The Place
Hot Water in Open Country
Termas de San Nicanor is an estancia with hot springs of its own, 14 km from Salto, a few kilometres past Daymán on Route 3 and then along a dirt road into the campo. Of the hot springs around Salto it is the only one that is not a park: no gate, no crowds, no ticket window. The pools are there for the people who sleep there.
That is the one thing to understand before you plan it. The estancia’s own rate sheets say it plainly: no day visits to the pools, hotel and camping only. Older guides still describe weekend day tickets; they are out of date. The night is the product, and it is a good one: a room in the old house or a bed in a shared room, dinner at the estancia, the pools under the stars and again in the morning before the drive back.
It pairs naturally with Estancia La Aurora, the ranch with the Padre Pío grotto a short drive away, which is why the two share a two-day itinerary on this site.
What There Is
Pools, Rooms and Camping
| What | What it is |
|---|---|
| Hot-spring pools | The estancia’s own thermal pools, in open country. For guests and campers only: there is no day ticket. |
| The old house | Rooms in the casco, the original house of the estancia, for two. |
| The cabin | A cabaña for four, for a family or two couples. |
| Shared rooms | Beds in shared rooms, for travellers on a budget; the pools are included all the same. |
| Camping | Pitches by the night, per person, with the pools included. |
| Meals | Dinner and breakfast at the estancia: confirm what the rate includes when you book. |
What the estancia offers according to its own rate sheets, low and high season: the estancia's own rate sheets, sannicanor.com.uy, read in October 2026.
Rates
What a Night Costs
| Stay | Who | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Old house, double | Two people, per night | US$120 low season · US$150 high season |
| Cabin | Four people, per night | US$180 low season · US$230 high season |
| Shared room | Per person, per night | US$20 to US$30 |
| Camping | Per person, per night, pools included | UYU 500 low season · UYU 600 high season |
| Day visit to the pools | Not available: hotel and camping only |
Official rates from the estancia’s two rate sheets, low and high season, read in October 2026; the estancia sets the rate for your dates. Booking sites quote the double room in the old house at US$130 to US$160.
Good to Know
Before You Go
The estancia takes its own bookings, by phone on +598 4730 2209 or by email at estanciasannicanor@hotmail.com. Its website, sannicanor.com.uy, is old and in Spanish; the rate sheets on it are the part that counts.
Two rate sheets, low and high season; the estancia tells you which applies to your dates when you book. Ask at the same time what the rate includes: dinner and breakfast are not spelled out on the sheets.
Swimsuit, towel and sandals for the pools, something warm for the evening in winter, and cash in pesos or dollars: it is an estancia in the campo, not a resort with a front desk full of card machines. Ask about payment when you book.
The pools are thermal, so the night works in winter as well as in summer, and the campo is at its best in spring and autumn. A clear night is the point: there is no town light out there.
Plan It
Getting There and Making a Night of It
Route 3 to km 475, then Camino Tierras Coloradas for 12 km of dirt road: about 14 km from the centre of Salto. A taxi back to Salto is US$22 on the official 2026 tariff; a hired car makes the La Aurora detour easy.
The grotto at Estancia La Aurora is open day and night and free, and it is on the way. The usual order is La Aurora in the afternoon, San Nicanor for the night, the pools again in the morning.
Here the sleeping is the point. The Stay page puts San Nicanor beside the other places to sleep around Salto, from the Daymán hotels to the city.
For hot springs by the day, the parks are the answer: Daymán, Agua Clara and Arapey all sell a ticket at the gate. The panel on the right has all seven.