Getting to Uruguay

Uruguay is proud of its brand new international airport at Carrasco (around 20 minutes drive from the centre of Montevideo).  Flights arrive there from all over South America, including from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Panama and Peru.  There are also direct flights from Miami with American Airlines, and from Spain with Iberia.  There is also an international airport at Punta del Este which mainly services flights between Punta del Este and Buenos Aires.  Some of the main airlines that service Montevideo are as follows;

Pluna (Uruguayan) – www.flypluna.com,

Aerolíneas Argentinas (Argentina) – www.aerolineas.com.ar

Tam Airline (Brazil) – www.tam.com.br

American Airlines (USA) – www.aa.com

Iberia (Spain) – www.iberia.com

LAN Chile (Chile) – www.lan.com

GOL (Brazil) – www.voegol.com.br

I personally have flown between Buenos Aires and Montevideo a number of times with Pluna, and have never had a problem.  They also have a great website for making bookings, and I recommend that if you can, do the online check in and print the boarding pass twice – it will save you US$10.  I have also made the trip between Chile and Montevideo by Lan, which was also quite comfortable and reliable.

Another way of getting to Uruguay through either Montevideo or Colonia from Buenos Aires is by ferry.  A ferry to Colonia takes around an hour, or to Montevideo is around 3 hours.  Some of the ferries are also equipped to take vehicles.  Some of the ferry companies include;

Buquebus (Uruguay) – www.buquebus.com

Colonia Express (Uruguay) – www.coloniaexpress.com

We have made the trip to Buenos Aires from Colonia once with Buquebus, and found the trip to be quick and comfortable.  There was a duty free shop on board, and food and drinks were available.

Getting Around Uruguay

Uruguay’s Bus Service

Well, I can finally say that I have tried out the bus service in Uruguay, and found it to be reliable and comfortable.  I have heard that a lot of the buses have WIFI on board, which is really quite incredible.

To find out about timetables, go to www.trescruces.com.uy/horarios.php.

If your Spanish isn’t too good, here is a little help because the website is in Spanish.

Origen is the Origin (where you want to depart from)

Destino is the Destination (where you want to end up)

After you have made your choices here, click on Buscar, which is search.

You will then be given a list of bus companies that offer that service.  The information given on this page is as follows;

Compañia is the Bus Company

Teléfono is their contact phone number

Hora is the time that it departs the Origin

Frecuencia is the days of the week that it departs

Diario is daily

And for a quick lesson on days of the week –

Lunes – Monday

Martes – Tuesday

Miercoles – Wednesday

Jueves – Thursday

Viernes – Friday

Sabado – Satruday

Domingo – Sunday

Distancia is the distance

Duración is how long the trip will take

The buses depart Montevideo at Trus Cruces Terminal which is located at Tres Cruces Shopping, on Bulevar Artigas, not far from 18 de Julio

Car Hire in Uruguay

Hiring a car is fairly easy in Uruguay, and all we have ever needed to do so is an Open Drivers Licence (which we have from Australia).  Car rental prices start from around US$40 per day which depends a lot on the time of the year and the number of days you want the car for.

A few tips for driving on the road in Uruguay –

- We drive here on the left hand side

- Get a good map, it will end up being your best friend

- There are toll booths (which are called Peajes) between most departments.  You can expect to pay around $45 (that is Uruguayan Pesos) per toll (which is around US$2 at the moment)

- The highways are generally pretty well maintained.  Follow the speed limit and you won’t have any troubles.

- Occasionally there are road blocks where the police do checks on your documents.  You will just need your passport and drivers license to prove who you are.  They generally do this to if they are looking for someone or something in particular

- Get in the habit of turning your lights on during both the day and night.  The police will pull you over if you haven’t got your lights on.  Just remember to turn them back off again when you leave the car

- Remember you are sharing the road with cars, motorbikes and scooters, push bikes, pedestrians, horse and carts – pretty much everything, so you need to take care

- When in Montevideo, don’t be afraid of using the taxis to get around – they know where they are going, you don’t have to worry about parking, and with all the one way streets, buses and motorbikes, it is a lot less stressful

- On the highway especially, when you want to exit the highway to the left, you first need to turn off to the right,  follow the road around, and then cross over both lanes of traffic.  You need to be careful here, because you can be inclined to not giveway when you aren’t used to it.  Likewise when you want to turn left, to get onto the highway.  You first need to cross over both sides of traffic and follow the road around to join up onto the highway.

Some car hire companies for you to consider are –

Europcar –www.europcar.com.uy

Hertz – www.hertz.com.uy

Avis – www.avis.com.uy

DYP Rent a car – www.dyprentacar.com

Team Rent-a-Car – www.teamrentacar.com.uy

Taxis and Remises

Taxis in Montevideo and the rest of Uruguay, like in most cities throughout the World are metered, therefore you are charged on the length of the journey.  The taxis here are relatively inexpensive – for example, we have taken a taxi from Punta Carretas to the Plaza Independencia for around US$6 – $8 dollars (that would be around a 7 kilometre trip through traffic).  Taxis are great because you don’t have to worry about finding parking. The taxis here are fairly small, much like the taxis in Buenos Aires.  There are a lot of them, and I have never had a problem catching one.  Only during the day when the drivers change shift (which a lot of them seem to do at the same time), is when you might notice a short delay.

Remises are more like an executive service.  The cars are quite new and are of a high standard.  You are able to hire them for a set rate per hour or per day, plus there is no limit to the distance that they will take you.  They also offer guided tours as well as airport transfers.