Uruguay itinerary, day by day

From colonial Colonia to the dunes of Cabo Polonio, where the grid never arrived, by way of the Montevideo rambla: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: November to March (southern summer)

Casapueblo · Photo Talkingheads / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Uruguay in 7 days

3 stops · 17 things to do · ≈ 310 km

1Colonia del Sacramento

Days 1-2

Founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and fought over with Spain for a century. Its old quarter of cobbled lanes has been UNESCO-listed since 1995.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk through the old quarter2h · from €20
Two hours through the Barrio Histórico, where Portuguese and Spanish houses stand side by side and tell the story of a town that changed hands again and again.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Calle de los Suspiros, the Street of Sighs · The climb up the lighthouse · The ramparts and the Portón de Campo gate · Sunset over the Río de la Plata

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Italiano (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Posada Plaza Mayor (€95 a night) · Luxury: Charco Hotel (€180 a night)

Photo Banfield / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h30 · 180 km

2Montevideo

Days 3-4

The southernmost capital in the Americas, home to about 1.3 million people, well over a third of the country. A seafront promenade, the rambla, runs along the water for more than twenty kilometres.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lunch at a parrilla in the Mercado del PuertoLunch · from €25
An iron market hall from 1868 filled with wood-fired grills, where beef, chorizo and sweetbreads come off the embers at the counter.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A tannat winery on the edge of townHalf day · from €35
A half-day among the vineyards just outside Montevideo, tasting tannat, the dark red grape that Uruguay has made its own.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rambla at sunset · The Ciudad Vieja and the Palacio Salvo · Tristán Narvaja street market (Sundays) · Pocitos beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Smart Hotel Montevideo (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Alma Histórica (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hyatt Centric Montevideo (€180 a night)

Photo acediscovery / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h · 130 km

3Punta del Este and Casapueblo

Days 5-7

A fishing village that became the most fashionable beach resort in South America. The giant fingers of La Mano have risen out of the sand of Playa Brava since 1982.

🎟️ Worth booking

Casapueblo, studio and museum2h · from €12
The white, organic-shaped house that the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró built by hand on the cliff at Punta Ballena, now his museum.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Boat trip to Isla de LobosHalf day · from €55
A half-day out to the island off Punta del Este, home to a large colony of sea lions and fur seals.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

La Mano on Playa Brava · Sunset from Casapueblo · The harbour and its sea lions · Playa Mansa

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tas D Viaje Hostel (€30 a night) · Mid-range: AWA Boutique (€140 a night) · Luxury: Enjoy Punta del Este (€280 a night)

Photo María Cecilia / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Uruguay in 10 days

4 stops · 22 things to do · ≈ 440 km

1Colonia del Sacramento

Days 1-2

Founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and fought over with Spain for a century. Its old quarter of cobbled lanes has been UNESCO-listed since 1995.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk through the old quarter2h · from €20
Two hours through the Barrio Histórico, where Portuguese and Spanish houses stand side by side and tell the story of a town that changed hands again and again.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Calle de los Suspiros, the Street of Sighs · The climb up the lighthouse · The ramparts and the Portón de Campo gate · Sunset over the Río de la Plata

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Italiano (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Posada Plaza Mayor (€95 a night) · Luxury: Charco Hotel (€180 a night)

Photo Banfield / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h30 · 180 km

2Montevideo

Days 3-5

The southernmost capital in the Americas, home to about 1.3 million people, well over a third of the country. A seafront promenade, the rambla, runs along the water for more than twenty kilometres.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lunch at a parrilla in the Mercado del PuertoLunch · from €25
An iron market hall from 1868 filled with wood-fired grills, where beef, chorizo and sweetbreads come off the embers at the counter.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A tannat winery on the edge of townHalf day · from €35
A half-day among the vineyards just outside Montevideo, tasting tannat, the dark red grape that Uruguay has made its own.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rambla at sunset · The Ciudad Vieja and the Palacio Salvo · Tristán Narvaja street market (Sundays) · Pocitos beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Smart Hotel Montevideo (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Alma Histórica (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hyatt Centric Montevideo (€180 a night)

Photo acediscovery / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h · 130 km

3Punta del Este and Casapueblo

Days 6-7

A fishing village that became the most fashionable beach resort in South America. The giant fingers of La Mano have risen out of the sand of Playa Brava since 1982.

🎟️ Worth booking

Casapueblo, studio and museum2h · from €12
The white, organic-shaped house that the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró built by hand on the cliff at Punta Ballena, now his museum.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Boat trip to Isla de LobosHalf day · from €55
A half-day out to the island off Punta del Este, home to a large colony of sea lions and fur seals.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

La Mano on Playa Brava · Sunset from Casapueblo · The harbour and its sea lions · Playa Mansa

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tas D Viaje Hostel (€30 a night) · Mid-range: AWA Boutique (€140 a night) · Luxury: Enjoy Punta del Este (€280 a night)

Photo María Cecilia / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus + 🛻 4x4 · 2h30 · 130 km

4Cabo Polonio

Days 8-10

No road and no mains electricity: the hamlet lives around its lighthouse, lit in 1881, and one of the largest sea lion colonies on the continent. The last stretch is crossed in open-top trucks over the dunes.

🎟️ Worth booking

Return 4x4 truck from Route 1030 min · from €9
The only way in: open-top trucks leave from the car park on Route 10 and cross the dunes to the village in about half an hour.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The sea lion colony below the lighthouse · Dunes and empty beaches · A night of stars with no electric light · The climb up the lighthouse (small entry fee)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Albatros (€25 a night) · Mid-range: La Perla del Cabo (€80 a night) · Luxury: La Perla del Cabo (suite) (€120 a night)

Photo TEORIAM / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Uruguay in 14 days

5 stops · 27 things to do · ≈ 500 km

1Colonia del Sacramento

Days 1-2

Founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and fought over with Spain for a century. Its old quarter of cobbled lanes has been UNESCO-listed since 1995.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk through the old quarter2h · from €20
Two hours through the Barrio Histórico, where Portuguese and Spanish houses stand side by side and tell the story of a town that changed hands again and again.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Calle de los Suspiros, the Street of Sighs · The climb up the lighthouse · The ramparts and the Portón de Campo gate · Sunset over the Río de la Plata

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Italiano (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Posada Plaza Mayor (€95 a night) · Luxury: Charco Hotel (€180 a night)

Photo Banfield / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h30 · 180 km

2Montevideo

Days 3-5

The southernmost capital in the Americas, home to about 1.3 million people, well over a third of the country. A seafront promenade, the rambla, runs along the water for more than twenty kilometres.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lunch at a parrilla in the Mercado del PuertoLunch · from €25
An iron market hall from 1868 filled with wood-fired grills, where beef, chorizo and sweetbreads come off the embers at the counter.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A tannat winery on the edge of townHalf day · from €35
A half-day among the vineyards just outside Montevideo, tasting tannat, the dark red grape that Uruguay has made its own.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rambla at sunset · The Ciudad Vieja and the Palacio Salvo · Tristán Narvaja street market (Sundays) · Pocitos beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Smart Hotel Montevideo (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Alma Histórica (€110 a night) · Luxury: Hyatt Centric Montevideo (€180 a night)

Photo acediscovery / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 2h · 130 km

3Punta del Este and Casapueblo

Days 6-8

A fishing village that became the most fashionable beach resort in South America. The giant fingers of La Mano have risen out of the sand of Playa Brava since 1982.

🎟️ Worth booking

Casapueblo, studio and museum2h · from €12
The white, organic-shaped house that the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró built by hand on the cliff at Punta Ballena, now his museum.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Boat trip to Isla de LobosHalf day · from €55
A half-day out to the island off Punta del Este, home to a large colony of sea lions and fur seals.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

La Mano on Playa Brava · Sunset from Casapueblo · The harbour and its sea lions · Playa Mansa

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tas D Viaje Hostel (€30 a night) · Mid-range: AWA Boutique (€140 a night) · Luxury: Enjoy Punta del Este (€280 a night)

Photo María Cecilia / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus + 🛻 4x4 · 2h30 · 130 km

4Cabo Polonio

Days 9-11

🎟️ Worth booking

Return 4x4 truck from Route 1030 min · from €9
The only way in: open-top trucks leave from the car park on Route 10 and cross the dunes to the village in about half an hour.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The sea lion colony below the lighthouse · Dunes and empty beaches · A night of stars with no electric light · The climb up the lighthouse (small entry fee)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Albatros (€25 a night) · Mid-range: La Perla del Cabo (€80 a night) · Luxury: La Perla del Cabo (suite) (€120 a night)

Photo TEORIAM / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚌 Bus · 1h15 · 60 km

5Punta del Diablo

Days 12-14

Painted cabins and surf beaches about forty kilometres from the Brazilian border. In the neighbouring national park, the Santa Teresa fortress, begun in 1762, still watches the frontier.

🎟️ Worth booking

Surf lesson on Playa de la Viuda2h · from €30
Two hours on the waves of Playa de la Viuda, with a teacher and a board.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Playa Grande and the fishermen's cabins · Santa Teresa fortress (national park) · Coastal paths towards the Laguna Negra · The seafront craft market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Posada de la Viuda (€50 a night) · Mid-range: El Bodegón Hostal Boutique (€70 a night) · Luxury: Terrazas de la Viuda (€160 a night)

Photo Elcolorin123 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Asado: beef and offal cooked slowly over wood embers, the centre of every Sunday.
Chivito: a steak sandwich stacked with ham, cheese, egg and salad, the national fast food.
Tannat: the dark, tannic red wine that Uruguay grows better than anyone.
Dulce de leche: slow-cooked sweetened milk, spread on everything from toast to pancakes.
Mate: bitter herbal tea sipped through a metal straw, carried everywhere with a flask of hot water under the arm.

⚠️ What to avoid

Book well ahead for Punta del Este in January, when prices and crowds peak.
Bring cash to Cabo Polonio: there is no cash machine in the village.
Easter week, known here as Semana de Turismo, fills every bus and hotel: plan around it.
When someone offers you mate, saying thank you means you have had enough, so only say it when you are done.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Uruguay guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Uruguay, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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