Below you will find a few of the many attractions Uruguay has to offer for your holiday.
A famous former Portuguese colonial outpost, Colonia is a step into a bygone age. Wander slowly past old and pretty colonial buildings, set in picturesque, quiet streets
There are two or three good restaurants to try, a couple of small museums worth a visit and you can swim in the refreshing Rio de la Plata river.
El Buen Suspiro (the good whisper) is Colonia’s most famous street. Some say its name derives from the enticing whispers of the prostitutes that worked here, others that it was the last breath of animals that were slaughtered here.
Uruguay’s 660km of white sand coastline, capes and dunes are almost completely deserted and unspoiled.
Drive north past Punta del Este and into more remote areas for wild and beautiful coast.
The fishing village of José Ignacio is the new up-and-coming place to stay, while La Pedreda calls to surfers, kite-surfers and eco-travellers.
Cabo Polonio is another old fishing village now turned eco/hippy resort. It’s basic with little electricity, but has a huge sea lion colony, peaceful waters to swim in and beautiful sunsets and clear skies for star gazing.
Further up, Punta del Diablo has more of a nightime scene as well as good swimming beaches.
Montevideo is South America showing Europe a slice of its own laid-back, crumbling elegance mixed with a modern feel.
Surrounded by part of the world’s widest river, the Rio de la Plata, there are lots of lovely plazas and city beaches, great for watching the blazing red sunsets.
People here are open and chatty – by day, conversation flows around the country’s famous writers and literature, by night Milongas (dance nights) and Tango bring the city alive.
All of this can by enjoyed alongside Uruguayan BBQs (asados) and Tannat red wines, which more than rival those of Buenos Aires over the water.
Uruguay’s most famous resort, Punta del Esta is a playground for the rich and famous as well as tourists from all over the world.
People flock here from December to February to enjoy the calm waters and wide variety of top-end hotels, restaurants and boutique bars and shops.
The city is often referred to as “The Monaco of the South”, “The Pearl of the Atlantic” and “The St. Tropez of South America”, thanks to its glitzy reputation.
Less than an hour from Montevideo, this is for sun and beach lovers who like to add a little glam to their stay.
Route 109 between Aigua and La Roncha in the east of Uruguay, is one of the most scenic roads to self-drive.
It’s a bit up and down, a dirt road in the main but good quality, and little traffic.
You’ll go past green hills with boulder and streams, accompanied by panoramic views most of the way as you wend through some forests and farms.
Also en route is Uruguay’s highest peak, the mighty Cerro Catedral which stands at a not-so-mighty 513m/1,685ft!
Uruguay holds a secret –a red wine called Tannat that more than matches its boisterous neighbour’s Malbec variety.
They’ve been making Tannat for more than 250 years in Uruguay and while it has gone under the world’s radar so far, it must soon come to prominence.
Brought to the shores by the French and Spanish, then lovingly kept on by Jesuit settlers, Tannat is now more important in Uruguay than in its native France.
Wine enthusiasts will love the chance to stay at historical haciendas, sampling some fine reds alongside great BBQs (asados).
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The high point was a sea lion swimming with us whilst snorkelling off Cape Rosa amongst the lava ‘tunnels’. We have a video of this taken by the snorkel leader playing on our digital frame at home. The low point were the Avianca flights out and back to Galapagos from Ecuador mainland – an airline & staff that really don’t care about you! The day tours were all excellent – sometimes the description was a little vague – for example the Volcano tour on Santa Cruz was a 5 hour 10 mile hike on muddy paths and uneven lava fields, with only a couple of short stops, that needed a good level of fitness but was pitched as a 2 to 4 hour ‘walk’. Food on some tours was a little basic and not very vegan whilst on others it was superb, e.g. the vegan vegetable rice served on one of the boat tours. The highlights were the snorkelling trip to Cape Rosa tunnels and the visit to the Bartolome Island, plus the small plane trip back from Isabela to Santa Cruz. The guides were all very knowledgeable and friendly – William and Martin stood out. We feel we benefited the local people. We had lots of feedback from locals thanking us for staying on land rather than going on one of the boat cruises What we would do differently is probably fly between islands rather than taking the speedboat – and perhaps fly to a third island as we had long enough there to spend three days on a third island (Cristobal?) We chose Andean Trails because it felt like a focused agency that specialised in the area and we liked Kat!
Prof Bob
We had a wonderful time in Galapagos. We really appreciated the guide we had: he gave us so much information, he made us feel safe and took us to the most spectacular snorkelling sessions. I can’t describe any low points. Everything went very smoothly: starting from Quito airport, the welcome in Baltra, the boat and the whole crew. The crew did their best to accommodate all our requests and desires. The only thing I would do differently next time is choose a longer holiday :).
A Calinici