Playa de los Ingleses, Punta del Este

Playa de los Ingleses is the beach that does not really want to be a beach, and that is exactly its charm. It sits at the southern tip of the peninsula, on the exposed point where the wide Rio de la Plata finally gives way to the open Atlantic, and the shore here is rocky, windswept and raw rather than a smooth run of sand. Because it does not suit swimming, the resort crowd skips it, and what is left is a quiet, natural, unaltered piece of coast a short walk from the busy centre. For a value traveller that combination, free and empty and beautiful, is rare in a town this fashionable.

The honest read is the one you need before you carry a towel down here, this is not a swimming beach. The water is choppy where two seas meet, the wind rarely lets up, and the rocks make for a dramatic walk rather than an easy paddle. If you came to swim, you will be disappointed, and the fix is simple, the calm Playa Mansa sits on the river side a few minutes away and the surf beaches on the Atlantic side, so let Los Ingleses be the view and let them be the swim. Pretending it is something it is not is how people leave grumbling.

Taken on its own terms, though, it is one of the best free afternoons on the peninsula. People come to walk the rocky shore, to fish from the outcrops, to watch the waves explode against the stone, and above all to stay for the sunset, when the light pours gold across the water and you have it almost to yourself while everyone else pays for a daybed elsewhere. Bring a windbreaker because it is always breezier than you expect, carry your own water and snacks since there is little on the front, and pair it with the port and the central beaches in one walkable, no cost loop. The view is the luxury here, and the view is free.