Uruguay - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 835

CROSSING THE RÍO DE LA PLATA
Every day, two Buquebus ferries leave from Montevideo (in the morning and late afternoon) to
Buenos Aires (2hr 30min; UR$400-1000 one-way). For a more frequent service, both Buquebus
and Seacat do a combined bus and ferry ticket to Colonia del Sacramento (see p.843), where
there are ferries every couple of hours which take just one hour (around the same price) to the
Argentine capital. Although less convenient and less used, the most picturesque ferry crossing
is operated by Cacciola between Tigre, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires, and Carmelo, a
one-hour bus ride to the west of Colonia (daily; 2hr 30min; UR$630 one-way; W cacciolaviajes
.com). They also do connecting buses to Montevideo. Note that there is a one-hour time
difference between the countries, so check which time is being quoted on the websites.

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Madrid (3 weekly); Panama City (daily; 7hr 30min); Rio de
Janeiro (daily; 2hr 40min); Santiago, Chile (4 daily; 2hr
40min); São Paulo (4 daily; 2hr 30min). There are several
daily flights with Aerolineas Argentinas ( W aerolineas
.com.ar) and SOL ( W sol.com.ar) to Buenos Aires'
Aeroparque and Ezeiza airports (Aeroparque is better
for central BA). Buquebus ( W flybqb.com) run the only
internal flights.
By bus All intercity buses operate out of Tres Cruces
bus station ( W trescruces.com.uy), 2km northeast of the
centre. From here bus CA1 (every 15min; 15min; UR$11)
goes to the centre, down Av 18 de Julio to the Plaza
Independencia, loops around the Ciudad Vieja, then
returns via the same route.
Destinations International: Asunción, Paraguay (2 weekly;
22hr); Buenos Aires, Argentina (3 daily; 8-10hr); Córdoba,
Argentina (daily; 15hr), Porto Alegre, Brazil (daily; 12hr);
Rosario, Argentina (daily; 8-10hr); Santiago, Chile (weekly;
28hr). National: Cabo Polonio (daily; 5hr); Carmelo (hourly;
3hr 30min); Colonia del Sacramento (hourly; 2hr 45min;
4hr); Minas (hourly; 1hr 40min-2hr 30min); Punta del
Diablo (every 2hr; 5hr); Punta del Este (every 30min-every
2hr, 24hr a day; 2hr); Valizas (3 daily; 4-5hr).
Backpacker bus Summer Bus ( T 42775781, W summer
bus.com) is a beach-hopping backpacker bus which
conveniently picks you up from your hostel during summer
months (Nov-April; hop-on-hop-off ticket to 12 beaches
US$75).
By ferry (see box above).

maps, leaflets and information in English in Uruguay. There
are also information kiosks at the airport ( T 26040386),
and at Tres Cruces bus station ( T 21185801). There are
municipal tourist o ces (daily: April-Nov 9am-5.30pm;
Dec-March 11am-5pm; T 29168434) on the port side of
the Mercado del Puerto, as well as outside the Palacio
Municipal ( T 19501830).
Tour operators LB Tour (18 de Julio 1044, o ce 702,
T 29007159, W lbtour.com.uy) run some of the most
popular city tours in Montevideo and Colonia, while Travel
Montevideo ( T 096614267, W travelmontevideo.com.uy)
offer good walking tours around the city for around
US$15. Soccer fans won't do better than Fanaticos Fútbol
Tours ( T 099862325, W futboltours.com.uy), who live
and breathe the beautiful game. Hostel Posada al Sur (see
p.840) have responsible tourism in mind with tours that
benefit locals.

TOUR URUGUAY
Uruguay's vast countryside makes it
di cult to tackle without a car, but there
are some excellent tour operators who
can get you out in the sticks.
TOUR OPERATORS
Biking Uruguay ( T 27090636, W bikinguruguay
.com) & Bike Tours Uruguay ( T 099591519,
W biketoursuruguay.com). Both companies run
cycling tours in Montevideo and Punta del Este.
Caballos de Luz T 099400446, W caballowsdeluz
.com. Recommended, good-value horseriding tours
in Rocha department.
Lares W. Ferreira Aldunate 1322, o ce 14,
Montevideo T 29019120. The most popular nation-
wide tour operator, specializing in outdoor activities
and nature.
The Wine Experience T 097348445, W thewine
-experience.com; prices depend on number of people
in tour. South African Ryan runs raved-about gourmet
food and vineyard tours from both Montevideo and
Colonia.

INFORMATION
Online The website W descubrimontevideo.uy is aimed at
Spanish-speakers, but it has comprehensive tourist informa-
tion, including an excellent downloadable guide in English
(under Montevideo - Guía Práctica - Guía en Inglés ). Look
out for the guide Friendly Map Magazine at tourist informa-
tion o ces for LGBT listings. The government site W cultural
.montevideo.gub.uy (only in Spanish) is great for cultural
listings.
Tourist information The Minitur o ce on La Rambla 25
de Agosto de 1825 at the end of Yacaré (daily 8am-10pm;
T 021885100, W turismo.gub.uy) has the best range of