Uruguay: know before you go

Uruguay admits US, Australian and German passport holders, among many others, without a visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days, and the Interior Ministry keeps a country by country table if you want to check your own nationality. Your passport must be valid when you arrive, and an officer can ask for a return ticket and an address. If you need a visa, or plan to stay more than 90 days or work, sort it out ahead: applicants need a passport valid six months from arrival with two blank pages, a round trip itinerary, a hotel reservation and proof of funds, and authorization usually takes at least 20 working days.

Uruguay's main gateway is Montevideo's Carrasco airport, about 19 km east of downtown, with city buses and taxis to the center; the coastal buses toward Punta del Este also stop at the airport on the way out. The classic second entrance is the ferry from Buenos Aires: fast boats reach Colonia del Sacramento in about an hour to an hour and a half, and the direct crossing to Montevideo takes two to three hours. Buquebus, Colonia Express and Seacat sail the Colonia route, and the Colonia terminal sits a short walk from the historic quarter. Long distance buses from the region arrive at Terminal Tres Cruces, the country's main bus hub.

Buses are the backbone of travel in Uruguay. There is no regular intercity passenger rail: the network is mostly freight, with passenger service limited to the Tacuarembó to Rivera line in the north. Almost everything long distance leaves from Terminal Tres Cruces in Montevideo, and the coastal corridor runs on Línea Este (COPSA) buses that stop at Carrasco airport before Piriápolis, Punta Colorada, Punta Negra, Maldonado, Punta del Este, La Barra and José Ignacio. Fares listed in 2025 put Montevideo to Punta del Este at about 475 pesos and two hours, Montevideo to Colonia at about 593 pesos and two and a half hours, and Montevideo to Salto at about 1,633 pesos and seven hours. Online tickets cost the same as the terminal, and coastal seats sell out in summer.

Driving opens up the coast and the interior, and the rules are simple: traffic runs on the right, foreign licences are accepted for up to a year, rental companies generally require drivers to be 21, and the blood alcohol limit is 0.0, so one drink is one too many. Expect tolls on the main highways, including booths at Pando (Km 33) and Solís (Km 93) on the coastal road to Punta del Este; pay in cash or with an electronic tag. In the cities, taxis are metered, and Uber operates in Montevideo, Punta del Este and Maldonado.

Uruguay uses the peso, and the price tags will look familiar but mislead: the dollar sign stands for pesos, while US dollars are marked US$. Cards work almost everywhere in Montevideo, Punta del Este and the resort towns, but keep some cash for buses, kiosks and small inland shops, and withdraw from ATMs inside banks in daylight. Two tax breaks target visitors: registered hotels bill non-residents without VAT all year when you show a foreign ID and pay with a foreign card, and restaurant bills earn a VAT refund of 9 percentage points until April 30, 2026. VAT on goods bought at participating shops can be refunded as you leave, at Carrasco airport, the Montevideo and Colonia ports and several border crossings. Tip about 10% in restaurants; taxi drivers do not expect it.

Uruguay is one of the calmer countries in South America, and the standard advice is to take normal precautions. The risk that shows up most is theft: the US State Department warns about street crime and armed robbery in Montevideo, including the Ciudad Vieja, the Rambla and the area around the US embassy, with thieves often working in pairs on motorbikes. Keep phones and bags out of sight, leave nothing in a parked car, use ATMs inside banks during the day, and hand over your valuables if you are threatened. Call 911 for police, fire or ambulance; 104 and 105 remain the fire and medical lines.

No vaccination is required to enter Uruguay. Yellow fever is not a risk here and the CDC does not recommend the vaccine for the country; make sure routine shots are current instead. Dengue is the seasonal concern, spread by mosquitoes in the warm months: use repellent with 20% or more DEET, cover up at dawn and dusk, and choose air-conditioned or screened rooms. Tap water is disinfected and safe to drink in the cities and towns OSE serves, which is nearly all of them, though drought years have left the Santa Lucía supply salty enough that plenty of locals buy bottled. Care in private clinics is good but expensive, so travel insurance covering treatment and evacuation is worth having.

Uruguay has one of the most connected networks in South America. Antel, the state carrier, plus Claro and Movistar run 4G across the cities and most towns, Antel's fiber reaches a large share of homes, and the company sells a virtual SIM alongside its regular plans. Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafés, malls and on some long-distance buses. Roaming works but gets expensive, so a local chip or eSIM is the usual move; coverage thins in the empty interior and on rural roads between towns.

Uruguayans greet with a handshake and eye contact at a first meeting and a single cheek kiss among friends, and they say goodbye to each person individually. Mate is everywhere, passed around in a circle from one gourd with a metal straw, and accepting a turn is a friendly gesture. Social meals run late and loose, with guests commonly arriving 30 to 40 minutes after the stated hour, so lateness is not rudeness. Dress is a notch more formal than on other South American beaches, especially for business.

Spanish is Uruguay's official language and the everyday language, spoken in its Rioplatense form; in Montevideo you will hear voseo, with vos tenés for the informal you. Signs and formal writing use standard Spanish, and English is common in hotels, menus and tour offices along the tourist coast, though less so in neighborhood shops, on buses or in the interior. A few courtesies carry far: buenos días, por favor, gracias, and chau for goodbye.

Uruguay's national holidays come in two kinds. Five are non-working and never move: January 1, May 1, July 18, August 25 and December 25; banks and public offices close, and those who work get double pay. Three move to the nearest Monday to make long weekends: April 19, May 18 and October 12. Carnival's Monday and Tuesday and Tourism Week's Thursday and Friday are, by law, working holidays, but schools stop and much of the country heads for the beaches, so expect full buses and hotels. Every five years, the March 1 presidential handover is also a non-working day.

Uruguay's high season runs from mid-November to the end of April, when the tourist tax benefits are in force and Argentine and Brazilian visitors fill the coast. Book coastal buses early: operators warn that popular routes sell out in summer, and the advice for the Montevideo to Punta del Este run is to reserve at least 24 hours ahead between December 15 and March 1. Carnival and Tourism Week produce long domestic weekends that fill Punta del Este, Piriápolis and the Rocha beaches, so lock in rooms and seats before those dates. Winter flips the picture: rooms are plentiful and cheap, though fog can delay roads and flights.