Carrasco International Airport: Getting Into Montevideo

Official Shared Shuttle

The airport's official shuttle is a small bus that you share with up to 12 other passengers, and it drops you straight at your hotel. AeroShop, the airport's booking shop, sells the one-way trip for USD 13 in either direction, the round trip for USD 26, a discounted fare of USD 10 for domestic flights, and a whole van for up to 6 people for USD 45. Book through AeroShop online, then collect the service at the Taxis & Shuttles stand in the arrivals hall.

For a single traveller or a couple with normal luggage this is often the simplest paid option, because there is no route planning and the fare is fixed before you fly. If your party is six or fewer, price the USD 45 van against six shuttle seats at USD 13 each, since the van is cheaper from four people up (our sum: four seats cost USD 52). See our Montevideo tours page for other booked services.

Official Airport Taxi

The official airport taxi runs 24 hours a day and takes up to 4 people with 3 suitcases of 23 kg each plus 4 carry-ons. You reserve it 24 hours ahead through AeroShop, and the price works by zone: Centro-Ciudad Vieja, Punta Carretas-Parque Rodó, Buceo y Pocitos, Carrasco-Punta Gorda, La Tahoma-Barrios Privados, and Parque Miramar-Hotel Hampton. The fare is not printed anywhere, so it appears only when you pick your zone during booking.

Collect the car at the Taxis & Shuttles stand in the public arrivals hall, and free WiFi plus a baby seat on request are part of the service. Canada's travel advice notes that ride-hailing services in Uruguay are monitored to standards equivalent to taxis, and that taxis have a glass partition. For three or four people, compare the zone price against 3 or 4 shuttle seats, because the taxi can tip either way.

Public Bus

COPSA, COT, CUTCSA and Turismar run bus services from outside the terminal, but the airport page prints no line numbers, stops or fares, so confirm the line and the fare at the stop or with the driver before boarding. CUTCSA's tariff page gives metropolitan fares by distance ring: ring 1 at 32 km is $2.65 (UYU 107), ring 2 at 40 km is $3.15 (UYU 127) and ring 3 at 52 km is $3.45 (UYU 139), plus a 'Boleto DM1' at $2.65 (UYU 107). That page does not say which line serves the airport, so treat these as the going rate rather than a guaranteed fare.

Carry pesos in small notes, and skim our Uruguay currency notes first. Once you are on city buses inside Montevideo, the one-hour ticket is $1.29 (UYU 52) with an STM card or $1.59 (UYU 64) cash, and the two-hour ticket is $1.94 (UYU 78) card or $2.41 (UYU 97) cash.

Private Transfer for Groups

For four or more people, the private transfer usually wins the sums. It costs $90.28 per group for 4 to 12 passengers, for a party of four or a full van of twelve. Our sums put that at $22.57 a head for four and $7.52 a head for twelve.

A driver meets you at the airport, port or bus terminal holding a sign with your names, the ride takes about 1 hour depending on traffic, and infant seats are available. For the return trip the driver collects you at your hotel 3 hours before the flight. Air-conditioned minivans or private vehicles do the driving, and hotel, port and airport pickup are all included.

Compare it against the half-day city tour if you also want an orientation ride once you have settled in.

Ciudad Vieja and Centro

The old port peninsula is where most first-time visitors start, and the taxi zone that covers it is called Centro-Ciudad Vieja. This is the part of the city with Ciudad Vieja, Plaza Independencia and the Mercado del Puerto, together on the old peninsula. It is also where arriving travellers land by sea.

The ferry terminal from Buenos Aires and the cruise berths sit at the foot of the peninsula, so Montevideo cruise port passengers and ferry arrivals end up in the same neighbourhood you are heading for. If you land at the airport with a hotel booked downtown or in the old city, ask for the Centro-Ciudad Vieja zone when you reserve the taxi, and the driver drops you at the door.

Pocitos, Punta Carretas and Carrasco

East of the centre the city stretches along the Rambla, the waterfront promenade that runs for kilometres past beach neighbourhoods. The taxi zones here are Punta Carretas-Parque Rodó and Buceo y Pocitos, covering Punta Carretas and Pocitos. Continue east and you reach the barrio of Carrasco itself, grouped with Punta Gorda in the Carrasco-Punta Gorda zone, and this is the closest part of Montevideo to the airport, which keeps that ride short.

Pocitos beach and the Rambla make an easy first afternoon, and if you have time the same day, the half-day city tour with pickup works well from any of these neighbourhoods. For the full list of what to see in Montevideo by barrio, start with Montevideo attractions.

From 1947 to the Vinoly Terminal

The airport's full name is Carrasco/General Cesáreo L. Berisso International Airport, with the IATA code MVD and ICAO code SUMU. It opened in 1947. The terminal building in use today was designed by the architect Rafael Viñoly, was inaugurated on 5 October 2009 and entered service from 29 December 2009.

The operator is Puerta del Sur S.A. The address is Ruta 101 km 19,950, CP 14000, Canelones, which puts the airport formally outside the Montevideo department. The main telephone number is +598 2604 0329. It is the country's main airport according to the Montevideo tourism authority.

Arriving: Documents and Money

Foreign visitors enter Uruguay with a valid passport and no special immigration procedure. Citizens of neighbouring countries may use their national ID card instead. Travelling minors who are alone must meet their home country's exit rules, usually written parental permission.

Two money benefits apply from the moment you land. Hotels charge non-residents 0% VAT all year when you show a foreign-issued ID, and the stay is invoiced without VAT, so there is nothing to claim back later. Paying electronically at restaurants, bars, cafés, winery tastings, event services and car rental takes 9 percentage points off VAT until 30 April 2027 under Decreto 235/026.

Carry pesos for buses and small purchases, see Uruguay currency, and read our notes on is Montevideo safe before you head out.

Tax Free Refunds and Getting Back

Uruguay's Tax Free scheme runs all year at participating shops. Ask for the paperwork when you buy, then claim the refund at the marked booths on departure. Carrasco airport is one of the listed exit points, along with Laguna del Sauce airport, the ports of Montevideo and Colonia, the Punta del Este cruise terminal and the border bridges.

Read our Montevideo shopping page for what the scheme covers. For the ride back, the shared shuttle sells round trips for USD 26, and if you used the private transfer on arrival, the same service collects you at your hotel 3 hours before the flight, which removes the guesswork about when to leave the city.

Flying In for a Cruise

Montevideo is a turn port, not just a stop. MSC and Costa Cruceros both change passengers in the city, embarking some travellers and disembarking others, so some travellers fly into Carrasco to join a ship or fly home from one. In the season just past the port planned about 100 cruise calls plus about 35 technical calls, with 39 more at Punta del Este, which gives an idea of the scale.

If that is your plan, the private transfer also serves the port as a pickup and drop-off point, so you can fly in, meet the driver with your name sign, and go straight to the ship. Our Montevideo cruise port page covers the terminal side of the arrival.

Which Airport for Punta del Este

Travellers sometimes ask which airport to choose for Punta del Este. Punta del Este has its own airport at Laguna del Sauce, a separate field near the resort, and it is also named as a Tax Free exit point. From Montevideo, the Punta del Este day tour is a 10-hour small-group trip for $45 per person with hotel pickup across the city, so you can leave the car behind entirely and still see the coast, with an optional visit to the Casapueblo museum whose ticket is not included.

Our pages on Punta del Este and other day trips from Montevideo list more options, and renting a car suits travellers who want the coast at their own pace.