Argentina - Facts
- Argentina is located in the southern part of South America facing the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is the second largest country in South America after Brazil and is bordered by the Andes and Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the North and Uruguay to the East. The capital Buenos Aires, is located on the east coast.
- Argentina has a population of over 40 million including 1.8 million from neighboring countries (Peru and Paraguay predominantly). It is the largest Spanish speaking nation in the world.
- The currency is the Argentine peso (ARS) although the US dollar is widely accepted.
- Argentina uses (UTC -3) time zone.
- The vast size of the country and wide variation in altitude make for a wide range of climate types from subtropical in the north to polar in the far south. Summer runs between December and March and is warm and wet in most of the country except in most of Patagonia where it is the driest season. Winter starts in June and is normally mild in the north, cool in the center and cold in the southern parts experiencing frequent frost and snow. Because southern parts of the country are moderated by the surrounding oceans, the cold is less intense and prolonged than areas at similar latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Spring and autumn are transition seasons that generally feature mild weather. See Weather below for more details.
- Not many cruising yachts brave the elements to visit Argentina, but those who do are attracted to the challenging wilderness of the Magellan Straits and Tierra del Fuego.
- There are only a few ports along Argentina’s long coastline and there is little to see between the Rio de la Plata and the Straits of Magellan, with the notable exception of Mar del Plata, which has a thriving sailing community and facilities to match. Yachts coming from the north can get a taste of Argentina in Buenos Aires and the resorts in the Rio de la Plata estuary, where most yachting facilities are concentrated. There are several resorts with yacht clubs in the Rio de la Plata estuary, such as San Isidro and Olivos.
- Only basic facilities are available at Puerto Madryn and Puerto Deseado. Provisioning outside of the Buenos Aires area is adequate and for yachts heading south, a convenient place to reprovision is at Río Gallegos, capital of Santa Cruz. For details of services for cruising boats see Yachting Essentials.
- Visiting yachts should tread carefully when clearing into Argentina as many have suffered investigations by Customs for possible infractions. This is on-going, however using a port agent avoids many potential problems. See Formalities for more details.
- All vessels intending to sail to or from the Falklands, South Georgia and South Orkneys must apply for and obtain permission from the Argentine government or risk being fined or having their vessel impounded. All vessels must apply, cruisers or charter vessels. Fines are even applied for reasons of Force Majeure.
Read and Post Related Comments
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: Profile: Security
Related to following destinations: Argentina
Country Navigation
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comMain Ports - Argentina
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comFormalities
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.com
Here is an update as of Jan 20th for Puerto Williams and Ushuaia.
Argentina:
Ushuaia is open for arrivals and a number of boats including us have cleared in with no issues over the past couple of weeks. PCR test, health insurance and electronic affidavit are required but we were not required to quarantine once the PCR result was received. The lack of quarantine may have been a special case because we traveled from Puerto Williams. Cases of omicron are currently quite high in Ushuaia so this could change at any time but officials in Ushuaia have reported that unless things get much worse the port will be open for the remainder of the Antarctic season.
Chile:
Puerto Willians (and all Chilean ports) are currently closed with very few exceptions. 72 hour humanitarian stops are still allowed for food and fuel but here in Puerto Williams even those requests are sometimes being turned down because Ushuaia is open 20 nm to the west. Officials in Puerto Williams would prefer the port to be open and want to help yachts but health controls have tied their hands. There are still Chilean residents waiting to return to Puerto Williams from Ushuaia who have been stuck since the beginning of the pandemic. Given the slow increase in Covid numbers throughout Chile, it is not expected that anything will change before winter arrives in a few months. Most foreign boats departing for Antarctica this year from Puerto Williams will not be allowed to return.
For boats considering sailing into the Pacific, it is possible to receive permission for an “innocent passage” north through the channels after provisioning in Ushuaia. Given Chile’s long coastline and mixed reports of difficulties stopping even for fuel and provisions north Puerto Williams it would be difficult to recommend at this time.
Gary and Karina
SV Sea Rover II
I’m afraid I’ll have to disagree with you on Argentina as the country with the most Spanish speakers. That would be Mexico at about 120 million people. Colombia has about 45 million people, and Spain has about 40 million as well. Surprisingly, the United States has about 50 million Spanish speaking people in the country, more than the population of Argentina as well.
Thanks to the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires the next weekend ( 29/11-02/12 ) is forbidden sail near Buenos Aires Port and the north area until Olivos port.
Omar Wetdoc, from Buenos Aires
Hello Omar,
We are presently in Portugal and potentially heading toward Argentina. There have been comments that ‘Argentina is getting expensive’. Expensive, compared to say Europe, US, Canada? Can you comment? Thanks for you past comments by the way.
Regards,
James and Shelley
S/V Carina, Portugal
Update from Sailors for Sustainability:
We found Werner’s report about the inspections and requirements in Mar del Plata for yachts sailing south to Patagonia very helpful. Note, however, that the list of requirements seems to have changed recently. For example, fewer flares are required and AIS was added.
The new list (from May 2018) can be found here: https://cargasitiow.prefecturanaval.gob.ar/webpna/documentos/ordenanzas/ordn_pdf/4-2018-1.pdf
The list is in Anexo “A”.
We do not yet have any experience with the Argentinian authorities, so we don’t know yet if they actually check each item on the list. We will let you know what our experience was after Mar del Plata.
Floris & Ivar
Notices to Skippers and current warnings in the Argentine sea.
Available in Spanish and English, click over WP.
http://www.hidro.gov.ar/nautica/GeoRadioavisos.asp
Omar Wetdoc, from Buenos Aires
Clearance in Mar del Plata – as of Nov 22/17
I have submitted a long report about my experience clearing in and out here (see adjacent), however important to note are the safety requirements for visiting International yachts, as this caught me out.
The Prefecture demands that international vessels are classified as “Veleros Oceanicos” and have a list of safety requirements that boats must comply with before clearance is granted. There is a link to the list in my report adjacent.
This includes the requirement to have a certified life raft, six parachute flares and six handheld flares. The chief of Prefecture for the Coastguard department has given me the right to have no sextant on board. All other requirements apply. I had a total of four inspections.
Posted on behalf of Anastasia July 2017
Beginning December 2016 we asked our permission for the Falklands, it was done in Mar del Platta. We left on14 December from Mar del Platta and arrived on 29 December in Desceado (after a stopover in Caleta Hornos) there we left on 13 January 2017 for the Falklands. We had at that time our permission without any problem.
The permission is NOT at all a bottleneck to go to the Falklands. In Desceado and in Mar Del Platta the prefecture was super friendly and did not make any problem for us. We had a peaceful crossing and even in PW and here in Ushuaia no problems about our whereabouts.
Getting a Permit to Malvinas/Falklands – from Omar Sanchez:
The bureaucracy has unfortunately increased and now it takes about 40-45 days to get the permit to go to Malvinas/Falklands.
That is why this year some foreign sailors have preferred to return to Punta del Este in Uruguay and to make the dispatch to the Malvinas from there, without touching Argentine ports to Malvinas.
This does not invalidate the rule that establishes the daily position report in Argentine waters.
After March 24, 2016, U.S. citizens no longer need to pay a reciprocity fee to enter Argentina.
See: http://www.embassyofargentina.us/en/consular-section/reciprocity-fee-for-us-citizens.html
Wetdoc, from Buenos Aires.
Our thanks to Henk Boersma for these updates.
Puerto Williams Update:
Recently the “SAG” (these are the people responsible for avoiding alien flora and fauna arriving on Chilean soil) started implementing a law that no fresh fruit, vegetables or meat can be brought into the country. All will be confiscated and destroyed. Threats with fines for not complying are in the air.
For years this has been the rule in the rest of the country, however now PW is included as well which doesn’t make sense. Maybe it will blow over.
For the charter boats that do their shopping in Ushuaia (Argentina), this new rule forces a change of plan… The problem is of course, that there are no reliable supplies in Puerto Williams!
Ushuaia Update:
All is quiet on the customs front, apart from some issues which involved Argentine sailors with foreign flagged boats. They are still fussy about arriving or going to the Falklands without a permit.
Cruising the Beagle Channel
For cruising the Beagle Channel as far as Staten Island, no zarpe is required for trips to Lapataia and Islas Bridges but the Prefecture must be notified before you leave with the details of your trip. Anywhere further out, and you must pay a visit to the Prefecture for a zarpe.