities, and rural roads can become impassable in the rainy season. In hot, dry spells a single spark can start a wildfire; report any fire you see to the emergency services straight away. Keep an eye on local news over data before long road trips.

Researched October 2026 · 6 sources

gov.uk Paraguay travel advice: safety and security (GOV.UK)
gov.uk Paraguay travel advice: entry requirements (GOV.UK)
gov.uk Paraguay travel advice: getting help (GOV.UK)
en.wikipedia.org List of mobile network operators of the Americas (Wikipedia)
conatel.gov.py Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL)
en.wikipedia.org Telecommunications in Paraguay (Wikipedia)

7-day itinerary

Seven days in Paraguay: Asunción, the Circuito de Oro, the Jesuit missions and Itaipú

An overland week through southern Paraguay for travellers who like history and quiet roads: colonial and independence-era Asunción, lake towns and lace villages nearby, the UNESCO Jesuit missions near Encarnación, and the Itaipú dam and waterfalls around Ciudad del Este.

Length: 7 days
Bases: 3

When to go April to June and August to October are mild and pleasant; December to February is very hot and humid, often above 35°C, and July can bring cold snaps, so pack layers for long bus rides.

Day 1 Asunción

Asunción's historic centre

The airport is about 30 minutes by car from the centre of Asunción.

Take a licensed taxi or app car from Silvio Pettirossi airport. Visit the Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, where the remains of national figures lie under its dome, then walk to the Casa de la Independencia, where the 1811 independence was planned. Finish at the Palacio de López on the riverfront, best seen from the Costanera promenade at sunset.

Signal Claro 4G covers central Asunción well; use it to order a licensed taxi or app car rather than hailing one in the street, which the Foreign Office advises against.
Day 2 Asunción

The Circuito de Oro: Itauguá, Areguá and Lake Ypacaraí

Areguá and San Bernardino are each about 1 hour from Asunción by car.

Drive east to Itauguá, home of ñandutí lace, and see the women at work in shops along the main road. Continue to Areguá on Lake Ypacaraí, with its hillside church, pottery stalls and strawberry growers. Cross to San Bernardino on the opposite shore for a lakeside walk before returning to Asunción in the evening.

Signal Good coverage along the main roads and in the lake towns; expect some dips on smaller roads around Lake Ypacaraí.
Day 3 Encarnación

Yaguarón and the long road south

Asunción to Encarnación is about 5 to 6 hours by long-distance bus or car.

Head south on Route PY01 and stop at Yaguarón to see its eighteenth-century Franciscan church, with a carved and painted wooden interior. Continue through farmland to Encarnación on the Paraná River, arriving in time for an evening walk along the Costanera and the beach at San José, popular with locals in summer.

Signal Coverage is generally good on Route PY01, with some weaker sections in rural areas between towns; download the route and your bus ticket before setting off.
Day 4 Encarnación

The Jesuit missions of Trinidad and Jesús

Trinidad is about 30 km from Encarnación, around 40 minutes by car or bus.

Visit the Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue, a UNESCO World Heritage site. At Trinidad, walk among the red sandstone ruins of the church, school and workshops built for the Guaraní in the eighteenth century, with carved angels on the friezes. Then see the unfinished church at Jesús, 10 km away, and return to Trinidad for the evening light-and-sound show if it's running.

Signal 4G is usable around Trinidad's entrance and in Jesús, though it's weaker inside the open ruins away from the road.
Day 5 Ciudad del Este

North to Ciudad del Este and the Saltos del Monday

Encarnación to Ciudad del Este is about 4 to 5 hours by road.

Drive or take a bus north along the Paraná to Ciudad del Este. In the afternoon, visit the Saltos del Monday, a horseshoe-shaped waterfall about 40 m high on the edge of the city, with walkways and viewpoints. The city centre near the Friendship Bridge to Brazil is a crowded shopping zone; keep phones and bags close.

Signal Claro 4G is good in Ciudad del Este; near the Friendship Bridge your phone may pick up a Brazilian network, so check that you're still on a Paraguayan one.
Day 6 Ciudad del Este

Itaipú dam

The Itaipú visitor centre is about 20 minutes' drive north of Ciudad del Este.

Join a guided tour of the Itaipú hydroelectric dam on the Paraná, shared by Paraguay and Brazil and one of the largest power stations in the world. Tours from the Paraguayan visitor centre at Hernandarias include a film and a bus ride along the top of the dam. In the afternoon, visit the Itaipú wildlife refuges or the Moisés Bertoni Monument, a naturalist's former home and nature reserve, if you have a car.

Signal Coverage is good at the visitor centre; on the dam itself you may switch between Paraguayan and Brazilian networks, so lock your phone to a Paraguayan network if it keeps hopping.
Day 7 Asunción

Back to Asunción and depart

Ciudad del Este to Asunción takes about 5 to 6 hours by road.

Return to Asunción by bus or car along Route PY02 through Coronel Oviedo. If you have time before your flight, visit the Museo del Barro, which holds Indigenous and folk art, or the Mercado 4 market with a local guide. Head to the airport early, as traffic around Asunción builds in the evening.

Signal 4G is reliable along most of Route PY02, with short gaps between towns; it's strong again from the outskirts of Asunción.

Staying connected on this route

If you arrive overland, make sure an immigration officer stamps your passport; there's no signal-based fix for a missing entry stamp.
Near the Brazilian and Argentinian borders, check your phone stays on a Paraguayan network so you don't drift onto one outside your plan.
Download offline maps and your bus tickets before the long road days, and carry a power bank for the 5 to 6-hour journeys.

Itinerary sources · 3

Where this comes from

Information and verification

Each block below says what was checked and when. Anything we cannot date, we do not claim.

Prices and plans: Every price and allowance on this page is read from the live catalog, not typed in.; Verified October 30, 2026
Host networks: The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM.; Verified October 30, 2026