Buquebus boarding

[CPixie]

Hi,

I want to go to Montevideo, by ferry / buquebus. I remember being at the harbour near Retiro once, when I saw a huge queue of people for boarding the ferries.
How much time should I allow for boarding? Is 1h enough?

Also: Prices via Colonia are a lot cheaper. Is the ferry-2-bus transfer straight-forward & 'organized'? Or is it better to just pay the US$30 extra and not change at Colonia?

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Moonwitch]

When I went with Buquebus to Colonia it only took around half hour to go through the whole process. That was out of season though. I would recommend an hour. On the Uruguayan side I would recommend an hour and a half, the queues that side are longer. Buquebus have a new terminal at Retiro so the boarding process isn´t too unpleasant.

 

[SaraSara]

Check-in time is an hour before departure.

The ferry-bus transition in Colonia is very well organized - Buquebus' buses wait for the passengers right at the terminal's exit.

Takes about half an hour to go through customs and into the buses.

Some things in Uruguay don't work, but Buquebus works wonderfully well. I take the ferry every two months or so, and have never had problems.

 

[Neil]

I have taken both several times, and prefer the ferry to Colonia + bus...its efficient and they load your bags on bus after clearing customs. It's a comfy bus ride to Mvdeo. scenic for the 1st timer..

Cost wise... Colonia+Bus = $191 pesos arg
Directo to Mvdeo. = $315 pesos arg

So it's a savings for 1/2 hr (or so..) more travel time...

 

[CPixie]

Is it just me, or have others experienced the same problem?

I'm trying to buy a Buquebus ticket online, but the system doesn't take on my passenger information...
Step 3: Itinerary overview; "Enter now the passenger travelling" - takes me to a form, which I fill out & press "Save"... this takes me back to Step 3, but my details don't get added

I can't get to the checkout at all. Tried with 2 different browsers (Firefox & Safari).

 

[SaraSara]

You can also buy your tickets by phone with a credit card, and print them yourself or pick them up at the terminal just before leaving.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Is it just me, or have others experienced the same problem?

I'm trying to buy a Buquebus ticket online, but the system doesn't take on my passenger information...
Step 3: Itinerary overview; "Enter now the passenger travelling" - takes me to a form, which I fill out & press "Save"... this takes me back to Step 3, but my details don't get added

I can't get to the checkout at all. Tried with 2 different browsers (Firefox & Safari).

Are you legally present in Argentina? Some international carriers use links to the migraciónes data and won't process bookings for people who don't show up there. I know this because someone once entered my D-o-B in the US format (I'm a Brit: we do things differently over there) and the computer refused to accept that I existed. So tip No.2 is: check that your personal information is in the format they request.

 

[Tiksa]

Hi,

I am not expat, but just a tourist who faced the very same problem.

There seems to be two possible causes:
- The site lets you sometimes select tariffs that shouldn't be allowed. E.g. discount fares for one-way ticket. There is, however, no English error messages for these so the system just returns to previous phase.
- Seems that the English site cannot handle some ID combinations correctly. E.g. my passport but then my friends Argentinan id-card would have been accepted.

Solution to both: use Spanish version of site.

Tim

 

[FAS]

CPixie - The same problem drove me crazy for several hours when I booked a couple of weeks ago. Are you using the English version of the website? When I switched to the Spanish version the personal information form worked fine.

The boat-2-bus combo works great. Comfortable, fast, no problems. You can even hang around Colonia for a few hours and catch a later bus (assuming there's room, which there is most of the time). Just check with the ticketing people first. I had lunch on the beach with a friend, watched the sunset, then caught the last Buquebus bus to Montevideo without missing a beat.

 

[Liam3494]

Yep - Have to agree the bus service from the terminal in Colonia to Montevideo was excellent. Also they have a new terminal in Colonia now (nearly finished, but open), and we had no trouble either way when we were there last month.

One thing i would say - If you are going to Montevideo at a weekend - It closes!!! It was like a ghost town on Saturday afternoon and Sunday - even in a lot of "tourist places"... Old Town shuts up at the weekend, and this was summer! Bizarre, but we had a good time in the evenings...