Chapadmalal: Cliffs, Surf, & The Most Beautiful Beaches in Buenos Aires

Good things come to those who sit in the car for five hours.

It may be a bit of a trek, but I promise the beaches of Chapadmalal are worth the effort.

Rather than coastal pine forests like those that you find in other beach cities like Pinamar and Mar de las Pampas, Chapadmalal is home to rolling pastures and open spaces that are cut off only by the rugged cliff sides that meet the sea.

It is rustic and pristine.

This article is a full guide to visiting Chapadmalal with everything you need to know from how to get there, where to stay, and what beaches to explore.

How to get to Chapadmalal

Chapadmalal is 30 kilometers south of Mar del Plata. With urban sprawl, though, it doesn’t really feel like you ever leave Mar del Plata before you reach the calmer stretch of highway that is Chapadmalal.

My first recommendation is to drive yourself so you have a car to help you move around once you’re here. Click here to check rental car rates in Buenos Aires.

Alternatively, you can take the train or bus to Mar del Plata and from there take a taxi or bus to Chapadmalal.

How to get to Chapadmalal by Car

If you have a car or plan on renting a car, the drive to Mar del Plata from Buenos Aires takes around 4.5 hours, which can vary depending on the traffic as you leave the city.

After you’ve left Buenos Aires in your rearview, the entirety of the drive is on Ruta 2 and is very easy. Speed cameras are a plague here, so keep your GPS open to warn you of upcoming cameras. They’re typically placed as you reach a new town and the speed drops.

For the best medialunas and a Buenos Aires road trip icon, stop by Atalaya in Chascomus for a pit stop.

Read next: A Detailed Guide on Driving in Argentina

How to get to Chapadmalal by Public Transportation

You can take the train or bus to Mar del Plata and from there transfer to Chapa with a taxi or regional bus.

🚌 Long distance bus travel is one of the best ways to get around Argentina.

The bus from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata takes 5.5 hours and you have a lot of options to choose from with different companies and timetables. Check the bus routes and reserve here.

🚉 The passenger train from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata takes 6.5 hours, a bit longer than driving. At the moment (September 2026), it costs the equivalent of 20 dollars each way.

• Click here for information on the train.
• Click here to check for ticket availability and to reserve

The train to Mar del Plata departs from Estación Constitución. Take Subte line C to reach the terminal.

If you run into trouble trying to purchase your ticket online without a local DNI, you may have to go to a sales point in person.

How to get from Mar del Plata to Chapadmalal

Once in Mar del Plata, arrange a remis/taxi or take the public bus to Chapadmalal. It’s a very short drive and a common day trip from Mar del Plata.

To take the bus from Mar del Plata to Chapadmalal, from the Nueva Estación Ferro Automotora you can take two lines:

• Líneas 511 or 212 – Public bus that takes about an hour or just over.
• Línea Costa Azul, a bus that connects the coast. Take their southern line along the cost.
• Check Rome2Rio or your online map of choice to check routes
• But driving is quickest by half, so for convenience I recommend hiring a taxi or a remis for the commute

Where to Stay in Chapadmalal

Forget big hotels and high rise apartments, in Chapadmalal you’ll find surfer’s hostels and rustic yet modern vacation homes.

Here are the best places to stay in Chapadmalal:

• Lowtide: We stayed at Lowtide on our most recent visit. The two houses are new and are great for friends or families. Our cabin had two bedrooms, a master and a second room with 3 single beds. The location was ideal at just a 2 block walk to the beach.
• Modern container houses: Sleeps 5 two blocks from the Cruz del Sur beach
• The GaTe Beach House is another great option. It’s a small complex of small rental houses that are comfortably equipped.
• Chapadmalal Woods: We stayed here on our first visit after I found them on Instagram. It’s at the back of the residential area which I actually preferred. The location provided much better views of the campo and it was so peaceful. We would drive the short stretch to the beach each day. I highly recommend these houses.
• Avoid what you’ll see in Colonia Chapadmalal, which is just south of Chapadmalal. The beaches aren’t as nice, the hotels are the original union hotels from the 1950’s and rental houses are mostly older.

The Best Beaches in Chapadmalal

Now that you have your route to Chapa planned and your stylish beach house booked, let’s get to the good part – the beaches.

Here are the best beaches in Chapadmalal.

🌊 Chapadmalal Tide Chart: Click here to see high and low tides for Chapadmalal. Most of the beaches are big enough to still enjoy during high tide but La Redonda disappears under the high tide so plan your visit for when it’s low.

La Redonda

My favorite Chapadmalal beach is La Redonda, hands down.

On our first trip we spent most of our time here. It’s rustic and there are no installations on the beach. No rentable tents and no restaurant.

There was nothing on the beach but people and their towels, just as God intended.

La Redonda is a campsite and they have a public playground and toilets just above the beach. We spent a lot of time at this playground on both trips.

For parking, you can park across the highway (turn onto road 749 and park on the tiny dirt road that is your first left.

Or park on the cliff itself by turning left onto the road just after the playground. There is a tiny sign that marks it but pay attention, if you blink you’ll miss it. This is where the locals park so you’ll see plenty of cars up there.

🌅 And my advice is to get up for sunrise. I 100% recommend waking up early and coming to La Redonda for sunrise, especial if you want to photograph it in the best light. I did, twice, and had it to completely to myself for a peaceful start to the day.

The lighting at sunrise is incredible, with the early morning light bathing the rocky cliffs in a glowing red light.

Playa Luna Roja

Luna Roja was a close second in our personal ranking. On our second trip (with a 4 and a 6 year old), this was our kid’s favorite beach.

There’s a parking lot with security that costs around $10,000 pesos as of September 2026 (or about $7 US) for the day. We parked across the street for free and walked over.

There are clean public restrooms, a restaurant, and even cabins right on the beach you can rent. Check their website for information or to book a cabin here.

Luna Roja has a younger vibe, with both young families and couples. My kids loved running and climbing the hills and different beaches.

I highly recommend it for the days when you want a little more amenities like a cleaner toilet nearby or cocktails and fries at the ready.

But if it’s a restaurant/hotel is the beach free? Yes, beach access for the public is guaranteed here in Argentina. There is public access to the beach and you do not have to consume anything at the restaurant or be a guest.

Playa Cruz del Sur

Just south of La Redonda is Cruz del Sur, a vintage balneario which is exactly what I love about it.

The menu, the décor of the restaurant, and even our waiter had probably all been there, unchanged, since 1971. Sometimes you just need a milanesa, rabas, and an ice cold Quilmes.

It felt very family oriented and even has a pool. In high season I imagine it explodes with crowds (but then, don’t they all?).

How to get to Cruz del Sur. Besides driving and parking in their lot, you can walk to Cruz del Sur from La Redonda, making easy to visit both beaches on foot if you’re staying within walking distance from either beach.0 Take the foot paths along the cliff to the left of La Redonda’s beach to walk over to Cruz del Sur, it takes only a few minutes.

Other Things to do in Chapadmalal

I’ll be honest, there isn’t a lot to do in Chapadmalal. That’s why I loved it, the doing nothing is exactly the point.

But there was enough to keep us entertained and fed.

Go Wine Tasting at Costa & Pampa

Trapiche, one of Argentina’s most internationally known names in winemaking, has a bodega right here in Chapadmalal.

It’s called Costa & Pampa and specializes in light, fresh white wines.

They offer tours and tastings as well as picnic lunches on the grounds. Reservations are made easily via their website here. Reservations are made via the Meitre reservation software. You will need to create an account if you do not have one already.

It’s a twenty minute drive inland down road 749. When we went in 2022, the road was more pothole than pavement, so prepare for a bumpy, slow ride. At least there is wine waiting at the end.

See the Sunflowers

Argentina produces its fair share of sunflower oil. During the summer you’ll see fields of sunflowers along Ruta 2 on your drive to coast from Buenos Aires.

There’s a particularly large field begging to be on your Instagram feed on C. 749 on the way to Costa & Pampa.

The sunflowers bloom in summer and you’ll see them in January and into February.

Sadly for us, we visited during the second week of March and they were already dried up.

Spend a day in Mar del Plata

If it’s raining and you need a change of pace, you can always head into the big city for a day in Mar del Plata.

Museums, cafes, and its own fair share of beaches await you.

For the easiest trip, visit the port and its sea lions. It’s on the southern edge of the city and is a short jaunt from Chapadmalal. If you have a kitchen in your rental, buy some catch of the day to cook for dinner.

But if you want to spend the entire day in the city, it’s close enough and you have museums like the Casa del Puente, Villa O’Campo, and more to fill your day.

To plan your day, read my complete guide to Mar del Plata.

Where to Shop & eat in Chapadmalal

Shops (boutiques or the market, not the supermarket) and bars will open later in Chapadmalal, coming to life at around 5 pm. Argentina typically runs late and this is a beach town, to boot. So plan on shopping after your afternoon on the waves.

We, I must admit, did not eat out even once on either trip. We bought groceries and enjoyed the place we were staying.

But there is a small area with parrillas, cafes, and even a brewery all within a stone’s throw from each other.

There was a very cool food truck across Ruta 2 from Cruz del Sur that was open in the afternoon into early evening serving sandwiches, smoothies, and cocktails.

NOTE ON OPENING HOURS | I can’t speak for in-season, but during off-season when we visited, things were very much shut down during the week. Restaurants only opened on the weekends, even at at night.

Read Next: Things to do in Mar del Plata

Supermarkets in Chapadmalal

Super Chapa is the largest supermarket and has just about everything you need and plenty of tiny mini-markets spread out.

But, if you’re passing through Mar del Plata on the way into Chapa, it’s not a bad idea to stock on groceries there.

Pick up fresher fruit and vegetables, cheaper meat, and all the staples you’d need if you plan on cooking most of your meals.

On our more recent trip we even stopped at Mar del Plata port to pick up fresh fish and see the sea lions.

When to Visit Chapadmalal

Busy summer peak season is from mid-December through February, with January being the absolute peak of the peak.

Personally, I’d avoid that at all costs.

Prices will be at their highest and beaches will be at their busiest. You won’t get the rustic, abandoned beach vibe in January.

In 2020, we went to Mar Azul for the first ten days of December. We enjoyed warm weather with no crowds. It was idyllic.

Our first visit to Chapadmalal was in March. Nights were cooler but the afternoons were still very hot for the beach. Crowds were minimal and we loved it. Our second visit was in September, technically still winter so no swimsuits but definitely warm enough to play on the beach with the kids.

The only downside to visiting Chapa in off-season would be the limited restaurant openings. If you want to see and be seen, shop and eat out and be part of the action, then January and February are for you.

But in all honesty, this isn’t the sort of town you visit for its gourmet offerings. It’s a place to disconnect, and for that, off-season suited me just fine.

Visit Chapadmalal: A Summary

The winds of change seem to be at Chapadmalal’s door.

It’s becoming increasingly popular and it’s easy to see why. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen in Argentina.

There is a lot of construction on new homes and we noticed the difference on our return visit. Luckily, the construction are small homes and no apartment towers.

That isn’t for lack of capitalism trying, a private developer named Roberto Fiocca, drafted plans for a beach resort on La Redonda in 2025. It immediately drew criticism as La Redonda is one of the few remaining public beaches and it is a paleontological site and a nature reserve.

A resort here would be a travesty, may it never find success.

If you have any questions about visiting Chapa, let me know in the comments below!

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