Puerto Madryn

Day Trips

After pickup at your hotel in Puerto Madryn, drive along the Patagonian roads, until you arrive at Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve. See local animals like guanacos, choiques, liebres, and other wildlife that’ll make the experience much more enjoyable.  Punta Tombo is the place where Magellanic penguins choose to carry out another reproduction cycle every year. Once there, you will stay at the reserve for no less than three hours in order to walk along the paths and enjoy them up close and personal.  Observe them in their birth nest or while swimming in the sea. Visit the Punta Tombo Interpretative Centre or have lunch at the cafeteria restaurant (not included).

Meet the varied and fascinating wildlife of the Valdés Peninsula in Chubut Province on this full day guided trip. See whales, seals, penguins, various bird species, and more in their natural habitats. After pickup from your hotel in Puerto Madryn, head to Peninsula Valdés, a protected natural area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Take a one-hour drive to Puerto Piramides, where you’ll embark on a whale watching boat trip (if option selected). See Southern Right whales from June to early December and Southern sea lions and cormorants from January to March. If you have not chosen the whale watching option, you’ll have free time to enjoy Puerto Piramide.   Next, continue your journey to Estancia San Lorenzo, a traditional sheep farm, where you will taste a spectacular lamb barbecue for lunch. After free time for lunch, visit a stunning Magellanic penguin colony where about 500,000 penguins are located. These timid feather-shedders are named after the famed Portuguese explorer whose crew spotted them in 1520.   Your next stop will be the Wildlife Reserve Punta Norte, where depending on the time of year, you can see Southern elephant seals, Southern sea lions, and maybe even orcas. Finally, leave for Punta Cantor to observe Caleta Valdes, a large inlet that stretches along the peninsula’s Atlantic coastline. On the way back, stop at the Visitor Center situated on the Isthmus Carlos Ameghino. On the way back to Puerto Madryn, you may run into wild rheas, tinamous, guanacos, foxes, cavies, and armadillos.

Set out in the early morning for Puerto Pirámide where you will take a boat to go whale watching. It is advisable to board very early in the morning for favorable weather. After boarding you will set our course for south of the peninsula, going through Salinas Grande y Chica. The tour arrives at Punta Delgada around midday. After lunch at the El Faro resort you can go down to the cliffs and walk near the sea elephants. Afterwards the tour proceeds to Punta Cantor to see the external coast of the peninsula and get to Caleta Valdés (also known as Valdés Inlet). Here you will view geological formations before heading back to the Ameghino Isthmus. There is a good chance of seeing some of the wild land animals such as guanacos, rheas, foxes, maras (Patagonian hare), armadillos or skunks. At sunset, we will arrive at Puerto Madryn. * Whale watching season is June - December. The rest of the year, the cruise goes seal watching. Please note that whale watching is subject to weather conditions.

Explore a Spanish shipwreck on Parana beach and spot penguins, whales, dolphins, and more in the Punta Loma Natural Reserve before jumping in the water to interact with the sea lions in their natural habitat. These curious animals are not trained nor fed, yet are friendly and used to humans. With the help of an experienced guide, you will learn more about these playful animals in this unique and unforgettable experience.  Choose between hotel pickup and drop-off in Puerto Madryn or come directly to the meeting point where you will be fitted with a neoprene suit before heading down to the water to hop on the boat. After snorkeling and touring, the group will return to the dive center for hot drinks.

After pickup at your hotel in Puerto Madryn, head towards Peninsula Valdés, a protected natural area. After a one-hour drive to Puerto Piramides, where you will go on a boat trip to see whales from June to the beginning of December and sea lions and cormorants from January to March (if option selected).  Those who do not choose the optional whale watching will have free time to enjoy Puerto Piramide for lunch time. After lunch you will visit the sea lion colony of Punta Piramides. After that, continue to Punta Cantor in Caleta Valdés (Valdés Inlet) and get to know the geological formations and observe elephant seals.  Then head back to the Ameghino Isthmus and visit the interesting interpretation center. On the way you’ll have a good chance of coming across wild land fauna such as guanacos, rheas, foxes, maras, armadillos and skunks.

Discover the natural beauty of the Valdes Peninsula on this full-day tour from Puerto Madryn. The area is known for its unique animal species, as it provides the perfect environment for them to live and breed. On this excursion you'll be accompanied by bi-lingual guides and naturalists. The first stop is at the interpretive center at the Carlos Ameghino Isthmus, where you'll learn about the flora, fauna and geology of the peninsula. From the panoramic lookout, you’ll have views of Golfo Nuevo, San Jose and the Island of Birds. Next on the itinerary is a stop in the town of Puerto Piramides, where depending on the season, you can take an optional whale watching tour (additional fee applies). Depending on the season, weather and tides, you’ll visit some or all of the following sites: Caleta Valdes, Punta Norte and Punta Cantor, where you can see elephant seals, penguins and sea lions. As you head back, be on the lookout for some of the wild Argentinean land animals including guanacos, rheas, foxes, maras, armadillos and skunks. At sunset, you'll arrive back at Puerto Madryn, where the tour ends.