Combining a visit to Montevideo and Buenos Aires is easy, as you can cross the Río de la Plata via ferry boat. There are multiple options; I opted in for the Buquebus crossing which begins at the company’s terminal in Colonia del Sacramento. To get there, you need to take a bus from the Tres Cruces bus terminal at Montevideo where you can also check in your luggage.
In the end the journey is easy and frictionless, but you need to know some details. First of all, the required web check-in is only possible for locals, just ignore it. You need to check-in at a special Buquebus counter at Tres Cruces; fifteen minutes prior to departure of your bus enter the bus parking lot through the gate next to the Buquebus counter – not the main gate. The bus ride takes 2:15h to Colonia, there you have to through immigration control of both countries. The ship cruise then takes 1:15h to Puerto Maduro in Buenos Aires. Pick up your luggage like at an airport, walk through customs and you’re directly at the heart of the city.
On board, the crossing feels more like a short international journey than a conventional boat trip. There are comfortable indoor seats, large windows and, on many services, cafés or duty-free shopping. Passengers normally leave their larger luggage in the designated area and spend the voyage relaxing, watching the broad brown waters of the Río de la Plata or following the changing skyline.
What makes the trip memorable is the sense of moving between two distinctly different South American capitals by water rather than by air. Uruguay gradually recedes behind you, the river opens into an almost sea-like horizon, and Buenos Aires appears as a distant urban presence before the vessel reaches Puerto Madero. The ferry is therefore not merely a practical connection: it provides a calm, scenic transition between Uruguay and Argentina.
Montevideo – Buenos Aires
Uruguay – Argentina
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