Punta del Este is sparkling white sand, varied surf, playful sea lions, exclusive shopping, and culinary delights. Uruguay’s fashionable resort town attracts holidaymakers, families, and the beautiful people. As cruise visitors, we focused our time on discovering the best things to do in Punta del Este cruise port rather than relaxing at the beach.
A seasonal destination, the town has 14,000 permanent residents and swells to about 140,000 in the summer (according to our guide). In January, 80% (estimate) of these holidaymakers are Argentinean.
They come to relax, play, unwind, and enjoy summer.
Typical to resort towns, Punta del Este isn’t cheap. We found it one of the most expensive cities we visited in South America.
In contrast, the miles of stunning white sand beaches are free to visit.
Things to do in Punta del Este cruise port: beach
To maximise our time, we opted for a free city tour, the kind you enjoy and then tip at the end. We had arranged it online, and our meeting point was La Mano, the giant hand sculpture.
We enjoyed a gentle 25-minute stroll from the cruise port to get to the sculpture.
Hand sculpture (La Mano)
Creepy or wonderful? La Mano is a giant hand emerging from the sand. Actually, it’s just the fingers, and as a result, it is sometimes called Los Dedos (the fingers). Regardless of how you feel about it, this hand is probably the most Instagrammable spot in Punta del Este.
Installed in 1982, it was part of the First International Meeting of Modern Outdoor Sculpture of Punta del Este. It is now a symbol of the city. Artist Mario Irrazábal has created similar artworks in Madrid, Chile’s Atacama Desert, and in Venice.
Avenue of the Americas (Paseo de las Americas)
La Mano is not alone. It is one of many fascinating sculptures from different worldwide artists. Most are across the road from the beach, and each of the displayed artworks represents something significant to the artist or the world. Aside from the hand, three of my favourites are:
- Wings of a Bird: represents the damage man does to nature.
- Metamorphosis: The evolution of humans and machines.
- Hug: representing the meeting of river and ocean.
Punta del Este Beaches
Miles of pristine beaches are the calling card for this resort city. They range from surf beaches like Brava or El Emir on the Atlantic side to gentle waves on Mansa beach along the river. Clearly, it is the surf beaches that are most popular.
El Emir attracts swimmers and those who want to surf or learn to surf Punta del Este.
Things to notice as you walk along the Punta del Este beach
In addition to the sand and surf …
The Candelaria Virgin Monument at the Beach
Just south of El Emir beach, a monument contains a statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Interestingly, Our Lady of the Candelaria’s statue washed away with a cyclone in 2016, but the structure still stood.
Two days later, surfers recovered the decapitated statue and head. It contained the restored original statue by the time we saw it.
Santa Maria Lujan shipwreck
Key historical things to see in Punta del Este
However, a law also prevents any building put up before 1949 from being torn down; therefore, they remain unsold and derelict.
See the sea in all four directions
I learned first-hand that some people yell at you if you stop too long in the centre to take the five photos (four directions and the marker), as there is some traffic.
Excursions: Punta del Este Uruguay
Sea lions at Isla de Lobos
One of the popular excursions is a boat trip around Isla de Lobos, an island that is home to the largest sea lion colony in the Americas, as well as the third tallest lighthouse in South America. Although visitors cannot walk on the island, the boat brings you close enough to enjoy the colony. The total trip takes about 2 hours and is in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
We opted not to do this as we had recently seen sea lions (and penguins) in Isla Damas, Chile. However, we talked to many people who really enjoyed their adventure.
Be warned, the sea can be a bit rough, so if you are prone to seasickness, you might want to take a preventative before you go.
This tour tends to sell out in season, so if you want to do it, it’s often best to book in advance. Reserve your tour to Isla de Lobos
Casapueblo
Although only rated 3-stars, I think it would be a fascinating place to stay. Check prices here, or read more about it below.
Things to do in Punta del Este: near the cruise port
We were sailing on the Azamara Pursuit, a small luxury cruise ship. Even with her compact size, Punta del Este is a tender port. Therefore, the ship drops anchor, and passengers are brought to shore in smaller boats called tenders.
Fish market in Punta del Este Uruguay
We arrived near a fresh fish market that attracted sea lions in the water and seagulls swooping overhead. One resident sea lion is there so often the locals have named him Ronaldo.
Grab a bite to eat at the port
Near the Punta del Este port are several enticing Punta del Este restaurants and ice cream parlours, which serve food all day. (Although, if you want stunning views from above while you eat, you might want to head in town to La Vista 360).
Following the recommendation of our guide, we enjoyed some seafood from Artico, located at the port. It’s an upscale takeaway seafood shop with tables. If you want hot food, take a number for service. If sushi or any of the tasty-looking self-serve seafood salads is your choice, you can just pay and go.
Right next to Artico is Heladaria Il Porto, a delightful gelato shop with three different flavours that feature dulce de leche (Plus plenty of other options).
Where to stay in Punta del Este Uruguay
We arrived via cruise ship, and although we had planned to spend two days, we intended to sleep on board our ship. However, bad weather early on cancelled one of our days, leaving us just one day in this city. Our next visit will be longer, and we will stay at one of these Punta del Este Uruguay hotels:
- The Grand Hotel:
If you prefer five-star luxury and Punta del Este hotels on the beach, then this is the place to be. Located on Playa Brava, hundreds of reviewers rated The Grand Hotel as Superb. It is an oceanside eco-friendly property with a spa, wellness centre, gym, and pool. Plus, you can walk to just about everywhere you want to go from the location. Reserve your stay at the Grand Hotel here. - Enjoy Punta del Este:
You may already know the Enjoy brand and, therefore, instantly associate it with fun. They are well known in South America for their casinos. The Punta del Este facility is no exception. This five-star accommodation also includes spa facilities with a hammam, tennis courts, two swimming pools and four restaurants. It is across the street from La Mansa Beach. Reserve your stay at Enjoy here. - Club Hotel Casapueblo:
This Mediterranean-style chalet is a work of art, surrounded by nature and endless sea views. The rooms are spacious, and breakfast is included (with vegetarian and gluten-free options). There is an onsite museum, a spa, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a fitness centre. Situated on Punta Ballerna, it’s about 10 kilometres from Punta del Este. While we generally prefer at least four-star accommodations, the three-star Casapueblo really appeals to me. Reserve your stay at Club Hotel Casapueble here
More information and tips on Punta Del Este
First-time visitors to Uruguay:
click here for our complete Uruguay travel guide
- As this town attracts predominantly Argentinians, the Spanish spoken has an Argentinian accent. Therefore, the “ll” and “y” are pronounced as “sh” and “j” respectively.
- Translated to English, Punta del Este means “tip of the east,” a name established in 1907 in an effort to convert the former fishing town into a tourist destination.
- While the currency is Uruguayan Pesos, many shops will take American dollars, Argentinian pesos, or Brazilian reals.
- While we arrived by cruise ship, there are bus options to get from Montevideo to Punta del Este.
- This is a lovely place to visit, but it’s not cheap. If you are headed to other towns in Uruguay, you may want to buy your souvenirs there.
- If you purchase expensive items that you are taking out of the country, you can get the 15% tax back.
- See our nine-week South American itinerary here.
More from South America
Starting with our South American itinerary and our general safety tips for travelling in the region.
What will you do in Punta del Este?
Photo Credits:
All photos on this page are either shot by our team and watermarked as such or stock images from Depositphotos.
Tadoba
We felt Ralli was a highlight of our time in Punta del Este. The Ralli has a beautiful collection of art with many pieces by Dali. The art is well arranged and displayed, both indoors and out. One can sit and enjoy the art. I was surprised that it got a rather grumpy review from the Bradt guide on Uruguay.
Alexandria
Thank you for sharing this in-depth blog, sure makes me want to visit!
Kim
What a beautiful place! I hope to be able to travel more one of these days. I hear cruises are a pretty affordable way to do that, so I am definitely looking into it at some point.
Just visiting via Wordless Wednesday!
beatravelling
Looked for ways to integrate Uruguay to my South America trip. Considered the small towns closer to Buenos Aires than Montevideo, but ended up choosing to do the ferry for a day trip. Now it remains to see if it was a good choice 🙂 Landed in Santiago, Chile, this afternoon, 4 hours delayed from Houston 🙁
Rhonda Albom
We did that same day trip via ferry to Colonia del Sacramento and loved it. Hopefully, you will have better weather than we did.
Michelle
Really interesting post! I don’t know anyone who has been to Uruguay. It was nice to have this peek into the area.
Corinne
Punta del Este is definitely now on my list. I’m not sure about spending time on those crowded beaches, but the rest sounds amazing!
Esha
You were lucky to visit Uruguay! What a place!! Your post piqued my interest. It is definitely on my bucket list, now! Loved the photos and the writeup.
Lovely blog, by the way! Keep up the good work.
Happy Wednesday and a great rest of the week to you.
Cheers
Esha
Elena
Uruguay is a rare bird among travel destinations on English-language blogs, so it made my day and brought some warm memories. I hope it would help more people to discover the country that is so unique in many aspects, and, perhaps, go beyond Punta del Este there. Cheers!
Myrah Duque
This post brought back some great memories when I visited Punta Del Este! Casa Pueblo is amazing. I love that you can see the ocean from anywhere you are located! Thanks for a great memory, now I need to return.
Lydia C. Lee
Other than the World Cup, I don’t really know much about Uraguay. (Embarrassingly) Nice introduction!
Nancy
You’ve definitely been bitten by the travel bug! Great ideas and photos!
Katie
So many amazing things to see! My favorite part of travel is going to places and soaking up the fact that regular people live there and it’s someone’s hometown. Of course the tourist destinations are great too!
Clare
I’d really love to see the sea lion at the fish market. I bet he gets lots of fishie treats every day! I think it would be interesting to see the sea in all four directions too. THanks so much for sharing this guide to Punta del Este.
Lara
I honestly have never been to Uruguay or looked into visiting, but your post has me intrigued! They beaches look fabulous. Will have to look into this more!
Chastity
I am all for exploring the beaches so relaxing. I really like the hand statues so cool!
Jogi P
Hand sculpture is simply amazing. Glad you shared the information
Albína Mrázová
I have a friend from Uruguay but he never told me how beautiful his country really is. I never heard too much about uruguay and this is really nice place to visit. Thanks for the tips
Daria
Cool place to visit, need to check it out! 🙂 thanks for your tips!
Hannah Ackroyd
I’ve never heard of Punta del Este before but what a beautiful place! That little church is stunning. I’m amazed just how much there is to do! I’ll be adding this to the bucket list!
Asha
I can’t believe there is just so much to see and do there at Punta Del Este, loving the beach and shipwreck and would love to see the magnificent cruise ship in person.
Catherine Santiago Jose
I have never been there and it sounds like that there’s a lot of things to do and a lot of beautiful places to visit in Uruguay.
Jasmine M
It looks absolutely gorgeous there! I know for sure I’d love to visit the Casapueblo. The architecture is so unique.
Catherine
I’ve only been to Uruguay for a few days (had to hop across the border from Argentina to keep my travel visa current, haha) but would love to explore it more. Great post!
Carryn
I love discovering hidden gems like this that I’ve never heard of before! I’d love to visit Uruguay one day and this will definitely be one of the places I visit.
Jill
Looks like a list of fun things to do – I hope to do a South American cruise in the next few years.
Bliss
Casapuebla looks amazing!! Great info
Vanessa
Rhonda – You really tell readers what they need to know about visiting Punta del Este, and that is so helpful when someone is planning a trip to the area. Great post!
Dana Brillante-Peller
I’m loving all the views from this trip. I’m glad it was a success for you. So many free things as well. Must’ve been quite the money-saver, too.
Courtney
Ooooo I just love going on cruises! My favorite way to travel!!! Glad to see there is some really fun things to do in Punta del este
kumamonjeng
The hands sculpture is very interesting and Uruguay is in my bucket list! Planning a south America trip next year, so far, we plan to visit Peru & Chili
Chad
The place looks amazing wow I would love to spend a couple of weeks there, that would be awesome.
Paul Pietrangelo
Any cruise ship is a great cruise ship to me. I enjoy the ones that have at least 3000 people especially the one that only have a couple small children. I really hate the places that don’t have docks.
Now Puta del Este, it looks interesting but no beaches for me. We like to walk around the places and then go back to the ship. See ya Rhonda.
Cruisin Paul
Rose Jones
Like you I long to be a digital nomad. Thanks for bringing this beautiful places to me, like this one in Uruguay.
Sandee
What a beautiful place except for the beach. To many people. Reminds me of Miami.
Your photography is amazing as always.
Have a fabulous day and weekend, Rhonda. ♥
Monica Y
What a great place to visit, full of cool things to do an explore, need to add them to my travel bucket list
Norma
Punta del Este seems like a wonderful place to visit. I love the giant hand emerging from the sand.
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Looks like there is plenty to see for free. That hotel is really unique – wonder why it’s only three stars? Would definitely go off season. That crowded beach doesn’t look inviting.