# Punta del Este: map, what to do and when to go

A Uruguayan peninsula between the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic, with one calm beach and one with surf, and a base for Casapueblo, La Barra and José Ignacio. The season runs from December to March.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Punta del Este: how do you get there from Montevideo or Carrasco airport?** The COT buses leave from the Tres Cruces terminal, stop at Carrasco airport and reach Punta del Este in about 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, for UYU 466 on the October 2026 timetable.
- **Punta del Este: how many days should I stay?** Stay three days: one on the peninsula, one at Punta Ballena with sunset at Casapueblo and one on the east coast, with La Barra, the MACA and José Ignacio.
- **Punta del Este: how do you do the day in Pueblo Garzón?** The village is about 69 km and 1 hour 15 minutes by car, and without a car this day does not work.

## The peninsula: port, Isla Gorriti and the two beaches
Start in the morning at the port, on the western tip of the peninsula, where the fishermen sell the day's catch and the sea lions climb onto the dock.
- Puerto de Punta del Este
- Isla Gorriti
- Playa Mansa
- La Mano
- Avenida Gorlero

## Punta Ballena: the arboretum and Casapueblo
Spend the morning at the beach: Mansa for calm water, Brava for surf, always in front of a lifeguard post.
- Casapueblo
- Arboretum Lussich

## East: La Barra, the MACA and José Ignacio
Choose a day that is not Tuesday, when the MACA closes.
- José Ignacio
- Puente Leonel Viera
- Fundación Pablo Atchugarry

## Casapueblo
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-casapueblo
Departamento de Maldonado · One to two hours
The house, studio and museum that the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró built without plans at Punta Ballena, starting in 1958, in white lime and curves, compared to Mediterranean houses and inspired, he said, by the nest of the hornero bird. The route has five rooms, three terraces and a cinema with documentaries about his life, and one room remembers his son, Carlos Páez Rodríguez, a survivor of the 1972 Andes plane crash. The museum opens every day at 10 a.m. and closes at sunset, when a recording of the artist's voice reads a poem at the Ceremonia del Sol. Admission costs UYU 600; residents and people over 65 pay UYU 500, and children under 12 do not pay (October 2026). It is 15 km from the peninsula.
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## José Ignacio
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-jose-ignacio
Departamento de Maldonado · Half a day or more
The fishing village on a 2 km rocky point, about 36 km east by road, lies between the lagoons of José Ignacio and Garzón. The name comes from a ranch founded in 1763, and the lighthouse was lit in 1877 at the point, surrounded by reefs. West of the point lies Playa Brava, wide and with big surf. Since the 1960s, Argentine vacationers and celebrities have built houses there, and expensive restaurants came with them; the 2023 census counted 168 permanent residents.
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## Puerto de Punta del Este
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-puerto-de-punta-del-este
Departamento de Maldonado · Up to half an hour
The marina on the western tip of the peninsula, officially Puerto Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, has berths, small fishing boats and stalls that sell the day's catch in front of the customer. Sea lions climb onto the dock after scraps: watch from a distance, because they are wild animals. The launches to Isla Gorriti and the tours to Isla de Lobos leave from the port.
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## Isla Gorriti
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-isla-gorriti
Departamento de Maldonado · Half a day or more
An island of 21 hectares in front of the port, 15 minutes by boat, with pines, the beaches Puerto Jardín and Playa Honda and the remains of the Spanish batteries built from 1763, plus gravestones from the old cemetery. It is a nature reserve and a national historic site: there is no new construction, no one may sleep there and fires are prohibited. The beach bar opens only in summer. The island is open all year, but no official source guarantees a launch outside the season: from April to November, check at the port before counting on the crossing.
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## Isla de Lobos
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-isla-de-lobos
Departamento de Maldonado · One to two hours
A rock of 43.5 hectares, 8.1 km from the coast, with colonies of sea lions and South American fur seals and a lighthouse from 1858, rebuilt in 1906. Since August 2024 it has been a national park, together with the neighboring islet and the surrounding sea. The visit is made on boats chartered at the port of Punta del Este; before paying, ask the operator how long the tour lasts and whether the sea allows departure that day.
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## Playa Mansa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-playa-mansa
Departamento de Maldonado · Half a day or more
The beach on the Río de la Plata side, west of the peninsula, sheltered by Isla Gorriti, with small waves and a bottom that deepens gradually. It is the families' choice, has lifeguards in summer and, because it faces west, is where you see the sun drop over the bay.
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## La Mano
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-la-mano
Departamento de Maldonado · Up to half an hour
The five-fingered sculpture that rises from the sand at Parada 1 on Playa Brava, made by the Chilean Mario Irarrázabal in six days, in February 1982. It became one of the most recognizable images of Uruguay, and it is the only piece from that sculptors' meeting still on the beach. It is less than 1 km from Plaza Artigas.
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## Avenida Gorlero
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-avenida-gorlero
Punta del Este · Up to half an hour
The main avenue of the peninsula, named for the first intendente of Maldonado, Juan Gorlero, since 1918, with sidewalks widened for pedestrians in 1998. It gathers shops, banks, currency exchange offices, a casino, cinemas and cafés. Between calles 25 and 23 lies Plaza Artigas, with the fair of artisans and visual artists.
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## Puente Leonel Viera
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-puente-leonel-viera
Departamento de Maldonado · Up to half an hour
The wavy bridge over the Arroyo Maldonado, opened in 1965, was the first application of the builder Leonel Viera's tensioned-band technique: three spans of 30, 90 and 30 meters in prestressed concrete. In 1999 it gained a twin 20 meters away, to split the traffic. It is 10.8 km from Plaza Artigas, at the entrance to La Barra.
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## Fundación Pablo Atchugarry
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-fundacion-pablo-atchugarry
Departamento de Maldonado · One to two hours
The foundation of the Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry occupies 40 hectares on Ruta 104, km 4.5, in Manantiales, with a park of more than 70 sculptures and the MACA, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry, opened in 2022 in a building by Carlos Ott. The permanent collection includes Gonzalo Fonseca, Julio Le Parc, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Wifredo Lam and Louise Nevelson, among others. Admission is free, and the museum is open Wednesday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (October 2026); on Tuesdays it is closed.
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## Arboretum Lussich
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-arboretum-lussich
Departamento de Maldonado · One to two hours
A forest of 192 hectares on the hill behind Punta Ballena, planted from 1897 by Antonio Lussich on dune and rock, with 400 exotic species and 80 native to Uruguay, according to a survey by the Facultad de Agronomía cited by the Intendencia; eucalyptus alone accounts for 45 species. It has belonged to the Intendencia de Maldonado since 1979. It is 16.5 km from the peninsula and 5.7 km from Casapueblo, which lets you combine the two in the same afternoon. According to the Intendencia, it is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day from December 15 to the end of Tourism Week and from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in winter, with guided visits at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.; the same page gives different hours for the forest reserve, so check before you go.
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## Museo Ralli
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/punta-del-este/#g-lugar-museo-ralli
Departamento de Maldonado · One to two hours
The art museum of Harry Recanati's foundation, on Calle Los Arrayanes, in the residential neighborhood of Beverly Hills, about 5 km from Plaza Artigas, with contemporary Latin American art and works by European artists. Admission is free. Check the opening days before you go.
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**Punta del Este: how do you get there from Montevideo or Carrasco airport?**
The COT buses leave from the Tres Cruces terminal, stop at Carrasco airport and reach Punta del Este in about 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, for UYU 466 on the October 2026 timetable. By car, it is 130 km along the Ruta Interbalnearia, about 2 hours 15 minutes without traffic.

**Punta del Este: how many days should I stay?**
Stay three days: one on the peninsula, one at Punta Ballena with sunset at Casapueblo and one on the east coast, with La Barra, the MACA and José Ignacio. With a fourth day and a car, I'd go to Pueblo Garzón and have lunch at the Bodega Garzón.

**Punta del Este: how do you do the day in Pueblo Garzón?**
The village is about 69 km and 1 hour 15 minutes by car, and without a car this day does not work. The Bodega Garzón, 12 km from it, serves lunch with a reservation at least 24 hours ahead, with menus of UYU 3,900 and UYU 5,000 per person (October 2026).

**Punta del Este: when is the best time to go?**
From December to March, the beaches have lifeguards and the shops on Ruta 10 are running; December and March have the same beach service with fewer people. From April to November the peninsula is left almost to the residents, and July has highs of 14 °C.

**Punta del Este: how do tourists pay less tax?**
Anyone who doesn't live in Uruguay gets hotels without VAT all year with a foreign document and, until April 30, 2027, 9 points of VAT taken off at restaurants, bars, car rental without a driver and visits to registered wineries. The discount requires a card issued abroad or electronic money.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/punta-del-este/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/punta-del-este/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/punta-del-este.md