Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Addresses are often given by their parada - or bus stop
number - which you'll see on poles in the middle of the
large dual carriageway - the Costanera - which hugs
the coast either side of PdE. The streets in the peninsula
have names and numbers, but addresses usually give
their numbers.
By bus Punta del Este's bus station lies at the top end of
Av Gorlero, just past the roundabout, at the neck of the
peninsula. It's a 10min walk to the port along Av Gorlero,
or a 5min walk to Playas Mansa or Brava. To reach the
beaches further east, you need to get back to the main
Ruta 9 by catching the #1 or #2 bus from Punta del Este
to San Carlos (every 15min-1hr; 50min) from C 20
(winter), or C 26 (summer). From there most buses with
Chuy as the destination will stop in Punta del Diablo (2hr
30min), or get off at Castillos for connecting buses to
Cabo Polonio or Valizas. Alternatively, there are two
buses direct to Castillos each day (11am & 5pm) from
PdE's terminal.
Local buses #9, #12, #17 and #19 go from C 20 (winter),
or C 26 (summer) to Maldonado via Punta Shopping (every
30min; daily 6am-11pm; 20min). Codesa buses go from
the terminal to La Barra, Manantiales and José Ignacio
(Mon-Sat hourly from 5.20am-midnight; Sun 6am-9pm;
more buses in summer). See W maldonado.gub.uy and
W codesa.com.uy for timetables ( horarios ).
Destinations Minas (4-7 daily; 2hr); Montevideo (every
30min; 2hr).
a few decades back - the port area up to
Plaza el Faro is charmingly old-world and
the houses represent a host of architectural
styles not present in the identikit luxury
developments that have sprung up all
along the adjacent coastal roads.
Casapueblo
The area's best sight is the vision of
Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró
- Casapueblo (daily 10am-sunset;
UR$150 for entry to museum; upwards
of UR$4000 for a room out of high
season; T 42578041, W carlospaezvilaro
.com.uy & W clubhotelcasapueblo.com).
He started the construction himself in
the late 1950s, and today it's an unwieldy
yet strangely beautiful villa, restaurant,
hotel and art gallery clinging to the side
of a craggy peninsula 15km west of PdE.
Bright white and lacking any right angles,
it's well worth a visit to see Vilaró's
artwork and have a cocktail in the bar
at sunset. To get there from PdE,
take any bus from the terminal towards
Montevideo and ask to be dropped at the
entrance to Punta Ballena, from where
you'll have a 30min walk up along the
peninsula. Alternatively, a taxi will cost
UR$500-600.
10
INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES
Car rental All the major international firms have agencies
in PdE, otherwise try the travel agents listed below.
Surfing Sunvalley Surf ( T 42448622, W sunvalleysurf
.com) have two stores in PdE, one at Playa El Emir (C 28,
at Rambla Artigas) on the peninsula and the other at
Playa Brava, between paradas 3 and 4 (daily 11am-7pm
all year), and another opposite the Nike shop in La Barra
(daily 11am-11pm all year).
Taxi Taxi stands by the beaches, on Gorlero and at the
bus terminal. Minicabs are sometimes cheaper than
metered cabs - PdE can get snarled up with tra c. Try
Punta Remises at Artigas, at Chiverta ( T 42498585), or
driver José Techera ( T 098447000).
Tourist information National tourist o ce at Gorlero
942, at C 30 (high season: daily 10am-1.30pm & 2.30-
6pm; low season: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-4pm).
Local tourist o ce in Plaza Artigas (daily 8am-5pm or
later in high season; T 42446510), and in bus terminal.
The website W vivapunta.com has good information
in English.
Tour operators Most tour companies offer city tours
(usually including Casapueblo), boat trips, vineyard and
ranch tours, as well as organizing motorized transport
La Barra
Sandwiched between forested hills on
one side and golden beaches on the other,
La Barra took over from PdE as the
fashionable place to stay for those tired of
the crowds of PdE, and its characterful
houses are set along tree-lined dirt tracks
which preserve its rustic feel. With
gentrification, hippy cafés have been
replaced with designer clothing stores,
but it's still the place for summer
nightlife, with new “it” clubs springing
up each year. One kilometre from the
famous undulating bridge connecting
PdE with La Barra, you'll find the
frankly bizarre Museo del Mar &
Insectario (well signposted; daily
10.30am-5.30pm/8.30pm; UR$150;
T 42771817, W museodelmar.com.uy),
whose intriguing collection of marine
artefacts includes a mind-boggling
array of seashells, insects, and a 19m
whale skeleton.
 
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