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Villa Gesell 41.9

#4633 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇷 Argentina · Buenos Aires · near Mar de Ajó

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearBeginner friendlyBeginner
Villa Gesell, Argentina
Photo: Andres H · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score41.9 /100
Surfable days92% of the year
Clean days6% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell10% period 11 s+
Typical size0.9 m 3.0 ft median
Water16°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Villa Gesell

The best time to surf Villa Gesell is May, June, July. It rarely works. In May the water sits around 15°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.0 m. The nearest airport is MDQ (93 km) and the nearest town is Mar de Ajó (65 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan94%2%0.9 m22°C2mm
Feb97%3%0.9 m22°Cvest
Mar92%4%0.9 m21°C2mm
Apr92%5%0.9 m20°C2mm
May88%17%1.0 m15°C4/3
Jun83%9%0.9 m12°C5/4
Jul89%13%1.0 m10°C6/5
Aug88%7%0.8 m10°C5/4
Sep91%5%0.9 m12°C5/4
Oct95%6%0.9 m15°C4/3
Nov97%1%0.9 m17°C3/2
Dec97%2%0.9 m20°C2mm

What is under Villa Gesell

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 16 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 23 m against 16 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out16 m
Depth 4 km out11 m
Channel beside it23 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 41.9

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
8.0
Best days 22.4%
7.4
Clean days 18.4%
2.2
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.4
Access 4.1%
2.8

The detail

Faces 125° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 55% of days. Mean peak period 8.2 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.6 m, with a peak period of 11 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 74%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -37.256, -56.963 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€926/ month
typically €815 – €1,040
Rent, one bedroom€484
Groceries€196
Eating out€110
Getting around€64
Phone + internet€68
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,800/ month
typically €1,590 – €2,020
Somewhere to stay€1,060
Eating out€378
Car, transfers, fuel€246
Data + extras€115
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Argentina (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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