Things to do in Salto
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Salto
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is a best window, warm days, cool evenings for the pools and thinner crowds.
Autumn is the other best window, with the same thermal advantage outside holiday weeks.
Winter is the thermal season, steam and low prices, but water parks reduce opening and July holidays spike.
Summer is peak heat and crowds, best for water parks, the lake and Carnaval, worst for long hot soaks.
What's on
- Carnaval de Salto February, dates move with Lent
Samba schools, candombe comparsas and murgas fill the costanera and both thermal centres.
- Semana de Turismo Week before Easter
Uruguay's great domestic holiday week, Arapey fills completely and prices peak.
- Festival de la Empanada Late September
A new food festival with an empanada competition, live music and artisan stalls.
- Fin de Semana del Patrimonio First weekend of October
Heritage weekend with extended openings at the Gallino Museum, Larrañaga and Ateneo.
- Expo Salto Early to mid October
The department's agricultural and commercial expo of livestock, food and music.
- Valentín Aparcero November
A traditional rural gaucho festival in Valentín, in Salto Department.
Best things to do in Salto
Teatro Larrañaga
Salto's 1882 theatre, a restored Italianate auditorium that is the city's cultural living room and best historic interior.
Museo de Bellas Artes y Artes Decorativas "María Irene Olarreaga Gallino"
A lavish 19th century palace of Uruguayan painting and period rooms, and the best hour indoors in Salto.
Museo y Auditorio Casa Quiroga
The Salto house museum of Horacio Quiroga, the city's most famous writer and master of the jungle tale.
Museo del Hombre y la Tecnología
A cabinet of river trade, farming and mate culture that explains why Salto exists where it does.
Plaza Artigas
Salto's main square and orientation point, alive with mate drinkers and the start of Calle Uruguay.
Iglesia Catedral de San Juan
The city's calm, cool cathedral two blocks from Plaza Artigas, the heart of a historic centre walk.
Costanera Norte
The riverfront rambla for a sunset walk toward Concordia, with lawns, grills and fishing spots.
Mercado 18 de Julio
Salto's covered market for citrus, produce and crafts, best mid morning before a thermal afternoon.
Where to stay in Salto
Centro
first trip without a car, eating and city sights
Walk to every sight and restaurant, with buses to Daymán and the casino hotel and plaza at its heart.
Termas del Daymán
soak first trips and families
A leafy hotel suburb around the municipal pools, with its own pools, parrillas and Acuamanía on foot.
Termas del Arapey
a destination stay of three or four nights
A self contained resort village of pools, golf and river, an hour from Salto city, so stay put.
Parque del Lago
lake, park and fishing resort weekends
One resort in its own 218 hectare park by the dam, superb with a car and isolating without one.
Think twice about
- Ruta 3 highway strip outside Daymán village
No footpaths and no evening life, with a taxi ride to every meal and pool. Stay in Daymán village or the centre.
- Concordia, Argentina, as a base for Salto
A border crossing with queues and paperwork would sit between you and the springs every day.
Best restaurants in Salto
La Casa de Lamas
Salto's special occasion house by the river, with careful cooking, local wines and outstanding service.
Isidoro
A newer steakhouse doing simple dishes with unusual precision, plus a popular Thursday sushi night.
La Trattoria
The city's most reviewed restaurant, Italian cooking at fair prices where Salto takes its visitors.
El Rancho
Daymán's parrilla institution, a full Uruguayan grill two minutes from the pools for a long lunch.
La Caldera
A calm, low profile steakhouse with nice decor and good local food, suited to a quieter grill dinner.
Posta del Dayman
Daymán's contemporary restaurant, known for desserts and a beautiful, simple setting in the village.
Pizzeria Trouville Salto Centro
The local Trouville pizza institution on Calle Uruguay, for pizza, chivitos and a cheap night in the centre.
La 2000 Pizzeria
An unpretentious neighbourhood pizzeria at true cheap eats prices, the other half of a local argument.
Outdoor things to do in Salto
Termas del Daymán
Eleven municipal pools fed by the hottest spring water in Uruguay, where Salto itself comes to soak.
Termas del Arapey
Uruguay's oldest thermal village in 250 green hectares, with municipal pools, river and camping.
Acuamanía
Uruguay's first water park, with slides and hot and cold pools that make it the family headline at Daymán.
Parque Acuático Salto Grande
A lake park water park with thermal pools and slides inside the Horacio Quiroga resort grounds.
Altos del Arapey Club de Golf
An 18 hole championship course at Arapey, made rare by thermal pools a short walk from the 18th green.
Best Dorado Fishing
Guided trophy golden dorado fishing in the powerful tailwater below the Salto Grande dam.
Represa de Salto Grande
A guided visit inside the binational dam, paired with its lake shores, picnic lawns and capybaras.
Lago de Salto Grande
The dam's lake, with park shores and barbecue peninsulas that are Salto's summer picnic landscape.
Best hotels in Salto
Altos del Arapey Club de Golf & Hotel Termal
Salto's true luxury stay, all inclusive, fronting its golf course with eight thermal pools and a spa.
Arapey Thermal Resort & Spa
The original Arapey grand resort on the river, all inclusive with indoor and outdoor thermal pools.
Hotel Horacio Quiroga Spa Thermal
The city side five star in a 218 hectare lake park, with its own thermal bore, pools and aquatic park.
Salto Hotel y Casino
The centre's full service hotel facing Plaza Artigas, with casino, spa, rooftop pool and two restaurants.
Hotel Los Cedros
The centre's value workhorse, clean and well staffed with a good buffet breakfast near everything.
Hotel Los Naranjos
A quiet garden thermal hotel near Daymán with four pools, private thermal baths and massages.
Termas Y Hotel Posada Del Siglo XIX
A characterful 19th century style posada in Daymán village, loved for its garden pools and nights.
Hotel Solar del Acuario
The smart cheap Daymán base, 100 metres from the municipal pools with its own hot spring pool.
Is Salto expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | UYU 1,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | UYU 3,400 a person |
| Splurge | UYU 6,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Altos del Arapey Club de Golf: weeks ahead
- Best Dorado Fishing: months ahead
- La Casa de Lamas: a few days ahead
- Isidoro: a few days ahead
- Altos del Arapey Club de Golf & Hotel Termal: weeks ahead
- Arapey Thermal Resort & Spa: weeks ahead
- Hotel Horacio Quiroga Spa Thermal: weeks ahead
- Vacacional Dayman: a few days ahead
- Book Arapey and Daymán hotels weeks to months ahead for Semana de Turismo and Carnaval.
- Reserve Altos del Arapey tee times ahead, especially on weekends.
- Book prime November to March dorado fishing dates well ahead.
- Confirm Acuamanía opening days in shoulder and winter seasons before a family day.
Is Salto safe?
- Keep valuables discreet in the commercial centre and at the bus terminal, and lock cars at thermal car parks.
- Never swim outside designated areas, as currents below the dam are dangerous.
- Keep soaks in the hottest Daymán pools short and hydrate, especially in January heat.
- Emergency number in Uruguay is 911.
Salto travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Salto Shopping is a small terminal mall, not a meal or shopping destination.
- Check the Museo del Hombre y la Tecnología is open before going, as closure flags appear.
- Do not do three thermal systems on consecutive hot days, one per day is enough.
- Avoid Arapey resort food bought separately, self cater or take the all inclusive rate.
Getting around Salto: public transport and more
- Walk the flat centre, everything is within about 15 minutes of Plaza Artigas.
- Buses link the centre and terminal with Daymán, and taxis are best after dark and for the dam.
- Daymán is 10 km, Salto Grande 12 km and Arapey 80 km on paved Ruta 3.
- Buses from Montevideo Tres Cruces take about 6 hours, with no useful scheduled air service.
Who Salto suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Salto your trip
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