Peninsula Valdes: Whales, Sea Lions and Penguins from Puerto Madryn

Arrive in Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn or Trelew airport to your hotel on the waterfront

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Puerto Madryn

Soir

In the evening your See Sight Tours guide, to be appointed, briefs the group on the six days, the wildlife calendar and how tides and wind can reorder the plan. A welcome dinner of Patagonian seafood or lamb is proposed. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, and the plan is a proposal pending a written quote.

Compris

• Pick-up at the arrival airport, proposed
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner

Sea lions at Punta Loma and the EcoCentro

Puerto Madryn and the Punta Loma sea lion colony

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Puerto Madryn

Matin

A morning with the sea lions. Punta Loma, a protected natural area about 17 km south of town according to the Puerto Madryn tourism office, has a permanent colony of South American sea lions on a rocky shore. We plan a visit with a licensed local operator, and if an operator offers snorkelling beside the colony we will quote it as an option; the water is cold and the sea can be rough, so it depends on weather and permits. Guests who prefer to stay dry can watch from the cliff viewpoint, and rules against touching or feeding apply.

Après-midi

In the afternoon we plan a visit to the Ecocentro, a marine science and interpretation centre in Puerto Madryn. Its press-reported hours this season are Wednesday to Sunday from 15:00 to 19:00, so we will confirm the day of the week before fixing the order of the day.

Soir

The evening is free in town.

Compris

• Visit to Punta Loma with a licensed local operator; snorkelling, if offered, to be quoted
• Ecocentro visit, subject to its opening days

Over the isthmus to Puerto Piramides and the whales

Puerto Madryn to Puerto Piramides, then a whale-watching boat

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Puerto Piramides
• En bateau

Après-midi

In the afternoon we plan to join a licensed whale-watching boat from the beach, to be quoted, to look for southern right whales that come into the sheltered Golfo Nuevo to breed and calve. The municipality lists boat watching from mid-June to December with departures of roughly two hours. Which whales are seen, and how close, is not under anyone's control, and the port can close in strong wind or heavy rain.

Soir

Dinner is proposed in the village.

Compris

• Vehicle and driver, Puerto Madryn to Puerto Piramides
• Peninsula Valdes entry fee, proposed
• Whale-watching boat from Puerto Piramides, to be quoted
• Dinner

Activités en option

• A second boat trip, subject to season

Punta Norte, Caleta Valdes and the elephant seals

A full day around the peninsula's northeast coast, with the drive back to Puerto Piramides

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Puerto Piramides

Soir

The administration advises keeping below 60 km/h on gravel and not driving the internal roads after 18:00 or at night, so we plan to be heading back before that. At Punta Norte there is a sea lion colony; at Caleta Valdes elephant seal females arrive in early September to give birth, according to the municipality. We watch from marked viewpoints and keep a respectful distance. Orcas hunt here too, but the timing is narrow and tide dependent: the municipality gives late February to mid-May at Punta Norte, with the peak in March and April, and October to November at Caleta Valdes, ideally from two hours before high tide to two hours after. We cannot promise orcas, and our dates may not match. Lunch is proposed on the road.

Compris

• Vehicle and driver for the day
• Sea lion and elephant seal viewpoints at Punta Norte and Caleta Valdes
• Lunch

To Trelew and the Welsh tea at Gaiman

Puerto Piramides to Trelew, then Gaiman

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Trelew

Matin

After breakfast we leave the peninsula and drive back across the isthmus, then on to the Chubut valley, the long road of the day, a few hours by our estimate. The valley is where Welsh settlers arrived in the nineteenth century, as local tourism material describes, and Gaiman, a small town on the Chubut river, is known for its Welsh tea rooms where tea is served with cakes and scones.

Soir

We plan an afternoon tea at a tea room, venue to be chosen with the quote; press guides say that the tea rooms usually serve in the afternoon, from about 14:30 or 15:00 until evening, but each sets its own hours, so we will confirm. If time allows we also look at the old railway station or the river bank. We then drive the short way to Trelew, where we stay near the airport to make tomorrow simple. If there is time before closing, the Egidio Feruglio paleontology museum in Trelew is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 according to its visit page, as an optional extra. Dinner is free tonight.

Compris

• Vehicle and driver, Puerto Piramides to Trelew
• Welsh tea at a tea room in Gaiman, venue to be confirmed

Activités en option

• Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, open daily 10:00 to 19:00 per its visit page, if time allows; ticket extra

Punta Tombo and fly out

Trelew to Punta Tombo and back to Trelew airport

• Petit-déjeuner

Après-midi

Because the reserve opens at eight and part of the road is gravel, we cannot say how early guests can fly; most flights home would have to be from the afternoon, and we will confirm a safe earliest time before anyone books. The trip ends at Trelew airport. Penguins are present only during the reserve's active season, so a departure outside it would not include them.

Compris

• Vehicle and driver, Trelew to Punta Tombo and the airport
• Punta Tombo reserve entry, proposed
• Guided walk among the penguins