This guide is for you if you are based in Montevideo and want a day on the coast at Punta del Este, with Casapueblo on the way home. It helps you choose the month, decide whether to stay for the sunset at Casapueblo, weigh the bus against a private car, and plan around summer traffic.
When to go
Punta del Este has two lives. In January and February it is full, the restaurants are busy and the coast road is slower, especially at weekends. In winter it is quiet, and some restaurants close for the season.
Which you prefer depends on why you are going. If you want to see the resort at its liveliest, go in high summer and allow extra time on the road. If you want to walk the peninsula without the crowds, go between March and December, and check that the place you have in mind for lunch is open.
Sea temperature and swimming are not the point of this day. It is a sightseeing trip with short stops, and the beach at La Mano is a place for photographs.
How the day is split
You leave at 07:00 and drive about two hours east to Punta del Este, around 130 kilometres. The town comes first, while the morning is fresh, and Casapueblo comes on the way back.
The first stop, at 09:00, is La Mano on Playa Brava: giant concrete fingers rising out of the sand at Parada 1. The Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal made it in the summer of 1982, in about six days, for the first international open-air sculpture meeting held in Punta del Este. He meant it as a drowning hand, a warning to swimmers about the rougher sea on that side of the peninsula.
From there you have the tip of the peninsula, with its lighthouse and the Candelaria church, then the port with its yachts, fishing boats and sea lions, and at 11:30 the wavy bridge to La Barra. Lunch is at 12:30, in Punta del Este or La Barra, and you pay for it there.
At 14:00 you reach Casapueblo, and at 15:15 you start the two hours back to Montevideo, arriving at about 17:00. Because the car is yours, the order can change on the day.
Casapueblo, and the question of sunset
Casapueblo sits on the cliffs of Punta Ballena, about 13 kilometres from the peninsula. The painter Carlos Páez Vilaró found the site in 1958 and started with a small tin shack. He kept building for 36 years, without a fixed plan, and called the result a habitable sculpture. Inside there are no straight lines, only domes, tunnels and whitewashed passages. He died in 2014, and the building is now a museum and a hotel.
The museum and workshop, in the main dome, opens to the public every day and shows his paintings, ceramics and sculpture. Entrance is not included.
Every evening, minutes before sunset, the terraces hold the Ceremonia del Sol, when a recording of the artist's voice reads a poem to the sun as it goes down. It is the busiest moment of the day there. Our stop at 14:00 falls in the quieter early afternoon, which is when you will move around the museum most easily.
If the sunset is the reason you are going, ask us when you book. We will price the extra hours and move the timings so you are on the terrace in time. Sunset comes much later in summer than in winter, so the extra time depends on your date.
By bus or by private car
Buses run from Montevideo's Tres Cruces terminal to Punta del Este, and that is a fair way to see the town itself. The day becomes harder without a car once you want the other stops. La Mano, the port, La Barra and Casapueblo are spread out, and Casapueblo is out on the cliffs at Punta Ballena, well away from the peninsula.
A private car links all of them in one day, waits while you look, and brings you back to your hotel. You can also add a short detour to Piriápolis on the coast road, if you tell us when you book. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- A windproof layer. Much of the day is at the edge of the sea, on beaches, a pier and clifftop terraces.
- Sun cream, sunglasses and a hat in summer.
- A way to pay for lunch and for Casapueblo.
- A warmer layer if you are staying on for the sunset.
Who it suits
It suits a first look at the Uruguayan coast, and travellers who want art and architecture as well as beaches. It works well if you are moving on: the day can end at your hotel in Punta del Este instead of back in Montevideo, so you see the sights on the way and arrive without a second journey.
Think twice if long hours in a car bother you. There are about four hours of driving in the day, more on summer weekends. If that is too much, the Rambla tour shows Montevideo's own beaches in four hours. For an old town instead of a coast, the Colonia del Sacramento day trip goes west. Our guide to day trips from Montevideo sets them side by side.
Questions people ask
Can we swim at Playa Brava?
The tour stops there for La Mano, not for a swim. The sculpture itself was made as a warning about the sea on that beach.
Can a group of more than 16 come?
Yes, in two vehicles on one booking. Message us through the contact page and we will price it.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you get a full refund. See our cancellation page.
Booking the day
Choose your month, decide about the sunset and Piriápolis, and tell us if you are staying on in Punta del Este. The pick-up, timings and what is included are on the Punta del Este and Casapueblo day trip page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
