What's on in Mar del Plata, Argentina through the year

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Argentine summer season

• Season

  Sea just about warm enough

  1 Jan – 15 Mar · usuallySea warm enough

  The water is only really swimmable in January and February, and it stays that way into early March once the crowds have gone. A wetsuit is normal outside those weeks.

Still on: Argentine summer season (15 Dec – 28 Feb), Summer theatre season (20 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Carnival long weekend

• Holiday

  Carnival long weekend

  14–17 FebCrowdedBook early

  Carnival Monday and Tuesday are national holidays, making a four-day weekend near the end of summer. Long-distance buses and domestic flights fill and rates rise in popular towns, and local comparsas parade in many places. Source ↗

Still on: Sea just about warm enough (1 Jan – 15 Mar (usually)), Argentine summer season (15 Dec – 28 Feb), Summer theatre season (20 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Summer holidays in Argentina

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  2–5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Holy Thursday and Good Friday make one of the year's biggest long weekends. Banks and public offices close, long-distance buses and domestic flights sell out, and hotels in popular towns fill at higher rates, so book ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Sea just about warm enough (1 Jan – 15 Mar (usually)), Carnival long weekend (14–17 Feb)

Busy — Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Semana Santa (2–5 Apr)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Winter shutdown

  1 May – 31 Aug · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Beach clubs come down, the summer theatres go dark and a good part of the seafront closes; what is left is a working port city with cheap rooms and an empty rambla.

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Winter shutdown (1 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Winter recess in Argentina, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Winter shutdown (1 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Winter shutdown (1 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet

• Festival

  Mar del Plata Film Festival

  5–15 Nov

  The only A-list festival in Latin America takes over the Auditorium and the old cinemas for eleven days in November, out of season and pleasantly unglamorous. Hotels fill in the centre. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Argentine summer season, Summer holidays in Argentina

• Season

  Argentine summer season

  15 Dec – 28 FebSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  The city's population multiplies from mid-December, Bristol beach is sold by the tent and the coast road queues both ways on a Sunday. February is marginally calmer than January.

• Season

  Summer theatre season

  20 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallySummer season opens

  Half of Buenos Aires theatre moves down the coast for the summer and the Avenida Independencia bills comedies and revues nightly. It is the reason a lot of Argentines come at all.