Puerto Madryn & Valdez Peninsula: Whales & Penguins

• You will be met at the airport, and transferred to your comfortable hotel.
• You will have the evening to enjoy Puerto Madryn at your leisure.

• You will be transported to the nearby Valdez Peninsula after a complementary breakfast.
• Today you will visit Puerto Piramides, where an array of extra activities awaits including: kayaking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and sand-boarding. You will also visit Caleta Valdes, a sea elephant rockery, and Punta Delgada, a sea lion rockery.
• If you visit between June and December, you can take an optional whale watching tour.

• After a hearty breakfast, or at your convenience, you will be transported to the airport in time for your flight.

Prices Valid September- March

Prices Valid April- August

• Hotels based on US. Standards.
• All tours stated in the itinerary.
• 2 hotel nights in Puerto Madryn.
• All transfers and entrance fees.
• All breakfasts.
• English speaking tour guides.

Prices Valid April- August

Prices Valid September- March

This optional cruise can be done from Puerto Piramides as a compliment to the Peninsula Valdes excursion. The tour starts along the coast before heading out to sea to look for cetaceans. The Captain will then stop the engines and silence reigns except for the interruption of a few seagulls.

This tour starts at 8:30am and begins by traveling along 120km (75 miles) of desert dirt road during which time there’s chance to see birds, armadillos, guanacos, choiques and grey foxes among other animals. Eventually you’ll arrive at Punta Tombo, the largest of the continental Magellan penguin colonies in South America with more than 200,000 couples of birds arriving during the period of September to mid-April. The penguins build their nests in caves hidden by bushes and are found close to the coast where the soil is softer for digging. Both males and females incubate the eggs and feed the young pigeons with fish and squid. Located on a privileged area, hundreds of couples compete amongst themselves looking for a good nest, the best position, the best partner and even for land and protection. During the tour, a guide will be explaining the behavior of the birds. Return to the hotel late in the afternoon.

Puerto Madryn is considered the Capital of Diving in Argentina and is visited all year round by local and international divers attracted to its clear waters and varied sea-fauna. There are different options for diving, either from the beach with easy access or on boats. In this tour, you will first get dressed in your diver outfit, take a boat to the submarine park and after an introduction and safety brief you’ll descend with your instructor into the crystalline waters of the Golfo Nuevo, where you’ll see a wide variety of flora and fauna. The length of the tour is about 3h. No previous experience is needed (you don’t even have to know how to swim).

Departure from Puerto Madryn at about 8am along Route 25 (that connects the coast of Chubut with the Andean area) to arrive to the Florentino Ameguino Dam. This engineering feat produces most of the region’s energy. Here, you’ll have time at leisure to walk some of the paths or to enjoy other available activities. On the way back to Madryn, you’ll visit Dolavon, another town founded by the Welsh, where Chubut’s first mill is located. Return to the hotel at about 6.30pm.

At the chosen time, you will be picked up at the hotel by the guide carrying your US Shimano bike with front suspension. There are four different itineraries to follow:

1. Punta Este ~ 25km ~ 3 to 4h ~ Difficulty Easy ~ You will head east to the Indian Monument, on your way, you’ll have the chance to get inside the Patagonian Steppe and see typical flora and a panoramic view of Puerto Madryn.
2. El Doradillo ~ 38km ~ 5 to 6h ~ Difficulty Easy ~ El Doradillo was declared a municipal protected area in 2001, as it is one of the few places where whales may be watched from shore during June to November.
3. Punta Loma ~ 40km ~ 5 to 6h ~ Difficulty Moderate ~ Punta Loma was the first reserve in Chubut, created in 1967 with the purpose of protecting the only permanent South American sea lion colony. A colony of cormorants and South American terns, are among other sea and land birds, whilst reptiles and mammals also dwell this protected area.