We usually have a limited budget while travelling to a tourist destination. Therefore, we often choose only one city to spend our vacation, explore new cultures, and observe the lifestyle. While picking the city where we will stay for several days, it is essential to compare it with other cities in the country. We have to choose the best city in the country that offers the best tourist attractions. Millions of tourists from the Northern Hemisphere visit Latin America during the cold winter to enjoy the summer and improve their carnivals' mood. Thousands of foreigners consider travel to Uruguay every year. Uruguay is a great Latin American country with marvellous waterfalls, fine beaches, a magnificent city life, fascinating culture, and cheerful people. To enjoy the vacation at its best, the main question is: What cities should I visit in Uruguay? In this blog, we will compare two major cities in Uruguay, namely Montevideo and Rivera. Which one: travel to Rivera or Montevideo? We will elaborate on the reasons why Rivera is a better tourist destination than Montevideo.
1. Rivera is less crowded
With more than one million population, Montevideo is the largest city in Uruguay. On the other hand, Rivera is not a major city, and it has less than a hundred thousand population. While travelling to Rivera, you will have no problems, such as overcrowded public transportation and extremely noisy streets. Also, Rivera is an amazing but underrated tourist destination that needs to be discovered and explored. Rivera receives much fewer tourists than Montevideo does every year. While visiting Rivera's tourist attractions, you will have a chance to meet more local people and learn more about Uruguayan culture and lifestyle. Also, the lesser the tourists and visitors, the lesser the city's pollution and its major tourist attractions. In Montevideo, people are very busy in their daily lives. Montevideo's hustle and bustle may disturb your travel experience and annoy you, especially during the peak hours of public transportation.
2. Rivera the shopping heaven
Many people travel to Rivera to enjoy shopping at its best! Rivera stores and shops offer the best prices in the whole of Uruguay. The clothes, shoes, bags, etc., sold at stores are among the most high-quality Latin American products. You can find the products of the most famous brands for very affordable prices. However, shopping in Montevideo can be very expensive. As the building rent prices are much higher in Montevideo, shops and boutiques set higher prices for clothes. Also, the stores in Montevideo rely on high prices because thousands of foreigners are willing to spend lots of money shopping. However, Rivera shops mainly target local customers, and they set lower prices. Apart from shopping malls and luxurious boutiques, Rivera is home to shops that sell original and locally made shoes, clothes, shirts, etc. Every tourist in Latin America should experience Rivera shopping Uruguay as you will enjoy shopping for high-quality brands at affordable prices. You will enjoy having locally made Rivera clothes decorated with great ornaments inspired by Latin American culture. Rivera shopping Uruguay will be one of the most fun travel experiences in your lifetime.
3. Montevideo's public transit is more complicated
If you ask yourself what cities should I visit in Uruguay, you should consider the ease of getting around in the town. Let's say you want to have a Latin American travel experience in a city where you will only use public transportation. Rivera is a better choice than Montevideo because the public transit in Rivera is much simpler. Buses in Rivera works with much less complex schedules and lines. Also, Rivera buses are less crowded even during peak hours of the day. However, in Montevideo, underground and bus schedules, signs, and lines are very complicated. Even if you are an English-speaking tourist, understanding the metro lines and signs will be very difficult in Montevideo. You would not want to get lost in an underground and lose a lot of time. The convenience of getting around with comfortable transportation in Rivera will make your travel to Uruguay more enjoyable and memorable.
4. Travelling in tranquillity
Peaceful and quiet daily life is what we want while travelling. We travel to tourist destinations to leave the noisy and tense life of ours behind. Rivera is a place where you will find quiet city life. In Montevideo, intense car sirens, construction noises, mixed voices in crowded public transit, and other urban noises will disturb your travel. However, Rivera features a more peaceful city life where you can conveniently shop without voices of intense conversations in long queues. Also, in Rivera, street music is not loud and disturbing. Only local music performers play and sing for a small audience.
5. Cheap but delicious food
Rivera is a town where you can taste the best and most delicious Uruguayan food. The prices of meals and beverages in restaurants, cafes, and street vendors are very low. You will have the best price-performance in Rivera while trying local meals such as chivito. Chivito is a great street sandwich that includes steak, lettuce, mayonnaise, tomato, and other local ingredients. You can try asado in restaurants, which is a unique Uruguayan meal with rich and delicious content. However, in Montevideo, the food can be pretty expensive. Street food is not common in Montevideo, and the meals are mainly served at expensive restaurants, cafes, and shopping malls. Instead of local cafes, global fast food and local cuisine chains serve meals in Montevideo's main spots. You will most probably pay a lot of money and get little uniqueness in Montevideo cafe and restaurants.
6. Rivera's unique locally brewed beer
In Rivera, local beer makers produce beers at home or little companies and sell in local shops. Rivera's local beer is unique, thanks to its extraordinary taste, colour, and spicy aroma. During your Rivera shopping Uruguay experience, the local beer is a must-have beverage that you can enjoy while wandering around the town. You will hardly find the original homemade beer with unique flavours in Montevideo stores. In Montevideo, you can get beer only from supermarkets that sell huge local or global companies' brands. It is also worth noting that locally brewed beer is cheaper and offers higher quality because local brewers make beer for enjoyment, not for making huge profits.
7. Rivera's great countryside
Montevideo is mainly an urban place where dynamic city life never stops. You will hardly find nice and quiet countryside in Montevideo. However, Rivera features peaceful country areas where you can leave all the noises of the city behind. There are lots of tourist attractions in the countryside. You can ride horses, fish in small lakes, enjoy walking in the forest, and hike around the country. The fascinating subtropical climate of Rivera makes it home to unique Latin flora and fauna. Rivera also has dozens of picnic areas where you can relax with your family and have some beer. Tour to Rivera's countryside is among the must-do list during your travel to Uruguay.
8. More safety
Crime ratesin Montevideo are much higher than in Rivera. In Montevideo, you can stumble upon many bad neighbourhoods where you will not feel safe. Montevideo has a huge population, and people have extremely various social and economic conditions. There may be lots of people who do not respect Uruguayan culture and traditions and disturb tourists. You may face unfortunate events such as burglary, etc. On the other hand, Rivera has less population compared to Montevideo. The Uruguayan government can handle the security much more conveniently in Rivera as the population is small. Also, you will hardly find dangerous neighbourhoods in Rivera.
9. Pollution-free streets
The city life is more well-organized in Rivera. Local people are law-abiding, and they do not throw trash on the streets. Therefore, the streets are clean and trash-free. There are also fines for those who throw the trash away carelessly. Police and other local organs can supervise the situation successfully as the population is small in Rivera. However, in Montevideo, every day, thousands of foreigners pass the streets. Tourists usually do not care about local regulations regarding pollution. Therefore, in the most dynamic and crowded streets of Montevideo, you can find a lot of garbage in the streets. Seeing rubbish during the city tour is annoying. In Rivera, you will not be annoyed by the trash thrown away carelessly.
10. Cheaper accommodation
If you enjoy travelling on a budget, Rivera is a great destination. A myriad of affordable accommodation choices is available for you in this Latin American city. You can stay at hostels, hotels, and apartments, which are very pocket-friendly. It is worth noting that Rivera accommodations offer great quality despite the low price. You can find super comfy places for an overnight stay in Rivera. However, in Montevideo, the prices are high when it comes to accommodation. As the population is huge, accommodation can be considered as a scarce resource. Also, thousands of tourists visit the city every month, making the demand for accommodation much stronger. Hotels are expensive as the costs of running a business and rents are high in Montevideo.
A quick recap
In this blog, we have elaborated on why travel to Rivera is better than travel to Montevideo. Hopefully, this article has been useful for those who consider the following question: What cities should I visit in Uruguay? Overall, Rivera is an excellent tourist destination that you can find great comforts at affordable prices.
