Newcomer Going to Jose Ignacio. Tips?

[Frisel]

Apparently raining all of March. Anything else for me to do besides the beach and eat at overpriced restaurants?

 

[earlyretirement]

Just out of curiosity, what are you going for Punta del Este for. Just vacation? It's a good get away to get away from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. I had a house in La Barra for many years and was nice for a long weekend. I haven't been there in many years.

Besides the high season January and February it was fairly quiet outside of those times.

 

[Frisel]

No reason in particular. I’ve just never been in all my years of being in Buenos Aires.

 

[earlyretirement]

Ah ok got it. It's nice. Not too much to do but a nice getaway. Bummer if it's raining however.

I haven't been there in a long time but the stuff from a few years ago was:

- Conrad Casino (if you like to gamble or it's raining it might be fun to gamble a bit).
- Mano de Punta del Este (those famous fingers coming from sand are always a good photo opp)
- Puerto de Punta del Este
- Vina Eden Vinery
- Foundation Pablo Atchugarry - Park with sculptures
- Isla de Lobos to visit the Sea Lions
- La Vista Punta del Este
- Faro de Punta del Este

 

[AmirJacks]

Don't forget to drive over the bridges at Lago Garzon and La Barra. Piriapolis would make a nice day trip, there's a viewing platform on the rock (supposedly the oldest and most geologically stable on the planet) above the town. Casa Pueblo is also close, and worth a visit.

Make sure you get your 19% VAT back paying by card at the overpriced restaurants.

 

[Frisel]

How do I get the VAT tax back?

 

[earlyretirement]

How do I get the VAT tax back?

They didn't have this when I was last here. But this article says it's done automatically. You just have to use a foreign credit card. - https://www.guruguay.com/tax-free-uruguay-credit-card/

Note that I believe it's only until April 30, 2023.

 

[Frisel]

Came at the wrong time, José Ignacio is basically closed. Only the overpriced tourist traps and Almacén de Pizza chain type places in the Ruta are open

 

[earlyretirement]

Came at the wrong time, José Ignacio is basically closed. Only the overpriced tourist traps and Almacén de Pizza chain type places in the Ruta are open

Yeah, I was going to say that after the high season it was typically always dead with most things being closed. It's still naturally beautiful if it's not raining you can see some beautiful sights and walk by the beach.

 

[Frisel]

Does the US have a place similar to José Ignacio?

 

[earlyretirement]

Does the US have a place similar to José Ignacio?

I don't know of a place in the USA that only has tourism for 2 months out of the year and then so dead. I'd still go to my house in La Barra (which I preferred to Jose Ignacio) during the off season and it was peaceful but it was really dead. If you go to Punta del Este drive by some of the tall buildings and you will only see a few lights on in the buildings at night.

One of the annoying issues was my house got broken into a few times. And it wasn't far from a police station. But thieves knew that owners aren't there much during the off season so they could smash a window and break in even though I had a security system. I'm not sure how prevalent that is there. But it happened to a few other foreign owners of houses there as well.

I was fortunate that a wealthy European tourist made an unsolicited offer to purchase the house. It's a nice place but I think Punta del Este is way overrated. I'd much prefer the beaches in Brazil which is much nicer.

 

[Frisel]

Thanks for the perspective. Why do you like Barra over José Ignacio?

 

[earlyretirement]

Thanks for the perspective. Why do you like Barra over José Ignacio?

It may be different now as I haven't been back in many years since I sold my house. But La Barra was far more laid back and unpretentious vs. Jose Ignacio. I just felt like Jose Ignacio was too far out of the way. It is a good 30 minutes past La Barra. I preferred the beaches in La Barra vs. Jose Ignacio. More reasonably priced restaurants and shops.

And I liked the proximity to downtown Punta del Este which was less than 15 minutes from my house. It was so easy to get to and there were more things open in Punta del Este year-round vs. Jose Ignacio.

I'd go to escape for a weekend from Buenos Aires but I'd still want to get stuff to eat at restaurants and stuff so I enjoyed being close to downtown Punta del Este.

Maybe I'd equate it to some of my friends in Buenos Aires that had fancy houses out in the Northern Suburbs. Yeah, they were nice but it was too inconvenient and too far out of the way from the city. No way I'd ever want a place no matter how nice it was in the Northern suburbs of BA. Just too far out of the way.