January and February are when Buenos Aires goes to the beach. The resorts of Buenos Aires province, among them Mar del Plata, Pinamar, Cariló and Villa Gesell, are in high season, and that affects every trip there: busier roads, fewer free vehicles and departure times that need some thought.
When the roads fill up
Summer houses are traditionally rented by the fortnight. Traffic therefore bunches on changeover days, at the start, middle and end of each month. Friday afternoons towards the coast and Sunday afternoons and evenings back to the city are heavy too. Queues form at the toll booths and at the entrance to each town.
If your dates are flexible, travel midweek or leave early in the morning. Nobody can promise a journey time in high season.
Ways to get there
- Long-distance bus. Services leave Retiro terminal for almost every resort. Seats sell out in January, so buy ahead.
- Train. There is a service between Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata with limited seats. Check whether it is running and when sales open.
- Flight. Mar del Plata has an airport. The choice of flights changes every summer.
- Hire car. Useful for moving between beaches. Parking in the town centres is hard in January.
- Private transfer. One vehicle for your group only, door to door, with stops on request and a price per vehicle agreed before you leave. The routes we arrange are under transfers to the Atlantic coast.
Book early
Demand rises in summer and the larger vehicles are taken first. For changeover days and weekends, write to us as far ahead as you can. Book the return together with the outward trip, because that is the leg that is hardest to find at short notice.
Cariló and Mar de las Pampas have sand streets and house numbers are hard to spot. Send us the exact location or the name of the complex.
Children, beach gear and groups
Tell us how many people are travelling and what you carry. Parasols, folding chairs and cool boxes take more boot space than suitcases. A sedan takes up to 3 passengers, a minivan 6–7 and a van 8. Larger parties travel in two vehicles together. Child seats are requested when you book. On a long drive with children a stop halfway helps a lot, so mention it and we plan for it.
Carnival usually falls in summer as well and behaves like any other long weekend.