Santana do Livramento

Santana do Livramento, locally referred to as just Livramento, is in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It's on the border with Uruguay, right across from the Uruguayan city of Rivera.

Understand
Livramento's big attraction is its location on the border: Uruguayans come for the inexpensive goods on the Brazilian side, and Brazilians come for the duty-free shops on the Uruguayan side. Travellers from other countries can take advantage of both. Livramento also gives you the chance to stand with a foot in each country—a cool photo opportunity.

To a large extent, Santana and Rivera function as one city: you can easily walk from one to the other without even bringing your passport. You may not even notice you're crossing the border, which is marked by inconspicuous white border markers. If you decide to venture further into the other country, though, make sure to stop at immigration (located next to Siñeriz Shopping in Rivera) to get your passport stamped out of one country and into the other.

That being said, they are two different cities, with separate bus systems and administration and somewhat different vibes. Being in Brazil, Santana tends to be cheaper than Rivera, has more Brazilian foods and Brazilian-style buffet restaurants, and has more Portuguese than Spanish. On both sides of the border, though, it's not uncommon to have a conversation where one side is speaking Spanish and the other Portuguese, or where both sides are speaking Portuñol, a mixture of the two languages.

Get in
Access is done mainly overland, as Rivera Airport no longer operates commercial flights and the closest commercial airport is Rubem Berta International Airport in Uruguaiana, by 228 km from Santana do Livramento. Uruguaiana Airport also has just a handful of flights from Porto Alegre and seasonal flights from Florianópolis, which makes access by land easier than by air.

From Brazil
Porto Alegre, the state's capital, is located about 500km away, a 7h ride by bus (100-135 BRL or 30-40 USD).

From Uruguay
From Rivera, you can just walk or drive across the border. The city is connected to other parts of Uruguay by regular bus services.





Buy
Lots of inexpensive stores catering to Uruguayans are located in the area near the border and the Praça Internacional. There are also lots of duty-free shops on the Uruguayan side.

Prices tend to be listed in reais in Livramento and in pesos in Rivera, but stores on both sides are happy to accept either currency. Currency exchange places, as well as lots of stands selling contraband, can be found on the border near the Praça Internacional. The unlicensed currency exchange stands right on the border offer very good rates, better than the official exchange places nearby. They accept US dollars as well as pesos and reais.

Sleep
Cheaper hotels are available here than in Rivera.

Consulates

 * 🇺🇾 Uruguay

Go next

 * The city of Rivera in Uruguay is right across the border.