When it comes to beach-vacation spots, Uruguay wasn’t the first spot I had in mind but it turned out to be a fantastic, quiet beach destination. After leaving Buenos Aires, we travelled via ferry into Uruguay to the capital of Montevideo. It’s a beautiful city of about 1 million, with a historic downtown and a pretty waterfront.
We had a brief but enjoyable stay for one night before we boarded an early morning bus to Punta del Este, a ritzy beach resort town about 350km farther east. Punta has everything you’d expect from a beach town – outdoor bars and restaurants, lots of tourists and thumping nightlife, but after just one night we knew it wasn’t the experience we were looking for. It was far too ‘bling’ for our tastes (and wallets) so we decided to leave the tourist path and head further east up the coast.
Through several recommendations, we found ourselves in La Paloma, an amazingly beautiful and relaxed beach town. The beach wasn’t busy, and the clean water and great weather perfected the experience. After a few days enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, football-sized steaks, cheap wine and company of the kind locals, we made our journey back to Argentina, but I’m so glad we decided to venture a little further into Uruguay.
I had never considered Uruguay a big beach travel destination, but maybe that’s why it’s so great. Get there before the secret gets out.
