Top Tips for Travelling with Children to Colonia, Uruguay
A visit to the town of Colonia del Sacramento makes for a nice long weekend trip from Buenos Aires, mixing quaint tranquility with some sightseeing, good eats, and a slow-paced vibe. The city is family-friendly and makes for a nice family getaway if you’re in the area.
While many visitors are day-trippers looking for a passport stamp from Argentina, I recommend spending a couple of nights in town to soak it in away from the bus tourists meandering around during the day.
A little bit of background: Colonia was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese and switched hands numerous times between Portugal and Spain until 1828 when the nation of Uruguay was formally recognized. Many historic buildings remain in the town’s historic centre, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Transportation: the Buenos Aires to Colonia Ferry
The ferry between downtown Buenos Aires to Colonia takes only an hour of sailing time, zipping across the Rio de la Plata that separates southern Uruguay from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. This makes getting to Colonia especially easy, and onward connections to Montevideo and Punta del Este are readily available.
Currently, two companies offer this service, Colonia Express and Buquebus. Their pricing is essentially the same and there is not much difference between the two companies, so it’s best to pick a schedule that works for you. For this article, I will focus on Colonia Express, as that’s the one we used.
While tickets can be purchased online with a credit card, I highly discourage anyone using a non-Argentine-issued credit card from doing so, as you will pay about 150% more than the ticket price in cash.
You should purchase your ticket directly from a Colonia Express kiosk in town, or from the Terminal Colonia Express ticket office on Don Pedro de Mendoza Avenue where the ferry leaves from. Weekend services tend to fill up faster, so it is a good idea to secure your tickets a few days in advance.
There is a 25% discount offered for round-trip tickets when paying in person in cash, plus you’ll be using the blue market exchange rate to make your purchase, making your tickets significantly more affordable-- about 30,000 Argentine pesos per adult (USD 80 at the time of writing on the blue market- 370 pesos per dollar). Children under 2 must get a free infantil ticket.
You will need to present the passports of all travellers, including children, at the time of booking, or a photocopy or picture of your passport.
On the day of travel, the check-in process is similar to going to the airport. The check-in windows will open 2 hours before your scheduled departure time and close 30 minutes before departure. It is recommended to get there at least 90 minutes before your sailing time to be safe, especially when travelling with children.
Unless you happen to be an Argentine or Uruguayan citizen, you cannot use the automatic check-in machines. Instead, you must go to the check-in windows and wait for an agent to check your passport and issue your boarding passes.
Immigration and customs open 90 minutes before your sailing time. Customs will scan all your bags, but they will not make you x-ray your stroller or car seat; the process is quick and painless. Then follow the “foreigner” line through Argentine immigration where you’ll be fingerprinted out of the country.
After formally exiting Argentina, remember to stay inside the immigration zone as you will enter Uruguay through their preclearance window on this side of the border. Look for the immigration booth with an Uruguayan flag immediately next to the Argentine one on the far right side of the room.
Here, an Uruguayan immigration officer will take your passport and boarding pass and stamp both of them. Be sure to double-check that your passport was stamped, as they will look for it on exit and if it’s missing this will cause a major delay to your travel.
After clearing both Argentine and Uruguayan immigration, you can grab a coffee or drink in the waiting lounge before heading upstairs to board the ferry about 45 minutes before the departure time.
If you’re travelling with a young baby, as was our case, and a stroller, you should speak with the security guard standing by the escalator-- once boarding begins he will bring you directly to the ramp to take you upstairs, as there is no elevator.
There’s no such thing as priority boarding for infants, so be prepared to deal with the crowds.
The ferry itself is fast-- about 60 minutes of actual sailing time. Depending on the wind, the journey can be quite choppy.
There are luggage racks if you have big bags with you, otherwise, we kept our stroller and roller bag with us in the aisle next to our seats. Seats are not assigned, all first-come-first-serve, so getting on earlier and heading to the front with kids is a good idea.
There’s a big rush to get off the boat when you anchor in Colonia, and if travelling with children it’s best to just wait in your seats or on the boat deck for the pushing and shoving to dissipate. Since you’ve already cleared Uruguayan immigration in Argentina, the arrivals process is fast and seamless.
There’s an elevator on the second floor of the ferry terminal on the Uruguayan side that you can use if you have a stroller-- a security officer will lead you there once you come off the ramp.
You’ll need to have your bags x-rayed again by Uruguayan customs, but it’s fast and easy. If you’re continuing to the cities, buses to Montevideo (3 hours) and Punta del Este (4.5 hours) leave from the ground floor of the ferry port, just past customs.
Otherwise, if you’re staying in Colonia, you can walk directly to the historic centre within 15 minutes from the port. Taxis gather at arrivals if you need them.
Currency and Payments
Unlike in Argentina, in Uruguay, you can use your foreign credit cards again. ATMs can be found at bank branches throughout Colonia as well (about 40 Uruguayan pesos per USD).
As Colonia is a tourism-heavy town, most places will accept payment by card, Uruguayan Pesos, USD cash, Argentine Pesos at the blue market rate, Brazilian Real, or Euros.
Many bills will list payment options for all of those currencies at the rate they want.
Restaurants and Cafes
Colonia is full of wonderful little restaurants and cafes, providing a more relaxed and laid-back approach to dining than Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo.
One thing to take note of, especially if you’re coming from a stay in Buenos Aires, is that the prices in Colonia are significantly more expensive than in Argentina-- about 2-3 times more expensive on average.
The cost of most menu mains at a sit-down restaurant in the historic centre of Colonia will run between 450 and 900 pesos ($11-USD 23), with appetizers coming in around 250~500 pesos ($6~$13) and drinks between 100-350 ($3~$9) pesos.
Be sure to check restaurants' opening hours in advance, as many are only open on certain days of the week, have differing hours depending on the day or the week, or are only open for dinner or late afternoons.
Below are my recommendations for where to eat in Colonia del Sacramento.
Charco Bistro
Arguably the nicest restaurant in town, located right on the coast, the experience here is truly gourmet. They have an in-depth wine list and truly tasty and artistic starters and mains, not to mention excellent desserts. The grilled fish was notable.
Bohemia Bistro
High-end bistro option right on the water in a lovely space, similar feel to Charco (it’s located next door) but a bit less date-night-y.
Albertine Pan y Cafe
The best coffee in town by far, this wonderful coffee shop and bakery delivers on taste, presentation, and ambiance, not to mention super kind and chatty owners.
Casa Viera
This place takes your classic Uruguayan bistro food-- grilled meat, potatoes, milanesa, fish, and beetroot salad-- and elevates it into a gourmet experience. They also have okay pizza and sushi options, but I’d stick to the Uruguayan options.
La Tapera de Enrique
A lovely little restaurant that makes a mean pork stew, chicken breast risotto, and other bistro classics.
Pasaje Las Flores
A good mid-range choice for nice salads, chivito uruguayo (the national dish of Uruguay-- a sandwich of sliced roast beef, mozzarella, ham, tomatoes, mayonnaise, black or green olives, and a fried egg), burgers, fries, etc.
Colonia Sandwich Shop
A popular place in the middle of town, they serve good coffee with typical chivitos and other sandos.
Parilla Amor Amor
A good choice for grilled meats, especially steaks and sausages.
Lentas Maravillas
Nice coffee shop food and sandwiches, easy for lunch.
A la Pipetuá Bistro
A well-known seafood paella joint on the south side of town.
Napo Pizza
Extremely delicious brick-oven pizzas, very well made and fresh, with excellent sauces. They also have salads for healthier options.
Sleeping
I recommend staying within the historic old town as opposed to in the new developments to the north of the old town along the coast. The beaches in Colonia are nothing to write home about and none of the hotels have direct beach access since there’s a highway and embarkment to reach the coastline.
Within the old town, there are many options of posadas (B&Bs) to choose from. We stayed at the Posada El Capullo, a lovely guesthouse with a pool and breakfast included. They had a crib ready in our room before we even arrived and the people there were so kind and helpful. The property has a garden and a small below-ground swimming pool, which we enjoyed.
Another recommendation for a great place to stay in the old town is the Charco Hotel, which is also connected to the wonderful Charco Bistro.
Activities
Colonia does not have many “attractions” per se, it’s more of a quaint, coastal colonial town to stroll through, shop, and eat.
The old town is not exactly stroller friendly with its cobblestone streets, so we used our carrier instead. We enjoyed our time here, but three days was enough time to wander about slowly and soak it all in.
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