Playa Chihuahua is a naturist beach just west of Punta del Este. We were here January 8 - February 7, 2024. See the Airbnb property here.

From Buenos Aires’ Terminal Buquebus it is just a short 90 minute ferry across the expansive La Plata river to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. We took the ferry and then a hired car onward to our rental beach home on gay-friendly Playa Chihuahua, just west of Punta del Este, an upscale winter playground for among regular people like us, folks flying in and out on their private jets. But we didn’t hobnob with Oprah and friends, as we largely stayed at the beach, amongst the tall trees and other naturists. The air was fresh and there was a lot of physical and mental space to unwind and relax. Just relax. We did go sightseeing into the capital city of Montevideo. You can find some of those highlights, including Punta del Este sights, in the second carousel of pics below. The first series is of our cute little mini-apartment, just a few minutes to the water’s edge on foot. Basically bliss.

One highlight was that we got to reconnect with our friend Cami, a local Uruguayan woman living not too far from Chihuahua, whom we met on our Turkey tour in 2023! We went to Punta del Este with her for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed seeing her! Also in the neighborhood was a sweet, friendly supermarket within walking distance. And also two guys offer Uber-style rides when we needed a lift! Just convenient enough given that we opted not to incur the expense of renting a car!

Another highlight was connecting with Wayne and Tom, who found us via Instagram. They’re from Portland, Oregon too! Small world. They ended up renting the same apartment after we left and we had a chance to hangout with them. Great guys and a great time!

One interesting characteristic of the beach is the estuary between us and the beach and ocean. It was clean — everything is really clean in Uruguay — and attracted birds and swimmers and made for much more interesting sunset pictures than the usual beach scene. The image above reflects that.

Gabriel the owner and host was great and, while no construction was happening during our stay, he is expanding his property to include two more apartments and a pool to be completed in the future.