Where to stay in Concepción for fishing: hotels, guesthouses, a lodge and a houseboat

Concepción, the Pearl of the North, is the river gateway to northern Paraguay: capital of its department, on the Paraguay River, with a port and the Chaco on the far bank. For the visiting angler it works as a base, and there are three ways to sleep: in town, going out for the day by boat with a local boatman; on the riverbank, at a lodge; or on the water, aboard the houseboat that sails north from the port. The guide lists 11 places at Concepción, and this note sorts the places to stay and the boats by what matters to an angler: where to sleep, who to fish with, what you catch and how to get there.

Sleep in town, fish for the day

The simplest way: a bed in town and the boat in the morning. These are the guide's places to stay in Concepción, with what each one publishes:

• Hostal Lo de Tote, at Alberdi 482, in the centre. Rooms for one to five people with private bathroom, WiFi and breakfast included; quincho and gym. You can check out later for half the rate; ask for check-in and check-out times when you book. From Gs. 100.000.
• Hostal de las Aguas, a budget guesthouse in the centre, aimed at visiting anglers: ten rooms sleeping 20, single, double and triple, with a family atmosphere. From Gs. 90.000.
• Gran Hotel del Norte: 30 rooms sleeping 45, from singles to quadruples, with air conditioning and private bathroom. The rate includes breakfast, WiFi and parking. Open all year; ask for check-in and check-out times when you book. From Gs. 100.000.
• Hotel Francés, central, at Presidente Franco 1016: 55 rooms with air conditioning. Price on request.
• Hotel Victoria, in the centre, at Presidente Franco and Pedro Juan Caballero: WiFi, terrace and parking. Price on request.
• Hotel Concepción, downtown. Price on request.

Presidente Franco, which Wikivoyage describes as the main street, runs east to west and ends at the old port; according to the same source, that port is used mostly by small fishing and leisure boats, and the cargo port, known as the puerto granelero, is further south. Hotel Francés and Hotel Victoria are on that street. Still, what matters most is where your boat leaves from, which is not always the port: ask when you book.

Two things to know when booking. Gran Hotel del Norte is open all year but busiest from September to January. And Wikivoyage notes that on long weekends and holidays people from Pedro Juan Caballero and Brazilians from Mato Grosso do Sul come to fish the Paraguay River, so if your trip falls on those dates, it is worth booking ahead. For big groups, Gran Hotel del Norte sleeps 45 and Hostal de las Aguas sleeps 20.

Who to fish with

Wilson Huerta and Pira'i Pesca y Carnadas publish a price per boat per day, not per person, and each one includes different things:

• Wilson Huerta, alquiler de lanchas: Gs. 900.000 a day per boat, with the boatman, 25 litres of fuel and life jackets. Bait, drinks and ice are extra, and tackle is not included but they can provide it (Penn reels or handlines). They leave from Concepción's old port, and also from Belén running down the Ypané or from Paso Horqueta down the Aquidabán. There are three boatmen, so up to three boats can go out together; the 6-metre one takes up to 6 people, though 4 fish more comfortably. Camping and a barbecue setup, optional. Extra days cost less.
• Pira'i Pesca y Carnadas: Gs. 1.200.000 a day per boat, for three anglers with everything included: the guide, a tank of fuel and the bait. They have three 6-metre aluminium boats. On the same premises, on Manuel Irala Fernández near Pinedo avenue, is their shop: live bait of all kinds, reels, lures and life jackets, with free delivery within the city. Ask for the trip and shop hours beforehand.

When comparing, look at what is included: with Pira'i the guide and the bait are already in; with Wilson Huerta you buy the bait separately, for instance at the Pira'i shop. For a group, Wilson Huerta can take out up to three boats together and Pira'i has three. The guide lists boats and fishing guides across the country, with their contacts.

On the riverbank: La Casa de Santi

To sleep right by the water, La Casa de Santi is a river lodge at Puerto Ybapobó (San Pedro de Ycuamandyyú); ask how to get there from Concepción when you book. You fish for dorado, boga, pacú, surubí and manguruyú, with a guide; they rent boats and you can also fish from the bank. There are 45 beds in 8 cabins, a campsite with dry toilets, a dining room and bar, and an airstrip, and it is open all year. You pay per person per day: from Gs. 70.000 camping, more for a room or a cabin. It is the format of the fishing lodges: the bed and the river in one place.

On the water: the houseboat

The Yate Siete Cabrillas is the houseboat the guide lists in Concepción: you sleep, eat and fish on board. It sails from the port of Concepción up the Paraguay River, to Puerto Arrecife on shorter trips and to the Tres Gigantes Biological Station, in Bahía Negra, on longer ones. It has three air-conditioned group cabins and two bathrooms for up to 18 passengers, a cook and crew, satellite internet and 4 to 6 motorised support boats with a cooler to go out fishing.

Private charter only: the group hires the whole boat, from Gs. 31.000.000 for 3 nights on the Comfort line, where the group brings its own food and drink; Premium includes both. According to its website, trips run up to 7 nights (3 is the most popular), bait is chosen separately (none, basic or premium), fishing licences and transfers are quoted separately, and a 15% deposit confirms the booking. It runs no fishing trips in November and December; trips without fishing, for boating and nature, are on request.

A calendar detail: upstream of the mouth of the Apa, opposite San Lázaro, the Paraguay is the border with Brazil and the closed season there usually runs until January 31. If a January trip goes up to Bahía Negra, ask which waters you will fish each day. How a houseboat compares with a lodge package is in what a fishing package in Paraguay includes, and the guide's houseboats are on their own page.

What you catch and when

In Concepción the guide lists surubí catfish, golden dorado, pacú and pirá pytá. The area page highlights big surubí in the deep holes of the Paraguay River and fishing on the Apa and the Tagatiyá. Surubí is fished year round (outside the closed season); from June to September it holds in the deep pools. Dorado, year round outside the closed season; best from March to May and from August to October. How to tell the spotted surubí from the striped one, and where else it is caught: surubí in Paraguay.

Near town, two rivers reach the Paraguay: the Ypané, just to the south, and the Aquidabán, to the north. Those are the two Wilson Huerta runs down from Belén and from Paso Horqueta. The Apa is further north: it forms the border with Brazil for most of its course and flows into the Paraguay in the Vallemí and San Lázaro area.

The 2026/27 closed season, set by MADES Resolution 511/2026, starts on November 2. The river in front of Concepción has Paraguay on both banks, so the inland-waters date applies: until December 21. Upstream of the mouth of the Apa, with Brazil across the water, it runs until January 31, 2027. Each year's dates are on our licence, closed season and sizes page. The licence is issued by MADES, which has a regional office in Concepción itself, and it can also be obtained online: the licence step by step. The river is gauged at Concepción: before going out, check today's river levels. If you bring your own boat, Concepción is a port, not a public ramp: ask on site before launching. Other places to launch are listed under river access.

How to get there

By road from Asunción there are two ways. Through the Chaco: the Transchaco (PY09) to Pozo Colorado and from there east on the PY05, which crosses the Paraguay River on the Nanawa bridge into Concepción; according to Wikipedia, it is the fastest route to the capital. Through the Eastern Region: the PY03 to San Estanislao (Santaní) and the PY22 north, through San Pedro de Ycuamandyyú and Belén.

From Brazil, the PY05 starts at Pedro Juan Caballero, which shares a land border with Ponta Porã (Mato Grosso do Sul), and reaches Concepción through Yby Yaú and Horqueta. Foreign anglers get the MADES special licence for visitors and, unless they fish in an authorised tournament, register in the National Fishers Registry with a copy of their ID and of their entry permit to the country: keep your proof of entry. The rest of the trip is in the guide for Brazilian anglers.

By water, the Travesía Asunción-Concepción makes the voyage from Asunción to Concepción aboard the Danubio in about five days, stopping at Puerto Ybapobó, Antequera and Puerto Rosario. The boat is moored at Náutica Remanso, in Mariano Roque Alonso, and runs from there in both directions; the full voyage is priced on request.

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