Making the most of Montevideo
 

I'm headed to Uruguay next week (from Buenos Aires), arriving on Monday and leaving on Thursday. I have a hotel reservation in Montevideo for the three nights, but would love any input on how to make the most of a short stay in Uruguay. I'm not particularly interested in Colonia, but I figured that I might as well visit for a few hours since it's so nearby. I was planning to get the Buquebus to Colonia from Buenos Aires and then a bus onwards to Montevideo. Is that a decent plan or would it be better to go directly to Montevideo and then do Colonia as a day trip by bus?

I have looked into other places in Uruguay and am interested in Cabo Polonio and Punta del Diablo, but I think I'll leave them for when the weather is a little warmer. Is there anything else anyone would recommend that is reachable from Montevideo?

Hi, ClementineLdn!

I have not been to Uruguay too many times, but this is what I'd do, if I were you:

1) Take an early boat to Colonia.

2) Explore Colonia. I'm not a fan of Colonia, but some people like it, so it's a matter of taste.

The following differs completely from your plans:

3) Rent a car in Colonia and tour the Uruguayan coastline, totally avoiding Montevideo.

4) Drive back to Colonia.

We'll see how the weather behaves, but I don't think it's too early in the year for Cabo Polonio and Punta del Diablo, if you are lucky with the weather.

I've been to Montevideo several times, on business and the only part I like is Pocitos. Downtown is simply dangerous, at night.

I'll send this thread to top Poster Marnie for her comments. They tour Uruguay every summer, so her opinion is much more informed than mine. She may or may not agree with me.

Have a great time with our Uruguayan cousins. It's an expensive country, but should be tourist-friendly.

Hello Clementine,
I think your plan to ferry to Colonia and spend a few hours there is good - providing that it's not a rainy day. It is an intereting Unesco site. My DH and I like Montevideo and enjoy walking about there, but our favorite aspect of Uruguay has been driving up the Coast and visiting several of the small Coastal Towns. We are, however, always there in high summer, so the water views, beaches etc. may be less appealing in late September/early October.

Try to read a few Trip Reports on Uruguay and you will likley come upon some excursions that will fit your interests, time frame and season. I hope you come to like it as much as do we.

Within my plan, maybe you could save some money by taking a bus from Colonia to Punta del Este and rent a car there, to explore the coastline.

Thank you, Marnie!

Clementine: I posted at 5.01, e-mailed the thread to Marnie and she posted at 5.15.

That's why I call her "top poster Marnie"!!! LOL!!!

Thanks for replying, everyone!

avrooster - the driving is a great idea, but unfortunately I don't have a licence, so I can't do that. I need to stick to public transport. Downtown Montevideo is dangerous? Could you elaborate? My hotel is in Punta Carretas - should it be OK?

MarnieWDC - are there any sights or places (such as cafes) you would particularly recommend in Montevideo? I could go to some coastal towns, but am here in Buenos Aires for the next few months, so could also go at another point in the future. I would really like to go to Cabo Polonio but I think it needs a little more planning - I'd rather not go alone (but I may end up doing just that if I can't persuade someone to join me ;))

I didn't remember exactly where Punta Carreta was, so I looked it up in http://planodemontevideo.com/

It certainly is NOT near downtown, called in the map "Ciudad Vieja".

Pocitos is East of Punta Carreta, downtown West.

Hi
When we were living in Buenos Aires, our son came to visit .. he took the Ferry to Colonia, spent the day sightseeing, took a bus to Montevideo and stayed at the Sheraton I believe, great views .. and spent the night there .. coming back the next evening on the later ferry.
( the weather went bad and the ferry took a long time in crossing so keep that in mind when planning your schedule - leave time for little things like that ) ..
He thought Montevideo was beautiful ..

eak at Mrcado del PUerto ..better than any in buenos Aires

It is located in the Ciudad Vieja.

This review warns about what I already told you: http://tinyurl.com/j5atho3

So the Ciudad Vieja is to be avoided? What about the rest of the city?

Locals have told me they prefer to avoid it AT NIGHT.

The rest of the city should be OK, with normal precautions, as in any large town.

I meant to ask - I'm a bit confused about the bus situation. Am I right in thinking that there are many buses each day from Colonia to Montevideo and that there is no need to reserve in advance? Where in Montevideo does the bus drop you off?

1) Yes, there should be.

2) Most likely, unless it is some kind special weekend or something.

3) http://www.omnilineas.com.ar/terminal/montevideo/

Coming back to Argentina, you may prefer to take the boat in Montevideo.

Beware of the cabs which pick you up at the BA harbour.

Make that all cabs waiting in line outside touristy places.

My take on Montevideo:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ty-needs-care/

and Colonia:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com.../cute-colonia/

No need for an overnight in Colonia. Old town Montevideo was OK during the day when I was there, may have changed.

I absolutely hate the place. Had a horrible experience in the taxi last night, a horrible experience walking to find somewhere to eat and now I find out that there's a building site next to and overlooking the hotel. I was woken at 7am by drilling and banging. Decided to modify my plans for the day and relax on the rooftop terrace but that too is overlooked by the building site and all the workmen and incredibly noisy. Incredible that a hotel is happy to take a lot of your hard earned money and not even provide the bare minimum - a decent rest. Unfortunately it looks like it will be too much hassle to go back to Buenos Aires today so I'm stuck here. What a bad, bad impression of Uruguay and its people. Rude, unfriendly and dishonest. I will never be back, that's for sure.

I'm afraid that's why I suggested skipping Montevideo in my first reply to your OP.

Get back to BA ASAP or tour the Uruguayan coastline. The people there should be more friendly.

Anyway, Clementine, it would be of help to other readers if, when time permits, you elaborate on your: "horrible experience in the taxi last night, a horrible experience walking to find somewhere to eat".

In the Punta Carreta area, there is a decent restaurant called La Perdiz http://tinyurl.com/gvmnwzt

Clementine: feel free to e-mail me to albertovgalloATyahoo.com if there is anything I can do for you during your stay in Argentina.

I should have listened to you avrooster, indeed! I am mostly here to visit a friend in MVD and have no driving licence, so touring the coast would have been very difficult on this occasion. I did look into public transport options but it was all quite messy, especially considering I only have a few days here. I have decided to stay here in Montevideo so as not to let down my dear friend and change hotel and just try to make the best of it. The weather is beautiful, at least. I will of course update you all on my experiences here when I get back to BA. Thanks for your kind offer of help! I will be back to update you on MVD when I can!

At what hotel are/were you staying, Clementine? I stayed one time at the Sheraton in that area, they made a mistake, I raised hell and in the end got 3 nights for the price of one! LOL!!!!

I'm also dying to know whqt dramati things happened in the txi, eg bring overchsrged...I think rates are fixed and it should be easy enough to confirm with your friend or your new2 hotel.

cAN'T your friend take you to dinner so you don'have to deaql with taxis or walking around?

wE ONLY HAD ONE DAQY IN MONTEFFVIDEEO, THOUTGHT IT WAS PLEQASQANT 3NOUGHaND weWEREN'5T HARASSED IN THe MERCADO DEL PUERTO nOR whil wqlking AROUND THE OLD TOWN DURING THE DAY. WQLKING AROUND MOST CITIES ALONE AT NIGH6T ISN'T THE bestIDEA even if YOU KNOW THE area well.