Puerto Madryn

We recommend at least 2 nights so you can do 2 full day explorations. 

Puerto Madryn can be visited all year round, but the wildlife living in this area isn’t around all year. Like the whales, they arrive late June in the bay of Puerto Madryn and stay until mid-December. Whereas, the penguins are settling down during the Argentine spring and summer from September until March. The sea elephants and the sea lions are permanent residents and can therefore be spotted all year round.

Flight: Puerto Madryn has an airport but still most of the flights arrive in Trelew, 65 km south. Be ready for this one hour driving upon arrival.

Bus: There are buses from Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn and the trip takes about 19 hours.

Self-drive: If you like this style of travel this destination is perfect for independent road travel. We recommend vehicles suitable for gravel, as some roads in the peninsula are not paved.

ATMs are located in banks, most of them, but are open 24hs. Each bank has a different fee that will charge you to use their system, plus your bank fee. We recommend bringing some dollar bills to exchange, so you have some cash to move around and then pay with Credit cards or use an ATM whenever you run out of money.  

In restaurants, it’s customary to tip about 10% of the bill. Note that tips can’t be added to credit-card bills, so carry cash for this purpose. For tour guides , estimate around USD 10/15 per person, for a full day tour and half of it for the driver. In hotels, you should tip porters for handling bags:USD1.00 for every two bags, same amount is calculated for drivers if they help you with your suitcases, the housekeeping (between USD0.50 – 1.00 per night), and the concierge staff if the have helped you to arrange dinner reservations, transportation or leisure activities. In Argentina we don’t regularly tip taxi drivers.

Around USD 50/100 per day, per person for daily expenses like eating, shopping and transportation, depending on how much money you want to spend on these.

Credit cards and US dollars are widely accepted in main cities. But it will be more convenient for you to exchange pesos rather than using US dollars because the rate that shops or restaurants use might not be the most convenient for you.  

Depending on the time of the year different clothing is necessary. During the summer months (October to April) it is usually warm during the day and therefore light summer clothing is recommended. However, we do suggest you to bring a warm sweater or jacket to wear at night, since nights can get cooler.

In the winter months (May to September) the temperature drops to an average of 1 °C (34 °F) in June and July. When traveling to Puerto Madryn in these months you should bring warm winter clothing like a coat, a hat, gloves, thermal underwear, warm boots and a scarf.

Around Puerto Madryn are two national parks. Parque Nacional de Punta Tombo and Parque Nacional de Península Valdés. Both parks only accept cash payments in Argentine pesos. Credit or debit cards are not accepted. 

Punta Tombo: USD 7.-
Peninsula Valdes: USD 10.-

Puerto Madryn is the place where you can spot a large range of wildlife. The tour guides can bring you as close as possible to spot penguins, whales, sea lions or sea elephants. How does less than 3 meters away sound? You will even get wet if a whale jumps right in front of you!

Pick up at airports will be upon arrival of your flight, that’s why it is so important to have the most accurate and updated flight information. Our guide or driver will be waiting for you, outside baggage claim area, you will only have to look for a sign with your name on it. Pick up for tours will be at the reception desk/lobby of the hotels. At the end of your itinerary you will find the name and telephone number of each of our local representatives and our emergency phone number, where you can call if you have any urgency or a mismatch, so we can assist you during your trip.

We strongly recommend that you purchase insurance. Travel insurance helps protect against unforeseen emergencies which can occur at any time. It also helps protect you against other circumstances like travel delay, lost or stolen baggage and personal items, missed connections and so much more.