Discover Colonia del Sacramento–Private City Tour UNESCO
Description
Live Colonia del Sacramento – Full Day Tour with Local Guide We are a family business passionate about sharing the best of Uruguay with travelers from all over the world. Our goal is to create a relaxed and friendly environment so that you not only enjoy the day, but also get a friend in Uruguay. Visit the charming town of Colonia del Sacramento on a full-day excursion from Montevideo. Explore its cobblestone streets, explore historic sites and immerse yourself in centuries of rich heritage with your local guide. We will visit the Cologne Rambla with its sign and the Real neighborhood of San Carlos where we will visit the old Bullring of Cologne You will have time to enjoy lunch at a local restaurant if you wish and why not some time to shop for city souvenirs
Tour Options
Itinerary
The historic city of Colonia del Sacramento, founded in 1680, evokes images of ancient Lisbon for its Portuguese-style architecture and winding streets. Colonia is located in the southwestern part of Uruguay, on the River Plate, and in 1995 UNESCO declared it to World Heritage Site. You can visit Colonia easily by ferry from Buenos Aires in just a day trip, and this is one of the reasons that make its beaches a popular destination of great tourist attraction for Argentines. Among its main monuments are the Church Matrix, which is the oldest in the country, the Municipal Museum and a port dating from the seventeenth century that merges harmoniously with the river.
It was built in the year 1745 by order of the Portuguese governor Vasconcellos who at that time was leading these lands. In its origins the Door was the portico of entrance to Colony, protected at that time by a strong military of thick walls that were frequent target of pirate attacks, Spanish and English.
It is born in the Plaza Mayor and continues on a slope to the Río de la Plata. It is a narrow street with Portuguese characteristics, cobbled with a wedge and without sidewalks. The sides are tilted towards the center to form a drainage channel. The houses, built in the first half of the 18th century, have stone walls, tile roofs and ceramic floors. The doors and windows are small and made of wood, although only houses with a gabled roof are preserved.
It was built in January 1857. It has two red flashes every nine seconds. It is a circular tower of white masonry with a dome with white and red radial stripes. It has a unique structure with a square base and a cylindrical tower that reaches the lantern. It was built on one of the old towers of the Convent of San Francisco, whose ruins are at the foot of the lighthouse. Its height is 26 meters and has a luminous range of 7.8 nautical miles
The Basilica has a most unusual altar feature for its time and even now; an back lit semi-circular alcove that features a very large monstrance (receptacle for displaying the Sacred Host or Blessed Sacrament). The outside brickwork shows the Portuguese influence of its builders.
The Plaza de Toros Real de San Carlos is located in the Real de San Carlos area, 5 km from the historic neighborhood of Colonia del Sacramento, capital of the department of Colonia, Uruguay. It is the only place that remains in Uruguay and was erected with a Mudejar style, very similar to the bullring of Spain, preserving arches and some circumference details. It is a work done by the Argentine architect José Marcovich and the engineer Dupuy. It was inaugurated on January 9, 1910 with eight official runs, although there were more than eighty, because the space for shows was still used even under the prohibition of running by President José Batlle and Ordonez in 1912.
Stop at the Colonia Cartel to take some beautiful photos of our tourists with the memory of their visit to the city and also to enjoy the landscape of the Río de la Plata
Visit to the Pencil Museum and Granja Arenas (Wines and Cheeses)
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick you up at any hotel or Airbnb in Montevideo
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(22)
It was a great day tour with Andres and Carolina. They were right there to pick us up when the ferry landed and Carolina showed us all around the Old Town of Colonia and she gave us lots of interesting information about the town. Her English was excellent and suggested a place for lunch that was superb called Charco and after lunch they took us to a lot of terrific hidden places outside the downtown area before dropping us back off at the ferry. It was a captivating day and the two of them were so kind and inclusive to us. We loved it.
Dear Gale, Thank you so much for your lovely review. We’re very happy to hear you enjoyed your day in Colonia del Sacramento with us. It’s great to know you enjoyed the Old Town, the hidden places, and lunch at Charco. Thank you for your kind words. We really appreciate it and hope to see you again soon in Uruguay. Best wishes, Andrés
We had so much fun exploring Colonia and Montevideo with Belen and Andrew. They are patience and listen to each of our request and questions from the 15 of us. We definitely will choose them again if we were to visit Uruguay again.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! It was truly a fun day for us too — exploring Colonia and Montevideo with your group of 15 was a joy. Belen and I loved how curious and engaged everyone was. Your group made the tour easy always smiling, asking great questions, and bringing great energy! We’re really happy to hear you’d choose us again. Whenever you come back to Uruguay, we’ll be here and ready for another adventure together. Warm regards, Belen & Andrés
Great experience. We booked a private tour. Andres picked us up at the hotel at the beginning of the day and we returned around 18:00. It was an excellent guide, showing the city as well as guiding the best places. It well left us the will to walk through the colony and handled without any difficulty extra requests.
Muito obrigado pela confiança e pelo carinho na sua avaliação! Fico feliz em saber que aproveitaram o dia em Colonia e que puderam desfrutar da cidade com calma, do jeitinho que mais gostam. Para mim é sempre uma alegria poder adaptar o passeio às necessidades de cada família e ver que saem satisfeitos. Um grande abraço, Andrés
Really enjoyable trip from Montevideo to Colonial del Sacramento, with our excellent guides Andres and Belen! We toured Montevideo with Andres and Belen and had another fun day learning more about this small but very interesting country. They picked us up on time at our hotel in Montevideo. Our drive to Colonia in the very comfortable van included a rest stop at Granja Colonia - a quite unique museum with the owner’s collection of pencils, keychains, ashtrays, locks and perfume bottle. Belen is very knowledgeable about architecture and colonial history and gave a really engaging tour of Colonia del Sacramento. We were pleasantly surprised that so many of the shops and restaurants were open on Christmas Eve. We thought we would only get to walk around the Historic Quarter and UNESCO World Heritage sites. Highly recommend!
A beautiful day enjoyed with the entire group we really enjoyed it with you and we appreciate your beautiful words of gratitude Andrés
The views are amazing, it is a very bright city,with good restaurants and the like. The Mercado del Puerto can only be visited.
Grato pelo depoimento
Where do I even begin? Andres is a treasure of Uruguay. This was actually our second tour with him during the week we spent in the country (1st time visitors), and he took such good care of us. Andres picked us up from our hotel in Montevideo and took us on the 2 hour ride to Colonia and back. Aside from the general things that you hope for in a day trip (punctuality, careful driving, historical knowledge of the surroundings), Andres was also very warm and friendly, and he was so attentive to all our needs. Plus, we had great conversations. You can tell that he loves his country and loves what he does, and he takes tremendous pride in both. Additionally, I must mention Karen, who handled the walking tour while we were in Colonia del Sacramento. She was a wonderful guide with a great depth of knowledge and a warm personality. Our time with her was relaxed, enjoyable, and very enlightening! Lastly, I want to give extra thanks to Andres for snagging us a last-minute reservation at El Tio for the same evening as our tour, which was also the last night of our trip as well as Thanksgiving in the US. He personally called the restaurant owner and was able to arrange for us to get the only remaining spot available that night. And we're so happy that he did! The dining experience at El Tio was magnificent, and it was a great way to wrap up our stay. Thank you, Andres, for your knowledge, the unexpected lovely gifts, your thoughtfulness, and your kind heart. Thanks to you, we love Uruguay that much more.
I have no words to thank you for your words towards us....... A big hug
A wonderful day trip to this UNESCO world heritage site. Andrês picked us up on time and we travelled in style whilst viewing some of the beautiful countryside. Karin our guide was very informative and had great knowledge of the town and it's history being a local of many years. We had a lovely lunch in the old square and Andres took us to a great museum and farm on the way back. Overall a great experience and highly recommended, thanks guys
Was a pleasure meet you and enjoy the day in Colonia Thanks for your sincerely words to us A hug !! Andrés
Colonia del Sacramento is a must see! Andres was very communicative in advance of the trip and extremely accommodating with a last minute booking. He outline what we would do on the our, but left plenty of room for my input. Upon arrival in Colonia, Andres introduced me to a local guide partner to do a walking tour of town. The local guide was very knowledgeable and very passionate about her town and gave a very enjoyable tour. Andres made additional recommendations about what to see and do in town and on the ride back to Montevideo. Highly recommend Andres and his local partners!
Thanks to you Gregg Was a pleasure meet you Happy to help!
My husband and I had a wonderful day visiting Colonia de Sacramento. Maolo was a great guide and very knowledgeable. Andres was a great driver, photographer and assistant guide. Both were very friendly, fun to be with and their English was great.
Dear Deanna, Thanks so much for your review and words to us . Was a really pleasure meet you and enjoy together the day Kisses Andrés
The best full day tour in Cologne!! Andres was very kind to us and explained the whole history of Colonia to us, he also takes very good photos!! Andres showed us all the important places in Colonia del Sacramento, we didn't miss anywhere!! We went to the city of Colonia, the old bullring, the Colonia sign, and the pencil museum where you can buy delicious alfajores and many other things!! He also recommends the best restaurants and helps with the travel agenda to Uruguay. You don't miss any important place in Cologne that is so beautiful. I recommend it 100%!!!
Muchas gracias por tus palabras, un placer recibirlos , darles a conocer Colonia y un capítulo aparté las fotografías logramos hacer Abrazó a ambos Andrés
