Uruguay
Top Tips
Historic sites
Picturesque Colonia del Sacramento, now a UNESCO World Heritage
site, is Uruguay’s oldest city. It was settled in 1680 by the
Portuguese, who then fought the Spanish for dominion for nearly a
century. Portuguese (irregular stone) and Spanish (brick) streets
criss-cross the Barrio Histórico, and remarkably
preserved Portuguese homes - painted pink and yellow with white
lace curtains - sit beside Spanish colonial structures. One pass
gets you into specialised museums displaying everything from period
furnishings to exquisite tiles.
Beaches
Perched on a rocky peninsula jutting into Río de la Plata,
Colonia del Sacramento is renowned for its shallow (though
chocolate-brown) freshwater beaches. But the country's real draw
for most is the Uruguayan Riviera - a string of beach towns hugging
the Atlantic Ocean - from Punta del Este’s Bikini Beach to
the pristine dunes of Jose Ignacio.
Watersports
Beach-hopping is actually a sport here. But if it involves water,
you can practice just about anything on these Atlantic sands:
parasailing, surfing, windsurfing, kite-surfing, surf fishing,
waterskiing, boating, and more.
Dining and nightlife
Catch the sunset at a casual beachfront diner known as a
parador, then dine at 11pm at a restaurant run by one of
South America’s best chefs. In Punta, the night is still
young: depending on your connections, you can party ‘till
dawn at the newly anointed hot spot, a Vegas-style casino or an
invitation-only party.
Nature
Surrounded by 2 lagoons covering 4,000 hectares, wilderness-loving
Jose Ignacio invites bird-watchers to view flamingos and other
birds native to Uruguay. Explore on foot, bicycle or horseback.
From July to October, you can hear right whales bellowing near
Punta Ballena and visit the Isla de Lobos sea lion colony.
People-watching
Soap-opera stars, trust-fund babies, uber-tanned jet-setters,
gorgeous glamazons and international supermodels all flock to the
beaches of Punta del Este - the St Tropez of South America - with
one shared goal: to see and be seen. Enjoy the parade while sipping
the traditional white wine-sangria-champagne concoction called
clerico.