eSIM Uruguay
Your Uruguay eSIM from 9,95€ runs on Claro and Movistar, with 1–3 GB for 7 to 15 days, prepaid, without a contract and without registration — online the minute you land at Carrasco Airport in Montevideo.
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Uruguay?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Buy the eSIM and set it up at home
Pick your data amount and validity, pay, and you get an email straight away with a setup link and a QR code. Install the eSIM calmly at home on Wi-Fi. After that it sits dormant in your phone and will not start on its own.
Arrive in Uruguay
After landing at Carrasco (MVD) near Montevideo or at Laguna del Sauce (PDP) near Punta del Este, switch the eSIM line on and turn on data roaming. If you arrive by ferry from Buenos Aires into Colonia del Sacramento or Montevideo, or cross the land border at Chuy, Rivera or Fray Bentos, you do exactly the same.
Stay connected
Your phone picks Claro or Movistar by itself, no APN needed. Validity starts with the first connection inside the country. When your data runs low you can top up any time without swapping the eSIM. Using the hotspot for a laptop or tablet is allowed.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Uruguay?
Your eSIM uses two networks in Uruguay — Claro and Movistar — and picks the stronger one on its own.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Uruguay: AM Wireless Uruguay · Movistar.
AM Wireless Uruguay
Movistar
There is nothing to configure. As soon as you arrive in Uruguay, your phone registers with Claro (AM Wireless Uruguay) or with Movistar, depending on which signal is stronger where you are. You do not enter an APN by hand. The only thing that has to be switched on is data roaming, otherwise the line stays silent. If one spot gives you trouble, turn off automatic search in your network settings and pick the other network manually.
Both networks are strong where Uruguay actually lives: Montevideo and Ciudad de la Costa, the beach strip from Piriápolis through Maldonado and Punta del Este up to José Ignacio, Colonia del Sacramento, and the departmental capitals such as Salto, Paysandú, Rivera, Tacuarembó and Melo. Along the main roads — Ruta Interbalnearia to the coast, Ruta 1 to Colonia, Ruta 5 north, Ruta 9 to Rocha — you normally stay connected. To be straight with you: the third operator, Antel, is not part of this eSIM, and Antel reaches furthest in the thinly populated interior. On remote estancias, in the dunes near Barra de Valizas and above all in Cabo Polonio, expect weak reception or none at all.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Uruguay?
Uruguay: the eSIM is ready when the plane stops at Carrasco and rides Claro and Movistar automatically, while a local card is recorded under your name with your passport — worth it mainly for Antel deep in the interior.
Why roaming on your home contract gets expensive in Uruguay
Whether you fly in from the United States, Turkey, Brazil, Japan or Germany: the moment your phone registers in Uruguay, your provider stops charging home rates and starts charging its international price list. South America sits in one of the pricier zones for most contracts, often with day passes that expire after 24 hours whether or not you used them.
We deliberately do not quote figures. Every tariff calculates differently, and a number that does not match your contract is no help. What you can check yourself in five minutes: look in your contract documents for the country zone covering South America, or for Uruguay directly, and see what a megabyte or a day pass costs. Then work out what two weeks of navigation, translation, photo uploads and a few video calls home would add up to. That sum is why most travellers book a separate data eSIM for Uruguay.
The second reason is the shape of the trip. Uruguay is almost always seen on the move: Montevideo, then the coast eastwards, Colonia in the west, the hot springs in the north. That means you depend on maps, on finding the next petrol station and on chats with your guesthouse — on data, not on making calls. A data-only plan is the more honest fit here than a bundle with minutes you will barely touch.
And because the eSIM is prepaid, you pay once up front: it simply runs out after 7 to 15 days, it does not renew itself, and no bill arrives afterwards.
How far Claro and Movistar really reach
Uruguay is small and well covered. About half the country lives in greater Montevideo, and reception there is a non-issue. In the capital, in Ciudad de la Costa, in Maldonado and Punta del Este and in Colonia del Sacramento you will normally have fast mobile internet. 5G is being rolled out in the urban areas, but do not build your travel plans around it.
On the classic route you stay connected: Ruta Interbalnearia to the east coast, Ruta 9 onwards into Rocha with La Paloma, La Pedrera and Punta del Diablo, Ruta 1 to Colonia, Ruta 5 north through Durazno and Tacuarembó up to Rivera on the Brazilian border. The hot-spring towns near Salto and Paysandú and the border towns of Chuy and Fray Bentos are covered too.
Now the places where it gets thin. The interior is grazing land with very few people, and between the towns the connection can drop out — especially on estancias off the main roads. In the dunes of Barra de Valizas reception is the exception, and in Cabo Polonio even more so: the village is not connected to the power grid, and guesthouses run on solar power and generators. Download maps for that region offline in advance and the silence stops being a problem and becomes the very reason you went.
And the most honest point last. Antel, the state operator, covers the interior furthest, and Antel is not included in this eSIM. For cities, the coast and the main routes that makes no difference. But if your trip means weeks on a remote estancia, a local Antel card is the better fit — we would rather tell you that beforehand than afterwards.
How much data do you need in Uruguay?
So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.
Just staying reachable
1–3 GB
Messages, the map now and then, checking mail. Everything else runs on the hotel Wi-Fi.
An ordinary holiday
5–10 GB
Navigating, social media, uploading photos, a few videos in the evening.
Out a lot, or a laptop along
20 GB and up
Streaming in the evening, video calls home, keeping a laptop or tablet online through your phone.
Data used per hour
The Netflix and Spotify figures come from the providers themselves (Netflix Help Center, Spotify Support, retrieved 28 Aug 2026). The rest are network-operator estimates (o2, Vodafone, EE) and vary with picture quality and reception.
What does an eSIM for Uruguay cost?
Simbye offers 2 plans for Uruguay from €9,95 to €18,95 — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Uruguay range from 1 GB to 3 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 15 days and starts with your first connection in Uruguay.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Per travel day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | €9,95 | €1,42 |
| 3 GB | 15 days | €18,95 | €1,26 |
- Networks
- AM Wireless Uruguay + Movistar
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
Frequently Asked Questions about Uruguay eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
