Uruguay receives no love. It's trapped between South America's top two travel destinations, Brazil and Argentina, and considering you could spend a month in both of those places who has the time to go to Uruguay which is essentially a combination of Brazil and Argentina light.
The country is often compared to Switzerland because of it's peaceful, stable government and strong rule of law compared to other countries in South America. It should also be compared to Switzerland as an overlooked travel destination. Few people would ever decide to visit Switzerland over it's more well known neighbors - France, Germany, and Italy. Yet anyone who goes to Switzerland absolutely loves the country. The same is true for Uruguay. That said, even though I like Switzerland more than France, I would be very, very difficult to recommend visiting Zurich over Paris, Munich, or Rome. Thus it is very, very difficult to recommend purchasing an air line ticket to Montevideo over Buenos Aires or Rio de Janiero.
There's not much to Uruguay. I spent a week here and was pretty much able to cover the entire coastline. Because of the stable government and rule of law I gambled and rented a car to have the freedom to drive up and down the coast as I pleased. I flew into Montevideo (from Santiago) rented a car and drove up to Cabo Polonio. I returned the car in Montevideo, spent a few days here, and then caught a bus to Colonia de Sacramento. There are hostels in the major cities but I had to resort to sleeping in the rental car two nights instead of backtracking - it didn't help with the sleeping that there was a full moon.
The food is relatively similar to Buenos Aires - lots of parillas - but the seafood was phenomenal, particularly octopus.
The country is often compared to Switzerland because of it's peaceful, stable government and strong rule of law compared to other countries in South America. It should also be compared to Switzerland as an overlooked travel destination. Few people would ever decide to visit Switzerland over it's more well known neighbors - France, Germany, and Italy. Yet anyone who goes to Switzerland absolutely loves the country. The same is true for Uruguay. That said, even though I like Switzerland more than France, I would be very, very difficult to recommend visiting Zurich over Paris, Munich, or Rome. Thus it is very, very difficult to recommend purchasing an air line ticket to Montevideo over Buenos Aires or Rio de Janiero.
There's not much to Uruguay. I spent a week here and was pretty much able to cover the entire coastline. Because of the stable government and rule of law I gambled and rented a car to have the freedom to drive up and down the coast as I pleased. I flew into Montevideo (from Santiago) rented a car and drove up to Cabo Polonio. I returned the car in Montevideo, spent a few days here, and then caught a bus to Colonia de Sacramento. There are hostels in the major cities but I had to resort to sleeping in the rental car two nights instead of backtracking - it didn't help with the sleeping that there was a full moon.
The food is relatively similar to Buenos Aires - lots of parillas - but the seafood was phenomenal, particularly octopus.
URUGUAY DESTINATIONS
BEACHES
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MONTEVIDEO
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