Carrasco Airport Montevideo: Flying To & From Uruguay

If you are flying in or out of Uruguay you will almost definitely arrive via Carrasco International Airport. This is Uruguay's main airport and it is located in Montevideo's suburban neighbourhood of Carrasco, just 30-40 minutes drive from the city centre.

Carrasco Airport is a small airport by any standards - it is essentially just one long narrow terminal building, one end housing a few check-in desks and one end occupied by a door for arrivals. It is a very basic set-up with a fairly modern appearance but since the airport was privatized in 2003 to a company called "Puerta Del Sur" passengers now pay a hefty fee for this basic modernity!

Coming IN to Uruguay is free of charge, but if you wish to leave via Carrasco airport expect to pay US$31 for international passengers or US$17 if you wish to hop across the river to Buenos Aires. Its a bit strange that the one area they won't let you take pictures of in the airport is the desk where you pay this fee, they even have a 24hour guard to ensure nobody takes pictures! You can pay this "tasa de embarque" (boarding fee) in cash with US dollars or Uruguayan pesos , they say they accept visa, mastercard and amex but many people have they when they tried to pay with credit card they were refused so bring cash to be safe!



There's two small cafes either end of the terminal building and another snack stand inside at the gates. There is a "free shop" which obviously offers some sort of savings because the immigration officer very stealthily asked me to escort her to the duty free shop, buy her a few boxes of cigarettes and deposit them in an area where the security cameras couldn't see. It was very clandestine altogether, but entertaining nonetheless.


I have heard such a mixed bag of reports about going through customs when entering Uruguay - everything from the Spanish Inquisition over bringing in laptops to people who just walked on through with bags and bags of things. I find that it is very hard to provide accurate information or hard and fast rules about processes in Uruguay because it can honestly depend on who you encounter, what kind of day they're having and even what happened yesterday....I'm told that when customs officers are scolded for not catching something you can expect them to confiscate random things and ask pointless questions just for the sake of looking active and conscientious! Just make sure that if you're bringing anything new you make it look used (put pictures and personal things on laptops, don't bring anything in its original box etc).

Transport: Traffic in Montevideo is quite light and its a rather stress-free journey to and from the airport. You can take the DM1 bus from Tres Cruces bus station for 25pesos and it will leave you right outside the airport terminal building. Equally so the DM1 regularly stops outside the airport terminal and will bring you to Tres Cruces bus station which is in the centre of Montevideo. You will have to have small change to pay for the bus as they will not speak english and will NOT be happy if you attempt to hand them 500 or 1000 pesos to pay your 25peso fare!

You can also take a taxi to the airport but it is often better to book one through a remise (a taxi company) rather than hailing one on te street because it could be very expensive on the meter. There is a guy called Jaime that has been recommended by a few expats. He lived in the US for a few years and so speaks some english, his cell phone is 099-152-560. As I was leaving on a ridiculously early flight I used Remises La Española 02-622 2323, they collected me at 3.30am in Pocitos and the journey cost me 450pesos (no meter, pre-arranged fare).

Be warned that Carrasco airport is located in the municipal department on Canelones and so the taxis are governed by a different set of rules. They tend to be much larger nicer cars, but the price tags match that. This is all well and good if you have dollars to burn but if you're traveling on a budget or living a more Uruguayan lifestyle then call a Montevideo remise or take the DM1 bus to the centre. There's also a COPSA bus (I think its number 706), this also brings you to Tres Cruces but takes a much less scenic route...if your a tourist the DM1 goes by the coast and is a nice introduction to what Uruguay has to offer.

Carrasco International Airport Website: Everything is in Spanish but there is a good list of frequently asked questions and information about parking, car rental, duty free shopping, luggage etc.

Check here for arrival and departure times (this is also a good way to know what airlines fly in and out of Montevideo). At the moment the main routes seem to be with TAM, Pluna, American Airlines, Iberia, Aerolineas Argentinas, LAN and Gol.