# Pinamar - Norte (Botavara) — Pinamar, Argentina

Pinamar Norte is one of the most important kite beaches on the Buenos Aires coast: wide sand, no rocks or obstacles, and almost guaranteed wind in summer. It is set up on the open beach north of Balneario Botavara, where the Windkite Pinamar school operates, and you ride in the shorebreak in front of the beach.

The summer wind is the northeast sea breeze, which comes in side-shore along the coast; the south is the most frequent of the year and arrives with fronts, bringing more waves. The west and northwest blow from the dunes towards the sea: do not go out. The best times are from November to March.

600 m to the north, at the Kota Beach parador, the Downwind starts, the largest kitesurf meeting in the country: since 2018 it has run 12 km down the coast and in 2023 it gathered more than 150 sails. In summer, the beach resorts have swimming zones: do not ride in front of the umbrellas and return to the beach before reaching them. There are kite, wing foil and foil schools, equipment rental and the resort's parador; parking is in the lot next to the avenue, about 200 m from the shore.

Photos: "Mar atlantico , Pinamar , BS AS Argentina" by Ezequiel Casanovas (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; "Hombre pescando en la orilla" by Rocío Mateos (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

- **Sports:** Kitesurf, Wingfoil, Windsurf
- **Difficulty:** Intermediate
- **Location:** Pinamar, Argentina (-37.07751, -56.82328)
- **Favourable wind directions (where the wind blows from):** NE (45°), E (90°), S (180°)
- **Wind range (knots):** 12–30
- **Best months:** November, December, January, February, March

## Wind by month (% of days per strength)

| Month | <7 kn | 7–13 kn | 13–20 kn | 20–35 kn | >35 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | 70 | 23 | 4 | 0 |
| February | 7 | 71 | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| March | 8 | 74 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 13 | 59 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| May | 18 | 63 | 16 | 3 | 0 |
| June | 18 | 71 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| July | 10 | 71 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 16 | 55 | 24 | 5 | 0 |
| September | 11 | 61 | 23 | 5 | 0 |
| October | 6 | 57 | 35 | 2 | 0 |
| November | 6 | 59 | 33 | 2 | 0 |
| December | 9 | 60 | 30 | 1 | 0 |

## Local winds

- **Noreste** — NE (45°), 12–25 kn. The summer sea breeze: comes in side-shore along the beach and is the wind for the schools. With northeast, the Downwind is done, running 12 km down the coast from Kota Beach.. It takes you south, towards the beach resorts: do not enter the swimming zone and return to the beach before reaching the umbrellas.
- **Sur** — S (180°), 15–30 kn. The most frequent wind of the year: comes from the south, side-onshore, almost always with a front. It brings more waves and colder water.. With fronts it rises fast and gusty, with a larger shorebreak: go out with a margin and with small gear at hand.
- **Este** — E (90°), 12–25 kn. Comes from the sea towards the beach: it always returns you to the shore, but kicks up the shorebreak.. With onshore wind the shorebreak is harder: set up far from people and umbrellas.
- **Oeste** — WNW (290°), 12–30 kn. West and northwest wind: comes down from the dunes towards the sea, gusty and without waves.. Offshore wind: takes you away from the coast. Do not go out with west or northwest.

## Zones

- **Launch** — Launch zone
- **Pinamar Norte** — Navigation zone
- **Parking** — Parking
- **Botavara swimming zone (summer)** — Seasonal area

## Points of interest

- **Launch north of Botavara**: Open beach between Sport Beach and Balneario Botavara, where the schools operate.
- **Windkite Pinamar**: Kite, wing foil, foil, windsurf, surf and SUP school at Balneario Botavara, every day from 10 to 20 h.
- **Kota Beach: Downwind start**: Parador on the northern border of Pinamar where the kitesurf Downwind starts, 600 m to the north (OpenStreetMap).
- **Parking lot**: Parking next to Av. del Libertador, about 200 m from the shore (OpenStreetMap).
- **Sport Beach**: Parador north of the launch (OpenStreetMap).

## Hazards

- West or northwest wind: blows from land and takes you out to sea
- Shorebreak and rip currents with big swell
- Swimmers in front of the beach resorts in summer
- Cold water outside of summer: use a wetsuit

## Obstacles

- Umbrellas and tents from the beach resorts
- Swimmers and people on the beach in summer

## Facilities

- Toilets
- Parking
- Restaurant
- School

[See it on Ventus Surf (3D map, zones and live forecast)](https://ventus.surf/spots/pinamar-norte-botavara-lCzGFsyiBu46lLIE79qK?lang=en)