Uruguay: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Uruguay feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 53 written places.
Latin America's calmest corner; mate in one hand, unhurried beach life in the other.
✓ Considered polite
- Carry a mate and thermos if you want to look local - everyone does, everywhere
- Eat a chivito - the national sandwich is a delicious act of excess
- Slow down to Uruguayan pace - tranquilo is policy
- Day-trip Colonia's cobbled old town from Buenos Aires or Montevideo
✗ Better avoided
- Rush anyone
- Expect budget prices - Uruguay costs more than its neighbours
- Skip the interior - estancia farm stays are the country's quiet treasure
- Confuse it with Paraguay in conversation - patiently corrected
Worth knowing
- Cards are widely accepted
- Tipping is 10%
- The peso is the currency though dollars appear in tourism
- Summer (December-February) is when the coast wakes up; Punta del Este prices triple
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.