Going To Colonia, Uruguay

kclane

Registered
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
7
Likes
0
Hi there. I'm going to Uruguay on Monday and I just wanted to get some advice on the situation in Colonia getting US dollars out. I have heard that I need to arrive to Colonia extremely early and the lines can be extremely long and ATM's often broken. Would it be better to go to Montevideo?

And also, as a US citizen, how is the situation on crossing the Uruguay/Argentina border? What do I need to make sure I have for crossing the border, do I need my reciprocity fee or any other documents?

Gracias!
 
Frenchie is the expert on this, search for his posts on the A-Zs of going to Uriland for dollars.
 
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.
 
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.
They should prohibit non-Uruguayans from using the ATM machines in Colonia. The Locals need to be able to use the machines for their daily lives.
 
I went in December and had no difficulty using the ATMs to extract dollars, but that was before the big rush. Perhaps early in the morning might be the best time. You should have evidence of having paid your retaliation fee in order to return to Argentina without paying it again.
 
They should prohibit non-Uruguayans from using the ATM machines in Colonia. The Locals need to be able to use the machines for their daily lives.

Yes, definitely. A city that bases its economy on tourism should definitely not allow tourists to pull cash from the ATM, lest they spend it in said tourist city.
 
Yes, situation in Colonia is a mess now.
Better go to Montevideo to withdraw dollars.
Or arrive early in Colonia, try your luck and if it doesn't work out, take a R/T bus to Montevideo.
 
Agree if you are heading to Colonia you need to catch the first and fast ferry and get to the ATM's first. Frenchie is right it is one big mess. When I was there (3 weeks ago) one guy had 10 credit cards drawing max limits. You can imagine how long that took. I was lucky to be 3rd in line, so the wait wasn't too bad.
Good luck!
 
At least they should let Uruguayans go to the head of the line.
 
Back
Top