Mar del Plata · Argentina · Sand slope
Banco de Afuera
The clubs' usual offshore bank, with the city's richest fauna
Area photo: FarSouthNavy · CC BY 4.0
Banco de Afuera is the offshore sand bank where the Escualo club's boats usually take divers, with 17 to 20 m of water depending on the tide. Its fauna is the richest of any Mar del Plata site, and the Kyokko was sunk on the bank in 2025.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Mar del Plata and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
Every weekend the Escualo club's boats take divers out to one of the offshore points, and Banco de Afuera is the usual choice. The bottom is sand, with 17 to 20 m of water depending on the height of the tide, so the dive stays at one level across the bank rather than following a wall or slope.
Visibility averages 4 to 8 m, and the club usually finds 6 to 10 m on the bank; on one calm July morning after windless days with fog, the water was 11 °C with 15 m of visibility. The fauna is the richest of any Mar del Plata dive site, and the Kyokko, sunk on the bank in 2025, adds a hard structure on the sand.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Mar del Plata: The best months are September to November and March to May. Water falls to 8–16 °C from May to September, though club boats still go out in July.
Dive videos
Buceo en el Banco de Afuera · CASE Producciones on YouTube
18 02 17 y 18 Buceo MDQ Banco de Afuera Delfines · Marco Paolini on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Banco de Afuera in Mar del Plata?+
The sand bank lies in 17 to 20 m of water, depending on the height of the tide.
Sources
- Buceo en Mar del Plata — Oceanica Buceo
- Bucear en La Feliz: el mundo submarino desconocido por muchos marplatenses — Diario La Capital de Mar del Plata
- Proyectan crear un nuevo parque submarino en Mar del Plata — El Marplatense
More dive sites in Mar del Plata
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 20 to 28 m
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 24 to 42 m
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 24 to 36 m
Wreck
The 1981 wooden hull that started the city's wreck park
Wreck
An 82 m Soviet fishing vessel at 25 m
Artificial reef
The first ship sunk on Banco de Afuera, in 28 m
Wreck
A 51 m steel fishing vessel scuttled in 2022
Similar dives elsewhere
Sea turtles that feed around the pilings of a working fishing pier
Sand slope
Atspas Beach
Thassos · Greece
A quiet sandy beach with an easy walk-in entry
A calm northern bay for skills practice near Crystal Rock
Hundreds of garden eels standing out of white sand at 20 m