What a visitor's money does in Uruguay: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Uruguayan Peso (UYU) · 1 EUR = 46.2 UYU · 1 USD = 40 UYU
Uruguay is the most expensive country in South America and Punta is the most expensive part of it. Foreign visitors paying by foreign card get the 22% VAT refunded automatically on restaurant bills and accommodation, which is a real saving — pay by card rather than cash for that reason alone.
Avoid: paying cash at restaurants and hotels — you lose the VAT refund
Use: Banco República, Itaú, Santander
Foreign visitors paying by foreign card get the 22% VAT refunded automatically on meals and accommodation. Pay by card for that reason alone. Machines dispense both pesos and dollars, so check which you asked for.
A short ride in Punta del Este: $250–500 UYU across town — middling
Slightly under the meter, and the taxis here are metered and honest.
Uruguay eats more beef per head than anywhere on earth and the Mercado del Puerto is a shed full of wood-fired grills to prove it. Chivito is the national sandwich and is a meal for two. Tannat is the red they make here and nowhere else does properly.
Uruguayan beef is the equal of Argentina’s and the parrilla is the institution. Chivito is the national sandwich and enormous. Tannat is the local red and it is very good.
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
