The Best Punta del Este Day Trip from Montevideo

Montevideo, Uruguay

10 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Swap the Uruguayan capital for the coastal resort town of Punta del Este. This guided day trip from Montevideo covers main attractions including the Mediterranean-style villa and art gallery of Casa Pueblo. See the fishing town of La Barra del Maldonado, and visit Playa Mansa and Playa Brava, known for its famous sculpture of fingers emerging from the sand.

Day trip to Punta del Este from Montevideo
Soak up the sun while visiting some of Punta del Este's most important attractions
Visit beautiful Brava and Mansa beaches and view Casapueblo, a Mediterranean-style villa and art gallery
Relax with complimentary hotel pickup and drop-off

What's Included

Day trip to Punta del Este
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Food and drinks
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

You have to ask pick up time after booking.

Operating hours
.8:30 am

Itinerary

Start your day trip in Montevideo with hotel pickup. Relax on the coastal drive to the lovely resort town of Punta del Este, which features the posh neighborhoods of San Rafael, Cantagril, and Beverly Hills. Your guide points out features of the landscape and shares the history of the region with onboard commentary.

Admire the seaside homes of La Barra del Maldonado, a charming old fishing town. Then continue on to visit two popular beaches. At Playa Brava, snap photos of the must-see sculpture by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal: "La Mano" (The Hand), also known as "Los Dedos" (The Fingers), depicts five human fingers protruding from the sand. On the other side of the peninsula enjoy the ocean views at Playa Mansa, where you have free time for lunch (own expense).

Afterward, head to Casa Pueblo, a Mediterranean-style villa and art gallery perched on a cliff atop Punta Ballena. Designed by Uruguayan painter and sculpture Carlos Páez Vilaró, the 9-story, whitewashed building includes a museum and gallery (own expense) where you can learn about the life of the artist and the history behind his creation.

After a full day touring Punta del Este, return back to your Montevideo hotel.

Mano de Punta del Este

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Playa Mansa

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Puente Leonel Viera (Pass By)

Museo – Taller de Casapueblo

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Playa Brava

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Puerto de Punta del Este

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Faro de Punta del Este

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible

Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

AAKASH_M

Pablo was an amazing guide. Fluent in Spanish English and Portuguese. He made sure every member of our group felt welcome. He is clearly passionate about the city and the country. He showed us various places in PDE - I had the opportunity to have long conversations about the history and culture of Uruguay with him. The tour company was very reliable and punctual. We had tourists from Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Honduras and US - and he spoke in 3 languages with us. Rodrigo was our our driver - great guy. If you’re looking for a day tour to PDE, book them.

Reviews

4.1

based on 159 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Nice trip to Casapueblo and Punta del Este beach(es)

Edwin_v, Mar 2026

It is a well organised trip though know it will be a big group Stops are relatively short so you can get a glimpse of the Casa but long enough for me, would you like to get more detail or be longer on the beach you have to book something private

Our tour guide, Andrea,...

Andrew_H, Jan 2026

Our tour guide, Andrea, was lovely, translating everything into 3 different languages. I would have docked a star for the bus being nearly an hour late for pickup, but they’d get the star back since I made a mistake during the booking process and they made the changes without issue. The bus was very spacious- one of the most spacious tour buses I’ve been on. Great legroom, great recline, USB charging port, and a bathroom with good AC. The day was long, but sites were great!

They never picked us up...

Kayla_D, Dec 2025

They never picked us up for the tour. There wasn’t good coordination between the local tour company and the corporate intermediary (not Viator). If you book this tour I would recommend making sure they have the right pickup location and that you have contact information for the tour guide so that you are able to guarantee participation.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

It was my fault, I´m really sorry and of course I have sent you a full refund. Among so many reservations, this one went wrong, apologies.

Enjoyable trip

Teresa_C, Nov 2025

Excellent trip. Big group, 25. Beautiful drive along the Atlanta ocean. I was the only do not speak Spanish. After request to the tour lady, she translate more in English when we were in the bus. Thanks for her effort.

Canceled on us last minute and made up an excuse

Chad_Q, Aug 2025

Canceled on us at the last minute. Made up something about Uruguay law making it illegal for people staying in an airbnb to take a tour. I said if that true i would book a room at the hotel next door and of course didn't hear back. We know they didn't have enough people for them to want to have the trip. I just didn't want a lie

Not the best, not the worst....

Jody_A, Feb 2025

The trip is about 2.5 hours from Montevideo and the guide was OK. He gave me incorrect directions to see the Los Dedos de Manos which was completely wrong and walking unnecessarily in the hot sun.. But the Casapueblo in Punta Ballena was magnificent! Too bad he wouldn't let us have more than 30 minutes there. Why I gave 3 stars.... Too much time driving past Punta del Este and circling back was wasted.

2025 new year

theresa3849, Jan 2025

Was very well planned out. We knew our guide was only spanish speaking. But she was very thoughtful and would come up to us and explain things to us in English. Saw everything on the tour

Great tour. Highly recommend ❤️

AAKASH_M, Apr 2024

Bus tour along the Eastern coast of Rio de plata

Sandip_P, Jan 2024

Paul was exceptionally knowledgeable, spoke great English, and was very helpful at stops along the way, pointing out different sites, providing information of the various places cities and towns we stopped at. It's a long day, over ten hours, but provides a great opportunity to see the famous seaside towns of Uruguay.

The excursion was great &...

Jesus_M, Jan 2023

The excursion was great & the tour guide (Joselyn) very kind & friendly. My recommendation instead see Casa Pueblo, will be better get off in Pirianapolis.

A great value!

Venise_G, Jan 2023

Great day! I enjoyed the free time and the stops. The guide and driver were very nice. A great value!

Perfect 🌞

Kirsty_R, Jan 2023

Loved this day tour to Punta del Este. The tour guide was super friendly and patient. Bus driver was great. All in all it was a glorious day, totally recommend 🌞🌞🌞

Don't do it in one day

Guilherme_V, Jan 2023

Well, only one day is not enough. It's waste of time to go and to come back to Montevideo at the same day. Punta del Este is more beautiful when tourists describe it than the reality. The guide also apole too much.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Yes, Punta del Este is really amazing.

Good tour, I learned a lot about Uruguay

Brian_P, Sep 2022

The guide is named Virginia. She is experienced, very polite and professional. She gave a lot of information in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It was an interesting trip and personally I'm glad I went during low season. Virginia recommended a good restaurant, with good local wine. Uruguay makes a good wine and I recommended it. The bus driver did a very good professional job.

Best of Punta del Este

George_Arnold, Feb 2020

The trip was very interesting, especially the visit to the home of the artist Carlos Valero. The home just flows with no square corners. His art work is very much influenced by Picasso. Punta del Este is very beautiful. There is a huge sculpture of a hand rising out of the sand. The one drawback was the van which picked up the people at the hotels met the tour bus at a certain point. The bus was already full. The only seats left were a few at the back of the bus. One of the couples could no sit together. Since the English speaking group was very small, we got very little attention.

A nice day trip from Montevideo.

Andre, Feb 2020

Pleasant day trip. Lots to see. Casapueblo very impressive. Nice place for lunch in Punte del Este. Interesting trip around Punte del Este. Comfortable bus. Pleasant guide.

Punta del Este LB Tours

Nicholas_C, Feb 2020

Both Roxanna and Martin were amazing! We really enjoyed the tour. Roxanna spoke in Spanish, portugués and English.

Great Day

Kimberley_B, Jan 2020

Really good day trip. Our guide (I am sorry have forgetten her name) was fantastic, spoke 3 languages, Portuguese, English and Spanish. She alternated between all three to accomendate all of us. Lots of stops and viewpoints and we had plenty of free time to explore the beaches and towns. Many thanks for the great day.

What you would expect

Evan_G, Dec 2019

This is a nice day trip, spaced nicely and with great views of several points between Montevideo and Punta del Este. I wanted more beach time. And beyond that, we were promised “entrance” to two beaches. We only went to one. Also, the tour guide had difficulty climbing stairs - I felt bad for her. Finally, the day doesn’t exactly get off to the right start when the guide asks you if it’s ok not to speak English. I said yes because I understand Spanish relatively well, but if I buy a ticket for a tour in English, I don’t expect to be asked to not take the tour in English.

Wonderful experience

Victor P, Dec 2019

My guide picked me up exactly on time. She also managed the time perfectly, being able to explain everything but also to leave some time for each of us to enjoy the places. She was very nice. The driver was also very careful during the whole trip. They took us to an excellent place in Punta del este for luch, Napoleon. Amazing food

Great Trip

sweatpea13, Sep 2019

Pick up at hotel on time. Small group - which we like. Tour guide very good, spoke in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Only downfall was the stop at Piriapolis. Excellent views, can see why we stopped there but the toilet facilities were disgusting. Obviously all tours must stop here, therefore, it would be advisable to ask the Owners of Meridiano to get their conveniences cleaned up. This was the worst toilet facilities on the whole of our South America trip.

had a good day

lasbato, Jun 2019

I had a day on the trip, it is well organised and you have sufficient time to explore the area. The only issue I had was that the place we were taken for lunch was expensive.

Nice day outside Montevideo to...

Eileen_S, Feb 2018

Nice day outside Montevideo to various stops including Punta del Este. Had enough free time in each place to get a flavor for the area. Enjoyed sitting by the ocean and having a drink in one stop after a local lunch. Excellent tour guide, Ferderica, who spoke the 3 languages needed English, Spanish and Portuguese easily that needed on the bus. She had with a big smile all day as she answered all questions. Definitely recommend it and a good value.

I really enjoyed this trip...

CarolinaJoan_G, Jan 2018

I really enjoyed this trip, Casapueblo was amazing, and the tour guide makes you feel welcomed.

This was a perfect day trip! The...

Colson C, Jan 2018

This was a perfect day trip! The guide spoke English, Spanish and Portuguese. We stopped at a scenic viewpoint, casapuebla, and then punta del este. After lunch there is a restaurant they pick out but you do not have to go there, you get some free time.

The day trip itself was excellent...

Cesar R, Jan 2018

The day trip itself was excellent. The tour guide spoke English, Spanish and Portuguese. We had just enough time at each location to get to know the sites. Great picture spots! Only issue I had was with confirming pick up with indoor Uruguay but Viator responded and resolved the matter promptly.