Premium Day Tour To Colonia Del Sacramento

If tour company doesn’t guarantee their trips and Viator doesn’t back up their customers request. It’s a crappy company both of them, especially when it’s no fault of the customer.

Nice ferry trip across the estuary. Interesting tour with a guide and an enjoyable, laid-back lunch. Plenty of time after the tour to explore on our own.

If I were to do this again I would not do this as a tour. I would book the ferry myself and explore. The time with the tour guide was very short and not necessary.

A very nice day trip, an easy walk. The meal at the Meson de la Plaza was excellent. Recommend for all ages.

The ferry, the tour guide and the place were all good let down by poor food in restaurant. The mashed potato was made with instant pellets which had not been rehydrated properly so was awful as well as cold. Staff seemed un bothered but my concerns. No doubt as they had had their money already.

Colonia de Sacramento is a lovely place to go. I'd highly recommend going there. The 3 stars is because the food at Mezon la playa was not good. You'd be better off going to one of the many restaurants there.

If you are looking to take a day-trip across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, I definitely recommend booking directly with Colonia Express. For about a third less than just booking the ferry through third-party sites, we were able to book a package with Colonia Express that included an approximately one-hour, guided walking tour of the UNESCO world heritage portion of Colonia and lunch (either "Classic" at a more informal restaurant not including beverage, or "Premium" at more formal restaurant with water or soda for about 3% more). The terminal in Buenos Aires is dedicated to this company, and their staff guide you through the process of "exiting" Argentina and "entering" Uruguay before you board. The terminal on the Colonia side is shared, and consequently larger, much busier, and you will need to navigate the exit and entry processes on your own. Because of these border crossing requirements, you will be directed to arrive an hour and a half before your departure, much as you would for a flight. The two ferry boats we took on our round trip were quite different in size, but both had on-board duty-free shops and small snack bars/cafes. The ferry trip takes one hour and fifteen minutes, and departed right on time for both legs. The walking tour provided good basic information about the heritage portion of Colonia and some tips about other parts of the current city. We did walk down one of the main streets into a modern area, and enjoyed sitting in one of its parks. It is a very pleasant place for exploring human cultures, flora and fauna. The "voucher" lunch in the "Premium" package includes a main plate chosen from among three options, one of two dessert options, and the beverage. We elected to add a glass of wine, which in late-February 2026 were just over US$4 each. The food was excellent. Be aware that both restaurants offered in the packages close by about 4:00p, but there are some other cafes and ice cream shops near them and in the surrounding area that will still be open if you are on one of the later ferries.

Not worth the immigration and time spent on travel. Tour was short, Colonia, although cute, not anything amazing. I would skip this trip if you’re in Bueno’s Aires for a limited time.

Everything was great! We were nervous as we saw negative reviews about the customs experience - we arrived to both ports 1.5 hours early as instructed and had no challenges. The line from Uruguay to Argentina for customs was very long - but 1.5 hours was sufficient. Boat is very clean and spacious. Food at the restaurant was great. Visiting this town from Buenos Aires made a great day trip. The walking tour also gave a great mini introduction to the town - and our guide was great 😊 There are also places to eat at the ferry terminal in BA, as well as in the ferry

The trip itself was OK. There was no communication regarding where to meet or what to do. Very little description about what would be happening. When we checked in for the ferry they had no record of my registration. When we checked in at the other side in Uruguay at the tour desk kiosk they did not have us on the list. The same the restaurant for lunch. All of that was rather concerning. So a big issue with the administration side.

One tourist monopolised the guide asking irrelevant questions and wasting time. The tour guide talked more about the country and region and did not show much of Colonia del Sacramento. Learnt more by using AI to research. Also the ferry trip was constrained to return time and we had to but a single ticket to leave early.

This was an excellent trip. Colonia Express was efficient and was able to give family members a last minute booking for ferry, tour and lunch (which Trip Adviser bookings could not do). The English speaking guide was nice, quite informative and open to our questions. Lunch was ok, but there are tons of cafes, and you can do better elsewhere.

Alot of walking on uneven streets for us oldtimers but what a lovely day and beautiful city! Port needs cell charging locations! Nothing anywhere!

I chose this tour option because I wanted to visit Colonia, Uruguay again during my third trip to Buenos Aires in November 2025. I did not want the hassle of dealing directly with Colonia Express, since I had never used their ferry service before. My previous two trips were with Buquebus, and I was curious to see how Colonia Express compared. We arrived at the Colonia Express terminal early because we were unfamiliar with it and wanted time to get our bearings. The terminal felt a little undersized for the number of passengers moving through it, and open seating was hard to find. There is a nice café inside, so we decided to have a quick breakfast before departure. The queuing system needs improvement. Lines were not clearly marked, and many passengers were unsure where to stand or had to ask staff for help. We also decided to return to Buenos Aires on an earlier ferry than the one included in our booking because we did not want to arrive too late to enjoy dinner back in the city. The cost to change our reservation was high, about one hundred dollars for both tickets, but we went ahead with it. Once we passed the ticketing area, the boarding process went smoothly. The joint Argentina and Uruguay immigration desks were quick and efficient, which was a pleasant surprise. Boarding was general admission, and there was a large crowd pressing toward the two doors that led to the ferry bridgeway. Many passengers were trying to secure the best seats for the one hour crossing. The ferry departed and arrived on time. The Colonia terminal has been modernized since my last visit and is now spacious and well organized. It felt much more comfortable than the Buenos Aires terminal. Finding our tour guide was confusing at first. Several tours were gathering in the same area, and it was not clear which guide belonged to which group. Although I had booked an English language walking tour, we were mistakenly directed to a Spanish speaking guide. After about fifteen minutes of trying to follow along without understanding anything, we decided to break away and explore Colonia on our own. The tour package included lunch for two at Meson from a pre selected menu. It was a short walk to the restaurant, and we were pleasantly surprised by the charming building, friendly service, and the quality of the limited menu offered as part of the tour. After a relaxing lunch, we returned to the port for our earlier ferry back to Buenos Aires. The embarkation process in Uruguay was much more organized than in Buenos Aires, and the ferry once again departed and arrived on time. If I were to repeat this day trip, I would choose Buquebus again instead of Colonia Express. In my experience, Buquebus is more organized, more comfortable, and more relaxing. I would also skip the guided tour and simply walk Colonia on my own, which is what we ended up doing anyway. There was nothing seriously wrong with this tour, but the highlight turned out to be lunch at Meson rather than the tour itself. As for transportation, we will return to Buquebus next time, and we will use AI to be our tour guide.

Worth the visit to see another country. The guide was ok but didn't seem very informative and it was very short. Booking included a meal at a set restaurant and I found the staff not particularly friendly but overall enjoyed the trip.

We thoroughly enjoyed this day trip - fast and efficient transport to Uruguay, followed by a very informative walking tour of the little town of Colonia del Sacramento - our guide Nataly was great managinbg two languages and provided a huge amount of helpful information - we really thought we gain insight into the town's history and Uruguay culture. The lunch at Meson de la Plaza was excellent - great service which was very friendly and the food choices (had all 3 across our family) were cooked to perfection and tasted superb. Would thoroughly recomend this tour for a great day out!

Great experience. Thoroughly loved it. The Walking Tour (led by guide Nataly) was fantastic and very informative. She went over and above to explain everything in 2 languages. In addition, the lunch at Meson de la Plaza was superb - the 3 of us had the 3 different dishes on offer. They were all excellent and service was exceptional. The transport over to Colonia del Sacramento was efficient and very comfortable. I would thoroughly recommend donig this excellent tour for a day out in Uruguay.

Overall a good day but an annoying hiccup. The ferry ride was pleasant. The guided walk when we got there was fascinating and enjoyable. Then we had the included lunch. The waitress was a sour cow. She virtually threw our meals at us. By the time she brought dessert she put it on a table next to our table so we could fetch it ourselves. Lovely. We had tried to do the right thing by buying a bottle of wine, so when we were leaving (we had to stand and wave for someone to come over) , she came to swipe our card. She made us swipe three cards saying two didn’t work. Turns out we have been charged twice. It’s a real shame because the venue i beautiful and the meal is nice. But the waitress is a sour cow.

Colonia Express did not have good signs at the Colonia terminal , on arrival we did not know who and where to go for the tour. Going back to Buenos Aires, the immigration process was chaotic, with Uruguay and Argentina officers next to each other, no signs to explain, passengers are clearing both immigration at same spot was confusing to many

The coloniaexpress group was awful to deal with! The scheduling asked you to pick your departure time…. I believe the morning departure times were 8:30 and 10:00…. Anyway we chose 10:00 AM. The itinerary states 2 choices for departure as well, 6:00 pm or 8:30 pm… so we assumed you just showed for one or the other as we needed the 6:00 departure. There was no selection upon purchasing package for departure. Once we got there and found an unfriendly employee to assist us we were told our departure was 8:30 pm. Couldn’t change it but could pay them $70 USD for 2 tickets at 6:00…. What a scam we should get a refund from this package! Bottom line the trip was 100% worth it but stay away from this package! Pay for ferry tickets separately…. Rent a golf cart from Thrifty car rental where the boat port is and enjoy your day! It is a very cute place. We saw so much more than walking tour! Do not buy this package!!!! But go to Colina de Sacramento!

We took a morning ferry over and a late afternoon ferry back. We enjoyed the time on the ferry; it was clean and comfortable. It's a brief walk to "old town" Colonia del Sacramento. Walking around that old town was charming, and we enjoyed it immensely. The restaurant we chose served typical Uruguayan fare, and it was delicious. A bonus, there was live music during lunch - a charming and talented guitar player. It was a day well spent.

Fun day. Nice to visit something out of BA. Uruguay is a dinky country, that attempts to distinguish itself from both Argentina and Brazil. Nice gto bnb visit. The tour guide (Lourdes) was fact filled and pleasant. The lunch was excellent. Try the tannat wine if you can (the most red wine avail). The best!

It is really difficult to deal with them from the beginning of booking to boarding. I booked their Premium Tour to Colonia del Scramento and asked about and for a schedule change within 24 hours of booking via their WhatsApp chat as I was advised by a very rude and incompetent staffer Laura Gomez to do so, but she and no other staffers would respond to my request. She asked me to contact their complaint department, and they also never responded as it turned out she gave a wrong email address to write to - she never admitted and apologized for her mistake! As they screwed up my plan, not still addressing my request for a schedule change, I had to show up on the originally booked date and time, and now they messed up my gender in my ticket even though I double- checked my personal info as I booked the tour. The snotty ticket counter lady told me to go to a ticket counter to pay to change the ticket! Such a horrible mafia like company, indeed. I strongly suggest another company for travel to Colonia.

Everything went as planned. Tour guide was knowledgeable and easy to understand. I took the 10:30 AM ferry to the town. That was enough time to explore. Lovely town. I had the lunch. It was good, in a fine restaurant. There are lots of restaurants to choose from there though in case you like a choice.

I got to the Port in Buenos Aires at 6am after reading the stories. I got on the Ferry ok and was in Colonial de Sacramento in reasonable time. Here is where the tour took a turn. I never saw a representative with a sign etc stating where I should go. I went outside to the bus and was sent inside. I spoke to the Colonial Express representative who told me to walk back outside because the town in just there. I gave up and went walking and taking pictures on my own. The town is sureal and has a nice relaxing charm, and people are friendly. At the restaurant Meson de la Plaza where the tour is supposed to eat I had to pay because I didn't have the voucher they required. At 230pm the tour didn't show at the restaurant and the staff suggested I go to the Port and try to get on the boat in case I don't have a seat on the late boat. Upon arrival to the Port I was informed my ticket was for 6pm. I changed it to the 430pm without incident and went on my way. The experience is not a total loss as the town is beautiful but the organization of the tour sucks .

I made the ferry reservation at the last minute, so I was only able to get a 2 hour window in Colonia del Sacramento (considering the 1 1/2 hour ride from Buenos Aires). You really need more time to truly appreciate this lovely little city. I was told to get back to the ferry at least 1/2 hour before departure to check in, which I did. It was a nightmare, lines everywhere and there was no one to check me in. I had to ultimately catch the ferry that left 2 hours later. I was told by a fellow passenger that there was a ferry break down earlier in the day but of course hardly anyone in Uruguay (or Argentina) speaks English. Part of this bad experience is my fault for the last-minute plan, but if you do go, leave a lot of time to explore and get to the ferry terminal early.

The ferry broke down half way to Colonia and we arrived 2.5 hours beyond scheduled arrival time. The.guide wanted to wait until another ferry arrived and gave us an appointment at 12.30 but at 12.50 she had not yet arrived so we went sightseeing by ourselves. On the way back we had the same ferry boat and again half way to Baires it broke down. Arrived in Baires with 4 hours delay!

Well worth the trip! The ferry ride across the Rio de la Plata was fun -- it so Wide! Hard to believe its a river, not the ocean. The walking tour of Colonia del Sacramento was interesting. Our guide did a good job of sharing her Country and the history of the community. Interesting facts provided about the 100 years of war, architecture and road designs. The oldest Church in Uruguay, the historic town square, the beautiful plants and parakeets made for a lovely, leisurely and educational day. The lunch was delicious. Wish we had more time to explore, but we were leaving for Antarctica soon!

Great opportunity to visit Uruguay for the day. You do need to get to ferry station 1.5 hours before so you can get through customs. I went solo so finding a spot on the boat was very easy. Its a small town and is to maneuver. I did the one hour walking tour and included a 3 course meal at Meson. AND WOW - the food was delicious and big portions. It was a beautiful space and good service. Lots of history and learned a lot.

The experience with the outgoing transport was mostly seemless - just showed the agent at the ferry terminal in buenos aires my passport and got a printed boarding pass for the ferry. Once I got to Colonia and got through customs, I went to the tours desk and there was some confusion; they were looking for a booking number (not the one TripAdvisor sends you, but one from the ferry company) that I didn't have. They were ultimately able to find me by name, so ultimately no big deal. The tour itself was brief but interesting- the guide covered the history of the old town and the fortifications and general information about Uruguay as well as details about the local restaurants, shops and museums. I went to the restaurant for the included meal, which was easily the highlight of the trip. The restaurant itself was in a renovated old town building and had a wonderful hanging garden aesthetic for the dining area, and the food was excellent. I had the pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes as the main course and the flan with dulce de leche as the desert and both were delicious. Finally, I spent the rest of the day until my return trip wandering around Colonia and perusing the shops. It's really a nice little town, very safe and clean. Definitely worth visiting as a day trip in my opinion; if I were doing it over I'd even consider spending a night or two. All in all, very satisfied and glad I booked this trip.

Terrible experience...terrible company....they cancelled our departure from BA to Colonia at 12:30 and change it to 21:00. We went to the port 1 1/2 hours earlier because they said so.The boat left at 22:30 ...we waited for 2 hours with no explanation.The usually trip is 1 1/2 hours ....suddenly during the trip they told us that the boat will arrive after 3 hours....and no question of course to give us back our money !!!!!! For your own good check other companies !!!!

It is a very well planned tour. We had an overall great experience. In the Ferry and specially with our tour guide Lubys, he is excellent! He not only explained the history of Colonia in an amazing way but added a lot of information about Uruguay. He made our trip well worth it! I also have to mention the Restaurant El Mesòn, our included lunch was delicious and the place is adorable. Thank you! Irma

Unfortunately, our tour experience was subpar due to a lack of organization. The meeting point listed on the website was incorrect, and we were not clearly informed that we needed to arrive at the terminal 1-1.5 hours in advance to clear customs on our own, mentioned only with tickets received. The guided walking tour itself was underwhelming, lasting only an hour and failing to showcase anything particularly interesting. Considering the cost, we would not recommend this tour. Instead, we suggest purchasing ferry tickets for $45 round trip and exploring on your own with the help of Google.

Great experience. Our guide Nataly was knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. Colonia is beautiful historic city. I would highly recommend.

It was an ok day trip. I do not recommend going by yourself as it seemed to be a couples trip. Be prepared for different types of weather. Also, do the longer day. Expect 1 hour waits in immigration when leaving and when returning. The included meal was very good and at a nice place.

Very nice day trip to Colonia Sacramento it is was wonderful to see it and experience the cross of the river de la Plata . The ferry was very comfortable and clean .

Really great value for money and everything went very smoothly. Colonia de Sacramento is a beautiful town. Highly recommend this trip and our guide was excellent.

The transportation schedule is NOT clear. They give a departure time but the return time was not disclosed. I was forced to pay an additional 44.00 to return earlier than 8pm departure that they scheduled. Colonia was beautiful but this was definitely a way they hustle you for more money. I booked with Viator and they were unresponsive when messages were sent questioning the trip.

expensive, the tour only lasts for 1hr and the rest are free time. Not many things could be done there

The place was beautiful, interesting views the people in the town very nice, the food was ok not crazy about it. In regards to the tour, we felt that there was not enough guidance and communication prior the tour, and once we arrived to Colonia our guide was not very enthusiastic… the tour was not what we expected, the boat on the return was beautiful. The schedules should be more flexible, we had to wait until 8:30 pm to return and the tour only lasted an hour so they left us 8 hours there waiting to return to BsAs

I paid for the trip but was turned away. What a terrible experience this was. My ticket received from Viator told me to arrive for 8am. I got there for 7.30am but nobody was there. I tried calling Colonia Express from my ticket but there was no answer, I also tried Viator customer service and also no response. A lady finally appeared at the front desk at 8.15am informing me that I have missed the boat and if I want to attend the later meet, I would have to pay again. I tried to make a complaint but due to my lack of Spanish I really struggled so was told to take it up with Viator directly. A terrible experience which I'm still trying to receive my refund. The customer service / communication is non-existent.

We came to the ferry station at 7.00am for a ferry departure at 8.15 am. The lines for the ferry are incredibly long to check in. If that wasn’t bad enough the lines to go through immigration in both Argentina and Uruguay were snaked up and down around and around and also took at least 50minutes. It felt like all we were doing was waiting in lines. Finally we boarded the Ferry and found seats. We were lucky as there are not enough seats for everyone to be seated. Even more annoying was the departure was 50 minutes late When we finally arrived we were met by a guide who drove around and showed us some unremarkable sites. Then took us to lunch to the UNESCO rated town It was really UNREMARKABLE and quite a let down. I would not recommend it to my friends

We had a wonderful day.. My husband and I found the trip was an easy and no hassle, fun and educational day to visit beautiful Uruguay. We got a taxi from our hotel to the Colonial Express terminal, checked in at the express checkout, queued for the passport control for a short time, boarded and left on time. We had a beautiful lunch included in a very nice restaurant, our tour guide was fun and very knowledgeable. It was a long day but we went for a lovely walk beside the sea for about 2-5 hours and then spent the rest of the time browsing around this beautiful town 🙏

It's a very nice day trip to from Buenos Aires to the very lovely town of Colonia. For us, everything worked fine. For some people, the full-day tour could be too long as the old town of Colonia is quite small and everything can be seen within 1-2 hours easily. However, if you have small kids it's ok to walk around and just relax there for a day. The food at the restaurant which is included in the package was also very good and very kids-friendly. Not bad surprises there.

The walking tour was delivered with no enthusiasm and the guide failed to set the scene. The heritage area is quaint but dilapidated. You can cover everything in half a day. We waited to see the sunset. Although slightly overcast we did manage to see it highlighting Buenos Aires high towers in the distance. Ferry was good and so was the lunch provided.

Have just finished the day trip to Colonia. Lovely town well worth a look. We went on Saturday so we were limited by the number of ferries available to take to and from Buenos Aires. I think we could have done with a ferry a couple of hours earlier. We went up to the top off the lighthouse which was a beautiful view. There was an option of taking the local bus up the coast which we didn’t do. I think the tour people should look at alternatives for the prepaid lunch. The restaurant was quite tired. Would highly recommend the service at the Information Centre just before the bridge into Colonia. The people went out of their way to help us.

very disappointed trip. no idea why colonial de Sacramento is a UNESCO heritage Site. boring colonial town with no highlights. would like to end the tour earlier on an early ferry back but was refused because the tour was promotion ticket cannot be rescheduled. seriously，unless you have too much time and want to add a stamp on your passport，dont go.

I didn't like it, prefer Buquebus and don't buy from Open Ferry. My name came out wrong on the ticket even though I put it correctly in the online purchase. They ask us to arrive 2 hours early to make us late and keep us standing most of the time waiting. I do not recommend.

Terrible experience. They charge R$ 600 per person with lunch included. They fit so many people that the boat has no more room and you have to stay outside in the cold sitting on the metal bench. Lunch is reserved at a place called Refúgio... When you get there, they ask if it's a Cologne voucher, they give you a menu with about 3 terrible options and send you to a shack. An experience that shouldn't cost 500 reais ended up costing 1200 reais for a couple. Don't fall for this scam.