The 10 best supermarkets in Caacupé

For the weekly shop in Caacupé, pick the supermarket on your usual route that stocks what you buy most: a larger store for the big monthly load and a small neighbourhood shop for top-ups. Check how they take payment (QR, card, cash) and which day your bank runs a discount, and in November or December, do the big shop before the novena starts.

Which supermarket is most convenient?

Caacupé has 36 barrios, 22 urban and 14 rural⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, with Ruta PY02 running through the district and a paved road to Tobatí. If you live out in Cabañas, Azcurra or Potrero Po'i, it makes sense to do one big shop a week on the way to or from work and use the local almacén for bread, milk and anything you ran out of.

• If you drive, check whether the car park fills up in the late afternoon.
• On a motorbike or bus, choose a store where you do not have to cross the highway with your bags.
• Save the store's WhatsApp number if it takes orders or delivers to your area.

How do you compare prices properly?

Do not trust the sale sign alone. Paraguay's consumer law, Ley 1334⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, requires prices to be shown with taxes included, and the consumer agency Sedeco⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ says promotion tags should show the old price, the discount percentage and the current price. If one is missing, ask before you reach the till.

• Compare price per kilo or litre, not per pack.
• Check use-by dates on dairy and cold cuts, especially in hot weather.
• Always take the receipt or invoice (factura): Sedeco notes every sale must be invoiced, and you need it to complain.

What is the best way to pay?

QR is now standard at the supermarket: according to Infonegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, supermarkets account for 35% of QR transactions in Paraguay. Still carry some cash for street stalls and small neighbourhood shops.

Bank promotions change by weekday and by card. Before the big shop, check in your bank's app which day and which store your discount applies to, whether there is a cap, and which products are excluded.

What is better bought outside the supermarket?

Caacupé has its own local products worth looking for: guava sweets, chipa, locally bottled mineral water, and flowers and plants from the Cabañas area⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, about 5 km north-west of the centre. For seasonal fruit and vegetables, a neighbourhood stall or market often lets you pick each piece and buy just what you need.

What should you do during pilgrimage week?

From the novena to 8 December, pilgrims arrive from all over Paraguay and the town changes pace. In 2025 the novena began on 28 November and, according to La Nación⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, walkers used Ruta PY02 from the Ypacaraí toll, with that stretch closed to vehicles from the Ypacaraí entrance and fixed bus stops, including Caacupé's bus terminal.

• Do your big shop before the novena begins.
• During those days, avoid stores on the highway or near the Basilica at peak pilgrim hours.
• If family is coming to stay, buy water, ice and fast-selling items early.

What to bring for the weekly shop

• Reusable bags and a cool bag for frozen food.
• A short list ordered by aisle.
• Your bank app open on today's promotion, so you are not surprised at the till.