Thank you for sharing! Whale season runs from June to December but peaks in October/November when it’s easy to spot whales from the shore of the national park . Puerto Piramides is the best place to base yourself to explore the Peninsula Valdes. Peninsula Valdes: 2-day tour Peninsula Valdes and Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve. We weren’t so lucky but tried! It was  founded by a group of Welsh immigrants in 1865, which explain why there are so many sheep around here! My rough route around Argentina was already taking me in the vicinity of Peninsula Valdes, although I was completely unaware of its existence until I started planning things in more detail. $204.11 per adult. We stayed in Puerto Pyramides for a night, which I would recommend. They seemed pretty chilled about our presence – just standing around or cuddled up in burrows. Exceeded in quantity by Punta Tombo, which shelters nearly 1,000,000 penguins.. For some scientists and connoisseurs, the San Lorenzo Penguin Colony, barely 40 years old, was growing, due to a territorial displacement from Punta Tombo, attracted by schools of fish, on the seaboard of Península Valdés, the food they need daily to feed and feed their young. Peninsula Valdes is one of the best places in the world for whale watching / Source Whale season along Puerto Madryn's coast runs from May until December. Where to see Penguins. Puerto Madryn is the nearest city to the Peninsula, about an hour and half away, and is where most of the hotels are. Two different approaches to penguins, with their particular appeal each one of them. It was  founded by a group of Welsh immigrants in 1865, which explain why there are so many sheep around here! We skeptically stood up expecting to see a whale fin, but were amazed to see whales not only breaching but leaping out of the water and turning around backwards to flop back into the ocean. Required fields are marked *. The amount of penguins that we can see as tourists is the same in Peninsula Valdes or Punta Tombo. This was my first experience of Patagonia – a frequently romanticised part of the globe – and I’ll admit that part of me felt a tiny bit disappointed. My trip to the Peninsula Valdes was turning out to be well worth it. The penguins Arrive in a mate and raise the chicks more than 200,000 seabirds. also 46 mi ( 75 km ) from Puerto Piramides there you can see some penguins, in their nests and swimming in the waters of the cove. My very first llamas in South America! While winter is the best time to see them in Puerto Madryn itself, the spring months of September and October are considered the best for whale watching off Peninsula Valdes . Peninsula Valdes has been recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site for it's unique wildlife. Thanks! You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity. SO MANY SHEEP. I struggled to find an affordable tour online so I decided to take my chances with the tour companies in Puerto Madryn. Quick View . The roads are very drive able, even once entering the 'park' where the roads are no longer paved. The San Lorenzo Ranch, located within Peninsula Valdes, with 4600 meters of coastline on the waters of the San Matías Gulf, has one of the largest and continuously growing penguin colonies in the Argentine Patagonia. It’s easy to forget when looking at the photos that these animals are the size of buses. I had to look up ‘guanacos’ on Google to see how they look. Where were those dramatic landscapes I’d been promised?? It looked empty and uninhabitable but as the bus slowed down we started to notice movement against the beige backdrop. This part of Patagonia is very flat, very dry and very brown. The penguins Arrive in a mate and raise the chicks more than 200,000 seabirds. Av. Successfully added to your favourites list, An error occurred adding to your favourites list, Successfully removed from your favourites list, This listing cannot be favourited as we haven't added it to our listings yet. Thanks Deeptha. Little did I know they’re the pigeons of Patagonia! It would be so much fun to see penguins in the wild! I was delighted by them. de Hoteles mas verdes It would be fun to stay in the park and nice to cut down on the driving a bit. If you’re really into penguins and would like to actually walk among them, travel further south down the coast to. There, we begin our excursion in Mountain Bike or in E-Bike (electric bicycle), towards the sea lions' locker. Fortunately luck was still on my side. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. If you see this message, please enable Javascript in your browser or update your browser to a modern browser. I’m glad you were able to see them even at the end of the season! Here are all of the wild animals we spotted in the park: Spanish: Elefante Marino I have never seen a penguin in real and I am highly interested now to take a tour to Patagonian region during the right time to see these and also the whales if possible. More info. Recommended Tour:  Peke Sosa Avistajes – They’re a family business with over 40 years (and three generations) of experience. Quick View. But a closer look provided whales breaching, penguins calling, and elephant seals battling – just a few of the National Geographic-type scenes we witnessed. Saw many different animals , When talking to locals, all they seem to talk about is Puerto Madryn. English: Elegant Crested-Tinamou, Spanish: Peludo Would my luck extend to penguins? The San Lorenzo Ranch, located within Peninsula Valdes, with 4600 meters of coastline on the waters of the San Matías Gulf, has one of the largest and continuously growing penguin colonies in the Argentine Patagonia. Penguin colony of San Lorenzo in Peninsula Valdes. This happens between late February and April at Punta Norte. Peninsula Valdes Interpretation Center In order to arrive, there is a 80 Km drive from Puerto Madryn. English: Magellanic Penguin, Spanish: Ballena Franca Austral Oh my, you are definitely lucky to watch these creatures in such a close distance. The peninsula – a few hours drive from the, It may seem unbelievable after encountering such fantastic and varied wildlife but the highlights were still to come. Most people know of the peninsula as the best whale watching spot in South America, and one of the best in the world. English: Southern Right Whale. $308.00 per adult. Penguin singing in Punta Cantor Caleta Valdes. Please let us know about this issue at [email protected]. you know that we’ve been traveling through Southern Argentina and Chile for the past three weeks. Penguin Colonies near Peninsula Valdes One of the biggest highlights of Patagonia is the chance to visit a real penguin colony and watch penguins in their natural environment. I was in Argentina towards the end of their breeding season so I was cutting it fine. What a fabulous trip this turned out to be! If you’ve been following along on. An essential product to illuminate Europe and its colonies before the invention of electricity. Required fields are marked *. Penguin spotting on Peninsula Valdes. The majority of whale watching boat trips start from Puerto Piramides, the only settlement on the peninsula. There is an option that has no additional cost to see penguins, for being paid with the general entrance of the Peninsula Valdes Reserve is called Punta Cantor, in Caleta Valdés. The density of the nest is proportional and closer. English: Southern Elephant Seal, Spanish: Martineta Común Del Nómade Eco Hotel ganó We enter the Peninsula through the Carlos Ameghino Isthmus, where we stop at the Flora and Fauna Interpretation Center to also observe the Bird Island.