Mar Del Plata, Argentina – City Guide for Nomads and Expats

Mar del Plata is the biggest beach town in Argentina.

“Mardel”, as it’s known, was founded in 1874 and today it is a thriving city of over half a million people.

The city has mixed economy, with tourism being one of the most dominant industries, but also boasting significant software, tech, wine growing, mining, and agriculture industries.

Located some 400km from Buenos Aires, Mar Del Plata is a bigger city than you may have expected. This city is well adapted to digital nomads and expats due to it’s beachfront location, educated population, decent wifi, and low cost of living, 

POPULATION: 600,000+


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IS MAR DEL PLATA SAFE?

Mar Del Plata is perfectly safe. Travelers and expats should not expect any issues. 

 

RENT AN APARTMENT IN MAR DEL PLATA

$400.00 a month will get you something nice. There will be lots of Airbnb options but your best bet is talking to someone in person. Like everywhere else in Argentina, cash is king. 

 

BEST BARS & NIGHTLIFE IN MAR DEL PLATA

9/10 

Probably the best party scene in the country other than Buenos Aires.

You’ll be partying with people from all over Argentina.  You will have no trouble partying all night, especially in high season. 

My Latin Life Recommends:

El Argentino: Bohemian place with live musicians.

OGham: High-end bar near the beach.

Central Station Bar: Good food and wine selection.

The Clue hidden bar: Amazing, fancy environment. High end speakeasy vibes

Bruto Playa Grande: Popular, full scale night club.

 

BEST CAFES IN MAR DEL PLATA FOR DIGITAL NOMADS

Argentina is known as one of the best coffee cultures in the world. Luckily in Mar Del Playa there are a lot of cafes with wifi for digital nomads to post up and get some work done before hitting the beach.

My Latin Life recommends:

Croissant Cafe: Super popular cafe with wifi.

Americano Cafe: Solid wifi and no usage limits. 

Victoriano Cafe: Fast wifi, casual coffee shop.

 

COST OF LIVING IN MAR DEL PLATA

The following data is from Expatistan, a crowdsourced database of prices and cost of living around the world. In our experience, the data tends to underestimate cost of living, so take the following as the minimum you might need to live here.

*Figures are listed in USD

Mar del Plata is cheap!

You’ll need a minimum of $546 USD/month to live in Mar Del Plata, Argentina

 
 

BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT MAR DEL PLAYA

The best time of year to visit Mar Del Plata, Argentina is during the summer. Note that this is summertime in the southern hemisphere, so summer occurs from December to February. The low season in Mar Del Plata is during the winter in June and July. Overall, Mar del is not a very warm city. Even in summer, the city experiences daily lows of 13-15 degrees. That is cold for the summer! The city is a bit chilly year round, but at least it never drops below zero. The weather here is almost like European weather.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS ON MAR DEL PLATA

Mar del Plata is definitely underrated among international travelers. It’s our opinion that Mar Del Plata is a great choice for digital nomads and expats. There’s very good infrastructure, the city is safe, and everything feels almost European.

It’s a great place to live for cheap, right on the beach. Just don’t expect a tropical beach, because Mar del Plata is actually pretty cold. Mar Del Plata is far south from Rio, for example, and very far from the equator. That might be the only downside of the city. 

We expect Mar Del will continue to grow as a nomad hotspot. It’s just so cheap for a very high standard of living. The value is very high in this city. Mar Del Plata is also very livable and organized, but still has a good party scene. This is one of those rare cities that’s pretty good for both old and young people, both expats and digital nomads.

OVERALL RATING: 9/10

 

 

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