Punta del Este: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Punta del Este sits on a narrow peninsula where, by Uruguayan convention, the Río de la Plata ends and the Atlantic begins: on one side the calm Playa Mansa, on the other the rough Playa Brava. Quiet for ten months, it fills in January with the rich of Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Half a day on foot; the wind is constant, bring a layer.
A short history of Punta del Este
On this peninsula, at the point where the Río de la Plata estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean, there was for centuries only an empty shore. The settlement itself was officially established in 1907. In the first half of the 20th century wealthy families from Buenos Aires and Montevideo began building summer houses here. In 1961 the United States and the countries of Latin America signed the Alliance for Progress charter here, and in 1962 it was decided in the town to suspend Cuba from the Organization of American States. The sculpture of the hand rising out of the sand was cast in 1982.
The ten best sights in Punta del Este
1La ManoThe fingers in the sand
2LighthouseClimb for both seas at once
3Iglesia de la CandelariaWhere Solís landed
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4Playa Brava
The rough Atlantic side
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5Playa Mansa
The calm bay side, for sunset
6Isla GorritiBoats from the port in season
7Isla de LobosSea lions, seen only from a boat
8Museo RalliFree Latin American art
9CasapuebloThe painter’s white house
10Punta BallenaThe headland view
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Punta del Este →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Punta del Este:
Free walking tours in Punta del Este
The peninsula
Punta del Este sits on a narrow peninsula where, by Uruguayan convention, the Río de la Plata ends and the Atlantic begins: on one side the calm Playa Mansa, on the other the rough Playa Brava. Quiet for ten months, it fills in January with the rich of Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Half a day on foot; the wind is constant, bring a layer.
- La Mano · Five concrete fingers rising out of the sand of Playa Brava, made in 1982 by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal in a few days during an open-air sculpture meeting. It is also called the Monument to the Drowned, a warning about the surf behind it.
- Avenida Gorlero · The main street of the peninsula, of shops, cafés and ice-cream parlours, crowded until late in January and almost empty in winter, when many shutters stay down.
- Iglesia de la Candelaria · A small white church near the tip of the peninsula, on the spot where, by tradition, the Spanish navigator Juan Díaz de Solís landed in 1516 on the feast of Candlemas and named the place.
- Lighthouse · A white lighthouse of 1860 that can be climbed by a narrow spiral stair, with a view over both seas at once and over the islands offshore.
- Isla Gorriti · A wooded island a short boat ride from the port, with the ruins of gun batteries the Spanish built in the eighteenth century to guard the bay against the Portuguese and the British.
- Playa Mansa · The calm beach on the bay side, where the sun sets over the water — and where, at the port end, sea lions come up to the fish-cleaning tables for scraps.
West to Casapueblo and Piriápolis
West of Punta the coast rises to the headland of Punta Ballena and the white house of a painter, and runs on to Piriápolis, a resort an alchemist built a century ago. Half a day by car; Casapueblo is at its best at sunset.
- Arboretum Lussich · In 1896 Antonio Lussich, a shipping man, bought bare dunes here and began planting trees from around the world; the forest that grew is a park of some hundreds of species, and it is why the coast here is green.
- Punta Ballena · A rocky headland, the whale point, between two bays, with a road along its ridge and the best view back toward the peninsula of Punta del Este.
- Casapueblo · The painter Carlos Páez Vilaró built this white house down the cliff by hand over some thirty-six years from 1958, with no straight lines. In 1972 his son was on the plane that crashed in the Andes, and he searched for him for months; the son was among the sixteen survivors.
- Cerro Pan de Azúcar · One of the highest hills in Uruguay, a country with no mountains, crowned with a large concrete cross put up by Francisco Piria; a path climbs to it through rocks and woods.
- Piriápolis · A resort founded in the 1890s by Francisco Piria, a businessman with a passion for alchemy, who filled it with esoteric symbols and built a castle for himself on the hill behind it.
- Argentino Hotel · Piria’s grand hotel on the seafront, opened in 1930 and in its day among the largest in South America, with thermal baths fed with seawater; it still operates.
East to La Barra and José Ignacio
East of the peninsula the Atlantic coast runs past dunes and wooden beach towns to José Ignacio, once a fishing hamlet and now the most fashionable village on the coast. Half a day by car, with a museum on the way.
- Museo Ralli · A free museum of Latin American art among the pines, opened in 1988 by Harry Recanati, a Jewish banker born in Thessaloniki whose family founded Israel Discount Bank. There are Ralli museums also in Santiago de Chile, in Marbella and in Caesarea in Israel.
- Playa Brava · The open Atlantic beach, with cold water, strong currents and steady surf; lifeguard flags are taken seriously here, and red means stay out.
- Puente de La Barra · A bridge of two concrete humps over the Maldonado stream, designed by the engineer Leonel Viera and opened in 1965; cars rise and dip over it like a gentle roller coaster, and drivers slow down to feel it.
- La Barra · A beach village of galleries, bars and surf shops just over the bridge, the place where the young crowd of the season goes at night.
- Manantiales · A village of dunes and surf beaches, the best known being Playa Bikini, which in January is the beach for being seen; out of season it is almost deserted.
- José Ignacio · A fishing hamlet on a rocky point with a lighthouse of 1877, which became the favourite of the rich and famous of South America; building rules keep the houses low and the streets unpaved.
Getting to Punta del Este and getting around
- Laguna del Sauce Airport · About twenty minutes west
- Bus terminal · Buses to Montevideo, about two hours
- Port · Yachts, fishing boats and sea lions
Cheap eats in Punta del Este
On the coast the counter food is fish: rabas, rings of fried squid, eaten with lemon at the port; fried fish in bread; and in the evening, in season, the parrilla. Punta is the most expensive place in Uruguay in January — a portion of rabas costs fifteen to twenty-five dollars.
- Port · Rabas and the sea lions
- Avenida Gorlero · Ice cream and churros
- José Ignacio · Fish on the grill by the sea
Museums in Punta del Este
A painter’s house, a banker’s museum and the barracks of Maldonado.
- Museo Ralli · Latin American art, free
- Casapueblo · Páez Vilaró
- Cuartel de Dragones · Colonial barracks
Nature and day trips near Punta del Este
Two seas, islands of sea lions, dunes and a planted forest.
- Isla de Lobos · By boat only
- Arboretum Lussich · The planted forest
- Punta Ballena · The headland
Things to do in Punta del Este with kids
With children: the giant hand, sea lions at the port and a bridge like a roller coaster.
- La Mano · Climb the fingers
- Port · The sea lions
- Puente de La Barra · The bumpy bridge
Nightlife in Punta del Este
In January Punta is one of the great party towns of South America: dinner at eleven, clubs from two until sunrise, mostly in La Barra and Manantiales.
- La Barra · Bars and clubs
- Enjoy casino · The casino
- Manantiales · Sunset at Bikini
Frequently asked questions about Punta del Este
What is there to see in Punta del Este?
The top sights in Punta del Este are La Mano, Lighthouse and Iglesia de la Candelaria. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Punta del Este?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Punta del Este without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Punta del Este?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Punta del Este, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The peninsula.
How do you get to Punta del Este and get around?
The main ways are Laguna del Sauce Airport, Bus terminal and Port. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Punta del Este, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Punta del Este that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Punta del Este for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.