Peninsular Valdes offers some of the best opportunities of any continental location worldwide to view 3 iconic marine mammals – Whales (The “Southern Right” in this case), Elephant Seals and Orcas (or “Killer Whales” – though strictly these are “Ocean Dolphins” rather than “Whales”). Add to these further creatures such as penguins, sea-lions and a sample of Patagonian terrestrial animals such as Guanaco, Armadillo, Rhea and Mara (“Hare”) and anyone interested in wildlife will find plenty to see! The UNESCO site covers both the terrestrial Peninsular and the waters of the Gulfs to its north and south.

However, as always with wildlife, time is needed if you want to get those views you may have seen in National Geographic programs! You also need to choose the optimal months and these do not coincide for all 3 of the iconic species. Our most recent (and second) visit was in early November 2007. This was determined by our schedule for visiting S Georgia and the Antarctic. Our experiences were as follows

ELEPHANT SEALS. September/October might have been more optimal since most of the males, having arrived around August, had already left and their spectacular “fights” were not on view. It must also be said that, for those who are going on to S Georgia or the Antarctic, the views of Elephant Seals on Valdes are somewhat “tame” compared with what you will see later since the numbers are considerably lower and the viewing (understandably) is kept to a distance of around 200 metres or more behind fences or up on cliffs. So quality close-up photography isn’t possible –there is no walking right among the creatures on the beach as on S Georgia!

WHALES. Their “best season” is Sept-Nov but they are viewable May-Dec. You can get whale views outside the Park from the promenade at PM or nearby beaches but these do not really match the close ups of swimming, blowing and breaching which you should get from a boat trip in the Park. Whale watching was the main purpose of our visit and we did 3 trips, having good views on each (photos), but it was only on the last that we encountered whales who “took an interest” in the boat (which is not allowed to chase them) and hung around! As always with wildlife “time on the trail” is what counts!

ORCA. November was not the best time for these and we didn’t see any here. They may be seen along the ocean facing coast between September and April but are best in Feb/Mar. Your chances of just seeing them “en passant” in your vehicle are not great (whatever the tour salesmen in PM say!) and really you need to throw time and money at the problem by staying nearby with your personal transport to increase your chances – choose a time of high tide if you want to see them catching seals (and still hope for very good luck!).

So, herewith, a few logistical points to help you optimise your visit

a. The Peninsular is surprisingly large “up close” and a round trip from the major local town of Puerto Madryn (PM) will eat up over 400kms. A group might find a rent-a-car the most pleasant way of covering the ground – a lot of the roads are dirt however so watch the insurance excess!

b. There are daily peninsular minibus tours from PM at around Arg $115 (US$1 = Arg $3.1). These will give you a reasonable “feel” for the place but the land scenery is, in all honesty, rather bleak/dull and you will see similar, as well as the terrestrial creatures, during any other land travelling you might do elsewhere in Patagonia. Such a tour will give you a relatively short stop at 1 or 2 elephant seal haul-outs and a penguin colony. It will also include a stop of up to 2 hours at Puerto Pyramides where the whale-watching boats are concentrated. A boat trip will be an extra Arg $75 for a 1hour +/- trip.

c. If you want to stay in the Peninsular overnight and/or arrange your own boat trips there is a daily bus (“Mar y Valle”) at 9.30am from PM to Puerto Pyramides (hotels and hostels) returning at 6pm. Tickets are Arg $12 each way.

d. There is an Arg $40 entrance fee per day to the park. If you are on the public bus the tickets are issued with incredible slowness and bureaucracy by a single guard dealing with up to 40 people, noting details such as nationality in a little book, as well as handling cash/tickets etc – thus delaying arrival at Pyramides and reducing your boat possibilities! Tickets can be purchased at tourist offices in town or the bus station if you want to do your bit to speed this up!

e. The public bus doesn’t stop at the newly built visitor centre at the neck of the Peninsular. This isn’t a terrible loss but you will miss some great toilets, a baleen whale skeleton , some explanatory displays on topography/geology/fauna/history etc and a somewhat disappointing viewing tower.

f. Depending on a combination of wind and tide, boats may not operate at all some days or for parts of days (all boats are launched by tractor from the beach). A coastguard forecast is available in PM and the tourist office at the bus station posts whether/when the port is open to help avoid a “wasted” journey. I understand that daily park entrances might be extended if there is a blank day when you get there. The minibus tours schedule their boat trip to am/pm according to port closures - if it fully closed then you just miss it (payment for the boat is made at Pyramides anyway)

g. There is much debate over which of the numerous boats and companies is “best” for whale watching in terms of the type of boat and of the length of trip made. If you are on a minibus trip you will have no choice anyway and, even if you make your own arrangements, there may not be much more since the various companies exchange customers in order to maximise loads and minimize trips!

h. The lengths of our 3 trips varied considerably from under an hour to almost 2 hours. This seemed to depend both on how cooperative/interested the whales were and on whether the operator wanted a quick return to fit in another trip! Discounts down to Arg $65 and $55 are available on 2nd/3rd trips booked with the same company. Timing of departures is totally in accordance with Argentine culture in such matters – they WILL be late!

i. We noted 3 main types of boat being used. A large catamaran, a smaller sports-fishing type “speed boat” and a rubber-hulled “zodiac” type craft. You may be lucky (or you may have time to make the choice) and get a trip which is less than full, but normally the boats are pretty packed (I would even say over- packed for good viewing). The catamaran is very wide and I gather that views are pretty minimal when whales are on “the other side” and moving across isn’t easy. I found the rubber-hulled craft too low as whales are best viewed from above in most circumstances (unless you are very lucky and get a whale which is very “interested” in swimming around the boat). I personally preferred the “speed boat” which had high viewpoints on the bow and on a platform above the wheelhouse (but hanging onto the railings in the swell whilst taking photos wasn’t easy – life jackets are compulsory!).

So - best of luck with your “decisions” on these matters!!