Partido de la Costa
Heading south from Buenos Aires, San Clemente del Tuyú is the first of a string of 14 small seaside towns, known as Partido de la Costa, stretching down to Mar de Ajó. First built in the 1930s, they lost popularity when the more glamorous resorts were built further south. It's not the best part of the coast and can't be recommended as most of the resorts are slightly run-down with peeling 1950s seafront hotels and tacky attractions, though they're also rather cheaper than the more upmarket resorts. The beaches are crowded in January but absolutely deserted at other times and particularly forlorn in winter. However, there is an interesting nature reserve and excellent sea fishing. The Río de la Plata has gained international recognition as the widest freshwater river in the world, and here at its mouth you can fish for shark, pejerrey and brotola from piers or from boats. Fish can often be bought on the beach from local fishermen. See www.lacosta.gov.ar for information on all the towns on this stretch of coastline.
San Clemente del Tuyú
Some 320 km south of Buenos Aires, San Clemente's main attraction is Mundo Marino www.mundomarino.com.ar. This is the biggest sea life centre in South America, where you can watch performing seals, dolphins, whales and penguins go through their completely unnatural routines; it's fun for children. There's also a smaller, far less spectacular theme park, Termas Marinas www.termasmarinas.com.ar, where children can swim in thermal pools, identify birds and, for a small extra fee, ascend to the top of a historical lighthouse, which has impressive views.
Even more appealing is the unspoilt wildness of Reserva Natural Punta Rasa www.vidasilvestre.org.ar, www.rpm-net.com.ar/puntarasa. This is a private reserve protecting a special area at the southernmost point of the Bahía de Samborombón, where a long tongue of dense sand stretches into the bay where the Río de la Plata meets the sea. Vast numbers of migrating birds and a resident population of crabs and shellfish make this an interesting place to spend an afternoon. It's a great place for a walk, with a short, self-guided trail and a lighthouse to visit. It's also a world-famous sea fishing site; the water around the peninsula can be up to 20 m deep, attracting large specimens of corvina negra weighing over 20 kg. It's possible to drive along the 5-km peninsula but watch out for the tides. Information is available from guardaparques at the entrance and at the tip of the peninsula.
San Clemente has a busy fishing port, with yolk-yellow boats characteristic of the area, and the Club Náutico, at Tapera de López, offering all kinds of water sports. South of the centre, there's an attractive area of woodland, Vivero Cosme Argerich. Free, guided visits offered, a 37-ha park, with woodlands, a plant nursery and sports centre. For further information on activities in the area, visit the tourist office www.lacostaturismo.com.ar.
Santa Teresita
From San Clemente, drive through Las Toninas and Costa Chica to reach Santa Teresita, where the biggest attraction is fishing, though there's also a good golf course, tennis and horse riding on offer. The pier is one of the largest on the coast, and is lit for night fishing. There's a motor museum which has some stylish 1920s models and is fun for enthusiasts. The tourist office www.santa teresita.com.ar, can advise on accommodation.
Mar del Tuyú
Approximately 20 km south of San Clemente del Tuyú, Mar del Tuyú is the administrative centre of Partido de las Costa. It's a tranquil place to visit in February, with a little more life than the other resorts nearby in winter. Boat trips are organized along the coast in summer, all the way to Faro San Antonio, where you can see whales basking at close proximity in August and September. Fishing is also a big attraction.
Mar de Ajó and around
Another quiet, old-fashioned resort, 40 km south of San Clemente del Tuyú, Mar de Ajó has a couple of natural attractions as well as motor racing, a shipwreck and a casino. The Autódromo Regional holds important motor racing championships every summer. You can dive or snorkel at the Naufragio Margarita, a large German ship, wrecked off the coast here in 1880, and one of the oldest in the region. Mar de Ajó has one of the largest fleets of small fishing boats in the region, as well as the largest pier. Boat trips to fish for corvina, pescadilla, and cazón sharks are offered.
The most spectacular part of this area of coastline is Altos Médanos, a long stretch of high sand dunes that are, apparently, constantly changing shape. It's one of the wildest and most unspoilt areas of the coast, bordered along the shore by a wide flat beach, perfect for walking, horse riding or 4WD.
The best way to enjoy this area is by visiting one of the few estancias near the coast. Estancia Palantelén www.palantelen.com.ar, is owned by descendants of a pioneering Pampas family, whose atmospheric old house has views of the sea and is beautifully furnished and lined with mahogany panels salvaged from a shipwreck. Walk onto the sands, birdwatch or gallop across the miles of beaches, either on horseback or in a sulky (open horse-drawn carriage). Spend a few days here and absorb the complete peace, you could even have private tango lessons on the terrace under the stars. All highly recommended.
Pinamar
The two most desirable resorts on the coast are right next to each other, with the quieter old-fashioned Ostende in between . Both party-town Pinamar and forested Cariló are upmarket places to stay, attracting wealthy Argentines, and have far smarter hotels here than elsewhere on the coast, not to mention sophisticated bars, fine restaurants and in Pinamar, plenty of trendy beach bars and nightclubs. Pinamar is perfect for young people and families, with live bands playing at its beach clubs in the evenings in high season (these are also quiet and elegant places to dine with superb seafood).
Access to the beach is mostly by day membership to a balneario (beach club). You pay a fee per family or group of friends per day, and then you can make use of all the balneario's facilities. You can rent a carpa - little wooden beach huts, built in tightly packed rows perpendicular to the sea, and furnished with tables and chairs to use when you retreat from the hot sun. Alternatively, you can rent a big beach umbrella and stake a claim on an area closer to the sea. Renting either will allow you to use the balneario's showers, toilets, restaurants and even beach games. Pinamar's balnearios range from exclusive, quiet places with superb restaurants, to party spots with loud music, beach parties and live bands at night. There is free public access to the beach between the balnearios, but it's worth visiting one for a day to enjoy beach life. Their restaurants are open to those not renting carpas too.
The town also has golf courses and tennis courts, and there are lots of hotels and smart restaurants along the main street, Avenida Bunge, running perpendicular to the sea. Explore the dunes at Reserva Dunícola. The tourist office www.pinamar.gov.ar, www.pinamarturismo.com.ar, English spoken, is helpful and can arrange accommodation. During the peak month of January, Pinamar is packed with Argentines, accommodation is extremely hard to get and very expensive. Best to visit in December or February/March. During the rest of the year, especially in June/July, the town virtually shuts down, and few hotels and restaurants are open.
Cariló
Cariló is the most exclusive, and expensive, beach resort in Argentina, and you'll soon see why. It's a huge area of mature woodland right on the beach, where luxury apart hotels and very chiccabañas are all tastefully concealed, so that its visitors have complete privacy - something which inevitably appeals to the many celebrities, sports stars and politicians who visit. The balnearios are neat and exclusive. Around the tiny centre, on Cerezo and Carpintero, there are good restaurants and chi-chi arcades with upmarket clothing shops where you can browse for top Argentine fashion labels among the usual international designers. You might find Cariló less friendly than Pinamar if you're in search of nightlife, since the emphasis is on exclusivity, but it's a good place for couples or for a quiet retreat. There is a tourist office www.carilo.com and www.parquecarilo.com (both in Spanish).
In between Pinamar and Cariló is Ostende, a small town founded by Belgian entrepreneurs in 1908. Little remains of the original resort, as it was abandoned when the settlers returned to Belgium on the outbreak of the First World War. The only building surviving from that period is the Viejo Hotel Ostende, formerly the Hotel Termas, which was a favourite of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This is a wilder part of the coast and there are plenty of campsites. Another old hotel, Atlantic City, unfinished in 1914, now functions as a youth hostel. On the beach is the much-photographed old stone and wooden walkway, the rambla. For information on Ostende and surrounds, see www.pinamarweb.com (in Spanish).
Around Pinamar and Cariló
General Madariaga is a quaint 1900s town, 28 km inland, definitely worth visiting for the Fiesta Nacional del Gaucho, on the second weekend in December, when there are processions, singing and dancing. From General Madariaga, fishing enthusiasts could visit the Laguna Salada Grande, the largest lake in the province with a nature reserve and excellent pejerrey fishing. The tourist office www.madariaga.gov.ar, can advise on where to stay.
Villa Gesell
In complete contrast to over-developed Mar del Plata, and upmarket Pinamar, Villa Gesell, 22 km north, was planned by German inventor, Carlos Gesell, as an eco resort. He came to live here in 1931 with the aim of growing trees for wood on the barren sand dunes. His project then evolved into an ecological holiday retreat and the first guests were invited in the 1940s. He planned and built the town along environmentally friendly lines, and in harmony with nature, planting thousands of shady trees that would draw water to the surface, and constructing roads around the sand dunes, rather than imposing on the traditional grid. Today, however, it bares no resemblance to his idea. It is crammed full of decaying 1970s holiday homes and apartment blocks, broken cars, and tacky shops. Gesell would be aghast at the commercial feel of the main street, Avenida 3, filled with games arcades, fast food shops and noisy cafés. It is best to avoid staying, although it can be much cheaper than in Pinamar only 10 minutes away. There's a good website with lots of accommodation and other information, www.gesell.gov.ar.
The Reserva Forestal and Parque Cultural Pinar del Norte, at the eastern end of Avenida 3, is where Carlos Gesell built his first house in the woods. It's now a museum, Museo Casa Histórica, with inspiring biographical information (in English) and an interesting daily tour. Gesell's second house, Chalet Don Carlos Gesell, is now a cultural centre for exhibitions and concerts.
Mar de las Pampas and Mar Azul
Just 5 km south of Villa Gessell, two quiet resorts are developing: the pine forests and dirt-roads of Mar de las Pampas, and the more commercial and less pretty Mar Azul are wilder and quieter places than anywhere on the coast, but have some appealing accommodation in more natural surroundings. There are lots of cabañas for rent and an increasing number of hotels but most people rent a house for the weekend, this is especially good if you are in a group. The beach here is broad and uncrowded, so although there is less to do than in Pinamar or Mar del Plata and no nightlife to speak of, you can completely relax and enjoy the sea in peace. It's a perfect retreat for writing or reflecting, or a cosy hideaway for couples, although in January you'll find traffic jams and queues at restaurants. See www.mardelaspampas.com.ar for more information.
San Clemente del Tuyú
Some 320 km south of Buenos Aires, San Clemente's main attraction is Mundo Marino www.mundomarino.com.ar. This is the biggest sea life centre in South America, where you can watch performing seals, dolphins, whales and penguins go through their completely unnatural routines; it's fun for children. There's also a smaller, far less spectacular theme park, Termas Marinas www.termasmarinas.com.ar, where children can swim in thermal pools, identify birds and, for a small extra fee, ascend to the top of a historical lighthouse, which has impressive views.
Even more appealing is the unspoilt wildness of Reserva Natural Punta Rasa www.vidasilvestre.org.ar, www.rpm-net.com.ar/puntarasa. This is a private reserve protecting a special area at the southernmost point of the Bahía de Samborombón, where a long tongue of dense sand stretches into the bay where the Río de la Plata meets the sea. Vast numbers of migrating birds and a resident population of crabs and shellfish make this an interesting place to spend an afternoon. It's a great place for a walk, with a short, self-guided trail and a lighthouse to visit. It's also a world-famous sea fishing site; the water around the peninsula can be up to 20 m deep, attracting large specimens of corvina negra weighing over 20 kg. It's possible to drive along the 5-km peninsula but watch out for the tides. Information is available from guardaparques at the entrance and at the tip of the peninsula.
San Clemente has a busy fishing port, with yolk-yellow boats characteristic of the area, and the Club Náutico, at Tapera de López, offering all kinds of water sports. South of the centre, there's an attractive area of woodland, Vivero Cosme Argerich. Free, guided visits offered, a 37-ha park, with woodlands, a plant nursery and sports centre. For further information on activities in the area, visit the tourist office www.lacostaturismo.com.ar.
Santa Teresita
From San Clemente, drive through Las Toninas and Costa Chica to reach Santa Teresita, where the biggest attraction is fishing, though there's also a good golf course, tennis and horse riding on offer. The pier is one of the largest on the coast, and is lit for night fishing. There's a motor museum which has some stylish 1920s models and is fun for enthusiasts. The tourist office www.santa teresita.com.ar, can advise on accommodation.
Mar del Tuyú
Approximately 20 km south of San Clemente del Tuyú, Mar del Tuyú is the administrative centre of Partido de las Costa. It's a tranquil place to visit in February, with a little more life than the other resorts nearby in winter. Boat trips are organized along the coast in summer, all the way to Faro San Antonio, where you can see whales basking at close proximity in August and September. Fishing is also a big attraction.
Mar de Ajó and around
Another quiet, old-fashioned resort, 40 km south of San Clemente del Tuyú, Mar de Ajó has a couple of natural attractions as well as motor racing, a shipwreck and a casino. The Autódromo Regional holds important motor racing championships every summer. You can dive or snorkel at the Naufragio Margarita, a large German ship, wrecked off the coast here in 1880, and one of the oldest in the region. Mar de Ajó has one of the largest fleets of small fishing boats in the region, as well as the largest pier. Boat trips to fish for corvina, pescadilla, and cazón sharks are offered.
The most spectacular part of this area of coastline is Altos Médanos, a long stretch of high sand dunes that are, apparently, constantly changing shape. It's one of the wildest and most unspoilt areas of the coast, bordered along the shore by a wide flat beach, perfect for walking, horse riding or 4WD.
The best way to enjoy this area is by visiting one of the few estancias near the coast. Estancia Palantelén www.palantelen.com.ar, is owned by descendants of a pioneering Pampas family, whose atmospheric old house has views of the sea and is beautifully furnished and lined with mahogany panels salvaged from a shipwreck. Walk onto the sands, birdwatch or gallop across the miles of beaches, either on horseback or in a sulky (open horse-drawn carriage). Spend a few days here and absorb the complete peace, you could even have private tango lessons on the terrace under the stars. All highly recommended.
Pinamar
The two most desirable resorts on the coast are right next to each other, with the quieter old-fashioned Ostende in between . Both party-town Pinamar and forested Cariló are upmarket places to stay, attracting wealthy Argentines, and have far smarter hotels here than elsewhere on the coast, not to mention sophisticated bars, fine restaurants and in Pinamar, plenty of trendy beach bars and nightclubs. Pinamar is perfect for young people and families, with live bands playing at its beach clubs in the evenings in high season (these are also quiet and elegant places to dine with superb seafood).
Access to the beach is mostly by day membership to a balneario (beach club). You pay a fee per family or group of friends per day, and then you can make use of all the balneario's facilities. You can rent a carpa - little wooden beach huts, built in tightly packed rows perpendicular to the sea, and furnished with tables and chairs to use when you retreat from the hot sun. Alternatively, you can rent a big beach umbrella and stake a claim on an area closer to the sea. Renting either will allow you to use the balneario's showers, toilets, restaurants and even beach games. Pinamar's balnearios range from exclusive, quiet places with superb restaurants, to party spots with loud music, beach parties and live bands at night. There is free public access to the beach between the balnearios, but it's worth visiting one for a day to enjoy beach life. Their restaurants are open to those not renting carpas too.
The town also has golf courses and tennis courts, and there are lots of hotels and smart restaurants along the main street, Avenida Bunge, running perpendicular to the sea. Explore the dunes at Reserva Dunícola. The tourist office www.pinamar.gov.ar, www.pinamarturismo.com.ar, English spoken, is helpful and can arrange accommodation. During the peak month of January, Pinamar is packed with Argentines, accommodation is extremely hard to get and very expensive. Best to visit in December or February/March. During the rest of the year, especially in June/July, the town virtually shuts down, and few hotels and restaurants are open.
Cariló
Cariló is the most exclusive, and expensive, beach resort in Argentina, and you'll soon see why. It's a huge area of mature woodland right on the beach, where luxury apart hotels and very chiccabañas are all tastefully concealed, so that its visitors have complete privacy - something which inevitably appeals to the many celebrities, sports stars and politicians who visit. The balnearios are neat and exclusive. Around the tiny centre, on Cerezo and Carpintero, there are good restaurants and chi-chi arcades with upmarket clothing shops where you can browse for top Argentine fashion labels among the usual international designers. You might find Cariló less friendly than Pinamar if you're in search of nightlife, since the emphasis is on exclusivity, but it's a good place for couples or for a quiet retreat. There is a tourist office www.carilo.com and www.parquecarilo.com (both in Spanish).
In between Pinamar and Cariló is Ostende, a small town founded by Belgian entrepreneurs in 1908. Little remains of the original resort, as it was abandoned when the settlers returned to Belgium on the outbreak of the First World War. The only building surviving from that period is the Viejo Hotel Ostende, formerly the Hotel Termas, which was a favourite of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This is a wilder part of the coast and there are plenty of campsites. Another old hotel, Atlantic City, unfinished in 1914, now functions as a youth hostel. On the beach is the much-photographed old stone and wooden walkway, the rambla. For information on Ostende and surrounds, see www.pinamarweb.com (in Spanish).
Around Pinamar and Cariló
General Madariaga is a quaint 1900s town, 28 km inland, definitely worth visiting for the Fiesta Nacional del Gaucho, on the second weekend in December, when there are processions, singing and dancing. From General Madariaga, fishing enthusiasts could visit the Laguna Salada Grande, the largest lake in the province with a nature reserve and excellent pejerrey fishing. The tourist office www.madariaga.gov.ar, can advise on where to stay.
Villa Gesell
In complete contrast to over-developed Mar del Plata, and upmarket Pinamar, Villa Gesell, 22 km north, was planned by German inventor, Carlos Gesell, as an eco resort. He came to live here in 1931 with the aim of growing trees for wood on the barren sand dunes. His project then evolved into an ecological holiday retreat and the first guests were invited in the 1940s. He planned and built the town along environmentally friendly lines, and in harmony with nature, planting thousands of shady trees that would draw water to the surface, and constructing roads around the sand dunes, rather than imposing on the traditional grid. Today, however, it bares no resemblance to his idea. It is crammed full of decaying 1970s holiday homes and apartment blocks, broken cars, and tacky shops. Gesell would be aghast at the commercial feel of the main street, Avenida 3, filled with games arcades, fast food shops and noisy cafés. It is best to avoid staying, although it can be much cheaper than in Pinamar only 10 minutes away. There's a good website with lots of accommodation and other information, www.gesell.gov.ar.
The Reserva Forestal and Parque Cultural Pinar del Norte, at the eastern end of Avenida 3, is where Carlos Gesell built his first house in the woods. It's now a museum, Museo Casa Histórica, with inspiring biographical information (in English) and an interesting daily tour. Gesell's second house, Chalet Don Carlos Gesell, is now a cultural centre for exhibitions and concerts.
Mar de las Pampas and Mar Azul
Just 5 km south of Villa Gessell, two quiet resorts are developing: the pine forests and dirt-roads of Mar de las Pampas, and the more commercial and less pretty Mar Azul are wilder and quieter places than anywhere on the coast, but have some appealing accommodation in more natural surroundings. There are lots of cabañas for rent and an increasing number of hotels but most people rent a house for the weekend, this is especially good if you are in a group. The beach here is broad and uncrowded, so although there is less to do than in Pinamar or Mar del Plata and no nightlife to speak of, you can completely relax and enjoy the sea in peace. It's a perfect retreat for writing or reflecting, or a cosy hideaway for couples, although in January you'll find traffic jams and queues at restaurants. See www.mardelaspampas.com.ar for more information.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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