Here’s how we did Buenos Aires and Uruguay—Uruguay is an amazing, completely underrated country. They are extremely progressive, everyone seems really chill and happy. It’s beautiful and unfortunately is usually thought of as an extension of Argentina, despite having one of the best economies, no terrorism, etc. We chose it for the warm weather in December, the wineries, the beaches and the ranches.

Day 1: Buenos Aires

We arrived at 5 in the morning to EZE and immediately went to Hotel Pulitzer to sleep it off. We chose this hotel because it was close to the port and in Recoleta, which is like the Upper East Side. It’s where the Four Seasons (skip) and Park Hyatt (go!) are located, and lots of the ritzier shops.

We had lunch at Farinelli, which Francis Mallmann, the godfather of South American cooking, recommended in some article. Really cute little coffee shop with sandwiches and salads.

Wes’ friend took us to drinks at La Fuerza, which is an old-school Argentine drink served with cheese and olives and meat.

For dinner, we went to El Preferido, which is the sister restaurant to Don Julio. Don Julio is one of the best restaurants in South America, but I was a little weirded out by the headsets—they looked like an Applebees—and all the tourists. The staff recommended we go to El Preferido, which we liked. It’s more of a neighborhood place and just a few blocks away.

Day 2: Buenos Aires to Montevideo to Punta del Este

Took a ferry at the crack of dawn to Montevideo via Buquebus (check times, the direct ferries are weird times). There’s also a ferry to Colonia, which I kind of regret missing, and one to Punta but they both had stops and Montevideo was the only direct one with no bus involved.

We tooled around Montevideo’s old town for a bit stopping at Jacinto for a bite (featured on Bourdain’s show—recommend watching it to get you in the spirit, he loved Uruguay). Then, we drove about 2 hours to Punta del Este.

I don’t want to say anything about Punta del Este or Montevideo, but they’re much more residential and less touristy, so sometimes they both felt dead. (Also, for Punta, high season hadn’t started yet.) Most of the tourists come from Argentina anyway for an escape, so don’t expect much in the way of “things to do” outside the beach.

We explored Punta for a bit— stopping to shop at Manos del Uruguay, which I loved— and then headed up into the hills to Fasano.

Fasano is a Brazilian brand, and Fasano Punta del Este is their first hotel outside of Brazil. The modern architecture is ridiculous and so cool, but there’s been a home on the property since the 1930s. We enjoyed Brazilian luxury very much! Just a few rooms, tons of stars at night, killer views, good bathtubs and an amazing breakfast. La Barra is about 25 minutes back down the hill, so it’s a good place to stay put and do nothing.

Day 3-8: La Barra

We headed to La Barra, the funky surf town next to Punta, to Casa Flor. I cannot say enough nice things about Casa Flor. Owned and run by a group of 30-somethings, it only has 6 rooms and everyone is accommodating, friendly, helpful and cool. A lot of our experience in Uruguay was down to Juanma, Flor and Alfonso and their recommendations—and ability to get us reservations. Here are a few places we went to at their recommendation:

El Chancho y la Coneja - really cute home cooking in an old house slash fairy garden

La Olada- another beautiful parilla back in the woods

La Excusa- great Italian in Jose Ignacio

Cafe Zinc - great coffee in an antiques store

Playa Vik - Not sure if this is a “thing” but we just rang the bell and asked to have lunch. Super modern hotel

La Huella - the mack daddy of Uruguayan restaurants. You’ll spend the entire time asking yourself if you’re at Crow’s Nest in Montauk. Glamorous. Go for lunch.

La Linda - great coffee and cakes

Panaderia Jose Ignacio - allegedly from the chef at Bahia Vik across the street, this bakery was exceptional despite being next to a gas station. Focaccia saved us when nothing else was open in Jose Ignacio.

A lot of places weren’t open for the season, and these were recommended but we never got to see them:

La Susana

Santa Teresita

For five days, we just explored. We went to Casapueblo, home of the artist Carlos Paez Vilaro. Apparently, there’s a killer sunset if you time it right. Went to the beach in Jose Ignacio. Went back into Punta. Went horseback riding. Laid super low. Our favorite night is when the gang cooked us chivitos at Casa Flor and everyone just hung out.

Day 9: La Barra to Garzon

I almost cried when it was time to leave Casa Flor—it felt like our own little house. But next stop was Garzon, a teeny tiny town, home to Restaurant Garzon. Seriously, less than 200 people live here. Francis Mallmann’s gastronomic crown jewel is the only thing in Garzon it seems. We stayed at sister farmhouse Casa Anna (there’s Hotel Garzon attached to the restaurant) and it was beautiful.

We visited Bodega Garzon, one of the world’s best new world wineries and had dinner at Restaurant Garzon. Make sure you book a tour in English!

Day 10: Garzon to Montevideo to Buenos Aires

Drove three hours back to Montevideo, ate lunch at the gorgeous Farmacia and explored a little bit of Montevideo. (Pro tip: there’s nowhere to store your luggage, so check car rental return times or you’ll be lugging things through Montevideo like us.) Stayed our last few nights in Buenos Aires at Home Hotel.

Day 11-12: Buenos Aires

Explored Buenos Aires, walked all around the many parts of Palermo. We love being in a big city and just exploring more than anything. A few recommendations:
Patron - a shop filled with tons of leather indie brands

Mishiguene - one of the top restaurants in South America, they’re serving up Jewish food and trust me you’ll want it after all the steak. So good.

Nino Gordo - our favorite meal. So chic and cool and perfectly portioned. Try to sit at the counter if you can.

Floreria Atlantico - one of the top spots in South America for cocktails, it’s in the basement of a wine store. Didn’t eat but the cocktails were good.

Facon - really cool shop

San Telmo Market - one of the best flea markets in BA...tons of vendors and it’s really overwhelming but the atmosphere was great

Tons of bookstores—lots have cute cafes in the back and abysmal English sections. But fun all the same to explore.

TIPS:

Most things in Uruguay are 22% off, or 22% VAT tax free, which is amazing! It just appears on your credit card or they don’t charge you for it in the first place.

High season is about Dec. 15 - Jan 6th—that really tight three-week window. Check places if you’re going before or after then to make sure they’re open. The surrounding towns of Punta (La Barra, Montoya, Jose Ignacio, etc) operate like the Hamptons and there is a definitive season, but some things are open all year.

The “ll” sound in Spanish sounds more like a “j” than a “y.” So, if you speak Spanish, expect for things to sound a little different.

I don’t know why, but in Uruguay there are tons of guys who will “help” you park and watch over your car for you. Just drop them a little change.

Buenos Aires might as well be New York City with the way the heat gets trapped. Even though it’s on the coast, it can get very hot so be prepared (I wasn’t).

Buenos Aires has an unstable economy, but I never felt uneasy. I didn’t bring any jewelry or designer anything, and if you stay in Recoleta or any part of Palermo you’re pretty safe.

Mealtimes are like 10, 2 and 10, so if you’re used to eating earlier, pack snacks.

The time difference is two hours ahead, which was actually easy!

Argentina and Uruguay Itinerary