Montevideo to Punta del Diablo by car

Driving in Uruguay guide

A fishing village, rocks and a national park next door.

Punta del Diablo began as a fishing village and keeps that feel: low houses, sandy streets and rocky points between beaches. A few kilometers away is Santa Teresa National Park, with forest, long beaches and an 18th-century fortress.

  • Distance293 km
  • Approx. time4 h 30 min
  • 3 tolls · $ 642 one way

The road, stop by stop

Kilometers from our office (La Paz 1319). Approximate times, without stops.

When to set off. It’s about 4 h 30 of driving, almost all on Route 9. In high season the village fills up: before you set off, check Waze or Google Maps for live traffic and the best route.

  1. km 32
    Pando toll · $ 214, paid when you return the car
  2. km 81
    Solís toll · $ 214, paid when you return the car
  3. km 191
    Garzón toll · $ 214, paid when you return the car · On Route 9, the road to the Rocha coast.
  4. km 199

    Rocha

    The department capital, halfway there: a good place to refuel and stretch your legs.

  5. km 254

    Castillos

    The last big town on Route 9 before you arrive.

  6. km 278
    Cabo Polonio

    Cabo Polonio

    Short detour

    From Route 9 you reach the access terminal on Route 10. It deserves its own day: see its guide.

    See the guide
  7. km 293

    Punta del Diablo

    You made it. Below: what to see and where to leave the car.

  8. km 297
    Santa Teresa National Park

    Santa Teresa National Park

    4 km from the village, with its entrance on Route 9 at km 302. Inside is the Santa Teresa Fortress, begun by the Portuguese in 1762.

PandoSolísGarzónMontevideoPunta del Diablo
See all of Uruguay’s tolls

When you arrive

  • The rocky points

    The rocky points

    Between Playa de los Pescadores, La Viuda and El Rivero, the rocks are the best place to see the open sea and the sunset.

  • Santa Teresa’s beaches

    Santa Teresa’s beaches

    About 12 km of beaches inside the park, such as La Moza and Playa Grande, reached by trails through the forest.

  • Santa Teresa Fortress

    Santa Teresa Fortress

    A stone fortress from 1762 in the middle of the park, about 800 meters from the coast.

  • Where to leave the car

    The village has dirt and sand streets: drive slowly and park where you don’t block the way. In Santa Teresa Park there are marked spots to leave the car near the beaches.

Choose your car

Lowest daily rates of the upcoming seasons: they vary with the dates. You’ll see the exact total when you choose yours.

See the whole fleet

Explore Uruguay at your own pace

For this trip

A round trip is about 586 km: rent for 3 days or more, which include unlimited mileage. With fewer days the included km won’t cover it and extra km is charged.

Book your car
  • Everything is closeUruguay is small: from Montevideo, Punta del Este is just over 2 hours away and Colonia 2 h 30. In a few days you can combine coast, countryside and city.
  • Your own paceStop wherever you like, change plans on the go and reach places buses don’t.
  • Hassle-freePick up at the office, the Airport, the Port or Tres Cruces. The car has an electronic toll tag and from 3 days mileage is unlimited.

More getaways

See all guides

Before you go

What must be in the car

  • Your valid driver’s license, the physical card (local or foreign).
  • Your ID card or passport.
  • The car’s documents (a copy of the registration and of the insurance policy): they’re already in the car, don’t take them out.

Driving without fines

  • Low beams always on. On highways they must be on day and night.
  • Zero alcohol. The limit is 0.0 g/l for all drivers.
  • Speed limits. The general highway limit is 90 km/h, but signs show where it goes up or down along the way. Waze also shows the limit for each stretch and warns about speed cameras: it’s the app that works best for this.

Fines and the deposit

Traffic fines are sent to us, and local governments take about 15 to 20 days to notify us. That’s why the deposit stays held on your credit card for that period after you return the car. If a fine arrives after the return, it’s charged to the deposit.

Renting an electric car?

You can also make this trip in an electric car. Good to know:

  • Charging on the roadSeveral apps show public charging points, and some let you pay for the charge from your phone. UTE’s app is UTE Mueve, with points all over the country.
  • Emergency cableThe car comes with a cable of about 2 kW to plug into a Schuko outlet rated for that power. It charges slowly: it’s to get you out of a jam.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons. Some photos are cropped.

Franco Frizzo (CC BY 3.0) · GabyElizalde (CC BY-SA 3.0) · rodoluca (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Marcelo Campi (CC BY-SA 3.0) · TitiNicola (CC BY-SA 4.0)