Santa Teresa and Punta del Diablo

Punta del Diablo began as a shark-fishing village and became the summer destination for people who found Punta del Este too polished: wooden houses on sandy streets, boats hauled up on the beach, and long strands with real surf. Immediately north, Santa Teresa National Park covers a large stretch of coast planted with forest over the last century, with a conservation area, a greenhouse complex, a bird collection and, on a hill, the Fortaleza de Santa Teresa, an eighteenth-century Portuguese fortress later taken by the Spanish and now restored with cannon and ramparts. Beaches inside the park run for kilometres with almost nobody on them outside January, and camping among the trees is the traditional way to stay.

What you actually see

• Fortaleza de Santa Teresa - the restored eighteenth-century fortress on its hill.
• Park beaches - long empty strands within the forested reserve.
• Punta del Diablo - the fishing village, its boats and its surf.
• Cabo Polonio dunes - the roadless settlement further down the coast.

When to go

December to March is the Uruguayan summer and the only time the village is fully open; January is very busy. Outside those months most businesses close and the coast is beautiful and empty. The water is cool even in summer.

Honest expectations

This coast effectively hibernates outside summer, with most restaurants and hostels shut from about April. In January the village fills and prices rise sharply. Beaches have strong currents and lifeguard coverage is limited to the busiest stretches. Sandy streets and no proper drainage mean the village gets muddy after rain.

Nearby

Cabo Polonio is down the coast; the Brazilian border is 40 km north.