By air
Trelew (REL), ~1.5 h by road to Puerto Madryn
South America · Argentina
Península Valdés, Argentina
Whales, elephant seals and penguins
Getting there
Best time to visit
June to December for southern right whales
Don't miss
Puerto Pirámides
Punta Norte
Caleta Valdés
Punta Delgada
Things to do
Whale watching from Puerto Pirámides
Orca spotting at Punta Norte (March–April)
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Eberhardt TRAVEL · CC BY 3.0
What to pack
Windproof layers, binoculars
A quieter corner
The Punta Tombo penguin colony to the south
Questions travellers ask
When can I see whales at Península Valdés?
June to December is the time for southern right whales. Whale watching trips leave from Puerto Pirámides.
When can I spot orcas at Península Valdés?
In March–April, at Punta Norte. Caleta Valdés and Punta Delgada are worth a stop too.
How do I get to Península Valdés?
Fly into Trelew (REL); from there it's about 1.5 h by road to Puerto Madryn. Try the Patagonian seafood.
Where can I see penguins near Península Valdés?
At the Punta Tombo penguin colony, to the south. Pack windproof layers and binoculars.
About Península Valdés
- Coastal
Where it is
Península Valdés is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of Chubut province in Patagonia, Argentina, joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus between the Golfo San José and the Golfo Nuevo, with the city of Puerto Madryn as its gateway.
History
Tehuelche people hunted on the peninsula long before Europeans arrived. Welsh settlers landed at Puerto Madryn in 1865 and founded colonies in the Chubut valley, and the peninsula, long used for sheep ranching, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 for its marine mammals.
People
Few people live on the peninsula beyond Puerto Pirámides, its only village, and scattered sheep estancias. Puerto Madryn, Trelew and Gaiman nearby grew from the Welsh settlement, and Welsh is still taught and heard in the Chubut valley alongside Spanish.
Known for
- Southern right whales in the Golfo Nuevo
- Orcas hunting at Punta Norte
- Elephant seal colonies
- Magellanic penguins
- Welsh tea houses in nearby Gaiman
Did you know?
At Punta Norte, orcas deliberately beach themselves to snatch young sea lions and elephant seals from the shore, a hunting technique seen in very few places on earth.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.