Buenos Aires province has 135 municipalities, some of them are on the coast. In this article we’re going to explain four of them: Partido de la Costa, Partido General Pueyrredón, Pinamar and Partido Villa Gesell.
Each municipality has beach towns that are very popular during the summer season by tourists and locals alike.
Partido de la Costa in Buenos Aires
The Coastal Municipality (Partido de la Costa) is located in the southeast of Buenos Aires province, it’s 320 km from the city of Buenos Aires.
This 96 km long coastal area, it’s divided into 14 neighborhoods or beach towns and has its own municipality and hospitals. According to the 2010 census there are 70,214 inhabitants, and it’s believed its population keeps on growing each year.
The 14 beach towns are:
🏖️ San Clemente del Tuyú
San Clemente del Tuyú is the closest beach town to Buenos Aires. In this small beach town you can go bird watching and enjoy the varied biodiversity.
If you enjoy nature, you can visit Punta Rasa Natural Reserve where the river waters (Río de la Plata) mix with sea water (Mar Argentino), Termas Marinas to relax in the thermal waters, or practice watersports like windsurfing, surfing, or kayaking in Tapera de López.
🏖️ Las Toninas
This beach town has bigger and more spacious beaches. There’s an artisanal crafts market and a theme park with a huge labyrinth and other attractions to do with your family.
🏖️ Costa Chica
This quiet and natural beach town is currently in development, it’s ideal for walking, horse riding, or just enjoying the sea view.
🏖️ Santa Teresita
This is a more developed beach town where you’ll find more entertainment for all ages and also get the chance to relax.
There is a nine-hole golf course, an equestrian club with horse riding lessons, and an airfield. It also has picturesque walks by the sea where you can see a replica of Carabela Santa Maria, where Christopher Colombus sailed to get to the Americas. You can walk in Paseo del Jagüel to buy local crafts or enjoy a lovely meal.
🏖️ Mar del Tuyú
This is the main town of Partido de la Costa (coastal municipality), it has some tourist attractions including historical buildings (Palacio Municipal), parks, a fishing port, a big shopping mall, and spacious beaches.
🏖️ Costa del Este
This green beach town has hundreds of pine trees in woodlands, spacious beaches, and beautiful buildings.
There’s also a small town center with picturesque walks and it offers high-end dining experiences. Ideal for long walks or bike rides along the cycle lanes within ‘De la Reserva’ neighborhood.
🏖️ Aguas Verdes
A rural beach town that’s ideal for those who are looking for a quiet vacation around nature.
Here, you can go for a long walk or cycle or simply enjoy nature by the seaside.
🏖️ Lucila del Mar
This quiet and natural beach town is the perfect place for people who are looking to find a place to relax. It also has a shopping area and horse riding in the woods.
🏖️ Costa Azul
This is a charming beach town that is growing and that has a few activities for tourists and families, like a shopping area with restaurants and shops.
🏖️ San Bernardo del Tuyú
Because of its busy nightlife, this beach town it’s better suited for young people and friends. There is a main festival called ‘la Fiesta Nacional del Sol y la Familia’ that marks the beginning of the summer season.
🏖️ Mar de Ajó
Mar de Ajó is the most spacious beach in the coastal municipality. It has a long seaside promenade full of shops and restaurants and a racetrack with a 4,700 mts circuit.
🏖️ Nueva Atlantis
This town is ideal for people that enjoy camping in nature. It has spacious unspoiled beaches to relax outdoors or practice watersports.
🏖️ Punta Médanos
This unspoiled area full of dunes and woods allows visitors to enjoy nature and the lighthouse view.
Here, you can practice sandboarding, windsurfing, 4×4 rides, sailing, and fishing.
🏖️ Costa Esmeralda
This emerging beach town has an 18hole golf course and residential neighborhoods, ideal for people who are looking to relax and enjoy nature by the sea.
Partido General Pueyrredón: Where is Mar del Plata?
The city of Mar del Plata it’s located 404km from Buenos Aires city, in the southeast of the province. Mar del Plata is the main town of Partido de General Pueyrredon (municipality). It’s one of the most famous beaches in Buenos Aires because it’s the biggest summer holiday town.
There are millions of tourists that travel here in search of beaches and attractions to enjoy their summer vacations for all ages.
It has a population of more than 500,000 inhabitants. It also has universities, shopping malls, theatres (very busy during the summer season), hospitals, and all the city services.
Interactive city map of Mar del Plata here
Source: OpenStreetMap
How to get to Mar del Plata?
By train
Take a 6 hour train from Constitución train station to Terminal Ferroautomotora María Eva Duarte de Perón train station.
By long-distance coaches:
Take a 5 hour coach at Terminal de Retiro bus station to Terminal Ferroautomotora María Eva Duarte de Perón.
Coach prices are between 2600 ARS to 6000 ARS.
By plane:
From Aeropuerto Internacional Ástor Piazzolla in Buenos Aires, it’s a 45 minute flight.
By car:
Take the 5 hour car ride on Autovía 2 that connects the city of Buenos Aires with Mar del Plata. You can also take routes 11, 88, and 226.
Sierra de los Padres in Mar del Plata
Located 28 km from Mar del Plata, you’ll find a quiet town called Sierra de los Padres. It’s a 30-minute ride from Mar del Plata and it’s perfect for people that want to enjoy a lovely small town. Some activities you can do here include:
- Paseo de la Cumbre: It’s a short walk with arts and crafts shops and small restaurants.
- Laguna de los Padres: Visit the lake and walk around the town.
Partido Pinamar: Where is Pinamar?
Pinamar is a coastal city in Buenos Aires that has its name because of the amount of pine, acacia and eucalyptus trees in the area.
The cost of living is high in this town and it’s relatively safe to live here. It’s a main city for the summer season and there are around a million visitors per year.
You can read about safety in Buenos Aires city here.
It also has beach bars and restaurants, parks and squares, cinemas and theatres. Here, you can also practice water sports, walks on the beach, a 4×4 ride on the beach dunes, horse riding, golf, and polo.
🏖️ Beach Town Valeria del Mar
This coastal town is located 361 km from Buenos Aires city and it’s a neighborhood that belongs to Pinamar municipality.
In his small but lovely town, you can book yourself a relaxing spa day, or enjoy a walk by the sea.
🏖️ Where is Ostende? Is it a beach town?
This family beach town also belongs to Pinamar municipality. Because of its proximity to busier Pinamar, Ostende it’s perfect for families that want to enjoy peace and quiet by the sea but get the main services of the next town.
Partido Villa Gesell: Where is Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires?
Another municipality on the coast is Villa Gesell, or simply Gesell. It’s located in the central east part of Buenos Aires and 37 km away from the city.
Here you can enjoy water sports activities, golf, horse riding, walks in the woods or visit the Artisans Fair.
During the night there are plenty of options for people who want to dine in restaurants, go to bars or nightclubs or see plays or live shows.
🏖️ Mar de las Pampas
This lovely coastal town is located in Villa Gesell municipality, it’s perfect for people that want to: ride a four-wheeled bike on the dunes, go horse riding, cycle or walk in the woods or the beach or do sandboarding on the dunes.
🏖️ Mar Azul
This pine trees beach town is located in Villa Gesell municipality. Its main attractions are its closeness to Mar de las Pampas, pine woods, and spacious beaches.
What are the best beaches to visit as a tourist?
As you can read all the information above, it all depends on what you want for your summer vacation.
From my experience, I really enjoyed my weekend getaway in Costa del Este. I stayed in a cabin surrounded by pine trees and very near the beach.
When I was a teenager I also enjoyed San Bernardo and Santa Teresita because it offers more activities for young people and in summer there are loads of people.
I also liked the peace and quiet of Mar de Ajó beach town. It’s perfect to spend a few days relaxing and sunbathing on the huge beaches or just to go for a long walk by the sea.
I visited Mar de Plata in mid-January, which is the busiest time during the summer season, and I couldn’t enjoy the beach. In my opinion, there are too many people and although you can enjoy the many activities during the day (like water sports, parks, etc) and at night (restaurants, bars, nightclubs and theatres), it’s not ideal if you’re looking for peace and quiet.
However, if you want to look for other options to relax I recommend having a look at Pinamar, Valeria del Mar, Mar de las Pampas or find other quieter but bigger beaches in Mar del Plata like Aguas Verdes or Lucila del Mar.
Where to stay on the coast of Buenos Aires?
My advice is to stay in a busy town, like Mar del Plata or Villa Gesell, and drive to spend the days in other nearby areas.
In this way, you’ll get to enjoy the peace and quiet of spacious beaches during the day and the busy nightlife of the main town.
Accommodation is more varied in main towns and you’ll find all the services you might need for your stay.
However, if you’re just looking for calm and tranquillity surrounded by nature I recommend staying in the smaller beach towns. Just bear in mind accommodation might be difficult to find or with limited options.
How to get to the beaches in Buenos Aires?
You can drive there by taking Ruta n° 11 or Ruta n°36.
Here’s a capture of Google Maps from Puerto Madero to the first beach, San Clemente, on the Partido de la Costa (Coastal Municipality) by car.
If you want to get to the other coastal towns you can drive or take a long-distance bus. I recommend driving so you can also get the chance to drive to other beaches and have more flexibility during your trip.