Uruguay Multi-Day Trips: 3, 5 or 8 Days
Three days gets you a capital and a colonial town. Five adds a resort coast. Eight starts to reach the dunes. Uruguay rewards the traveller who matches the route to the days available.
Three days: Montevideo and Colonia
Spend two nights in Montevideo: the Rambla, the Ciudad Vieja, and a Wednesday tour at Teatro Solís , when guided visits are free. Then take a coach from Terminal Tres Cruces to Colonia del Sacramento, about 2h45, and sleep in the old quarter. The UNESCO-listed Barrio Histórico, the Calle de los Suspiros and the old wooden pier make an easy evening. If you are crossing from Buenos Aires, Colonia Express takes about an hour and Buquebus with Seacat about 1h15, so Colonia can be the first stop instead. For a ready-made day-by-day plan, see the 3-day itinerary .
Five days: add Punta del Este
After Colonia, head east for Punta del Este and Punta Ballena. Casapueblo holds its sunset ceremony daily and charges UYU 600; its official site has current hours. José Ignacio, a low-rise beach village, suits a quieter night, though many inns there close or cut back in winter. The 5-day itinerary fits these stops together. To check rooms, you can search Punta del Este hotels on Booking.com .
Eight days and more: Rocha
The last leg is the Atlantic edge. Take a coach to the terminal on Ruta 10, km 264.5, and ride the open 4x4 truck into Cabo Polonio, UYU 470 return, with parking at UYU 350 a day if you came by car. Cabo Polonio has no mains power or tap water, so carry cash and pack light. From there, Punta del Diablo and Santa Teresa continue the coast; Santa Teresa National Park is free, Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00 to 18:00, and its fortress costs UYU 50. Surfers use the beaches around La Paloma, Cabo Polonio and Punta del Diablo.
Interior add-on
Salto, on the Uruguay River, is the thermal-bath stop. Daymán pools are reported at about UYU 200 for non-resident adults, and the coach ride from Montevideo is more than six hours, so give it its own night. A limited passenger train runs on the Tacuarembó to Rivera line, but it connects none of the coastal stops.
Seasons and bookings
Summer, December to February, means advance booking everywhere, including Cabo Polonio trucks and beds. Winter, June to August, closes many coastal restaurants and hotels, so a winter trip leans on Montevideo, Colonia and the Canelones cellars. Restaurants cut VAT from 22% to about 13% for card payments until April 2027, and hotels charge non-residents 0% with foreign ID.
Verdict
If you can only spare five days, skip Rocha and do the river and the Punta del Este coast properly. Add Cabo Polonio only when you have a night to spend there. The 7-day itinerary covers the full run.
Tip: buy the coach to the Cabo Polonio terminal for a morning departure, so the trucks are still running when you arrive.