For an authen­tic off-the-grid beach expe­ri­ence, noth­ing beats Cabo Polo­nio. Hard to access (you’ll need a 4WD vehi­cle or can choose to take a sev­en-kilo­­me­ter walk through the sand dunes), in an area with no elec­tric­i­ty and just lit­tle shacks dot­ting the sand dunes, Cabo Polo­nio is the ulti­mate Uruguayan beach des­ti­na­tion.

A few posadas (inns) and sim­ple shack restau­rants will pro­vide cozy basics, where you can dine by can­dle­light and fall asleep with the sound of the waves as the back­ground.

For enter­tain­ment, you can jump into the water for a swim or vis­it the near­by colony of sea lions. Or just lie down under the sun for bliss­ful peace. The best attrac­tion here, how­ev­er, might be the mobile sand dunes – blown away by the strong coastal winds, the dunes are always chang­ing.