There are a number of nice places north of Punta del Este: Barra de Maldonado, José Ignacio, La Paloma, Punta Diablo, and up to the international border with Brazil at Chuy.
The first two destintions, BARRA DE MALDONADO and the JOSE IGNACIO LIGHTHOUSE area, are very quiet, sought mostly by fishermen and by people who want to relax away from the multitudes. I went there fishing (I am not an expert sea fisherman, so I was not successful), but enjoyed the tranquility of this area.
LA PALOMA is a very nice, quiet seaside resort, without the crowds of Punta del Este, but with all the conveniences that a tourist can wish for. It is the main seaside resort after Punta del Este, some 25 miles north of Rocha and some 150 miles east of Montevideo. It has 13 miles of nearly virgin beaches and is an ideal place for relaxing. It has a lighthouse constructed in 1874 due to the frequent shipwrecks that occurred at that time in the area, including the "Lise Amelie" in 1868. It has a permanent population of 5,300 people that increases during the summer months to some 30,000 persons. It has a very nice pine tree forest. This area was discovered by Spanish colonizer Fernando de Magallanes (Magellan) on January 9, 1520.
PUNTA DIABLO (DEVIL'S POINT) is a very nice, rocky area where there is a fishermen's village, some 38 miles north of La Paloma. It is about halfway between Punta del Este and Chuy. Buses from Montevideo take you here after some three and a half hours of travel. The whole village is very colorful, and there are some historical points in the area, like the Santa Teresa fortress, constructed by the Portuguese colonizers in 1762 and conquered by the Spaniards soon after that. It was nearly covered by sand until a Uruguayan archeologist started working on its recovery in 1928. Today it may be visited year-round. There is an admission fee. Ten miles to the north of Punta Diablo there is a marine tortoise aquarium and rehabilitation center with guided tours. Some 6 miles before Chuy you have another fortification, San Miguel, constructed by the Spaniards in 1734 and later conquered by the Portuguese colonizers. Along the road to Chuy you will find three fairly large lagoons and some palm tree forests.
CHUY is a city where you can cross from Uruguay to Brazil without even noticing. There are no immigration formalilties at the border; half the town is in Brazil and the other half in Uruguay. It is a virtual shopping center where you can buy Brazilian products at affordable prices. The Barra de Chuy is the most popular beach; it has one hotel, two very nice campgrounds, many houses for rent, and some places for dancing. It is considered to be a very safe area. In the city of Chuy there are at least four hotels, of which one is a three-star hotel. There must be more on the Brazilian side of the city.
There are many tourist destinations on the River Plate to the west of Punta del Este, of which Colonia, Carmelo, Pocitos (a district of Montevideo), Atlántida, and Piriápolis are the most important ones. I will cover these areas in a separate Experience. The Brazilian side of the River Plate has clear waters, probably due to the fact that the water from the Uruguay River, one of the two rivers that form the River Plate, has generally clear water (muddy water settles down at the Salto Grande lake in Salto/Concordia).
And both the city of Montevideo and some other destinations, like Durazno and the Rincón del Bonete dam (a good dorado fishing area), deserve separate reports.
I should caution you that due to the dispute regarding the construction of paper plants next to the Uruguay River on the Uruguayan side, international roads from Argentina to Uruguay are frequently blocked by protesters. The safest way of crossing the river is on Buquebus, from the port of Buenos Aires, or by plane.
Enjoy your stay in Uruguay.