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What to see in Peninsula Valdes has an easy answer: lots of animals! This peninsula, in fact, is a true paradise for animal lovers. Peninsula Valdes is easily accessible from Puerto Madryn: the entrance is only an hour’s drive from Puerto Madryn, one of the most touristy cities on the Patagonian coast.
What to see in the Peninsula Valdes: Puerto Piramides
There is only one town on the Valdes Peninsula, Puerto Piramides. In this small town you can find a gas station, a couple of bars and restaurants, and a bakery where they sell excellent empanadas. In addition, there is a diving center: here you can, in fact, snorkel or dive with sea lions. There are a couple of accommodations in Puerto Piramides, with fairly expensive prices: it is a good base to see the Australian right whales from late June to early December.
Puerto Piramides is definitely worth a visit: the beach is beautiful and the sunset from here is wonderful. Also, just before entering the town there is a five-kilometer detour to a loberia: you can see sea lions from above and the view is sensational!
What to see in the Peninsula Valdes: Caleta Valdes
Driving along a dirt road, but well maintained, it is possible to enter the middle of Peninsula Valdes. Seventy-five kilometers away from Puerto Piramides is Caleta Valdes: here you can enjoy spectacular views and see sea lions and elephant seals from October to April.
Five kilometers before Caleta Valdes there is a magellanic penguin house. There are not many penguins, but it is possible to admire this magnificent animal up close. A visit to Caleta Valdes and the penguinera is worth about an hour.
What to see in the Peninsula Valdes: Punta Norte
Driving an additional 75 kilometers, it is possible to reach the northern part of the Valdes Peninsula. Here there is a wooden footbridge where you can once again see sea lions and elephant seals. The view is once again splendid! In this area I was lucky enough to admire an armadillo, moving quietly among the humans. Again, the visit is worth about an hour.
In Punta Norte I was lucky enough to see a beautiful armadillo, fearlessly moving among humans!
What to see in the Peninsula Valdes: Estancia San Lorenzo
A few kilometers before reaching the northernmost point of the Valdes peninsula is theestancia San Lorenzo. I visited this private place thanks to Argentina on the Go and fell in love with it. Here, in fact, you can see about 600,000 Magellanic penguins.
Once I left the car at the estancia, an open bus took me to the entrance of the penguinera, covering five kilometers: already in the last kilometer I could see several penguins. Getting off the bus, a guide accompanied me for an hour to the penguin paradise. On this beach, in fact, it is possible to see many Magellanic penguins: a wonder!
I had lunch at Estancia San Lorenzo, eating a divine Patagonian cordero. The visit to the pinguinera lasted about two hours in total.
What to see in the Valdes Peninsula: visitor center and Isla Pajaros
An additional 75 kilometers brought me to the Valdes Peninsula Visitor Center. Here it is possible to see a southern right whale skeleton, view the animals that frequent the peninsula, and appreciate the scientific studies that have been done. The visit to the center is worth about 20 minutes.
Only five kilometers away from the visitors’ center is another viewpoint, which I would call literary. In fact, from this point it is possible to see the isla de los pajaros, whose shape was taken by Antoine Saint-Expedury for his very famous book ‘The Little Prince.
OVER WHAT TO SEE IN THE PENINSULA VALDES MIGHT INTEREST YOU….
One-month itinerary in Argentina
Buenos Aires, the capital city!
USEFUL INFORMATION ON WHAT TO SEE IN THE PENINSULA VALDES
- Peninsula Valdes is a true paradise for animal lovers. In addition to those described, it is possible to see killer whales from October to November and from February to April. The best places to spot these magnificent animals are Caleta Valdes and the north of the island. Driving around, it is also possible to encounter lots of guanacos.
- Penguins can be admired from October to April. In January and February, small penguins, exclusively black in color, can be observed. Most of these little penguins are easy prey for sea lions and orcas: this leads to the fact that a high number of penguins do not reach one year of age. In the Australian summer months it is possible to see baby penguins with different plumage than their parents.
- Peninsula Valdes deserves at least one full day of visits, starting from Puerto Madryn. During whale season, it is advisable to stop overnight in Puerto Piramides and devote two days to sightseeing.
- For foreigners, the entrance fee to Peninsula Valdes is about 12 euros, to which one euro must be added for the car. This is definitely the best means of admiring the sights and animals of the Peninsula Valdes.
- I have traveled to this part of Argentina by renting a car. There are many specialized agencies that organize trips to this area, such as. Argentina on the Go.
- Currently the road connecting the northern point of the peninsula with Caleta Valdes and the southernmost viewpoint of the peninsula are closed: there are no plans to open them in the next period. This results in a total of 225 kilometers of dirt road to travel: the road is well maintained but it is strongly recommended not to exceed 60 kilometers per hour.
- If you are tight on time, the best thing to do is to stop by the visitor center in advance and ask where you can see most of the animals. Killer whales, for example, generally hang out in the north of the peninsula from February to April and Caleta Valdes from October to November. The best thing to do is to ask at the visitor center where they have been spotted in the last few days.
- There is, therefore, no best season to visit the Valdes Peninsula. Perhaps, however, I would say the best months are October and November when it is possible to spot most of the animals that make this peninsula wonderful.
