Fishing lodges in Paraguay: what a package includes and what is left out

Anglers coming to Paraguay usually buy a closed package: arrive, drop the bag and get on the boat. But "all inclusive" means different things at each lodge, and the difference shows up on the bill. This note lays out what each operator in the guide publishes about its package, without generalising: what one lodge includes does not apply to the one next door.

What a package includes: the Hotel Ayolas example

The most detailed package a Paraguayan lodge publishes is the one from Hotel Ayolas, in Ayolas, on the Paraná below the Yacyretá dam. The hotel has hosted anglers for over twenty years, its website is in Portuguese because most guests are Brazilian, and its per person, per day package, at Gs. 1.200.000, includes:

• a double room with air conditioning, cable TV, wifi and minibar;
• the three meals, and a starter of fried fish with cassava when you get back from fishing;
• a boat for two with a guide and a 40 HP engine, and the navigation permit;
• 30 litres of fuel;
• bait: four dozen worms and a bucket of corn per boat;
• the cooler with ice and the drinks on board; the hotel's drinks too, except spirits.

Bookings take a 30% deposit. It is a good yardstick for any other package: if a lodge does not say how many litres of fuel are in, how much bait, or whether drinks are included, that is what you ask.

What is left out

Three things no package in the guide lists as included, and worth having clear before you book:

• Tackle. Rods, reels, line and lures are the angler's. Lodges provide the boat, the engine, the guide and the natural bait. To stock up in Paraguay there is Ayolas Pesca y Camping, in Ayolas, with branches in Coratei, San José Mi and Pilar, plus the tackle shops of Asunción, Encarnación and Ciudad del Este: tackle shops.
• The MADES fishing licence. It is mandatory for fishing in Paraguayan waters and its cost is not in any lodge package in the guide. Many lodges and guides arrange it for their guests: ask when booking and, if they do, ask for the receipt before travelling. How to get it and what it costs: the licence step by step.
• Whatever the operator itself excludes. At Hotel Ayolas, spirits. Elsewhere it may be fuel beyond a quota or bait beyond the agreed dozen: that is what you ask beforehand.

No package: the lodge on one side, the boat on the other

Not every fishing lodge sells a closed package. Several places in the guide work piece by piece, which can suit those travelling with their own gear and their own pace:

• Hotel Ayolas itself rents the guided boat without the package, and then fuel and bait are on the angler.
• Cabañas del Litoral, at Ypeka'e, 65 km from Asunción: five houses, a fishing dock, covered boat storage and boat and guide hire on the side. From Gs. 400.000 for the weekend.
• La Casa de Santi, at Puerto Ybapobó, 50 km from Concepción: camping, room or cabin per person per day, from Gs. 70.000, with guide and boat hire on the side, and bank fishing.
• Hospedaje Rural Centu Cué, on the Tebicuary near Villa Florida: camping with its own landing, charged per adult, no restaurant. Sport fishing only: no longlines or nets.
• In Cerrito, on the Paraná, Hotel Boutique La Rubí lists nights from Gs. 650.000 with breakfast, a landing and bank fishing, and puts together a fishing package to order; De la Costa Cerrito hosts groups from Gs. 110.000 per person, with fishing days and river outings.

The houseboat: sleeping on the water

The other formula is the houseboat: you sleep, eat and fish on board, several days up the river, with support boats for the fishing. The guide lists 3: the houseboats.

• The Yate Siete Cabrillas sails from the port of Concepción north up the Paraguay river on trips of 2 to 7 nights: three air-conditioned cabins for up to 18 passengers, a cook and crew, satellite internet and 4 to 6 support boats with engine, cooler and bait. Private charter only, the group hires the whole boat, in two tiers: Comfort, 3 nights from Gs. 28.300.000, and Premium, with meals and drinks included. During the closed season it runs river tourism without fishing.
• The Barco Pérola do Iguaçu leaves from Ayolas and sails the Paraná in Paraguayan and Argentine waters, with a panoramic deck, bar and barbecue; it is run by a Brazilian company and works in Portuguese.
• The Barco Hotel Rejane is based at Humaitá, on the Paraguay river between Paso de Patria and Pilar, and is licensed by Senatur for fishing tourism.

What to ask before sending the deposit

• Is fuel unlimited or is there a quota in litres? And if I go over, what does a litre cost?
• How much bait per boat and per day?
• Is the MADES licence included, do you arrange it, or do I get it myself?
• Are drinks on the boat and at the lodge included? Which are not?
• How many anglers per boat, and does the guide come aboard?
• If the date falls in the closed season, what happens to the booking?

That last question is no small print: the closed season starts in the first days of November and runs until December 20 in waters shared with Argentina (the Paraná at Ayolas, Encarnación and Cerrito) and until January 31 of the following year in waters shared with Brazil (the Paraguay river in the Pantanal). Nobody fishes on those days, package or not. Each year's exact dates come from MADES, and the month by month is in the month-by-month calendar.

The guide's lodges and guesthouses, area by area: fishing lodges and accommodation. In Ayolas, the hub that hosts the most Brazilians, besides Hotel Ayolas both Marcão de Ayolas Hotel d'Pesca and the Barco Pérola do Iguaçu work in Portuguese.

Frequently asked questions