Montevideo: know before you go

Carrasco International Airport (MVD) sits east of the centre, near the Carrasco neighbourhood. The simplest late-night or heavy-luggage option is an official taxi from the arrivals counter, where fares are set by zone and time of day; ride-hailing apps also pick up. Public buses are the cheap option and stop in front of the terminal, running to Tres Cruces and on into the centre. Ferries from Buenos Aires dock in Ciudad Vieja, and most long-distance buses from Argentina and the rest of Uruguay pull into Tres Cruces on the eastern edge of Centro.

Montevideo has no metro and no tram. The workhorse is the bus network, run by several companies under the city's STM system, and it is how locals cross town. Fares are in Uruguayan pesos, written locally with the $ symbol. Paying with an STM smart card is much cheaper than cash on board, and the card is worth getting even for a short stay because it also unlocks transfer tickets. For the centre, Ciudad Vieja and the Rambla, walking is often faster than waiting for a bus, and the seafront promenade is flat and continuous.

Montevideo has no separate city tourist tax. What matters to a visitor is the national VAT system's refunds, which you claim in the city and at the airport. All the figures here are in Uruguayan pesos, which local price tags write with a $ sign. Show a foreign ID and hotels drop the VAT entirely; pay restaurants with a card issued abroad and 9 points of VAT come off the bill; at participating shops you can reclaim most of the VAT on leather, food and handicrafts on departure. Cards are common in Montevideo, while STM buses still take cash on board. Tipping and the finer points of card acceptance follow the Uruguay-wide norms in the country guide.

Montevideo is a real city, and the sensible rules match any South American capital. Keep your phone out of your back pocket and off café tables, stay aware in crowds, and do not flash cash or jewellery. After dark, take a taxi or ride-hailing app rather than walking long stretches, and use ATMs inside banks during the day. Ciudad Vieja thins out once offices close; the area around the port and the Mercado del Puerto is lively at lunch but quiet at night. The central neighbourhoods, Pocitos and Punta Carretas are comfortable with normal attention.

Tap water in Montevideo is safe to drink. The 2023 drought briefly made the metropolitan supply salty and pushed it above its normal sodium range, but that ended when the Paso Severino reservoir recovered, and the city publishes its tap-water readings. The bigger daily concern is the summer sun, which is strong from December to March, so wear sunscreen even on a cloudy Rambla day. Pharmacies are widespread, and each neighbourhood rotates an all-night farmacia de turno.

Mobile data is cheap and coverage in Montevideo is strong, so there is little reason to roam. If your phone is unlocked, buy a local SIM or eSIM at the airport or in the centre; Antel, Movistar and Claro all sell prepaid SIMs. Hotels, cafés and the airport have wifi, though the open public signal can be patchy along the Rambla.

Montevideo is warm but not formal. Greet with a single kiss on the cheek, while men usually shake hands. Mate is the city's shared ritual: if someone hands you the gourd, drink the whole serving and pass it back without stirring the straw, and say gracias only when you have had enough. Dinner runs late, with restaurants filling after 9 pm, and lunch is the big parrilla meal of the day.

Spanish is the language of Montevideo, in its Rioplatense form. Locals use vos instead of tú, so you will hear tenés and querés, and the ll and y sounds come out as a soft sh, which turns calle into cashe. English is common among younger people and tourism staff but is not universal, so a few Spanish phrases will carry you. Menus in Ciudad Vieja, Pocitos and Punta Carretas are often bilingual.

The Rambla promenade is flat, wide and continuous, the easiest part of the city for wheelchairs and strollers. Many newer buses are low-floor, and the STM card works on all of them. In the old town the main pedestrian streets are smooth, but some side streets are cobbled, and Centro's sidewalks can be narrow and uneven. The Palacio Municipal lookout is reached by lift.

Carnival is Montevideo's defining season, not a single day. It runs from late January to mid-March and is billed as the world's longest, with the Desfile de Llamadas drum parade and the murgas filling theatres and stages. National public holidays, when banks and many shops close, are listed in the Uruguay country guide.

Book your bed early if you are coming for Carnival, especially around the llamadas, because the city fills up. Guided visits at the Teatro Solís run on a set schedule and are worth reserving on the theatre's site. For food, the parrilla halls of the Mercado del Puerto are walk-in at lunch, but reserve for dinner at the popular places in Pocitos and Punta Carretas.