Punta Perdices
San Antonio Este, Río Negro Province, Argentina
Punta Perdices sits on the San Matías Gulf in Argentina's Río Negro province, where locals half joke about a 'Patagonian Caribbean,' the water really does run clear and turquoise over white, shell strewn sand. Small tidal rock pools called Las Ollitas fill with warm water at low tide and are worth timing a visit around.
The clear water and rock pools have made it a genuine regional favorite, but its growing popularity has brought enough vehicle traffic on the shell beds that conservation limits are now being discussed.
How we score beachesCheck a tide table before you go, the gulf's swings are big enough that the whole character of the beach changes between high and low water, and driving directly onto the shell beds is now restricted to protect them.
It's about 65 kilometers from Las Grutas and roughly 180 kilometers from Viedma, reached via Ruta 3 to San Antonio Este and then a coastal gravel road, Ruta Provincial 1. A standard car handles it fine, no 4x4 needed.
The Mirador Norte lookout leads down to the beach on foot over gravel and arid ground, nothing paved. There's no shade, food, or water on site, so bring what you need.
December through March is Patagonian summer here and the only realistic swimming window, with air in the high teens to high twenties Celsius and water around 21 degrees. Outside those months the coast turns cold, windy, and fairly unwelcoming.
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