Best Beaches to Visit around Punta del Este
Punte del Este is a resort town on the coast of Uruguay that caters to a majority Buenos Aires residents who take a short ferry ride over from Argentina. The population is around 9k year round but balloons during the December – February tourist season.
There are many beach options for where to stake your sunbathing setup: Playa Mansa, Playa Pine, Playa Brava, La Barra, Playa Montoya, Playa Bikini, and I’m sure there are more we’re missing.
Each beach has their own quirks and their own appropriately branded beach club that caters to the specific clientele of the area.
Playa Bikini
Bikini Beach will win your heart over if you’re looking for a chill spot to people watch, make small talk with lifeguards, rent a surfboard, or simply play some cards. The beach attracts a youthful crowd, down to bare their bottoms in a thong bikini. If your playa loving self so desires, stay for sunset at the Bikini Beach Bar and hit up The Fish Market right up the street for dinner.
Our only disappointment: no Sponge Bob.
Playa Montoya
This beach felt similar to Playa Bikini, but it’s closer to a different town down the road with twice the amount of shopping, not necessarily a good thing. More people here, but still charming on a less popular day.
Playa Brava
Brava Beach is home to the world famous Fingers of Punta del Este, a giant sculpture of fingers coming up out of the sand. If you want a photo of just yourself and the hands, you’ll need to get at sunrise or during the off season. Otherwise, you’re going to have people occupying the pinky and pointer in your photo. We didn’t make it to the sister statue in Chile, but it’s on our bucket list.
The Playa Brava beach itself is a nice close location to downtown Punta del Este, so if you’re staying in one of those high rises it’s an accessible beach by walk.
Ovo Beach
This beach is right is in front of Ovo Beach Club. I couldn’t find a real name for it on the map, so perhaps they own it. We spent our first evening here watching the sunset. I did a time-lapse of the sun going down, and got some amazing video and photo. Around sunset it’s less crowded than during the day, so you can get a relatively interrupted view.
Playa Pinares
Pine Beach is a long stretch of beach north of Punta’s downtown with small rolling waves and ideal for skim boarding. It’s such a big beach that there’s lots of room to spread out.