What to Pack for Uruguay: Our Essential Packing List

Working out what to pack for Uruguay is a different job than packing for the rest of South America: there’s no altitude to prepare for and no multi-day trek to gear up for.

We arrived in Montevideo in October 2026, after our car spent four weeks at sea being shipped from Germany in a container.

Spring was around 14°C (57°F) on cloudy days and closer to 20°C (68°F) when the sun came out, mostly cloudy, with light showers every day or so.

Our biggest packing lesson: pack for two seasons and definitely bring a warm layer, even if the forecast looks mild.

We arrived in Montevideo a few days before our car did, and guess what?

Our warm clothes were all in the car inside the container. We had to survive for 5 days with just one long-sleeve T-shirt. That’s what being underprepared means 😉

You don’t need to overspend on gear for Uruguay.

Having the right Uruguay travel essentials for changeable coastal weather, city walking, and the off-grid night in Cabo Polonio makes the difference between a comfortable trip and a slightly miserable one.

Our Uruguay packing list at a glance

What to pack for Uruguay in each season

Uruguay has four real seasons, and the right Uruguay packing list depends on which one you land in.

Spring is the only one we’ve packed for ourselves during our three-week trip, which gave us warm days (up to 25 degrees), but also cold days (as low as 5 degrees).

What to wear in Uruguay

Uruguayans dress casually and practically.

Jeans or travel pants, a sweater or jacket, and clean walking shoes fit in almost everywhere in Montevideo, including most restaurants, and you won’t need anything formal.

Punta del Este and José Ignacio dress up on summer evenings (since they are party destinations), so pack one nicer outfit if the beach towns are on your route in high season.

Buy your own yerba mate gear as a souvenir

We followed a maté experience to understand why about 25% of the whole country’s population walks around with a thermos and a glass in their hand to sip their drink.

We learned about the history of it, the way it’s being drunk (one glass can last up to one day), and the differences between the Uruguayan maté and the Argentine and Brazilian versions.

It was no surprise to us that Uruguay drinks more yerba mate per person than any other country.

We’ve seen people carrying a thermos and gourd on buses, in parks and along the Rambla, in markets, even at the airport when boarding a flight!

If you’re buying yerba to bring home, know what you’re choosing between.

Classic Uruguayan yerba is finely ground, strong and bitter. Blends with herbs, citrus, or green tea are gentler if the straight version is too much. For us, maté tastes like an herbal tea.

A small sampler of two or three styles is an easy way to find what you like before buying a full 1 kg (2.2 lb) bag.

You can also buy your maté starter kit here!

What you don’t need in Uruguay

A few things worth leaving at home, specifically because Uruguay isn’t the Andes:

• Trekking poles: there’s no multi-day trek here comparable to the Inca Trail; the closest thing (a day hike near Sierra de las Ánimas) doesn’t call for them
• Altitude sickness tablets: Uruguay’s highest point, Cerro Catedral, is only 514 m (1,686 ft), so altitude isn’t a factor
• Heavy-duty rain gear: a packable waterproof jacket covers it; you don’t need anything built for sustained mountain weather
• A full camping setup: only relevant if you’re specifically doing Cabo Polonio or Valizas independently rather than through a guesthouse

We never used any of the items above, so we do not recommend them. They come in handy when you go to Argentina, Chile, or Peru.

Uruguay travel essentials beyond clothing: cards, cash and toiletries

The most useful thing in our bags wasn’t clothing.

It was the right VISA card.

Paying with our foreign Visa always got us a discount, sometimes up to 15% off the bill, because Uruguay refunds part of the VAT on many card payments by foreign visitors (restaurants, hotels, car rental).

Check out our full posts on how the money system works in Uruguay. A must-read when you’re travelling!

We never needed US dollars: a card plus one ATM withdrawal in pesos covered everything for us.

Two ATM lessons from Montevideo: the Abitab machines we tried wouldn’t accept our foreign card at all, while RedBROU ATMs (the state bank’s network) worked best for us.

With our Wise card, we paid 100 pesos (about €2.20 / $2.50) per withdrawal, the same at every bank we tried.

As a couple, we share one joint Wise account, so we both pay from the same balance and never have to settle up on who paid for dinner.

One more money-related packing tip: bring sunscreen and toiletries from home, because Uruguayan supermarkets aren’t cheap. In Montevideo, we easily paid $25 (€23) for just a few items.

👉 INSIDER TIP: if one ATM rejects your foreign card, don’t assume your card is blocked. Try a RedBROU machine before you call your bank. Our full breakdown of cards, ATMs, and tipping is in our money in Uruguay guide.

Our take

When it comes to what to pack for Uruguay, pack for your season first.

If you’re coming in spring as we did, a warm layer and a rain jacket will get more use than your shorts.

In summer, flip that and go for sandals, sunscreen, and a water bottle; in winter, base layers and a fleece are really essential.

Whatever the season, prioritize good walking shoes, skip the altitude gear, bring the right card instead of a stack of US dollars, and buy your mate gear once you’re there.

Written by Laura and Alexander, a travel couple overlanding through Uruguay, from Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja to the wineries of Carmelo and the landscapes at Punta del Diablo.