Whale watching in Puerto Madryn and Patagonia introduction

Pick an animal. Match the month. Head to Puerto Madryn. That’s the essence of tourism in Puerto Madryn – its wildlife. Dolphins, seals, sea lions, even penguins – can all be spotted on the Atlantic coast at Puerto Madryn. But whale watching in Puerto Madryn is the most famous activity here.

We visited Puerto Madryn at the peak of the southern hemisphere winter – in the month of July. We would “test the waters” of Patagonia – to decide (and prepare if decided!) whether we were brave enough to venture further south into deep Patagonia.

The wildlife that matched with July were the whales and the sea lions.

Whale watching in Puerto Madryn – the main attraction of the Patagonia coast

Southern Right whales are the commonly found species of whales in Puerto Madryn. These whales are docile by nature. Because they’re non-aggressive, they’re the “right” kinds of whales to hunt – hence the name! Cruel, right? Their dwindling numbers, reaching an endangered mark pushed them to the protected species list. Hunting of the Southern Right whales is now prohibited.

They still have a danger from the Orcas (which are also found in these Patagonian waters, but sightings are extremely rare). To stay away from these deadly Orcas, the Southern Right whales stay close to the coast. Which makes up-close-and-personal encounters with these whales a possibility and a delight.

We had the time to squeeze in a quick trek before our whale watching tour. From atop the hillock, we could see several “puntos” – pieces of land jutting out into the water. The hillocks had the shape of perfect triangles. This pyramid-like appearance is the reason the town is called Puerto Piramides.

It was a perfect day for whale watching. A light breeze meant calm waters. The sky was cloudless. Sun was out. This meant clarity – to the water as well as the air. We could spot the whale movements from afar as well as up above.

From atop the pyramid hillocks, we could see spot a few whale couples, out on a date in the clear blue Atlantic waters. The sight was too tempting – a selfie had to be taken with these couples!

The boat ride gave us a much closer look into the lives of the Southern Right whales. It was their mating season. They too, follow the “guy chases girl, girl refuses to fall in” pattern. Several males chase a female whale, giving it an appearance of a group whale dance.

Next up was the funnel. A tool to display prowess is one of the interpretations of the funnel, the experts told us. The funnel is invariably followed by a jump.

It’s quite a sight seeing these huge oceanic mammals arch in and out of the water. Even without being one of the largest whale species, the Southern Right whales had us mesmerised.

Best place for whale watching around Puerto Madryn

Peninsula Valdes, 90 km from Puerto Madryn is the hotspot for all the wildlife watching around Puerto Madryn. Sightings can begin during the drive itself – especially of the guanacos. These are a Patagonia variety of the llamas. Many can be spotted running merrily in the scrubland lining the road.

Unless you plan to stay back in Puerto Piramides (there are a few hostels and guesthouses here), it is better to arrange for the boat tour back in Puerto Madryn itself. All the tours have representatives in town. You can even opt for the tour of the complete Valdes peninsula. This tour takes you to the far corners, where you can see colonies of the Magellanic penguins, seals and several other migratory birds. It wasn’t the migration season in July, so we didn’t opt for this tour.

If you have access to a car, a self-drive tour might be the best option. Just book the boat tour. Drive anywhere along the peninsula, stop wherever you feel there’s something worthy to be seen. Peninsula Valdes is a UNESCO world heritage site, there might be strict rules in place.

Snorkelling with the sea lions

Another activity we did in Puerto Madryn was snorkelling with the sea lions. The Galapagos islands are the only other place this is possible. We had never seen sea lions until then. A snorkelling date with them sounded all exotic. We decided to give it a try.

“Gringo” was the name of the guy who conducted these snorkelling sessions. He gave us a no-nonsense rundown of the activity. Water would be cold – 6 degree Celcius – we would need a dry suit. We were given a booklet explaining all the manoeuvres to study overnight.

Gringo, though, warned us not to get our hopes up too high. Out here, nature rules supreme. The weather forecast was fine for now, but conditions are known to change unexpectedly. Only in the morning, we would know for sure if we were going snorkelling.

The next morning started with dressing us up in the dry suit. The suit made us watertight – and – robotic. We were again given manoeuvre instructions – turning vertical, horizontal and flipping over. It all sounded exciting. We couldn’t wait to get down in the water and start playing with the sea lions.

The boat took us to the sea lion reserve, in the middle of the ocean. We saw our first fiery Patagonians sunrise as a flock of flamingoes took flight. Armed with our snorkels, Gringo threw each of us down in the water, for a tete-a-tete with the sea lions.

That’s when we realised how robotic those dry suits had actually made us. The stiffness didn’t make those manoeuvres come easily at all, to us novices. We struggled with trying to turn at right angles to the water. In this struggle, the salt water of the ocean entered our mouth through the snorkel. When all of this starts happening, you suddenly realise that you are in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. And that’s when panic strikes.

We went back to the boats. Gringo was saying, “Tranquilo Tranquilo, it’s only water” (calm down!). We went back in the water, this time under Gringo’s personal guidance. And saw those sea lions warm up to us. The sea lions, with their smooth slithering bodies and faces which say “come play with me” approached us one by one. “Daddy isn’t home right now, so the kids are in a playful mood”, we were told. Our rhythmic movements, especially when we were moving around in groups made the sea lions feel like we were one of them. They came up to us, wanting to play.

Our fears had cut short the time we spent with them, but it was enough to make our hearts fuzzy.

The town of Puerto Madryn – a place for food and friendships

The actual town of Puerto Madryn is a perfect mix of tourist activities and local life. A fair bit of tourism and the ocean right there – means excellent food options, especially the seafood.

Walk along the beach. See the local lads playing football. Spot whales the beachside cafes as you dig in a pizza. Enjoy the famous Argentinian afternoon siesta under the bush on the beach. Walk to the pier. Go cycling. Or just watch some kiting. There’s lots to do within the town of Puerto Madryn itself.

The market of Puerto Madryn also has some excellent meat shops. If you don’t feel up to another meal out in town, just choose your cuts at the local butcher and treat yourself to a perfect steak back in the hostel.

Of course, we could be biased about all of this – our friend in Puerto Madryn might have skewed our view of the place. The minute we heard from Gaston of Hi Patagonia, we knew we had a friend in town. Himself an avid traveller, he had met his wife during their travel in Brazil. When Argentina suffered its worst economic meltdown, he was living peacefully up in the mountains oblivious to what was happening around.

Hi Patagonia is a home and Gaston is your host. Literally. It’s a former home that Gaston converted into a hostel. A hostel – because in his own words – it’s a “hotel with a host”. He loves playing host to all the guests, answering all your questions, planning your tours, guiding you about the weather.

Another trusted partner in a place like Puerto Madryn, where the weather dictates the experience so much is a reliable weather app. Forecast of a good weather in Puerto Madryn had helped us muster the courage as we discussed our travel plans in the cosy cafes of Buenos Aires. On our last day in Puerto Madryn, we had almost rented bicycles to ride around the beach. Thunderstorm warnings and a word of caution from Gaston convinced us to leave the cycling plans “for the next time”.

Puerto Madryn introduced us to Patagonia. Freezing waters and windy beaches. It was the perfect stepping stone – we got a firm footing to handle the severe winters. And a confidence to explore places we were too afraid to dream. It felt like the whales and the sea lions in the freezing Atlantic waters were telling us, “Don’t be afraid”. Gaston was telling us, “Go, catch the sky on fire”.

The colours splashed on the sky were inviting us to witness the most magnificent drama on mother earth.

Top tips for travel to Puerto Madryn

Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn is almost a 24-hour bus ride
To travel further south into deep Patagonia, the bus has to be changed at Rio Gallegos, an industrial town along the coast. A different bus needs to be booked from Rio Gallegos to El Calafate. The entire journey takes around 28 hours. There might be a long wait at Rio Gallegos depending on the connecting bus timings.
To catch the whale watching at sunset, you will have to stay at Puerto Piramides. Staying arrangements are easily available.

Map of Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn and deep Patagonia

Do you have stories of whale watching or sea lion snorkelling? Please do share your stories! If you need any suggestions for travel to Puerto Madryn, do ask.