Uruguay and its people are something like this: have a beer or a whiskey while the barbecue is on the fire, perhaps smoke a joint. Policemen say hello to you on the streets, they are never stopping anybody, they are more like civilians. Many Argentinians from Buenos Aires dream of one day move to Uruguay for good. It is a "xanax type of country", that is why so many rich South Americans go there, but you can do it also with little money. A number of Americans are retiring there. The beach towns are great, even in Montevideo the beach is decent, it is relaxing to see the Uruguayans seat there to do nothing, drink a little mate and look at the ocean. Also, the grasslands are beautiful, it is a green Country. Nothing is perfect in life. 6 months of the year you feel in a paradise full of light, the other 6 months it feels more like living in a 50's movie, black and white film. But there are also luminous days in winter, and the beach town are deserted, the sea can be beautiful there in winter, xanax again.. (I wish people did not need xanax, it is just a metaphor, it was in the article)
12
I travelled to most of the places they describe just last month. It was my second visit to Uruguay and I loved every moment of it. As someone mentioned, this summer has been unusually rainy there and I did experience a few days of rain while based in Jose Ignacio but fortunately, there were plenty of places to drive to and see. Some of the highlights were taking a cooking lesson at Bodega Garzon, where the staff is trained by Francis Mallmann and then running into him at his restaurant Garzon! Uruguay is so easy to love, beautiful and so very easy going.
4
Why must everything be discounted? We no longer have any conception of the true value or worth of anything including our own lives.
3
A few months ago I visited Colonia del Sacramento and found it very nice. The people were friendly. Afterwards I headed to Montevideo and found some of the people distance and indifferent. I suppose that's normal in all big cities. If you get the chance take the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonial Del Sacramento.
2
Is the water warm? Warm is relative, but I have read that although the beaches of Uraguay are awe inducing, the water is not the bathwater some vacationers are looking for.
1
I miss the first-person voice of previous Frugal Traveler pieces — this doesn’t feel like part of the same series. Not very engaging.
8
Lived in Argentina a decade ago and visited Uruguay. The scenes of poverty and misery were overwhelming, carts filled with junks and pulled by malnurished horses biten by the owner worth a Dostojevskian novel.. Argentina wasn't much better with the exclusion of rich enclaves for rich.
1
@patrizia filippi sure, there was more poverty a decade ago, and it still endures despite advances in its reduction.
To be specific, animal use in urban environments has been ruled by specific laws approved less than a decade ago.
Regarding poverty itself, nothing that you could not see at Italy, particularly at southern towns.
7
During January it has rained a lot and temps have been low, a very unusual January in history. Perhaps, this caused difficulties when taking pictures if you were there then. I wish you had takes of Valizas' dunes going towards Cabo. Your picture of Casa Pueblo is nice, but the views from Punta Ballena towards Piriapolis hills or to the East showing Punta's skyline are beautiful. Like someone else mentioned, Bourdain's show, provides a glimpse of Punta, and José Ignacio's beauty for those interested. The small balnearios, the simple easy going places where Uruguayans vacation are the places that make this coastline really unique and beautiful. I have been coming here for over 30 years, the day the Rocha coastline gets international hotel chains, the pristine beaches will disappear, and I will too.
2
I'd like to mention a particuar spot that this article has not mentioned. Santa Teresa national park holds the most beatiful beaches of the country and it is extremely calm and easy-going except for the first two weeks of January and Carnival week when it can get pretty wild. Still, it is administered by the Army and that means that safety, order and cleanliness are granted.
GREAT place to surf with the appropiate wind conditions. Te park has camping sites either with running water and electricity or not, up to you. Costs per person/day for camping there are 230 pesos with water and electricity and 180 without. Is less than 10 miles away from Punta del Diablo so if you feel like spnding some big bucks on a restaurant you do have that option as well.
6
I had thought about Uruquay for years but this article doesn't make it very attractive - it's not cheap. $60 bucks for lunch for two is higher than here and at one of our better restaurants and about what I would expect to pay in Nice, France. In fact, last summer in Barcelona a decent lunch could be had for 20 euros (about 22 bucks) including two glasses of Sangria and two plates with three delicious tapas each. And in Greece it's still possible to get en suite rooms in the islands for no more than 100 euros a night. Your writers must be on the Conde Nast diet and used to Cypriani prices.
11
@Sebastian Davis hey, you are right, this is not a cheap country. But if you feel comfortable looking around you can find decent prices. It will depends wether or not you get into the first place you see. January is a month to avoid as it is (by far) the most expensive and crowded one. If you are willing to camp there are decent camping-sites in places such as La Paloma or Santa Teresa national park. These are gorgeous places and the camping option would be really reasonable in terms of spending. Buying at leats part of your food in a supermarket will also DRAMATICALLY reduce your spending. Right now 1 USD = 32 pesos. Camping per-person stay at Santa Teresa national park is as low as 230 pesos per day in a camping zone with running water and electricity and 180 without them. It is an expensive country but it can be known in a budget.
4
@Sebastian Davis Agreed, most places mentioned aren't really cheap, it will be best for you to stay at Oklahoma to enjoy the excellent beaches there.
15
@Sebastian Davis. this is the NYT...NYT does not do cheap
3
My family lived in Montevideo for six years when I was two to almost eight (1949-1954). We spent a great deal of weekend time on the beaches, including some noted in the article. A fabulous country with awesome landscapes. My father was in the international YMCA and we were scheduled to go to China, but it closed, so he was posted to Uruguay. I have wonderful memories of the people there.
8
As long as everyone else is piling on... I love water sports and being active and there's virtually no info about this at all notwithstanding all of these wonderful beach towns. Snorkeling, diving, boating, fishing, boogie boarding, places to walk? Or do people just spend all of their time in restaurants and drinking beer on the beach? This column might better be in the Dining section than the Travel section.
11
@Peter J. Miller Good point, there is plenty of choice all along the coast for watersports including surf (do not expect here nothing like hawaii's riffs, but...); good places near the coast for hiking, mainly hill walking (the tallest hill near the coast is 500mts).
And of course, you can always light up your own wood fire and try to cook "asado" it isnt hard and quite funny.
1
I would strongly recommend Anthony Bourdain's Part Unknown episode on Uruguay for more insight.
Safety and crime is not a big concern.
I would not call Macri's government in Argentina "right wing" except possibly as compared to Kischnerists. He's more of a centrist technocrat (former mayor of Buenos Aires) who got along well with President Obama and has much in common with Macron in France. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/05/31/macri-and-macron-why-the-argentine-and-french-presidents-share-more-than-their-surnames/
4
There are also a string of lighthouses that you can climb, La Paloma, Polonia and others. Great views of the coast. Usually charge a small fee.
4
While beaches away from town were recommended to me during my stay Montevideo last month, there is a very nice beach at the end of Eduardo Acevedo, near where I was staying, as well as along most of the city. I traveled to Uruguay to support three of my films that were screening at Montevideo Fantástico Film Festival, and am very happy I did. I stayed in Barrio Cordón, an old part of the city, where I found a very nice home and lovely streets for walking, even alone past midnight.
I'm not a professional photographer, but you can find some tolerable pictures of the beach, streets, graffiti art and food from the link below, if you can tolerate the pics of film screenshots mixed in:
https://www.instagram.com/lonebuzzardfilmworks/
And here's one just of the beach:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br154MDBDfy/
Many people I met said they would love to move away from Uruguay. But I think I would love to move there.
13
@Logan Glad to know you enjoyed your stay here! That beach is "Playa Ramirez" facing "Parque Rodó" a place that anyone who has grown up in Montevideo really cherishes.
This beach is actually over the River Plate, while the article centers on those over the Atlantic Ocean.
Ramirez is lovely anyway, and within walking distance from Cordon and Palermo.
1
Well, there goes Uruguay.
Again, for a newspaper that takes climate change very seriously, it sure does like to promote carbon intensive travel.
17
What was the alternative? Having just the writer, you, and an elite circle of people be in the know about these beaches?
13
@Fernando In Uruguay we have electric cars which can be charged FREE on the entire coast. So, you do the pollution if you want it.
6
Uruguayans are fantastic people as well and it's the first country in the world to legalize recreational, Holla!
12
@stonymilovsky : Recreational is legal as long as you live there. They have a registry so it is NOT available to tourists.
2
@chiliyo
An incentive to make new friends.
3
People are getting bent out of shape about the NYT labeling a progressive country. Well it is a progressive country. Legalized Marijuana, gay marriage has been legal their longer than the US. Many of the communities refusing to "modernize" and the total lack of chain stores and "Wal Marts".
It is a hippie paradise I suppose.
31
@Dave
"..a hippie paradise.."
What's so big about that?
We have one of those on every corner- in all our major cities in the United States! It's called an internet cafe, craft beer pub, farm to table diner, protest march, poetry slam, or Whole Foods.
4
@Dave There are developed areas and there was a film, "Super", based in Uruguay about workers in a Walmart-style store. Also had a scene at the local beach, referred to in an earlier comment.
This was a great place to go until......hopefully no one will write a romance novel or make a movie that takes place here.
10
I'm sure that Uruguay has at least some charming towns and natural beauty — but I wouldn't know it from these photos.
The use of the standard chrome filter is a red flag. This story needed a photographer along for the ride, it seems to have had a traveler with an iphone instead. Please send someone back to Uruguay and do it justice.
Based on this material I'd choose Chile, Brazil or Argentina over Uruguay for a coastal holiday in South America.
I'd like to know about the crime - low or high? English language ability - low or high? Wine and food — more info please. Why the obsession with renting a private car? What are the logistics to using local bus systems? Doable or not? Oh and Air B&B for 250 a night in a South American nowhere? Does it come with servants and a heated pool?
40
crime ...low
English very little
buses run not very often and uber only in Punta del este
if you only have a week, get a car
7
@Arthur The author Nell McShane Wulfhart was accompanied by a professional photographer named Tali Kimelman from Uruguay.
2
In Montevedio many speak broken English, but that’s the case in most South American cities. Outside of it, not many do. It’s safer in Uruguay than most South American countries, definitely more than Brazil, but still least safe than North Dakota. People aren’t crazy drivers. And it’s not very cheap.
5
Several years ago our family of four drove up the coast from Montevideo to Punta del Este on a one day round trip. We recommend the beachs as Nell McShane Wulfhart does. There are indeed beautiful and lightly used. A picture of one empty beach just south of Punta del Este hangs on our travel hall of fame wall in the dinning room. One commentor, YH, mentioned Colonia del Sacramento. We also recommend spending at least an afternoon there, eating and browsing the shops. Historic and charming. Only problem we had was the crazy traffic in and out of downtown Montevideo, but we escaped with our lives and car intact. Out of town all was fine.
6
2500 pesos for this, 2500 pesos for that. Not seeing 'frugal' in any of this. but maybe the definition has changed since Seth Kugel worked this beat. What was the budget for this adventure? Daily car rental, fuel, accommodations, meals, drink?
23
@Jack Danylchuk Going to Uruguay it’s not a cheap vacation to take. Plan to pay more than in the US for sure. The driving rules are a bit different. You cannot turn right on a red light, ever, until it’s green. There’s toll more often than here. The drivers are not considerate like the North American people.
1
I wish you would have started with the oldest resorts like Piriapolis and Atlantida (Canelones coastline). Piriapolis has a beautiful geography and surroundings. I just came back from Uruguay three days ago. I also think that Valizas and Cabo Polonio are amazing places in the Rocha coast. Your article caters to a higher income traveler, but you are missing out on the beautiful and pristine beaches of Santa Teresa and the Piriapolis coastline going towards Punta del Este. Sadly or luckily, Uruguayans don't keep some of these places up (Piriapolis) like they should, considering lots of Uruguayan families vacation here because of its proximity to Montevideo. The beaches are beautiful and there are not commercialized, you still find miles and miles of coastline that has not been fractioned. To answer some who discuss the progressive nature of Uruguay. This is a relevant point because it shapes our culture, way of thinking, and collective consciousness that is founded in laicism in our education system. This makes Uruguay stand out from the rest of Latin America.
20
@Marce, THANK YOU! I was hoping someone would comment about Piriapolis. We stayed there in 2012 and just loved the area. I don't understand how they missed this stop.
2
Don't skip Montevideo, especially the old part of the city. And you really don't need to rent a car, the public buses and taxi's are very good and affordable. Be aware that a Whiskeria may not be a reputable place serving a variety of whiskey. Otherwise, this is a wonderful country with a lot to recommend. Nice food, friendly people, great coast, art scene, and more. Uruguay is also a ferry ride away from Argentina, so check the flights into Buenos Aires as they can sometimes be cheaper and it is nice to see both countries if you have the time.
13
Why all the references to "progressive" and "right-wing" in relation to Uruguay and its neighbors? Believe it or not most people don't care what political ideology is in charge of the places they want to visit as long as it's safe and stable. Please stop trying to export the constant politicization of everything to places outside America.
62
@Shane
Some of us do care, becuase it means the difference between an enjoyable, stress free vacation.
As a gay family, these words in a travel article mean something to us because they signal somewhere we will feel comfortable/welcomed.
If you're a straight white male, then I guess such references are simply a distraction.
77
@Shane
I want to know the political orientation of anyplace I plan to visit and deliberately avoid places where citizens face repression from their governments.
56
The political ideology in charge makes a great deal of difference to those who may be endangered by racist/homophobic/misogynist regimes such as that recently elected in Brazil.
55
I have been traveling to Uruguay since 1994, and I wish it was still the best-kept secret that it had been until U.S. hipsters and travel writers started to “discover” the country’s charms. Es mi lugar en el mundo...
25
Yes, sadly, once the hipsters and travel writers (like the Frugal Traveler) "discover" a place, it's always the beginning of the end...
3
@Shannon Bell Don't forget the 'Cool Parents' who drag their prams and infants with them everywhere like just another piece of luggage.
2
@Shannon Bell, can say the same for Palawan. 2006 there were 3 flights aday from Manila to Puerto Princessa now 18-24. Conde Naste voted in best beaches a couple times and the droves flowed in leaving what humans do in inadequate sewer systems and trash removal. The locals are ill prepared for such ‘successful ‘ travel writing consequences.
It would be nice if the writer had included the exchange rate. All the prices in Urigain pesos had NO meaning to me. 2000 pesos....... have many dollars?
33
@Tom C If you type in Google 'convert Pesos to Dollars', there will appear a long menu to select from for different currencies and select Uruguay Pesos, 2,000 pesos in that country translates to about $61.
But I agree, a conversion in the article would be helpful.
12
@Tom C. $2,000 UP comes to about $60 USD. The exchange rate is around 32.7 pesos to the dollar.
5
@Tom C - Early in, she said 320 pesos was about $10.
So I figured 2000 pesos is about $62.50, 2500 pesos is about $78.12 and 4300 pesos is nearly $135 - none of which are budget prices in my book. They probably are to many wealthy readers.
But I did like the sound of the remote hostel - which she outright said was only about $30 a night.
5
Was there some kind of wildfire at the time the photos were taken, or a partial eclipse? Everything has a dark, yellowed tone. I hope this isn't what passes for travelogue photography nowadays.
9
Only one photo accompanying the article -- the one of Cabo Polonio -- looks like a sandy coastal expanse that most associate with the term "beach."
The others look more like the hardscrabble coast lines of places like New Hampshire and Maine.
14
@Dan88
What I have seen of the. Action is more like your description.
Great article, but the pictures don’t do it justice.
10
@Dan88
It's also not tropical. It's about the same latitude from the South as Del-Mar-Va would be from the North. I've been to the Punta Del Este / Jose Ignacio area in late December (their summer) and the high temperature was in the upper 60s to low 70s (while Rio was over 100). At night, the blanket was a necessity if you wanted to eat outdoors (even with heaters) at La Huella.
3
Articles like this ruin the few spots left in the world that aren't overrun with ignorant tourists. Keep these places to your self, let people find them on their own, or not.
50
"Tours with tastings range between 800 and 2,500 pesos depending on the wines sampled, while a five-course lunch comes in at 4,300 pesos, not including booze."
I don't know how the authors of this article are paid for their services, but in my book this not a lunch for 4,300 pesos is not cheap.
15
@Eddie B. It's 135 dollars aprox, not it's not cheap, but Uruguay it's not a cheap country. Still, you can have a decent meal for 15$ at most restaurants.
3
@Eddie B. - 4300 pesos is US$132. Better be a good lunch.
2
@Eddie B.
Punta del Este and José Ignacio are very expensive. The food is often Michelin quality.
1
"Xanax for the soul"? Come on..
23
So much for that secret.
16
Very nice NYT travel for signaling the ideological bent for those who care: a "progressive" country wedged ..."right-wing politicians".
6
Thanks NYT, you just ruined another nice place just like you did with St John in the USVI 20 years ago.
21
Our family (including our 14 and 10 year olds) are just back from Uruguay. Loved it! Two places worth visiting not mentioned in the article for some additional flavor, Colonia del Sacremento, a charming beach town on the river across from Buenos Aires that could stand in for parts of Havana (more wineries and cheesemaking just to the north of here), and horse-riding in the Sierras de Rocha (Cabellos de Luz offered accommodation, vegetarian meals and amazing rides on horses with no bits in their mouths). The 22% 'discount' when paying by credit card went a long way!
39
"There's virtually no Wi-Fi and electricity is minimal." A selling point in Uruguay is a complaint in Venezuela.
46
@MB A complaint only in Venezuela?
1
@MB
The places he is talking about with no electricity are like that on purpose. They don’t want to have electricity. They are beautiful and when you are there, you get to relax and enjoy nature away from every day life.
10
@Adriana
No. You're wrong. Electricity is still spotty all over South America in tiny out of the way towns. It isn't on purpose. The locals would love better access. That they don't have it doesn't make them bad. Latin America is not a "Spa Retreat". I lot of people in North America think that to mention poverty is an insult, trust me they talk about it all the time in Spanish.
2