Getting There

GOL Flight

The flight from Porto Alegre to Montevideo cost me:

Flight	221,82 BRL
Taxes	78,00 BRL
Total	299,82 BRL

Airport Transfer

After the scenic ride along the harbor into town, the meter showed 202. But when the driver got his ficha out, it was converted into 569 UYU. I thought the bastard was ripping me off by applying a “taxa do turisto”... until the hotel staff confirmed that 600 UYU was the regular fare.

Accommodation

Balmoral Plaza Hotel

I’d made reservations through:

http://www.hotel-rates.com

I booked an Executive Room at the Balmoral Plaza Hotel for 60,97 USD a night (excluding taxes).

http://www.balmoral.com.uy



When I checked in, I was shown a twin room. WTF? The reception clerk showed me the form they received from hotel-rates.com, requesting an Executive Twin. I showed them my printout, requesting a “double bed / cama matrimonial”. Even though I specified my preference in 2 languages, those dumbasses at hotel-rates.com managed to fuck up my reservation!

The hotel was not at fault. They couldn’t help the fact that no double rooms were available because of the long holiday weekend in neighboring Argentina. The incompetent nitwits at hotel-rates.com are entirely to blame.

Crystal Palace Hotel

There were plenty of other hotels in the area, but the only hotel that could offer me a double bed was the Crystal Palace Hotel.

http://www.crystalpalacehotel.com.uy

I stayed in the Presidential Suite the 1st night (110 USD), and moved to a regular room (45 USD) the next day.

* The room rates include a sumptuous buffet breakfast.
* The Presidential Suite occupies an entire floor and features a Jacuzzi.
* The regular rooms are nice enough and there’s a safe in the wardrobe.
* Wireless Internet was available.
- The hotel network required a WPA key.
- The Linksys network was available free of charge.

ATM Machines

There are plenty of ATM machines in the centre of town, but they’re inside a bank building and... closed on weekends. The only ATM machine that was accessible on a Saturday afternoon was at ABN Amro.

In theory, ATM machines dispense both Uruguayan pesos and US dollars. I only extracted local currency.

SIM Card

You can’t just buy a local SIM card at any newsstand. You have to visit the phone company’s office.

* CTI has an office on the main drag (18 de Julio).
- They’re closed on weekends.
* Ancel also has an office on 18 de Julio.
- Also closed on weekends.
* The Ancel office on the corner of Paraguay and San Jose was open on Saturday.
- But they don’t sell SIM cards on weekends.

Since I arrived on a Friday evening and only spent 3 nights in town, I was unable to procure a local SIM card.

Taxis

I walked everywhere and only took a taxi when I had a chica with me. Taxis used the meter and had a ficha to convert the displayed fare into pesos. A glass separates the driver from the passengers. You pay the driver by sticking the money through a hole in the glass. Cab fare from the whiskerias to my hotel was around 40 UYU.

Buquebus

If you need Buquebus tickets (ferry to Buenos Aires), there’s an office on Plaza Fabini in the centre of town. Like most places, they’re closed on weekends.

The office in the Tres Cruces bus terminal is open every day (including weekends) until 11 PM. Buses # 64, 187 and 188 will get you there (15,50 UYU one way).

Alternatively, you can also make reservations through the Internet:

http://www.buquebus.com

Next: 05. Overview & Conclusions