The Colonia Del Sacramento is a quaint little town in Uruguay that’s easy to visit by driving from Montevideo, and you can even visit it on a day trip by ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Founded in 1680, Colonia is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay, and its historic quarter is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architecture and history.
It’s safe, easy, and inexpensive to visit Colonia Del Sacramento on a day trip from Argentina, and aside from enjoying this nice town and everything it has to offer, there’s also the novelty of seeing another South American country and renewing your visa.
Colonia Del Sacramento in Uruguay
The town of Colonia Del Sacramento is located on the southwestern coast of Uruguay, near the meeting point of the Rio De La Plata river and the Atlantic Ocean, and across from the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It’s about 180 kilometers by road from Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, or less than 50 kilometers by sea from Buenos Aires.
From Montevideo, you can get to Colonia by car, bus, or tour. The drive takes 2 to 3 hours.
There are multiple bus companies offering this route with regular departures, and they have air-conditioning, toilets, and reclining seats. You can book your tickets in advance on 12Go.
If you want to simplify things even further, GetYourGuide has day tours to Colonia from Montevideo that include hotel pickup and drop-off, and a trilingual tour guide to show you around the town of Colonia Del Sacramento. They also have private tours from Montevideo.
We’ve used GetYourGuide for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great. Highly recommended!
From Argentina, you can get to Colonia by ferry from Buenos Aires. The harbor is in Puerto Madero, to be exact, and there are multiple ferry companies you can choose from.
All of the ferry companies have daily departures going back and forth in the morning and evening, so doing this as a day trip is no problem, although it’s a good idea to book your tickets in advance. Sometimes they do sell out.
The ferry ride is safe, comfortable, and relaxing, and only takes about 1.5 hours of sailing in either direction. I even found an electric outlet to charge my phone battery on the way back to Argentina.
Immigration is pretty easy on both sides of the border. As a US citizen, I didn’t need any visa for Argentina or Uruguay, so it was very easy to do this as a day trip, but remember to check the current visa requirements for your nationality in these countries, and don’t forget to bring your passport!
The two main ferry companies from Buenos Aires are Buquebus and Colonia Express.
They both run similar schedules to Colonia Del Sacramento, and there’s not much of a difference in quality between them, so you can just go with whichever company has seats available for your travel dates. A third option is SeaCat, although they don’t seem to be quite as well liked.
You can book tickets with Buquebus on 12Go, or Colonia Express on GetYourGuide. The advantage of the latter is that they have a walking tour with a bilingual tour guide, and an optional winery visit.
It’s also possible to buy tickets on the official websites for the ferry companies, but they’re written in Spanish and the sites have a lot of glitches, so this is one time when it’s actually easier to book with third party companies.
Once you arrive in Colonia Del Sacramento, the historic quarter is within walking distance from the ferry harbor, and it’s small enough to get around the whole area on foot. There’s no need for transportation at all.
Here are some of the best things to see and do in Colonia Del Sacramento:
Last, but not least, there are a bunch of interesting museums in Colonia to see, including a Portuguese Museum and a high-rated Origami Art Museum.
After its founding in 1680, this town bounced back and forth between Portuguese and Spanish control for a century, so both countries left a mark on the culture of Colonia. There are even some beaches you can visit nearby if you rent a bike!
There are plenty of things to do in Colonia Del Sacramento on a day trip
A day trip is enough time to see the best highlights of Colonia Del Sacramento, although you could easily stay longer if you enjoy the laidback feel of the town.
There are plenty of hotels and restaurants to keep you comfortable in town for several days, and you could use the extra time to explore every inch of the historic quarter and see all the museums at your own pace.
Flowers by the doorway
Wandering the streets — one of the best things to do in Colonia Del Sacramento!
Colonia Del Sacramento is a safe and tourist friendly town.
Even though the country of Uruguay doesn’t have a perfect safety record, the quiet little town of Colonia is traveled by lots of international tourists every day, and I’m not aware of any bad incidents that have ever happened here.
When I visited Colonia, I carried my camera all over the historic district taking pictures, and I saw lots of other photographers doing the same thing with setups that looked more expensive than mine.
Overall, I felt perfectly safe in Colonia Del Sacramento. Just take normal precautions and you shouldn’t run into any issues at all.
Vintage automobile
Yes, I’d say Colonia is worth it. Even though there aren’t a whole lot of things to do in Colonia Del Sacramento beyond a day trip, I still think it’s an enjoyable town to visit.
My trip to Uruguay was a good experience in every way, and it was fun to see a new country and cross it off my bucket list without paying for any expensive flights.
Best of all, Colonia was easy and relaxing, since I was already worn out from lots of hiking and sightseeing in Patagonia and Iguazu Falls!