Argentina

Where to surf in Argentina

Second largest country on the South American continent, Argentina counts around 300km (186mi) of surfable beaches, most of them located in Buenos Aires Province. The east side of the country called Pampas, consists mainly of grassy plains while the country's western regions climb into the vertiginous Andes. Argentina recently celebrated 40 years of surfing at a variety of breaks ranging from natural pointbreaks to man-made jetties. Mar del Plata has always been the centre of both the Argentinian surf scene and summer beach parties.

Buenos Aires Province

There are waves close to Buenos Aires (Santa Clara del Mar, Pinamar, San Clemente del Tuyú), but they are adversely affected as the coast bends away from the swell and you get closer to the widest rivermouth in the world.

Heading west from Mar del Plata Quequen will fire around the shipwreck and its iconic propeller. Across the river there is the possibility of quieter beachbreaks around Claromeco and some proper lefts spoking off the jetty at Necochea. Heading south from here the coast curves southwestwards, decreasing the northerly swell exposure.

Monte Hermoso picks up plenty of S swell and dumps it hard on the shorebreak. El Condor is where the kiters hang. From here the road hugs the coast around sheltered Golfo San Matias, overlooking miles of brown sand beachbreak, below cliffs in Rio Negro Province.

Chubut Province

The main towns/cities that are always founded on a large rivermouth or port where most travellers will scope for waves. The unremarkable urban beach of Rada Tilly is often ridden and Playa Union, Chubut a cool little town with a nice little surf scene.

Patagonia

More a geographical region Patagonia is made up of the provinces of Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur in the frozen far south of the continent.

Continental east coasts have always suffered from a dearth of swell compared to their western counterparts as the global weather systems circulate in their established corridors from west to east. Coastal angle sometimes helps, but unfortunately in southern Argentina it is relatively steep, requiring more SE than due S swells to penetrate the large east-facing bays.

The freakishly powerful winds in Patagonia can not be overstated, creating havoc with the surf, driving a vehicle and controlling a surfboard, in or out of the water. South America’s most extreme tides, extensive cliffs, steep beach angles, no roads and difficult access compounded by by the fact most of the coastal real estate is privately owned as part of huge, Gaucho owned ranches. This is the real frontier, so plan well and hope you don’t have a mishap, although everyone looks out for each other in Patagonia.

Furthest south, Isla de los Estados has been surfed and on Tierra del Fuego, the Rio Grande beachbreaks near the rivermouth is the main surfing spot on this weather-lashed island.