Montevideo 7 Day Itinerary
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Seven days is the full Montevideo trip: the city itself, both major day trips, and a final easy beach day before you fly out. Honestly, this is more time than Montevideo alone needs, so consider pairing the extra days with a Buenos Aires ferry crossing instead. Shorter, the 6-day plan drops the final beach day; every plan from 2 days up nests inside this one.
Book these before you go
- Colonia del Sacramento and Punta del Este transport, both of which sell out on weekends and in summer.
- A Bodega Bouza tasting in Canelones, booked ahead.
- Your hotel for all 7 nights, especially December-March or during Carnaval.
Day 1
Arrive via Carrasco International Airport, Uber or Cabify $15-25 into the city. Ciudad Vieja all day: Plaza Matriz, the Cathedral, the Cabildo, Sarandí street, then Plaza Independencia for Palacio Salvo, tallest in South America when it opened in 1927 (not the world’s tallest). Lunch at Mercado del Puerto ($20-40 at El Palenque), Rambla at sunset.
Tip: pay with a foreign card everywhere; the VAT discount lands automatically at checkout.
Day 2
Estadio Centenario and the Museo del Fútbol, site of the 1930 World Cup’s first-ever final. Lunch at Mercado Agrícola (MAM) or Tristán Narvaja if it’s Sunday. Pocitos beach in the afternoon, parrilla dinner, chivito at least once.
Tip: budget Uber or bus fare (~$1.25); there’s no metro in this city.
Day 3
Colonia del Sacramento, 2 to 2.5 hours away, a full day trip. UNESCO old town, cobblestones, lighthouse, lunch on the waterfront there.
Tip: confirm your return departure before wandering the old town; services back run less often than you’d expect.
Day 4
Canelones wine country (~40 minutes), Bodega Bouza for Tannat, Uruguay’s signature grape. Afternoon at Punta Carretas: the 1876 lighthouse and the former-prison shopping mall. Dinner in Ciudad Vieja or Pocitos.
Tip: book the winery ahead and arrange a car; buses don’t cover it well.
Day 5
Punta del Este, 2 to 2.5 hours east: La Mano and Casapueblo at Punta Ballena. Better as an overnight in summer; fine as a long day trip in shoulder season.
Tip: leave early in summer, since traffic and beach crowds both peak by mid-afternoon.
Day 6
A slower day in Montevideo’s own neighborhoods. Barrio Sur and Palermo, the historic Afro-Uruguayan candombe heartland and home to Las Llamadas during Carnaval, plus Museo Torres García in Ciudad Vieja for the upside-down América Invertida map.
Tip: this is a good day for a real mate round if a local offers one; don’t touch the bombilla, and say “gracias” only when you’re done.
Day 7
An easy half-day beach trip to Atlántida (~40 minutes) or Piriápolis (~1 hour) before your flight, then back into the city for last-minute shopping around Pocitos or Punta Carretas and an evening departure from Carrasco.
Tip: build in real buffer time for the airport; departures can back up during peak windows in the late afternoon, and you don’t want to spend your last Montevideo hours in traffic instead of on the beach.
Book Punta del Este tours on GetYourGuide , the Colonia del Sacramento day tour on Viator , and check Montevideo hotel rates on Booking.com for a base that works across all 7 nights.