kenobi
New member
Hola all. First contribution here - hope someone in the future might find this helpful.
Yesterday I made an overnight trip to Colonia via Buquebus for the primary purpose of replenishing my supply of USD cash. I planned this trip a few weeks in advance, before I learned that it's possible to transfer and withdraw USD from certain cuevas in Buenos Aires.
My Buquebus departure time was around noon, and I arrived two hours early to be safe. I probably could have arrived an hour later and still have had plenty of time to kill. Check-in was a breeze - I purchased a business class ticket, with a dedicated check-in line, VIP lounge, and priority boarding and disembarkation. Argentine and Uruguayan immigration sit next to each other at the same desk inside the terminal, so the Argentine official just hands your passport over to the next guy and you get your Uruguayan entry stamp before even boarding the ferry. I had carry-on luggage only, and despite the Buquebus website stating "no liquids allowed," my bag containing liquid toiletries and body wash passed through the X-ray machine without so much as a glance from the security officials. It seemed like they are mostly disinterested in anything other than probably firearms.
The ferry left on time and the onboard experience was pleasant. Business class passengers have a dedicated upstairs seating area with spacious recliners and room to breathe, while the tourist class (regular class) passengers are seated in airline style seating and it seemed a lot more packed and chaotic. Complimentary champagne was also available for business class passengers. Disembarkation in Colonia is super easy, you simply walk off the boat and you're on your way, unless you need to gather checked luggage first. I will say the duty free shop onboard the ferry was super expensive for those used to using the blue dollar - liquor bottle prices were double that of what you would find in a Buenos Aires supermercado.
Downtown Colonia is very easily walkable and I ignored the taxis lined up outside the terminal and walked a half dozen or so blocks to the hotel to check-in. Once that was taken care of, my next stop was straight to Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (or BROU for short) to withdraw USD. I had read many previous BAexpats threads mentioning that the ATMs have low limits ($300 per transaction), that the machines are finicky, that there will be hordes of Argentinians waiting in line, and that machines will run out of cash if you don't arrive early in the day. I didn't experience any of that.
When I entered the bank there were four ATM machines, and only one of them was being used. I entered my U.S. debit card, pressed the "English" option, entered my PIN and the machine immediately offered me the option to withdraw USD. The amounts I was offered ranged from $100 to $600, so I selected the $600 option. The machine dispensed $600 with a $5 transaction fee, and then I re-entered my card to withdraw funds a second time. The second time around I noticed that there was an "other" option for amount, so I manually entered $700 to see what would happen. The machine gave me $700 with another $5 transaction fee, and then I was on my way as that was all the USD I need for the immediate future. So all in all, $1300 USD with $10 in transaction fees and minimal fuss. The bills were all crisp and in excellent condition, like they had just been unwrapped from the plastic.
I was glad to discover that the transaction limits were at least double that of what I've previously read. I honestly don't know what the current maximum amount is per transaction. Since the machine accepted my request for $700 in a single transaction, it's certainly possible that the actual transaction limit could be even higher, possibly $800 to $1000.
Colonia was gorgeous and it was a perfect day weather wise. I've attached a couple of pic collages of various photos I took around town today. You can see tourists starting to trickle in, but it's still pretty quiet at the moment. I'm wondering if the higher transaction limits at the ATM are the new normal, or if the limits are reduced once the tourist high season arrives.
All in all it was a good trip and I've had fun, but it's probably not the most economical way to stock up on USD. The ferry's not cheap, and while doing a day trip is possible, grabbing a hotel overnight as I did will add even more expense. I've recently learned that in the future I can use Zelle to transfer USD from my bank account to cuevas in Buenos Aires, who will then give me USD cash in exchange for a cut of approximately 5%. In my case, 5% of $1300 would have been $65, which would have been cheaper than my ferry ticket. And of course, time is money, so all the better if you can take care of business in Buenos Aires without have to make a special trip "overseas."
I probably won't be making more money runs to Colonia in the future unless the savings is worth the effort. For example, if I needed $5000, 5% at a Buenos Aires cueva would be $250, so in that case I might be tempted to make a Colonia day trip again since the ferry ticket would be much cheaper than the cueva. However, I only expect to need about $1,000 a month in USD cash going forward, so just going to a cueva and doing a Zelle transfer every month will probably make more sense for me in the long run. My bank allows ATM withdrawals of up to $5,050 per day, so maybe in a few months I'll go back to Colonia and see if it's possible to get that much from BROU in a single day, and if so, what's the least number of transactions possible now that I know the single transaction limit is higher than previously reported.
Anyways, hope this is helpful, and enjoy the pics!
Yesterday I made an overnight trip to Colonia via Buquebus for the primary purpose of replenishing my supply of USD cash. I planned this trip a few weeks in advance, before I learned that it's possible to transfer and withdraw USD from certain cuevas in Buenos Aires.
My Buquebus departure time was around noon, and I arrived two hours early to be safe. I probably could have arrived an hour later and still have had plenty of time to kill. Check-in was a breeze - I purchased a business class ticket, with a dedicated check-in line, VIP lounge, and priority boarding and disembarkation. Argentine and Uruguayan immigration sit next to each other at the same desk inside the terminal, so the Argentine official just hands your passport over to the next guy and you get your Uruguayan entry stamp before even boarding the ferry. I had carry-on luggage only, and despite the Buquebus website stating "no liquids allowed," my bag containing liquid toiletries and body wash passed through the X-ray machine without so much as a glance from the security officials. It seemed like they are mostly disinterested in anything other than probably firearms.
The ferry left on time and the onboard experience was pleasant. Business class passengers have a dedicated upstairs seating area with spacious recliners and room to breathe, while the tourist class (regular class) passengers are seated in airline style seating and it seemed a lot more packed and chaotic. Complimentary champagne was also available for business class passengers. Disembarkation in Colonia is super easy, you simply walk off the boat and you're on your way, unless you need to gather checked luggage first. I will say the duty free shop onboard the ferry was super expensive for those used to using the blue dollar - liquor bottle prices were double that of what you would find in a Buenos Aires supermercado.
Downtown Colonia is very easily walkable and I ignored the taxis lined up outside the terminal and walked a half dozen or so blocks to the hotel to check-in. Once that was taken care of, my next stop was straight to Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (or BROU for short) to withdraw USD. I had read many previous BAexpats threads mentioning that the ATMs have low limits ($300 per transaction), that the machines are finicky, that there will be hordes of Argentinians waiting in line, and that machines will run out of cash if you don't arrive early in the day. I didn't experience any of that.
When I entered the bank there were four ATM machines, and only one of them was being used. I entered my U.S. debit card, pressed the "English" option, entered my PIN and the machine immediately offered me the option to withdraw USD. The amounts I was offered ranged from $100 to $600, so I selected the $600 option. The machine dispensed $600 with a $5 transaction fee, and then I re-entered my card to withdraw funds a second time. The second time around I noticed that there was an "other" option for amount, so I manually entered $700 to see what would happen. The machine gave me $700 with another $5 transaction fee, and then I was on my way as that was all the USD I need for the immediate future. So all in all, $1300 USD with $10 in transaction fees and minimal fuss. The bills were all crisp and in excellent condition, like they had just been unwrapped from the plastic.
I was glad to discover that the transaction limits were at least double that of what I've previously read. I honestly don't know what the current maximum amount is per transaction. Since the machine accepted my request for $700 in a single transaction, it's certainly possible that the actual transaction limit could be even higher, possibly $800 to $1000.
Colonia was gorgeous and it was a perfect day weather wise. I've attached a couple of pic collages of various photos I took around town today. You can see tourists starting to trickle in, but it's still pretty quiet at the moment. I'm wondering if the higher transaction limits at the ATM are the new normal, or if the limits are reduced once the tourist high season arrives.
All in all it was a good trip and I've had fun, but it's probably not the most economical way to stock up on USD. The ferry's not cheap, and while doing a day trip is possible, grabbing a hotel overnight as I did will add even more expense. I've recently learned that in the future I can use Zelle to transfer USD from my bank account to cuevas in Buenos Aires, who will then give me USD cash in exchange for a cut of approximately 5%. In my case, 5% of $1300 would have been $65, which would have been cheaper than my ferry ticket. And of course, time is money, so all the better if you can take care of business in Buenos Aires without have to make a special trip "overseas."
I probably won't be making more money runs to Colonia in the future unless the savings is worth the effort. For example, if I needed $5000, 5% at a Buenos Aires cueva would be $250, so in that case I might be tempted to make a Colonia day trip again since the ferry ticket would be much cheaper than the cueva. However, I only expect to need about $1,000 a month in USD cash going forward, so just going to a cueva and doing a Zelle transfer every month will probably make more sense for me in the long run. My bank allows ATM withdrawals of up to $5,050 per day, so maybe in a few months I'll go back to Colonia and see if it's possible to get that much from BROU in a single day, and if so, what's the least number of transactions possible now that I know the single transaction limit is higher than previously reported.
Anyways, hope this is helpful, and enjoy the pics!
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