A balneario ( Portuguese spelling: balneário) is an

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

n and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n resort town, typically a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

, and less commonly along the shores of lakes and rivers or next to

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

s. In

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, balneario typically only refers to

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"balnearĭus" and initially from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

"balneae" from Greek βαλανεῖον ''balaneion, - "bath, bathing room". Balnearios may be as simple as a beach or as complex as a

planned city A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. Mexico's Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta are balneario city-destinations, for example, while

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

's San Alfonso del Mar is a more planned resort community and its Viña del Mar 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'' 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, Brazil * Armação dos Búzios, Brazil * Balneário Camboriú, Brazil * Copacabana/ Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Florianópolis, Brazil * Fortaleza, Brazil *

Guarujá Guarujá (; ) is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 322,750 (2020 est.) in an area of . This place name comes from the Tupi language, and means "narrow pa ...

, Brazil *

Ilhabela Ilhabela ( Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The largest is ...

, Brazil *

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important touris ...

, Brazil *

Itacaré Itacaré is a municipality in the cocoa zone of the state of Bahia in Brazil, south of Salvador. Location Itacaré is located 70 km north of Ilhéus where the Rio de Contas, which comes from the Chapada Diamantina, meets the Atlantic Ocean. ...

, Brazil *

Jijoca de Jericoacoara Jijoca de Jericoacoara () is the northernmost municipality in the Brazilian state of Ceará, near the city of Cruz. It is known for its eponymous beach and national park. It is served by Jericoacoara airport, which opened in 2017. Name The ...

, Brazil * Luís Correia, Brazil *

Mar del Plata, Argentina Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...

* Maragogi, Brazil * Costa do Sauípe, Brazil *

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, Brazil * Porto de Galinhas, Brazil *

Porto Seguro Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...

, Brazil *

Salinópolis Salinópolis is a municipality in the state of Pará in the Northern region of Brazil. Climate Salinópolis has a tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tro ...

, Brazil * São Sebastião, Brazil * Trancoso, Brazil *

Pinamar Pinamar is an Argentine coastal resort city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province. It has about 45,000 inhabitants (2020). Located less than south of Buenos Aires, it is one of several small seaside communities that ...

, Argentina * Central Litoral, Chile ** Algarrobo ** Viña del Mar ** Reñaca **

Zapallar The town and commune of Zapallar is in Chile's Petorca Province, which is part of the Valparaíso Region. The community covers 288 km2 (111 square miles) of land. A horseshoe bay protects the beach resort town of Zapallar, which was built alo ...

* La Serena, Chile *

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It is part of the Veron–Punta Cana municipal district, in the Higüey municipality of La Altagracia Province. According to the 2010 census, this district had a p ...

* Montañita, Ecuador *

Acapulco, Mexico 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 ...

* Cancún, Mexico * La Paz/

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Cabo San Lucas (, " Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhab ...

* Playa del Cármen/

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucat� ...

, Mexico * Progreso, Mexico *

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 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 Guadalaj ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

* Máncora, Peru *

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is s ...

, U.S. *

Culebra, Puerto Rico Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieque ...

, U.S. * Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, U.S. *

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

, U.S. *

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

, U.S. * Cuaró,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

, Uruguay *

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Chilean balnearios
Latin America Seaside resorts

History

Playa versus balneario

Famous balnearios

See also

References

External links