Invest The World -- International Travel and Investment

Uruguay trip preparations

Now that I've booked my annual "buddy" trip to Uruguay, comes the minutae and details that I actually enjoy handling.

I need to book hotels pretty soon, because we're going at the beginning of Uruguay's high season (their "June," so to speak), but before I can do that, I've got to nail down where we want to go. This is where things get interesting.

One upside of a country the size of Uruguay is that it's very easy to travel its width. Best I can tell, three hours' drive from Montevideo along the coast in either direction will get me all the way to the edges of the country; either Colonia (to the west, and across the river from Argentina) or Chuy to the east, at the border with Brazil.

We've discussed actually taking a day trip into Buenos Aires, Argentina (only a three-hour ferry ride from Montevideo), but reading some travel blogs, I realized we could take a three-hour drive and hop into Brazil, if only for a few hours. From what I can read, the Brazil side of Chuy (named "Chui") is nothing to write home about, other than the fact I can stand in two countries at once, so we'll have to see. Also, I believe I need a visa to get into Brazil, which may be a complication not worth doing.

Right now, the best plan may be to stay in Montevideo the first day, then rent a car and travel along the coast for the remaining days. If we end up with an extra day, we can perhaps spend it in B.A. on our way out of Montevideo.

I've read mixed reports on Punta del Este. Everyone seems to agree its a glitzy place, though there's wide disagreement on whether that's a good thing or not. Farther east appear to be some fairly quiet and expansive beaches, such as Punta del Diablo, which sound pretty interesting. Perhaps we could do something like this:

Thursday a.m.: Arrive in Montevideo, spend the night.

Friday: Travel to Punta del Este, stay the night.

Saturday: Travel to Rocha district, visit beach villages.

Sunday: Start making our way back west, either staying in Montevideo or another beach town closer thereto.

Monday: Drive to Colonia? Enjoy the colonial city. Perhaps half-day trip over to Buenos Aires?

Tuesday? Arrive in Montevideo, leave late at night...

Labels: Uruguay

posted by Wesley Deaton @ 10:49 AM