Argentina/Paraguay - a summary

We spent the last 2.5 weeks in Argentina and Paraguay. Our travel route was a bit "mixed up" here (first 6 days in Argentina, then 5 days in Paraguay, again 4 days in Argentina and finally 3 days in Paraguay). The reason for this "detour" east of Chile was mainly because we wanted to visit the Iguazu Falls. Originally, we also wanted to stay longer in Paraguay, but then we were really eager to see Buenos Aires... But that's also the beauty of such a long journey - we are flexible with the route. From both countries, we were able to get a first impression and you can read about it here:

Favorite place/city

Tim: Buenos Aires with a bit of a European big city flair in the middle of South America

Tabea: Buenos Aires, especially our neighborhood San Telmo

Best accommodation

Tim: Hub Hotel Asuncion, a little bit of luxury and very good breakfast

Tabea: The Hub Hotel in Asunción: here we treated ourselves to a nice hotel with a great breakfast and a rooftop pool.

Best restaurant/café

Tim: VeganGo in Ciudad del Este, a super inexpensive vegan buffet restaurant where we finally had the full selection without having to sort anything out

Tabea: It's a really tough choice this time, because we found so many great restaurants. The best food was at the winery "El Esteco" in Cafayate (Argentina) and the most beautiful atmosphere was at "Tomate" in Buenos Aires.

Favorite local dishes/snacks/drinks

Tim: Chipa, small corn balls with melted cheese

Tabea: Chipa! That's a Paraguayan snack made from flour, egg, and cheese, which usually comes in the form of small balls.

Most amazing natural experience

Tim: Definitely the impressive Iguazu Falls

Tabea: Clearly the Iguazu Falls and their surroundings.

Most beautiful overall experience

Tim: for me, it's also the Iguazu Falls, although the carnival in Encarnacion was also a special experience

Tabea: driving through the landscape around Salta and going from the green hills to the beautiful red sandstone landscape.

What surprised me

Tim: Paraguay is actually so non-touristy that we weren't even ripped off by taxi drivers and paid fair prices...

Tabea: how incredibly difficult it is to understand the Paraguayans' Spanish, often we didn't stand a chance here and had to ask three times.

The people in Argentina/Paraguay...

Tim: are crazy about Dulce de Leche, a sweet cream that is in almost all sweets, ice cream, etc. and is used as a spread (similar to Nutella for us, but not nearly as delicious)

Tabea: unfortunately, we found them to be a bit more reckless and unfriendly than in Chile (Argentina), but also very open-hearted and friendly (Paraguay).

Paraguay/Argentina is...

Tim: both worth a trip. Argentina certainly has even more highlights and is more diverse, but neither country disappointed us!

Tabea: Paraguay is really almost tourist-free and somehow everything is smaller and calmer here, which was very pleasant for us. Argentina is such a big country, of which we unfortunately only saw a fraction. I would love to come back here someday.

A thought about traveling from our time in Argentina and Paraguay

Tim: Even in Paraguay, the standard on bus trips is surprisingly high and contrary to previous concerns, there are actually no differences compared to Chile.

Tabea: after three months of traveling in total, a few days without much program are very good and afterwards you're really eager for new impressions and experiences.