In late October 2026 the Intendencia de Maldonado, the departmental government responsible for the beaches of José Ignacio, opened a call (the notice on its website is dated October 29) to fill 21 lifeguard posts on beaches and in pools for the 2026-2027 season, which its notice sets from December 1 to March 31 (Resolution 10492/2026). A week earlier, on October 22, the Intendencia de Rocha, the government of the department on the far side of the Laguna Garzón bridge, had published its own call: Resolution 3393/2026 of October 20 opens the entry and re-entry competition for its lifeguard brigade for the 2026-2027 summer season. If you are planning a beach trip to José Ignacio or Laguna Garzón, the dates that matter came from Maldonado's intendente, Miguel Abella, on that same October 29: the 2026-2027 brigade will have 342 lifeguards at 92 posts, goes down to the beach on weekends from November 13, and works every day from December 1 to March 31. Neither notice breaks the posts down beach by beach, and Rocha's gives no dates for the service itself.
Who runs the lifeguards on this coast
The lifeguards here are hired by each department's government, the Intendencia, and the two notices come from two different ones. Laguna Garzón lies on the border between Maldonado and Rocha, and the circular bridge on Ruta 10 is where one jurisdiction ends and the other begins. West of the lagoon, José Ignacio belongs to Maldonado, whose brigade covers the coast from Solís Grande to José Ignacio, the eastern end of the department. East of the bridge you are in Rocha, with its own brigade, its own calendar and its own paperwork. That is why two separate calls, published a week apart, matter for the same stretch of coast, and why the answer to "is this beach watched?" depends on which side of the bridge you are standing.
What Maldonado announced
Maldonado's notice recruits 21 lifeguards to complete the posts on beaches and in pools across the department. Applications are taken until Monday, November 9 at the Beach Safety Unit (Unidad de Seguridad de Playas), at the former university premises (ex Udelar) opposite the Frontón at the Campus de Maldonado, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. Candidates need a lifeguard qualification from ISEF or the Universidad de la República, must be at most 28 years old on December 1, 2026 according to the notice (35 if they have worked in another department's brigade), and must hold a CPR-and-defibrillator certificate valid at least until March 31, 2027. Physical and technical tests in the pool and on the beach start on November 15; the scores produce a ranked list, and the contracts run from December 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027. The full resolution is attached to the notice as a PDF; the text of that PDF gives a lower age limit than the notice does, so anyone applying should confirm the requirement with the Beach Safety Unit.
The 21 vacancies fill out a brigade that keeps growing: Maldonado closed last season on Sunday, April 5, 2026 with 91 posts, three more than the previous summer, and 337 staff, according to its own closing notice; for 2026-2027 the intendente announced 342 lifeguards at 92 posts. In the review presented on May 4, the intendente (the head of the departmental government) named José Ignacio among the busiest areas where coverage should grow and set the goal of adding posts and resources gradually over the five-year term.
Which beaches near José Ignacio have a post
José Ignacio is a peninsula with a lighthouse, and the lighthouse separates its two watched beaches: Playa Brava, on the east side, and Playa Mansa, on the west. The José Ignacio lifeguard service listing keeps what is known about hours. For the beach at La Juanita, towards the lagoon's sandbar, the portal's beach-choice guide lists no fixed post, and the October 29 notice does not break the posts down beach by beach: treat La Juanita as unwatched and check on the spot.
Across the bridge, in Rocha, the three ocean beaches inside the protected area (El Caracol, Costa Bonita and El Bonete, from km 190 to km 198 on Ruta 10) have neither beach bars nor lifeguards according to the portal's beach guide, and the Ruta 10 kilometre-by-kilometre guide already noted that El Caracol does not appear with a post in Rocha's lists. Rocha's call is for joining or rejoining its brigade and says nothing about where the posts will go; this story will be updated when the Intendencia de Rocha publishes dates and locations. La Playita de El Caracol, on the lagoon about three kilometres past the bridge, is flat water with no surf, but according to its own page on the portal it does not appear with a post in Rocha's lifeguard lists either.
Coming from the northern hemisphere: when the season actually runs
December to March is the high season on this coast, so Maldonado's dates cover the peak of the southern summer, not the tail end of it. The calendar came from the intendente Miguel Abella on Thursday, October 29, at a Somos Uruguay breakfast that the Intendencia itself reported on its website: lifeguards go down to the beach on weekends from November 13 (a Friday, so the first weekend with posts would be November 14-15), and from December 1 they work every day until March 31. That is almost the same pattern as last season. According to the Intendencia's notice of November 17, 2025, lifeguards went down to the beach on Saturday, November 15, worked weekends through November from 11 am to 6 pm, and switched to daily duty from December, 9:30 am to 7:30 pm at 88 posts, until the end of Semana de Turismo, the Uruguayan name for Holy Week, which is a national holiday week here. During Semana de Turismo 2026 the hours were 11 am to 6 pm, and the service closed on Sunday, April 5. For 2026-2027 both the call and the intendente's announcement set March 31 as the closing date, and the October 29 announcement says nothing about Semana de Turismo or about daily hours; this story will be updated when the Intendencia publishes them.
What this means for your trip
In November, count on lifeguards only at weekends from the 13th, as the Intendencia announced, and on none on weekdays; since that announcement does not break the posts down by beach, check on the spot whether the hut at Brava or Mansa is open. From December 1 the service is daily until March 31 (the Intendencia announced last season's daily hours at the start of that season, in November 2025, and can be expected to do the same), and the flag on the hut is the rule that counts: in that same November 2025 notice the Intendencia asked swimmers to look at the flags on the huts or check them in its Info Playas app. On the three ocean beaches of the protected area, east of the bridge, the sea is open and unwatched; the guide to safe beaches with children sorts the options for families. For an emergency in the water, the official numbers, including 911 and the José Ignacio station of the Prefectura Nacional Naval, Uruguay's coast guard, are on the emergencies page; in its November 2025 notice the Intendencia said its brigade coordinates with the Prefectura throughout the season. And if you are a qualified lifeguard looking for seasonal work: Maldonado's deadline is November 9, and Rocha's notice, published in the Gestión Humana (human resources) section of the Intendencia de Rocha's website, links the terms of the call as a PDF.
Verified on October 30, 2026 on the websites of the Intendencia de Maldonado and the Intendencia de Rocha.
Sources: Intendencia de Maldonado, "IDM convoca a guardavidas para cubrir 21 puestos en playas y piscinas" (notice dated October 29, 2026 on the Intendencia's website, with Resolution 10492/2026 as a PDF); Intendencia de Maldonado, "Abella destacó impacto de obras de movilidad de cara a la temporada y fijó fechas de eventos" (October 29, 2026); Intendencia de Rocha, "Llamado Guardavidas - IDR AGR", Resolution 3393/2026 (published October 22, 2026); Intendencia de Maldonado, "Guardavidas iniciaron temporada y bajaron a la playa" (November 17, 2025); Intendencia de Maldonado, "Brigada de Guardavidas está operativa durante la Semana de Turismo" (March 28, 2026); Intendencia de Maldonado, "Guardavidas cerró la temporada con más rescates que en la anterior" (April 6, 2026); Intendencia de Maldonado, "Balance de Guardavidas" (May 4, 2026); all verified on October 30, 2026. Pages already published on Portal Garzón: Brava, Mansa and La Juanita beaches, Which beach to choose, Ruta 10 kilometre by kilometre and The Lagoon.
Spotted an error? Write to hola@portalgarzon.com and we will fix it.