Dive Sites in Argentina (South America)

Enjoy the passion of Argentina, famous for its steak and wine, visit glaciers and deserts, mountains and salt flats and witness migrating whales, dolphins, penguins and sea lions.

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Dive Site Overview for Argentina

The streets of Argentina are filled with passion from exotic tango to football fever, visit lush bodegas (vineyards) and experience the best steak in the world!

Argentina is the second largest country in South America stretching down the east coast from the spectacular Iguazu Falls all the way to the world’s southern most city at Usuaia. It’s diverse landscape and culture attract a whole variety of wildlife and it’s one of the best places in the world to go whale-watching.

The marine reserve around the Valdez Penisula, now a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site, and around Puerto Madryn are surrounded with dolphins, whales (July-November), elephant seals, sea lions and penguins. In fact its one of only 2 places in the world where you might be lucky enough to spot an Orca snapping up a baby seal straight from the beach! The most popular sites include an old fishing ship wreck ‘Folias’ that lies covered in colourful crustations and attracts lots of fish and ‘Punta Cuevas’ (Cave Point) which has some giant salmon (up to 20kg!), red octopus and large groupers.

Mar de Plata has some of Argentina’s most beautiful beaches and great underwater fauna from algae forests and huge rocks to large sponges and tunnels. Expect to find red crabs, yellowtail jacks, spider crabs and colourful ascidians. There are several good wrecks including the Monte Cervantes cruise ship, sunk in 1930, and the old Sarmiento vessel.

Lake diving is another popular option in Argentina. At Lake Nahuel Huapi in Bariloche there are lots of native perch, some introduced salmon, brown and rainbow trouts and an amazing underwater diving park with a huge 2 tonne sculpture of Neptune and even a chairlift –definitely the place for some crazy underwater photos!

The climate around Northern Argentina is mostly hot and dry, Buenos Aires and Las Pampas are generally temperate; cool in winter and hot in summer, further south in Patagonia the climate is more extreme with cool summers and cold winters. The water temperatures also reflect these changes, dry-suit diving is recommended around Patagonia with wetsuits needed further north. Visibility is generally crystal clear however some summer plankton blooms considerably reduce viz especially around Mar de Plata, be aware that most lake diving is at altitude and will require specific training.