A must visit beach village in Uruguay – Cabo Polonio
Ok … So Cabo Polonio. Now if you want to visit a small, secluded beach village, which is home to Uruguay’s second largest sea lion colony, a lot of penguins and a really cool lighthouse AND has a history which involves it being used as a port for the pirates, READ ON!
– If you haven’t read my previous blog on, ‘What to do if you only have 9 days in Uruguay?‘ be sure to check it out later so you get some perspective on a few other things to do in Uruguay –
So, after you’ve had enough of the city life you can begin an adventure to Cabo Polonio, which is one my favourite things to do in South America. After all, to get there you do have to go in a 4×4 beach buggy!
Travel to Cabo Polonio
Firstly, be sure to:
– Take money as you won’t find ATM’s there
– Take a torch because some of the lights go off at night time
– Say goodbye to your parents for the time being because although there is Wi-Fi, the signal is a little weak, and the hostels only leave it on for two hour
– Use your phone for taking photos and really try to immerse yourself in the natural beauty of this wonder
What is it and how to get there?
Cabo Polonio is a tiny coastal village and it is absolutely stunning. Even getting there is a fantastic adventure in itself. To get to Cabo Polonio, the easiest way would be catching a bus from ‘las tres cruces’ terminal in Montevideo . After that you will need to get off at the terminal for Cabo Polonio and from here you’ll catch a massive jeep, which will power through sand dunes for 15 minutes until finally reaching your dream destination. A small beach village, with a population of only 80 locals and a handful of tourists (provided you go in low season which is typically during June, July, August and September)
Where to stay?
I stayed in a cute hostel called, The Viejo Lobo Hostel. The staff there are lovely and they’ll be sure to give you some good advice about the area. ) There are a bunch of hammocks out the front and the only rule is, no Wi-Fi during the day. Besides having limited power, they want you to enjoy the nature, and get to know one another. So be prepared to meet some interesting people and have a few ‘deep and meaningfuls’ under the star painted sky (the night sky here is like no other. Due to the lack of light pollution, the galaxies light up in front of you).
Also don’t stress because although there is limited power you can still charge your devices as they use solar power during the day.
What to do?
Once there, the only thing you HAVE to do, is relax. But don’t expect to be surrounded by tropical palm trees, and people bringing you pina coladas. The type of relaxing here is walking along the kilometers of secluded shoreline, running into a couple of sea lions, and also spotting a few penguins. You can also walk up to the lighthouse, which is over 130 years old and has an amazing view of the village. Actually, just behind the lighthouse, you’ll find large colonies of sea lions. You can sit down on the rocks and watch them do their thing. But make sure you respect the animals and don’t try to play with them. Although cute and slimy looking, they can be a little aggressive if you get too close.
Are there shops?
The village has only a handful of shops. But think of shops inside of huts. There are locals that live there who run the village. For example, there’s a baker that makes fresh bread each morning, there’s a small convince store (powered by a generator), and there you can buy meat, milk, general supplies and also alcohol! And then there are a couple of other tiny huts where you can buy some local made jewellery.
Small Notice
If you don’t like being surrounded by lots of people then I’d say to avoid going there during their peak season, which is typically during November, December, March and April. During the peak season as many as 5000 tourists can pass through each day. However not all can stay so plan ahead if you want to go during the peak season. The capacity for the village has been set to 2,500 so a lot of these people just do a day trip.