Rocha

For Rocha Department, including the popular beach towns, see Atlantic Coast (Uruguay).

Rocha is the capital of the department of the same name in the Atlantic coast region of Uruguay.

While the department of Rocha is a popular area full of great beach towns, the city of Rocha is a fairly boring administrative capital, not any kind of tourist destination. If you're not travelling for business, you're most likely to end up here when changing buses to get from one beach town to another.

Get in

Buses are available from Montevideo and from other cities in the area. Rocha doesn't have a bus terminal, so instead buses stop at the Plaza Independencia, which is surrounded by offices of the various bus companies. A bus terminal is under construction.

See

• 1 Plaza Independencia, between Ramírez, 25 de Agosto, Artigas, and 25 de Mayo. No Uruguayan city is complete without a centrally located plaza that includes a statue of national hero José Artigas. At this one, unlike most, there are streets pointing directly towards the center of the plaza from all four directions, so if you stand in the middle it looks sort of cool. (This is what passes for sightseeing in the city of Rocha.). (updated Nov 2017)
• 2 Teatro 25 de Mayo, 25 de Mayo and Dagoberto Vaz Mendoza, culturarocha@gmail.com. Historic theater on the Plaza Independencia, built in 1910. (updated Nov 2017)
• 3 Iglesia Nuestra Señora De Los Remedios (on the Plaza Independencia). (updated Nov 2017)

Buy

• 1 Plaza Ansina, Ansina and 18 de Julio. Plaza with stands selling clothes, snacks, and miscellaneous items, including a few that would make decent souvenirs. (updated Nov 2017)

Eat

• 1 El Pato, 25 de Mayo and Julián Graña, ☏ +598 4472 5636. Elegant restaurant with a brick interior and mood lighting. Service is a little slow, so it's better to go up to the cashier to pay rather than paying at your table. $300–500. (updated Nov 2017)
• 2 City Café, José P Ramírez and José A Ribot (on the Plaza Independencia), ☏ +598 4472 4974. Typical Uruguayan fare, including tasty pizza. (updated Nov 2017)

Sleep

• 1 Doña Vero, Ribot 79, ☏ +598 44734839, hotel.dona.vero@gmail.com. 
• 2 Hotel Municipal. Convenient location, but it's run-down and bare-bones, wifi is unreliable at best, and the loud music from the nightclub next door will keep you up. Better to find somewhere else. (updated Nov 2017)

Connect

As usual in Uruguay, free but unreliable public wifi is available at the Plaza Independencia. Use the network "plaza independencia".

Go next

• Cabo Polonio
• La Paloma
• Punta del Este