Carrasco International Airport (MVD) → Colonia del Sacramento transfer

From the airport the car skirts Montevideo on the ring road and joins Ruta 1, the main highway west. The road crosses open farmland, dairy country and small towns, with the river occasionally in view.

It is a long but straightforward drive. Traffic leaving the Montevideo area is the main variable; the rest of the highway is usually steady.

Colonia was founded by the Portuguese in 1680, and its Barrio Histórico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cobbled streets such as the Calle de los Suspiros, old stone houses, the lighthouse and the remains of the city gate give it a very different feel from the rest of the country.

Many guesthouses are in or near the historic quarter. The streets there are narrow and cobbled; if your posada sits on a lane that is difficult to reach, the driver stops at the nearest practical point. Newer hotels are along the riverside and in the modern town.

For an international flight from MVD, leave Colonia about six and a half hours before departure: up to three and a half hours driving, three hours at the airport and a short buffer for traffic on the Montevideo side.