How To Reach Uruguay

Uruguay has two main airports which are well connected by major cities of the world, namely Montevideo's Aeropuerto International Carrasco and Punta del Este's Aeropuerto El Sauce. There are frequent flights from the neighbouring countries as well i.e. from Buenos aires (Argentina), Asuncion (Paraguay), Brazil, and Santiago (Chile) to Carrasco. Also, one can go for travelling by road to reach the city from Brazil, Argentina or Chile as the infrastructure is fairly good. High-speed ferries are also available if one wants to travel through waterways as Uruguay has lots of ports to facilitate such service.

Reaching Uruguay by Air

The main port of entry in Uruguay through the air is by Montevideo's Aeropuerto International Carrasco. Flights from all over the world connect Uruguay from this airport. Because of being relatively small most travellers have to connect at least once or twice to reach here. A few direct flights from Argentina and Brazil serve Punta del Este International Airport. Airlines like Qatar Airways, Fly Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air France are few of those which provides regular connectivity. A couple of airlines, including American, Iberia and Air Europa, offer direct international flights to Montevideo, a few others fly through Buenos Aires or S†o Paulo. LAN connects to Australia and New Zealand via Chile. American Airlines has a non-stop flight from Miami to Montevideo. You can hire a car at both the airports in Montevideo to get to the city. Also, the option to travel by bus and taxi is available from the airport.

Reaching Uruguay by Bus

Uruguay has an extensive bus network which enables travelling within the city and outside very comfortable. You also have the option of ultra modern coaches with superb facilities. There are many buses running from neighbouring cities of Brazil like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Terminal Tres Cruces, Terminal Ciudad Vieja and Agencia Centralare the major three hubs. Travelling via bus is very safe. International bus services are also available. They have buses running from Montevideo to different cities across the country. You can pay in cash on the bus. Do not forget to exchange your Brazilian cash before attempting to buy a bus ticket, because the bus companies do not accept credit card or master card. Also, remember that buses from Brazil to Uruguay do not run frequently within the same country. Tickets may sell out, forcing you to wait for several days. Therefore you should try to buy such a ticket a few days or more in advance.

Reaching Uruguay by Rail

Uruguay doesnêt have much of railway network in function now. There are very few commuter train services linking the capital city to the northern parts of Uruguay. There are some tourist buses too but they donêt have any fixed schedule. It then becomes very important to find the announcements for them at the Montevideo train station in order to travel through them. Also, there is no train facility available to travel long distances. People here mostly use buses to commute intercity and intracity.

Reaching Uruguay by Road

The roads are well built and provide a great infrastructure if you want to drive into Uruguay from Brazil, Paraguay and Chile. All you need is an international driving license, passport and credit card. As gasoline and vehicle imports are heavily taxed in Uruguay, it may happen that renting a car or commuting by car may increase your expense of the tour.

Reaching Uruguay by Water

There are many ferry services running in and around Uruguay making it easy to commute to the city and especially from neighbouring countries and cities. The busiest of them all is The Buquebus ferry service which operates between Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo. Buenos Aires also has a thrice a day hydrofoil service to Colonia, a port in Uruguay. On the route to Colonia del Sacramento from Buenos Aires, there you have got two options - a journey of 3 hours and another of just one hour, the cost of which also varies because of the duration of the journey. Cargo liners connect USA and Europe to Montevideo.