A balneario (

Portuguese spelling Portuguese orthography is based on the Latin alphabet and makes use of the acute accent, the circumflex accent, the grave accent, the tilde, and the cedilla to denote stress, vowel height, nasalization, and other sound changes. The diaeresis was ...

: balneário) is an Iberian and Latin American

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

, typically a seaside resort, and less commonly along the shores of lakes and rivers or next to hot springs. In Spain, balneario typically only refers to spa town resorts. These resorts offer recreation, sports, entertainment, food, hospitality and safety services, retail, and cultural events. These balneario towns are characterized by being flooded by masses of tourists during the summer seasons. Playa Reñaca

History

The word "balneario" comes from Latin "balnearĭus" and initially from Greek "balneae" from Greek βαλανεῖον ''balaneion, - "bath, bathing room". Balnearios may be as simple as a beach or as complex as a planned city. Mexico's

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

and

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...

are balneario city-destinations, for example, while Chile's

San Alfonso del Mar San Alfonso del Mar, sometimes spelled "San Alphonso del Mar", is a private resort in Algarrobo, Chile, about west of Santiago. Facilities * 1,200 second home units. * Sub-Acqua Café Aquarium, located on the edge of the artificial lagoon. * ...

is a more planned resort community and its

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

a city that also happens to be a balneario. Balnearios are characterized by having beaches and hot climates, being seasonal destinations, attracting foreign tourists, and having boom periods surrounding festivals. The word comes from Spanish, and the difference between a "''playa'' (beach) and a balneario is the services provided at the balneario.

Playa versus balneario

A beach is simply a stretch of shoreline, usually sandy, while a balneario has amenities.balneario entry
''

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

'' playa entry
Real Academia Española It is a specific recreational destination with features such as bathrooms, lifeguards, changing rooms, and picnic tables.
/ref>

Famous balnearios

Angra dos Reis Angra dos Reis (; Portuguese for ''cove'' or ''bay of the Kings'') is a Brazilian municipality located in the southern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The city is located by the sea and includes in its territory many offshore islands, the l ...

, Brazil *

Armação dos Búzios Armação dos Búzios (, ), often referred to as just Búzios, is a resort town and a municipality located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is 173 km east of the city of Rio de Janeiro. By 2020, its population consisted of 34,477 i ...

, Brazil *

Balneário Camboriú Balneário Camboriú () is a coast beach city in the Brazilian southern state of Santa Catarina. The city, with its steep hills dropping down to the sea, is popular amongst South Americans. The main ocean boulevard is called ''Avenida Atlânti ...

, Brazil * Copacabana/

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a populat ...

, Brazil *

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

, Brazil * Guarujá, Brazil * Ilhabela, Brazil * Ilhéus, Brazil * Itacaré, Brazil * Jijoca de Jericoacoara, Brazil *

Luís Correia Luís Correia is one of the four coastal cities of Piauí, Brazil. The municipality contains part of the Delta do Parnaíba Environmental Protection Area, created in 1996. The municipality also contains part of the Serra da Ibiapaba Environmenta ...

, Brazil * Mar del Plata, Argentina *

Maragogi Maragogi is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Alagoas, 125 km north of the capital city of Maceió. It has 33,032 inhabitants, a city situated on the northern coast of Alagoas state, Brazil, being the easternmost city of that state. ...

, Brazil *

Costa do Sauípe Sauipe is a district in the municipality of Mata de São João, on the northern coast of the state of Bahia, in Brazil. There are few permanent residents there, due to the very high cost of residences and the fact that almost the entire area is ...

, Brazil * Natal, Brazil *

Porto de Galinhas Porto de Galinhas is a beach in the municipality of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. Porto de Galinhas is a major tourist destination. The beach is famous for its bright-water beaches and the natural pools. It is part of the municipality of Ipojuca ...

, Brazil * Porto Seguro, Brazil * Salinópolis, Brazil * São Sebastião, Brazil *

Trancoso, Brazil Trancoso is a district in the municipality of Porto Seguro in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Once a small fishing village, the town is now known for its beaches and has increased in popularity since gaining international attention around 2000 whi ...

* Pinamar, Argentina * Central Litoral, Chile ** Algarrobo **

Reñaca Reñaca or ''Reñaca Bajo'', is a seaside neighborhood in the commune of Viña del Mar, Chile. The city is located along the coast in between the city of Viña del Mar and the town of Concón. Since the commune of Concón was created in 1995 Reñ ...

** Zapallar * La Serena, Chile * Punta Cana, Dominican Republic *

Montañita Montañita is a small coastal town in Ecuador located in the parish of Manglaralto, province of Santa Elena, about 180 kilometers northwest of Guayaquil. Its name means "small mountain." In the mid 20th century it was known as a surfing beach, w ...

, Ecuador * Acapulco, Mexico * Cancún, Mexico *

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

/ Cabo San Lucas, Mexico * Playa del Cármen/ Cozumel, Mexico * Progreso, Mexico * Puerto Vallarta, Mexico * San Bernardino, Paraguay *

Máncora Máncora is a town and beach resort in the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. It is located in the Talara Province and is capital of the Máncora District. The town has 10,547 inhabitants (2007). The Pan-American Highway The Pan-Ameri ...

, Peru * Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, U.S. * Culebra, Puerto Rico, U.S. * Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, U.S. * San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. * Vieques, Puerto Rico, U.S. *

Cuaró Cuaró is a ''caserío'' (hamlet) in the sparsely populated central Artigas Department of northern Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It sha ...

, Uruguay * Punta del Este, Uruguay * Isla Margarita, Venezuela

References

{{reflist

External links

Chilean balnearios
Latin America Seaside resorts

History

Playa versus balneario

Famous balnearios

See also

References

External links