Just a one-hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires, Colonia del Sacramento is located at the tip of a short peninsula with a strategic position on the north shore of the Río de la Plata. “Colorful colonial houses, picturesque cobblestone streets, the sweet smell of fresh water, and ancient fortification.” This sentance describes what to expect in Colonia.
A Town with Colorful Windows?!
Colonia was not on my initial South American itenery but was highly recommended by a Korean girl I met in Lima. We both stayed at Selina in Lima for almost a week. The Korean girl only speaks little English, but we managed to chat via Google Translate, body language and guessing almost everyday in the common kitchen. One day, I told her that I would visit Buenos Aires. She took out her cell phone and said you have to visit here! On the Google map, I read the town’s name was Colonia.
“What to do and see there?”, I asked.
“There are lots of colorful windows and beautiful houses. It’s a prefect place for walking around and relax. I was there for 3 days and loved it!”, she excitedly replied.
OK, a town with colorful windows, I had that as my first impression of Colonia. Since I had plenty of time before my flight to Iguazu and it is so close to Buenos Aires, I decided to visit the town.
Upon checking in my hostel in Colonia, I started my “Colorful Window Hunt” in Colonia’s historic quarter. The gateway to the historic quarter is a drawbridge called Puerta de la Ciudadela, leading into what used to be a fortress.
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So I found myself walking on the cobblestone streets and surrounded by colorful colonial houses.
Colonia del Sacramento lighthouse is the one of the most important landmark in Colonia. After paying $1 admission, guests climb 111 steps up a winding, narrow staircase to the very top, and get to soak in the city’s best views.
Strolling around the historic quarter, you will find antique cars parked along the cobbled street.
Colonia - Worth a Visit?
If you are alone and not planning to have some rest days, ONE DAY for Colonia is totally enough!
Honestly, Colonia is an irresistibly picturesque town and many people say it is a photographer’s heaven. Besides the cobblestone streets and colorful colonial houses, it has many hiden gems for one to explore.
However, one needs only a couple of hours to navigate all of Colonia’s historic quarter. Being an active solo backpacker, I got bored of the town very quickly.
Yes, there are plenty of restuarants and bars. But no matter how good the Uruguayan beers are, as a solo backpacker, how much time I could kill at a bar? After two beers at ‘the best local brew pub in town’, I left the bar and ready for dinner.
As night came, I found there was nothing to do?! I chatted with the hostel recieption and asked for recommendations on what to do for the night. “People come here for drinking and partying with their friends. As you are alone, it is really difficult for you to find anything to do…” That was the pitty response I got from the recieption?! But he also suggested maybe I could take a walk back to the historic quarter or walk along the beach. Guess what I did both and found neither of the two was worth spending my time and engery.
I returned to my hostel and had no option but to order another Uruguayan beer to kill my time in my hostel’s garden… OK, third beer of the day and see how bored I was. You may ask why not I went to sleep or just relax in Colonia. Did you noticed two keywords from the recieption’s response? Drinking and Partying. Unfortunately, I picked a party hostel, my bad…
Originally, I was planning to stay for 3 days in Colonia. But there was really nothing to do alone, maybe it would be different if you come with friends, families, and/or your loved one. Also, I did not like my hostel. So I returned to Buenos Aires the very next morning!
How to get to Colonia del Sacramento
The Buenos Aires Colonia del Sacramento ferry route connects Argentina with Uruguay and was operated by 2 ferry companies, The Buquebus and the Colonia Express. The navigation time is the same, around 1 hour 15 minutes no matter which company you choose.
I took the Buquesbus to Colonia and Colonia Express back to BA. The main difference between the two ferry companies are the price and harbor locations in Buenos Aires. The Colonia Express was half of the price of the Buquesbus ferry (27.37 USD vs 50.93 USD). Also, Colonia Express’s harbor was a little bit difficult to get to by public transit while the Buquebus’s harbor is conveniently located close to downtown and metro stations. But both ferry companies use the same harbor in Colonia, Uruguay.
To be fair, the Buquebus’s ferry is much better than the one from Colonia Express. It is a very large ferry or you can call it a boat. The ride was so smooth that I did not even notice that the ferry was on the move and left the harbor. I thought we were delayed! The Buquebus ferry has a two-level walk-in Duty Free shop and a cafe serving food and drinks. The seating is generally airplane style and spacious, and there is a lot of room to store personal belongings.
Considering Colonia Express is much cheaper than the Buquebus and the total travel time is only about an hour, I do not have too much complain about its ferry and somewhat bumpy ride. Colonia Express also has a Duty-Free shop on the ferry, just smaller. All in All, I was very satisfied with Colonia Express.
Food in Colonia
For my short stay in Colonia, I only tried one restaurant, Parrillada El Portón, which is one block away from my hostel. This is a tourist restaurant, the taste was just OK but surprisingly it was reasonably priced. For take out orders, it even provide 25-30% discount. Based on my personal taste, still Argentina wins! Unfortunately, I did not visit Brazil. Therefore, Argentina owns the crown of GRILLED MEATS!
For my first lunch, I tried Chivito, only costed 123 UYU (3.25 USD)!
Chivito is the national dish of Uruguay. A chivito sandwich – which translates “little goat” in English – actually has no goat meat in it, yet it is still incredibly delicious and hearty. The sandwich is filled with meat - slices of churrasco (grilled/roasted and thinly sliced beef), ham, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, melted mozzarella, and a topping of fried eggs.
For dinner, I decided to try the Uruguayan barbeque. The grill station of the restaurant.
I ordered mixed meat for one. The box of meats and French fries almost weighted 1.5 lb?!
A full plate of meats including, prime rib, short rib, sausage, blood sausage, and thin bowel. Only costed 7.59 USD for everything?! However, the taste was not that great compared to Argentinean grill. But for the quantity and the price, I had no complains and I was very pleased by only looking at the meat filled box and plate that night!
Log
Colonia stay from December 14 to December 15, 2019.
Next stop: Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ferry back to Buenos Aires at 13:00, Dec. 15, 2019).
*This post was published at Phoenix on July 31, 2020.