Uruguay

by Tim Burford

Best known for the town of Fray Bentos, World Cup glory and having miore cattle than people, Uruguay is far more than the sum of its cows. Gauchos roam vast stretches of grassland, estancias welcome visitors with old-style hospitality and boutique fishing villages line the unspoiled beaches. This laidback country can certainly stand up to its biggers, brasher neighbours.
Bradt's Uruguay remains the only dedicated English-language guide to a country that's small yet bursting with character showing that the adventurous tourist can uncover much more. It provides in-depth coverage of the capital Montevideo, where the colonial Old City is being restored. There's also detailed information on the coastal city of Colonia as well as Punta del Este, where the Buenos Aires beautiful crowd flocks to the beaches each summer.

Genres: Travel

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2010

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Our trip to Uruguay would have been close to perfect if we had not relied on this book. The author fell short in the due diligence he owes to his readers. At best, it's a starting point for the independent traveler. At worst, it can lead you seriously astray, as we discovered. After using a recommendation in the book for a "feng-shui" decorated hotel in the tiny hamlet of Guichon, we found ourselves on unpaved roads in serious backcountry with no services to speak of. The "spa" was nothing more than a dilapidated outbuilding without staff, phones or even food on site. In our one week tour of the country, this book was wrong more times than it was right. And it had the added flaw of failing to mention important cultural and financial information- what to expect in terms of the Spanish accent spoken, that all the hot springs (an everything else, apparently) are closed if it rains, and that foreigners do not have to pay the VAT if they use credit card for purchases.

In sum, if this book is available at the library, I would say check it out and see if you can glean anything about the country in the broadest sense, but don't expect the prices or descriptions to be right. The better course of action would be to go on Trip Adviser or any other travel website and skip this book altogether.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, this is a guide with information for cruisers with information about the services at docking piers, and the transportation available from them. There is also plenty of information available for travelers who have opportunities to explore more of the country than major cities.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good info on fun places to visit. Could use a better and more comprehensive index!