Uruguay

Spanish is the official language, spoken here in the same Rioplatense style as Argentina, with "vos" replacing "tú" for "you". English is common in hotels and tourist businesses in Montevideo and Punta del Este, but far less so once you leave the main tourist areas, so a few basic phrases go a long way.

• Prepaid SIM/eSIM: Antel, Movistar, and Claro all sell tourist SIM cards, but Uruguay requires passport registration to activate one — plan for the paperwork to take longer than in neighboring Argentina or Brazil. Antel has the widest coverage in rural areas and along the coast; Movistar and Claro are strongest in Montevideo and other cities.
• eSIM: an eSIM bought online before arrival skips the in-country registration line and activates immediately.

Tap water is safe to drink throughout the country. Pharmacies (farmacias) are widespread in cities and towns, and at least one in each area stays open late or 24 hours on a rotating basis. No special vaccinations are required for most travelers beyond routine immunizations — check with a travel clinic before your trip if you have specific health concerns. Summer sun is intense, especially near the coast, so sunscreen and water are worth carrying on beach days.

Citizens of the EU, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and most Mercosur and Latin American countries can enter Uruguay without a visa and stay up to 90 days as tourists, with a further 90-day extension available from immigration authorities inside the country. Argentine residents can often enter using a national ID card instead of a passport. Travelers from countries not on Uruguay's visa-exempt list need to apply for a visa at a Uruguayan embassy or consulate before departure.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

• Greetings: a single kiss on the cheek is common between women, and between men and women, even on a first meeting; men typically shake hands with each other.
• Mate: sharing a gourd of mate is an everyday social ritual. If you're offered a sip, it's polite to accept, drink through the metal straw, and hand it back — you don't need to say "thank you" until you're finished with your turn, since that signals you don't want more.
• Dress: casual and relaxed almost everywhere, including in most restaurants; smarter dress is only expected at upscale restaurants in Punta del Este.
• Meal times: dinner starts late, often after 9 pm, and lunch can run past 2 pm — plan accordingly if you're used to eating earlier.

Public holidays can close banks, offices, and some shops, especially in smaller towns, and intercity buses run reduced schedules. Carnival and Easter week (Semana de Turismo) are effectively a national holiday stretch, when many Uruguayans travel and the coast gets busy.

Shops in cities generally open Monday to Saturday with standard daytime hours; malls and supermarkets often open daily, including Sundays. In smaller towns, expect a slower pace and some shops closed on Sunday afternoons.

• By bus: long-distance coaches are the backbone of travel between cities, run by several private companies with frequent departures. Montevideo's main terminal is Tres Cruces, with routes reaching Colonia del Sacramento in about 2.5 hours and Punta del Este in about 2 hours.
• By ferry: fast ferries connect Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento directly to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and are a popular way to combine both countries in one trip.
• By air: Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport is the main international gateway; domestic flights are rare since distances between cities are short.

Meals run late: breakfast is light (coffee and a pastry), lunch is the biggest meal of the day and can stretch well past 2 pm, and dinner rarely starts before 9 pm. Weekend asado — beef slow-grilled over wood coals — is close to a national ritual, often turned into a long, unhurried family gathering rather than a quick meal.

Beyond asado, look for the chivito, a towering steak sandwich piled with ham, cheese, egg, and bacon, and milanesa, a breaded cutlet often served as a sandwich. Bakeries sell alfajores and other sweet pastries, and dulce de leche shows up everywhere from breakfast toast to desserts. Mate, the bitter herbal infusion sipped through a metal straw from a shared gourd, is a constant presence on the street, at the beach, and in parks. Uruguay also produces excellent Tannat red wine, especially from vineyards near Montevideo and Canelones.

Montevideo is the compact, laid-back capital, with a historic old town, riverside promenade, and the country's main museums and markets. Along the coast to the east, Punta del Este is Uruguay's best-known beach resort, with marinas, nightlife, and sandy peninsula beaches. Nearby Piriápolis offers a quieter, more old-fashioned seaside alternative, and La Paloma further east draws a laid-back surf crowd.

To the west, Colonia del Sacramento is Uruguay's best-known colonial town, its cobblestoned streets and Portuguese-era quarter a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while nearby Carmelo is a quieter riverside town known for vineyards and citrus orchards. Inland, Tacuarembó sits at the heart of gaucho cattle country, and in the north, Salto and Paysandú are river towns known for their hot-spring resorts along the Río Uruguay.