Uruguay Travel Guide

Uruguay travel guide

If you are planning to visit South America, or just search for a quiet plate to spend no more than one weekend, Uruguay makes the best choice. Due to its small size – Uruguay is one of the smallest countries in South America, you can choose between restless nights or sunny and peaceful days, spent with your friends or among locals.

Uruguay travel guide – Geography

Uruguay’s perfect position, neighboring only two countries – Brasilia and Argentina, allows tourists to spend sunny nights on South Atlantic beaches. The local community is formed mostly by Europeans, so the oldest European settlement (established in 1680 by Portuguese) is one of the main touristic attractions. Colonia del Sacremento is well known for its historical background, that reflects in the local buildings even in our days.

What’s so interesting about Uruguay is that a large hydrological network is serving this country. Some of the most important rivers are: Río de la Plata, Uruguay River, Laguna Merín and Río Negro. Also the dominant landscape is made from fertile grass-growing lowlands, which offer a very high grade of effectiveness to any tourist.

Uruguay travel guide – Climate, Flora, Fauna

Uruguay is well known for its temperate climate with warm summer days and cool winters. However, what can catch anyone unaware are the sudden weather changes, which are due to the lack of mountains - acting as barriers in some areas.

Being a lowland country, Uruguay provides the perfect combination for those who want to go camping –woods and grass-growing land. If you choose to visit the south-western part of Uruguay, you may come across rosemary, myrtle or scarlet-flowered ceibo.

On a second thought, if you travel to the eastern regions, you may encounter some harmful and wild territories ruled by foxes, dears, swans, salmons and vipers – unfortunately the large animals have disappeared.

Uruguay travel guide – Transport

Now that you decided where you want to spend your holidays, you have to find out a way to get to Uruguay. If you choose to travel by car, you should know that there is not a very reliable infrastructure maintenance or rural access in this county.

Uruguay travel guide – Cuisine

Due to local inhabitants’ nationality, the food is traditionally based on European cuisine. Many influences from Mediterranean tastes were borrowed from Italy, Germany, France and Spain. But if I were to recommend a specialty I would certainly go for Dulce de Leche – a national obsession. It is sweet pasta, made from natural ingredients (mainly fruits), used to fill almost everything – cookies, sandwiches, pancakes, barbeques etc.

When we talk about the national drink, we come to a perfect combination between alcohol and honey – often used in cold seasons to warm up bodies. Grappamiel is very popular in the rural areas, and it cannot be found very easy in shops or supermarkets. Also, another traditional drink is an infusion called mate. It looks very much like a traditional tea. Mate is made from leaves and other aromatic herbs and, before it can be drank, you have to pour boiled water on them.

Uruguay travel guide – Tips for tourists

Uruguay is one of the most popular destinations among tourists due to its high developed beaches and cuisine. However, if you are planning a trip in this country you should know that the local currency is the Uruguayan peso (1 US Dollar = 23.58 Uruguayan Peso).

Another thing that you should be aware of is that no visa is required for American tourists, unless they want to spend more than 90 days in Uruguay. For others, you must have a U.S. passport, tickets and documents for return to mother country and, of course, the necessary amount of money for the period you are planning to stay.

So, if you are planning a perfect holiday or if you just want to spend some time in an unfamiliar country, Uruguay may the best choice!