Sit­ting right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the busy city of Mar del Pla­ta is home to Argenti­na’s most pop­u­lar beach­es. From Playa Pop­u­lar and its packed board­walk to Playa Waiki­ki and its great surf­ing, Mar del Pla­ta has some­thing for every­body.

Though the water here is often cold and not always spark­ly clean due to the prox­im­i­ty to a com­mer­cial port, the wide sandy beach­es more than make up for it. Playa La Per­la and Playa Grande are both filled with bal­n­ear­ios, large open areas with sun loungers and beach umbrel­las – sun-lovers head here most­ly to work on their tan.

Far­ther away from the cen­ter, past the city light­house, there are a num­ber of small­er beach­es – though still very pop­u­lar in sum­mer, they are also qui­eter and a good place to escape to if noisy crowds aren’t your thing.