SanDiego1K

We will have 2 1/2 days in the Peninsula Valdes, Punta Tombo, and Gaiman area. My thought is to spend two nights in the Puerto Madryn or Peninsula Valdes area, then spend the last night in Gaiman.

Hotels in Puerto Madryn or Peninsula Valdes:

• Punta Delgada Lighthouse - recommended in the October 2006 issue of National Geographic Traveler. Has anyone stayed here? How long a drive is this from Trelew? If we chose this, should we stay here both nights, or split a night between here and Puerto Madryn?
• Hotel Bahia Nueva, Puerto Madryn - this appears to be the best hotel in town. How is the town as a base for our sightseeing?
• El Pedral - is this hotel worth its breathtaking tariffs?
• Is there any other place we should stay?

Gaiman - has anyone stayed at Ty Gwyn?

As for an itinerary, what do you recommend? Here is what I've got so far:

1. Day 1: Arrive Trelew late afternoon, drive to Puerto Madryn or whereever we decide on a hotel
2. Day 2: Open for sightseeing - whales, sea lions, meal at Punta Delgada Lighthouse - what excursions should we book; what should we drive on our own?
3. Day 3: Have morning in Pensinula area; plan to drive to penguin colonies in Punta Tomba in the afternoon - see penguins coming back to shore. Stay overnight in Gaiman
4. Day 4 - have half a day free before flight; any ideas on how to fill it?

syzygy8

I've been that area only once. But if you're willing to invest time, I'd scratch Punto Tomba from your itinerary. Prices have gone up since I was here two years ago but..... http://www.laernestina.com/ as far as the Mrs. and I are concerned, there's no place else worth considering. We spent a few nights for our 13th wedding anniversary a couple years ago and they treated us so well. It is THE place to go. PM for more info why, if necessary. This place is beyond "the ...." and I'm happy to sing its praises if you'd like to know more.

SanDiego1K

I've just looked at the website for Estancia La Ernestina, and it looks fascinating. How long a drive is it from Trelew?

Why do you recommend skipping Punta Tomba? Didn't you find the penguins coming back in from the sea interesting to see?

donnyb

Just returned from there.
Sounds like you have done some research, good for you.
We stayed at Hotel Bahia Nueve, was clean & acceptable, nothing special.
They get large tour groups there quite often and so mornings can be hectic, lots of baggage being moved, breakfast room very busy, etc.
Breakfast food was better than most in Patagonia. Small private parking lot if you are driving your own car.

Numerous tour busses leave from P. Madryn for the Peninsula Valdes park, and hit all the hot spots: whale watch boat at Puerto Piramides, the elephant seal colony, and a small colony of Magellanic penguins. You will also see guanaco as you roll thru the park. So if you don't mind the group tour thing, its an easy long-ish day.

If you drive yourself, be sure to get a reservation in advance for the whale boat, they fill up fast. The roads inside the park are graded dirt/gravel/dust, and are very wide. Be sure to pull far over to the right when a vehicle us coming in the opposite direction to avoid a rock to the windshield. We saw a lot of cracked windshields.

We did not visit Punta Tombo, instead elected to go all the way to Cabo Dos Bahias, near Camorones. It was very far, but we had the whole colony to ourselves. Punta Tombo is much closer & easier, but there will be some tour busses. In any case, just be sure the penguins will indeed be massing on the beach as you described. They were simply nesting when we visited, and not much action to see.

Half a day free before flight: if the timing is right, there is a sea lion colony you can visit just at the south end of town (taxi or short drive, nominal fee)very close viewing, but it must be low tide (?) to see them. At high tide they are off swimming around. Ask about it at the tourist info where you would book the whale watching tour. Sorry I can't be exact, but our free morning was the wrong tide for viewing so we missed out.

Puerto Madryn is not much for fancy dining. All the restraunts were very similar with basic Argentine fare.

Cannot comment on Gaiman.

YVR Cockroach

I'd give 2 1/2-3 hrs REL to Punta Delgada (about 1 hr north from REL to the turnoff to Valdes and the and 1- 1/2 hrs to Punta Delgada.. Avoid going through Puerto Madryn to minimise dirt road driving.

I wouldn't base in Gaiman, Trelew or Puerto Madryn - nothing really to see and a fairly long ways from the sights. Just use those places as overnight stops as best (unless you are going Southern Right whale watching).

As for staying there, you're either there for the isolation, or to see the wildlife. The wildlife watching (namely the southern elephant seals and sea lions don't move too much - you'll probably see armadillos, foxes and guanacos driving around) doesn't take too long unless you're waiting for the orca attacks at Punta Norte (you'll see photographers with 1000mm+ lenses all waiting). If the sea lions have pups, it's definitely worth going there at high tide.

On our trip in 2003, our flight from FTE to REL was delayed for about 20 hours which was actually fortuitous. We were going to go to Punta Tomba during the day but were forced to go there at sunset due to a mid-afternoon arrival at REL and only 1 1/2 days in the area. We were treated to penguins returning from the sea and think we would have been disappointed if we got there during the day. Of course we had to drive on unsigned dirt roads to get to Puerto Madryn. As noted, the Magellanic penguins nest there from December-March. The chicks are usually fully grown and ready to leave by early March. I'd imagine the colony's abandoned for the season by late March.

YVR Cockroach

That's our destination when we return to that part of Patagonia. Are there any decent places to stay down that direction?

SanDiego1K

I've heard from La Ernestina, and have now booked a room there - might extend to a second night depending on what more I learn. They tell me they have a penguin colony of 50,000. How does the experience of seeing these penguins compare with Punta Tombo?

We saw the burrowing penguins at Otway Sound, between Punta Arenas and Torres del Paine, on a trip to Chile. It was fascinating to see them hurry in from the water and defend their burrows. We've also seen the fairy penguins come back to their burrows in Philips Island, Australia. Both were great experiences.

I'm now wondering if seeing the penguin colonies of Punto Norte, Peninsula Valdes, will be sufficiently satisfying that we can forgo the long drive to Punta Tombo, or if we will feel cheated if we only see that?

I just got an email from the hotel saying:

"There are more than 50,000 penguins at our place.They are the same kind of penguins you see in Pta Tombo." An online reference says that Pta Tombo has 500,000 birds. Thus, the latter is an order of magnitude bigger - but is 50K enough to feel we've had the experience? I'll happily drop a couple hundred extra km driving if it is.

SanDiego1K

La Ernestina is the best place to watch the stranding whales, the only place in the world where they do this. At certain times of the year, they leap thru the surf to devour sea lion pups who are on the beach. I fear my stay will be too early to see this, though.

The Orcas come here to feed by ambushing the young and inexperienced seals that are born here in January & February. The Orcas' intentional stranding happens only when the sea is relatively calm and during a period of three hours before and after high tide.

Here is an article about it. I'm really excited that syzygy8 has recommended the hotel, as it has an amazing location for viewing wildlife. I've got it booked for 1 night, and am awaiting a decision on the 2nd depending on what I decide about Pta Tomba.

YVR Cockroach

I'd say no comparison. The penguin colonies in Valdes are generally far away and down cliffs at times (access is very restricted, to say the least). At Punta Tombo, there's said to be 500,000 birds. You get right up to the penguins at Punta Tombo and they're not shy (in fact, some of the fledglings will look at you and open up their mouths expecting you to regurgitate fish and squid.

YVR Cockroach

I think one of 2 places, according to Roberto Bubas. We me him at Punta Norte and had seen him featured in a National Geographic show about the Valdes orcas before we went there.

SanDiego1K

As a heads up to anyone else, Estancia la Ernestina does not take credit cards. I'm glad I thought to check before leaving town!

SanDiego1K

I'm back from Argentina, and wanted to give a mini report on this section of the trip.

Gaiman
Our flight landed about 5pm, and we headed straight to Gaiman. We ate in one of the historic tea shops, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were given a large plate with a wide range of sweets and savories, along with a pot of tea. We were glad that we didn't stay overnight, as there really was nothing of note in the town other than the teashops.

Puerto Madryn
This town is the main jumping off point for the Peninsula Valdes. There are a lot of hotels lining the main street, which faces the ocean. We stayed at Bahia Nuevos. It is clean and hospitable, but nothing remarkable. It has 2 free internet terminals in the bar area, a comfortable front lounge, and includes breakfast in the rate. It was $110 I believe.

Puerto Pyramides
This town is about 1 hour from Puerto Madryn, toward Peninsula Valdes. You can take a whale watching trip from Sept thru mid Dec to see the southern right whales, who come here to give birth. By mid December they are beginning their migration to return home.

There are several places to buy sightseeing rides. When you come into town, you take a spur road down to the beach. On the right hand side, there are 4 or so ticket offices. Each has their own boat. Find the next one going out. About 50 people go on one boat. You'll be given life jackets to wear, and taken to the beach. There a tractor backs the boat onto the beach. You board, and the boat is pushed into the water. When the boat can float free of its trailer, the tractor returns to shore.

We had to go about 15 minutes out to find whales. At the peak of the season, whales are just 3 minutes from shore. You'll find lots of mothers and calves, just swimming around. The boat can easily maneuver close to the whales, and it is a superb sightseeing experience.

La Ernestina
My heartfelt thanks for the recommendation of this property. The property itself is simple, but the experiences it gives access to are priceless. The family who own the Estancia bought the land in the early 1800s. They have 6000 acres of the north peninsula. They own the land on which the Punta Norte lighthouse sits. The land for the preserve was given to the government by the family. However, the family still owns substantial shoreline that can only be accessed by people staying at La Estancia.

Juan is the son of the estancia owner who runs the hotel. He has a great passion for wildlife. He built the cabins as a result of a film crew who spent weeks filming the orcas; having built 2 cabins for them, he decided to build 4 more for paying guests. Now, all 6 are rented til March/April when photographers who are now his friends use 2 of the cabins. The place is only open Sept thru mid April.

Juan leads animal expeditions in both the morning and afternoon. When we were there, the morning trip was to see their penguin colony. They have about 30,000 penguins compared to the 150K or so at Punta Tomba. 30,000 is a great plenty. The great thing is that you can walk thru the scrub with the penguin burrows, and go down to the beach. We sat there a couple hours, observing the penguins. A whale swam by, and there were a couple elephant seals on the beach. There were only about 8 of us, so it is a very personal experience.

Both days, in the afternoon, Juan took us to a different beach where there were elephant seals and sea lions. The sea lions were adolescents, as the adults were migrating in November. There were lots of sea lions. He led us quietly to the beach, then slowly on hands and knees down to where the elephant seals could be viewed very closely. We sat there for a couple hours, marveling.

One evening, he took the group to the Punta Norte lighthouse, where he served Gin and Tonic while watching the sun set. The second night, his folks came, and they served a traditional asado in their asado building. We all sat family style at a long table. We were the only Americans; others were there from Belgium and Spain.

Orcas were spotted 3 days before we got there, grounding themselves and capturing elephant seals. We didn’t see any; it is very unpredictable. They are in the area yearround. March and April is when the seals come to have their young, and orcas are seen more frequently.

The cost was $280 for 2 including all meals, drinks, and excursions. High recommended!

We rented a car and drove. We found it very easy to drive there.

SanDiego1K

We just saw OCEANS. It had a few seconds on the orcas catching the sea lion pups. Sure enough, La Ernestina was in the credits. We felt very connected to that part of the movie, having stayed here. My thanks again to syzygy8, without whom we would never have known of it.

YVR Cockroach

Trip report for my 2nd trip to Valdes and Punta Tomba, as well as a 1st trip to Cabo Dos Bahias

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ts-photos.html