montevideo suggestions on tours please.

[blue cruiser]

only in port from 8am till 6pm.

would you give me idea's on what to do and if you would stay there for the day or would you go to punta de este.

i would rather enjoy the day and not spend all time traveling.

any tips on local tour company's or guides please.

[Bill S]

We did the day trip to Punta del Este. It is a long trip on a bus-very little time off the bus-mainly a couple of brief stops and a lunch. Our tour started with a brief stop at a plaza in downtown Montivideo, which looked like a very interesting city, and stop at a park, then the bus ride to Punta del Este. Having had the experience, next time I would choose to take more extensive tour of Monitivideo. Hope this helps!

[ACJV]

We did the same Punta de Este trip and had a great time. The difference could be the guide we had. She was really terrific and spend the whole trip giving us history and all kinds of interesting information about Uruguay. We stopped at an artist gallery and home and then we arrived at the town and toured it before lunch. We had a wonderful lunch at a seaside restaurant with wine. The trip back, we all napped.

Vicki

[Jane110]

I've been to both Montevideo and Punte del Este on two different cruises.

 

Montevideo is a lovely small town and you really don't need a guide. Look up the points of interest at fodors.com or frommers.com and you're done.

 

Punte del Este is gorgeous and I highly recommend visiting there. I don't even like beachy towns and I'd go back there in a NY minute.

 

For me, I think the choice would depend on exactly how much time you'll have in PDE. If you'll be on the bus most of the time and barely have time to walk around, have a nice lunch, see the beach and the beautiful architecture, then skip it. It would be too frustrating of an experience in my opinion. However, if you'd have a good chunk of time there, I"d go with the PDE tour.

 

Jane

[BCHappyGal]

Hi

 

We were just in Montevideo on our SA cruise on Jan 28th. WE opted for a private tour of the city and found it very interesting. We also stopped for some shopping in a craft bazzar. Cost for tour only $180. or to include the shopping $210. our guide spoke excellent engish and was very knowledgeable about the city and the country. As there were 9 of us this was very reasonable.

 

Our guide was Marta and our driver was Ricardo Palleiro.

 

Enjoy

Ann

[pakitin]

As you get off the ship there are plenty of vans and taxis available. Find one that speaks english and negociate a price.

 

Tell them you want to go to Casa Pueblo and a visit to Punta del Este.

 

Casa Pueblo is a Gaudi like multi story structure built by Carlod Paez Vilaro, Artist, sculptor and adventurer. It houses his workshop, gallery and a hotel in -9 floors were each room is different and also has lot of private pools. It is located in Punta Ballena a few miles before Punta del Este with a breathtaking view of Mar del Plata and Punta. Both the building and the artist work is a must see experience.

 

The trip should take 1 and 1/2 hours each way.

 

Paco

[HALGirl]

Hi Joyce & Simon. The ship is scheduled to be in Montevideo on Easter Sunday which might make a difference when planning the day. I would wait and see what the ship is offering as many places might be closed. So far we have a group of 14 meeting in the Ocean Bar on March 15 at 2pm. Hope to see you there.

 

Joanne

[TOventure]

I spent a lot of time in Montevideo and Uruguay in the past. If you only have one day, I would recommend going to Colonia instead of Punta del Este. Don't get me wrong I love Punta del Este but for me it's too modern. In my opinion kinda like Miami beach with casinos. The water is just ok. La Paloma another couple of hours away is nice, but it would be tough to make it there and back in one day. Colonia is about 2 hours away from Montevideo and a nice tourist place, some great places to eat and a relaxing location with charm. Rent a car and go for it but you need to be able to drive a stick shift.

[tr cruiser]

I had fun taking a side excursion to an Uruguayan sheep ranch. It included a tour of the ranch, hayride, barbecue, folk dances and a chance to bargain for unique handicraft goods. It only took half a day and I'm glad I skipped the Montevideo city tour. It's kind of a gray, drab town, IMHO. The ranch tour was a package arranged by Orient Lines.

[lwnbwlr]

We stopped in Montevideo last December on the Amsterdam. We took the city tour and were disappointed. The tour was on a Sunday and the city plaza was almost vacant surrounded by dismal buildings. A ride around the city was somewhat more interesting, particularly the beautiful action sculptures of stagecoaches and horses. I'd avoid this tour and take the vinyard tour which was really enjoyed by our table mates. The wine they brought back was excellent as well.

[maly]

You can take a shuttle from the ship from the Leather Factory (not Casa Mario) and it will take you to the town. If you walk away from the town it takes you to a tourist bureau and you can get a map. We walked to the beach and all along the beach and it was wonderful. Ate at a restaurant on the water called "The Old Man and the Sea" and we met a local who took us up to the Top of the Sheraton where you can get a great view of the city. There's also a mall attached to the Sheraton and a block away is a taxi stand and you can get a cab back to the port. This is just another option.