Uruguay was not planed. It was a decision we made after some recommendations for “day trips”. We found the in travel guides and also the hosts of our apartment recommend a trip to Colonia (Uruguay). So what did we? Kasia downloaded another travel guide for Uruguay and I checked how to book a ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia – which is not so easy if you do not speak spanish! And we decide – not only a day trip, lets make a 10 day visit.

Doing the checkin to the ferry starts with custom and migration counters. I can not understand why the argentinien migration requires also pictures and fingerprints when you are leaving the country but I do not have to understand everything. The argentinien migration officer and the uruguayan migration officer was sitting on the same desk. So after checking passport, doing the picture and fingerprint, they pass the passport to the other officer who was only hitting the Uruguayen stamp into the passport and give it back – at least this was very efficient.

Arriving in Colonia we took the rental car and start to our hotel getting rid of our luggage. After that we visit Colonia which is really a very beautiful (but small) city.

 

Two day later we start driving to Montevideo which is the capital city of Uruguay and with over 1.3 Million citizen by far the biggest city. Unfortunately we where not able to find the trick for getting parking tickets, and traveling through the city was very exhausting so we decide to continue to drive along the coastal road in direction to the Atlantic ocean.

All along the coastal road where a lot of nice houses – almost all the way. 

Finally we arrived in Puerto Del Este which is the place where the high society and the rich will stay in summer time. The city has only about 20.000 permanent residents – but several 100.000 houses and apartments!

There are also several sight seeing points here in Puerto Del Este.

I confirm with that was written in a travel guide: Uruguay is the better Argentina. Less stress, more kind people and nicer cities.