Punta del Diablo, Uruguay
Laid back beach town
I’m not gonna bullshit. As a dude from Los Angeles, I love the big city life.
Over the years, I’ve spent time living in cities like Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lima, and Bogota. It’s fun being near some action.
But as I’ve been getting into my mid 30s, I’m going to be honest. The hangovers hurt more and I need more ibuprofen to get through life.
So I’ve been taking my foot off the gas a little and spending more months relaxing and enjoying that beach life I grew up around in California.
After asking Uruguayans about which beaches are cool, many locals recommended Punta del Diablo, so we decided to check it out.
The vibe is bright colored wooden houses, dirt roads, very few street lights, hanging out at the beach, and surfing.
It’s my favorite spot in Uruguay and one of the nicer pueblos I’ve visited in South America. I loved every minute of it.
It’s time to break down what you need to know about Punta del Diablo mixed in with some of my personal experiences.
A little background
Punta del Diablo is a small fishing town that is about 30 minutes from the Brazilian border. It’s part of the Rocha department which is a region in Uruguay with several small beach towns.
It’s not “off-the-grid” but it still has very little commercialization. The bohemian style is still going strong here with the dirt roads and wooden houses. You won’t see any big hotels.
You’ll see a mix of hippies, locals from the town, and some tourists. Mostly Uruguayans, Brazilians, and Argentinians.
There are about 1000 people that live here the entire year. But a lot more than that are in the town for the summer.
When should you go
You should go from December-March.
January and February are the best months to go. The town is more alive and the weather is the best for going to the beach. The first time we went was in February and I can confirm it was alive.
We went in the middle of March for our second trip and the town was already really quiet compared to February. There were some sunny days mixed in with some rain. Many of the restaurants start closing down after March.
The rest of the year it’s pretty much just the 1000 locals that live there year round.
I personally liked it more in February than in March.
How long should you go
You should go for at least 3 days.
Anything less than that feels a little too short in my opinion. It’s a little far from Montevideo and that should be enough time for you to explore the town, enjoy the beach, and relax without feeling like you’re in a rush.
How to get there
There are several ways to get to Punta del Diablo, but these are the easiest and most common. We tried both.
Bus from Montevideo - 4.5 hours
The most common place to take the bus is from Tres Cruces, which is the main bus station in Montevideo. You can also take a bus from Punta del Este or several other towns. Urubus is the easiest website to get bus tickets. A one-way ticket to/from Montevideo is about $25 USD.
Rental car from Montevideo - 4 hours
The drive is pretty straightforward. You just drive on the highway for 4 hours.
There are 4 toll booths along the way where the device in the rental car automatically pays the fare and opens the gate.
A lot of speeding cameras are near the towns along this route. They give out tickets so I recommend to drive with Waze. It will tell you whenever a speeding camera is coming up and what the speed limit is.
Getting around
The town is pretty small. It’s big enough that it has everything you need, but not too big. You can walk to all the beaches and restaurants without an issue if you’re staying in town.
What I like about it is that even though there are many nice houses, the town isn’t overdeveloped with big hotels or McDonalds. Everything is local owned. There are not many street lights or paved roads.
If you want to explore the Santa Teresa National Park and Laguna Negra, I recommend renting a car.
The first time we did not have a car and walking through the national park was kind of a bitch. You can definitely walk inside from Playa Grande but after about 5 hours of walking in the sun, we were pretty dead. We were glad we checked it out though.
The second time we rented a car and felt like we had a lot more freedom to explore both the inside and outside of the town. And also keep our energy.
There are a couple of taxis in town but not many. There was one that gave us a ride from the bus station.
You can also rent bicycles inside the town which is another way to get to the national park.
I noticed some ATV rentals around town so that looked like another interesting option to explore.
If you can afford it, rent a car. It’s still worth going without a car, but it will be harder to get to a couple of places outside of town.
Bring cash
Many restaurants and businesses in Punta del Diablo do not accept credit cards. I would say at least 50% of them do not.
Before you come to Punta del Diablo, get some Uruguayan pesos at the ATMs in Montevideo or Punta del Este.
I would check online to make sure your accommodations accept credit card. If not, make sure to bring the extra cash to pay for that.
There is supposedly one ATM in town during the summer months, but I never saw it. I wouldn’t expect it to be there or to have cash.
For both of my trips, I personally brought $300 USD in Uruguayan pesos for a 3 night stay with my girlfriend. I used credit card whenever possible and used the cash when I could not.
We ate at several nice restaurants on both trips and did not spend all the cash, but it’s better to bring too much than too little when there are no ATMs around.
Even if you are on a budget, I recommend bringing more than you are expecting to spend just to have it. You don’t need to spend it all.
Accommodations
My girlfriend and I went twice this past summer. She hooked us up with the Airbnb for my birthday and Christmas gifts.
In February we went to Sangha Yoga, which is a beautiful property owned by an Argentinian family. Yoga classes and breakfast were included. The hosts were very hospitable and I really enjoyed the experience. The property is surrounded by huge trees. This place costed $100 USD/night.
In March we went again and stayed in a nice cabaña. The host was a friendly Uruguayan man and his wife. This place costed $70 USD/night.
January and February are the hottest months with the best weather so the prices are higher during that time.
There are plenty of options for all cost levels. I would say a typical private Airbnb or hotel room will cost somewhere between $50 USD - $110 USD per night depending on the month and quality. Hostels will obviously be cheaper than that.
If money is not an issue, go in January or February. That is when the town is the most alive. If you’re on a little more of a budget, December and March should still have a lot of sun and will cost less.
If you go during the peak months I recommend booking early. The other months are pretty flexible but it’s a small town so booking early is always better.
Restaurants
To be honest, the food is pretty good here. Once we found some spots we liked we kept going to them. These are the ones I personally went to and enjoyed the most.
In the offseason, many of the restaurants shut down or change hours. Make sure to check their instagram or send them a whatsapp to make sure they are open.
Panes y Peces - This was our favorite restaurant in Punta del Diablo. We went several times. It’s one of the oldest restaurants in the town. They have many interesting dishes. Everything we tried here was delicious and the staff were very friendly. They accept credit card. — Instagram - Google
Cardamomo - Laid back restaurant with an outdoor atmosphere. We had some good fish here. I had a good conversation with the owner about the town and he was a great guy. From what I understand, they are one of the few restaurants open the entire year. Cash only. — Instagram - Google - Whatsapp
Restopub 70 - Italian restaurant that serves several several pasta dishes with seafood. I had a really solid lasagna dish with different types of seafood on the inside. Cash only. — Instagram - Google
Coffee
When it comes to coffee, I’m an addict. Every sip still tastes as good as the first time.
I think that qualifies me to make a recommendation.
Because of the close proximity to the Brazilian border, many restaurants in Punta del Diablo have that fire. When I say fire I mean that good shit from Brazil.
Many restaurants will have a solid espresso if you ask them for it.
However, I only found one true coffee shop in town. There may be others, but I didn’t see them.
La maison de cecil - The coffee and pastries are great here. Comfortable place with many tables. It’s next to a little mercado. I didn’t check the wifi but you could get some work done here if it’s decent. — Google
Cheaper food
If you go near the Playa de los Pescadores, you will find some cheaper options that are less obvious. Whether it’s empanadas, juices, or full meals.
You just need to roam the streets around the beach to find them. You will see many places once you are over there.
The juices in Punta del Diablo are great because of the close distance to Brazil. After only finding orange and grapefruit in most of the country, we were stoked to get some mango and pineapple.
What to do in Punta del Diablo
Hang out at the beach - Between the Playa Grande, Playa del Rivero, Playa de los Pescadores, and Playa de la Viuda, you’ve got multiple options.
Playa Grande had less people and seemed a little more peaceful. It is part of the national park but you can enter it from the town.
There were more people at Playa del Rivero and Playa de los Pescadores because they are next to the town. There are small shacks on the beach where you can rent surfboards for the day.
We didn’t get a chance to check out Playa de la Viuda but it’s supposed to be cool as well.
Surf - There are several surf schools and also the surfboard rentals that I mentioned earlier. I didn’t have time to surf but I want to do it the next time I’m in town. I did some bodysurfing in the water and the waves seemed pretty good for a newer surfer like me.
Kitesurf - I haven’t gotten into this yet but it looks cool. There are classes and rentals here.
Yoga - You can check out Sangha Yoga.
Santa Teresa National Park - There are a few spots in the national park you can drive to and check out.
One of them is the Fortaleza de Santa Teresa which was a military fortress at one point. It’s not incredible but cool if you’re into history. I enjoyed it.
Another spot worth checking out is the reserve in the middle of the park, where you can see Capybaras, which are giant guinea pigs from South America. There is also a nice botanical garden here.
Laguna Negra - Chill and quiet laguna on the other side of the road from Punta del Diablo. The route is not super obvious but if you follow the directions to this Google maps location, you will get there. The best time to go is for the sunset.
You can find some additional info about attractions on the government site.
Could I live here
As far as living here, 1 month could be interesting if you’re in the right mood for it.
If I stayed a month, my lifestyle would be surfing every day, hitting the gym, eating at my favorite restaurants, and working remotely. Maybe try to find a little nightlife.
There’s enough infrastructure in the town that it’s possible to live there, buy groceries, and eat at some nice restaurants. If you find a place with fiber internet, which is possible, it would be completely fine.
If I had a family and wanted to live in a small town, I could also see living here full-time.
The town seems pretty tight knit and the locals are easy to talk to, so if you stuck around and people saw you regularly, you could eventually become part of the community. I think it would get lonely if you don’t have a family or you are single.
Quality of life
Cost - 2.5 / 5 (it’s Uruguay)
Internet - 3 / 5 (fast internet exists here but many rentals do not have it)
Safety - 5 / 5
Restaurants - 4 / 5 (good quality and variety for the size of the town)
Grocery stores - 3 / 5 (there is enough stores here to find what you need)
Sports - 4 / 5 (if you like surfing and kitesurfing)
Gym access - 2 / 5 (There is a gym with weights and some yoga studios)
Nightlife - I didn’t try it
If you’re going to be in Uruguay during the summer months, Punta del Diablo is a spot you should definitely visit.
This would be a great place to stop and recover if you’ve been doing a lot of traveling in Argentina or Brazil and want to chill out for a bit.
I like the vibe a lot more than somewhere like Punta del Este. That is a nice city but it’s a lot more commercialized and expensive.
Let me know in the comments if there is any information I missed or can improve in future guides. Thanks for the support.
See you out here soon in Latin America. Safe travels.