(CNN) — When I told friends that my husband and I were going to visit Uruguay, the first question was usually, “Why?” I had been to Uruguay before so the answer came easy: “The people, the food and the beaches.”

People who know anything about this small country across the Rio de la Plata from Argentina usually know of a few major spots: the capital, Montevideo, the historic town of Colonia and the ritzy beach town of Punta del Este. I had been to the top three, but this trip I wanted to find out what was along the coast. What we found was spectacular.

We decided to reserve a car, buy a map and see where we ended up. Upon arrival in Montevideo we went to the tourist office. Most of their information was in Spanish, but we did find a couple good maps: one showing the coastal route, the other suggesting surf sights. After consulting the maps we planned to make a run to the farthest place we wanted to see then work our way back to Montevideo. Although we stopped at just about every beach town during our drive — and one was just as breathtaking as the next — the following places have at least the basic amenities a typical tourist would need.

Destination uno was Punta del Diablo. The road was well-paved, clearly marked and empty. Taking us less time than we anticipated, we were in Punta del Diablo three and a half hours later. We were surprised at how isolated this former fishing village felt after the relatively short drive. The beaches were practically empty, extremely beautiful and stretched on for miles. As we would come to excitedly learn, this is the norm for coastal Uruguay. Here there are no typical hotels or large buildings monopolizing the sea view. Wooden cabins and dirt roads populate this village. Punta del Diablo is postcard perfect.

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written by Andrew