Going To Colonia, Uruguay

Best option for cash is to Xoom yourself *dollars* in Colonia - it's a 1:1 and only cost me $17 for $1,000. I went to do the pickup at the Redpagos on Gral Flores with no problem (no line!) - although there was initial confusion as they had not heard of Xoom - turns out the local partner is called "More." Whole transaction took me about 10 minutes.

Thanks for the info. This seems a good alternative to the long ATM lines, the low blue rate xoom has for AR, and maybe the crazy paperwork "More" requires to get the money here in AR.

How long did you have to wait since the Xoom transfer for your money to be ready for pickup? What documentation did they ask for? Any limits per transfer that you know of?
 
Xoom I believe has a $2,999 limit per day - I didn't test the limits (this was more of a dry run). I'll update this thread if I end up doing another run for more money. The branch on Gral Flores was very nice (I've been to some really shady wire transfer joints) and they didn't seem like they'd have a problem paying out larger sums of money (they hardly blinked at the $1k).

I set up the order on Xoom for the transfer at 18:35, and I got an email by 19:30 saying it was ready for pick-up (I did this a day in advance, just in case). Very fast. I also like their mobile texting notifications - got a text as soon as I walked out of the branch that I had picked up my order :)

The documentation I brought was passport (obviously) and the Xoom transaction number. They didn't seem to care about the transaction number - just looked up the transfer on the computer via my identity (passport). I filled out some basic paperwork (Name, identity, who sent the money, etc.) and then got the cash in crisp c-notes. Process was remarkably easy and smooth (I expected there might be some hassles).

Would highly recommend this process over any others if you've got a US bank - the $17 transaction fee to wire $1,000 cash overseas is on-par with ATM fees (at least for me) and you can spend all the extra time eating at all of Colonia's overpriced restaurants :)
 
Was just there yesterday. I would give up trying to use the ATMs - each of the functional ones had a line at least 12 deep the whole day I was walking around (I arrived on the 1030 Colonia Express). You might have better luck if you overnight it - seems most people there were doing a single-day trip.

Crossing there and back on the boat was easy enough - no problems. You do need a copy of your reciprocity fee to return.

Best option for cash is to Xoom yourself *dollars* in Colonia - it's a 1:1 and only cost me $17 for $1,000. I went to do the pickup at the Redpagos on Gral Flores with no problem (no line!) - although there was initial confusion as they had not heard of Xoom - turns out the local partner is called "More." Whole transaction took me about 10 minutes.

Comparing the two alternatives, lets say you want approx 10,000p. You could either :
Xoom yourself $1250USD here and pickup 10,073p locally. You'd pay $30USD for the service​
or Take the Ferry to Colonia: Withdraw $1000usd, return to BsAs and exchange for 9980 pesos.​
You'd pay a $57(?) fare.​
(Plus costs if someone accompanies you. Maybe plus parking at Buquebus)​

Perhaps someone could check my math, but it looks like getting approx 10,000 pesos costs:
$1280USD via Xoom.
$1057USD via Colonia, plus maybe half a day of your time.

So if you have half a day free or want to visit Colonia, you can profit by $223USD on every $10,000p.
 
Comparing the two alternatives, lets say you want approx 10,000p. You could either :
Xoom yourself $1250USD here and pickup 10,073p locally. You'd pay $30USD for the service​

or Take the Ferry to Colonia: Withdraw $1000usd, return to BsAs and exchange for 9980 pesos.
You'd pay a $57(?) fare.

(Plus costs if someone accompanies you. Maybe plus parking at Buquebus)


Perhaps someone could check my math, but it looks like getting approx 10,000 pesos costs:
$1280USD via Xoom.
$1057USD via Colonia, plus maybe half a day of your time.

So if you have half a day free or want to visit Colonia, you can profit by $223USD on every $10,000p.

So if you have half a day free or want to visit Colonia, you can profit by $223 pesos on every $10,000p.
 
So if you have half a day free or want to visit Colonia, you can profit by $223 pesos on every $10,000p.

Beg to differ Rich One. 10,000p is constant. One way costs $1280 one way $1057 plus half day.
 
So if you have half a day free or want to visit Colonia, you can profit by $223 pesos on every $10,000p.

Your math is off...

Xoom
$1035 dollars + $30 Fee
Total spent $1,065

Receive 8,341 pesos

Colonia
$1,000 dollars + $16.99 fee + $50 ticket to Colonia
Total spent $1,066.99

Receive around 10,000 pesos depending on your cueva and the dolar blue.

 
jeff's math is almost right. You've excluded the fee for Xooming to Uruguay - $17, and the Colonia fare at the Messi dollar is $50 USD.

So $1,067 for the trip to Colonia (and you lose half a day - take the 0900 there and the 1600 back on Colonia Express), vs. $1,280 for local.

That's $213 USD - or about $2,000 peso difference....

(I would pack a lunch though, the $U 500 lunches - ~$30 USD at their cambios - will chip into whatever you save rather quickly!)
 
It really just depends on how much money you need to bring. If it is 1000 usd Xoom is better, but if it is 5000 usd I guess it is best to go to Uruguay.
 
The advance tickets for the ferry are a lot cheaper I believe. Anyone have the low-down?
 
The only time I could not widraw US dollars was right after Passover. Remember that there is a 300$ limit per extraction, plus your bank daily limit.
What I do is going late in the evening, extract to my 900$ limit, then I stay overnight in a cheap hostel (El Español), and next day I extract another 900$, then return to BA.
You save the cost of the next trip.
 
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