Patagonia Wildlife Full-Day Tour: Ranch Experience and Penguin Colony Visit from Puerto Madryn
4.6
9 Ratings
Puerto Madryn
Experience the vibrant wildlife of Patagonia on a full-day tour from Puerto Madryn. Visit a Patagonian ranch and enjoy a delicious barbecue, then explore the penguin colony at El Pedral. Don't miss this opportunity to get up close with marine fauna!
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Puerto Madryn - We’ll kick our trip off by picking you up from the meeting point in our comfortable tour bus. We’ll then travel around 75km through the Patagonian outback until we get to the southern end of the Gulf Nuevo - Punta Ninfas - and its pretty lighthouse.
- Punta Ninfas - From here, you’ll get to see elephant seals and sea lions breeding and going about their daily lives on the surrounding beaches and rocks.
- Estancia El Pedral - We’ll then head on to El Pedral, an old, authentic Patagonian ranch which now serves as a local museum. Further on, we’ll reach the Magallanes penguin colony, taking a guided tour through their nests to see how these curious little creatures live. In 2009, 14 initial pairs of Magallanes penguins made their home on the beaches of El Pedral, and after less than 10 years the colony is over 6,000 members strong.
During our exploring, the Asador (head of the barbeque) will be preparing some traditional Patagonian lamb for our lunch. This will be served along with homemade empanadas, a selection of salads, red wine, a fruit salad and plenty more.
After lunch, you can hop in the pool and enjoy the beauty of the area, sit in the shade or simply relax in the sun with a tea or coffee and typical torta galesa (Welsh cake).
- Puerto Madryn - We’ll bring our tour to a close by dropping you back in Puerto Madryn at around 5pm.
What's Included
- Tour to Punta Ninfas Lighthouse
- Professional guide
- Afternoon tea
- Access to the pool
- Round-trip shared transfer from a meeting point in downtown Puerto Madryn
- Lunch
- Tour to the Penguin Colony
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
In this full-day tour, you can enjoy the wonderful wildlife that visits Puerto Madryn every year, making this area of the Patagonia, one of the most important for the reproduction and development of marine fauna.
In addition, we will visit a typical Patagonian ranch, ideal to spend the day outdoors, where we will be delighted with a delicious asado (barbecue) of Patagonian lamb.
The Full Day tour to the countryside and visit to the Penguins Colony “El Pedral” is the perfect excursion for those who want to get a closer encounter with the wildlife that visit the peninsula without traveling many kilometers outside the city.
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking.
- Cruise Passengers are not allowed to take this tour
Location
Av. Julio Argentino Roca 59
Avenida Julio Argentino Roca
Departure/End Point: Avenida Roca 59, Local 2, Puerto Madryn
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(9 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Susan_g
Dec 7, 2022
A perfect fabulous day from beginning to end - The stunning scenery
Seeing the penguins sitting on their eggs
Our excellent guide Rita and our driver Jesus
Our tasty freshly cooked lunch served by friendly welcoming staff
Our tour companions
Review provided by Viator
1victor
Mar 12, 2020
Such an wonderful tour - We did this as a shore excursion and we booked it directly with El Pedral.
The El Pedral team at the Puerto Madryn port were well signed and we found our way to our guide, Rodrigo who directed s to the small 'bus we went touring within.
Rodrigo was well spoken and an excellent guide giving us great information on the excursion.
We saw some wildlife on the journey to El Pedral property.
Our first stop was to observe a small nmber of Elephant Seals laying below our cliff top observation point and then we proceeded to the area of the light house.
Then came the reason for our journey - the walk, maybe 1500m or more, to the area where the penguins were located. First we saw moulting birds and then more and more and finally we reached the pebble beach where there were many penguins close to the line of surf. A few walked close to us while we stood upon the beach.
After we returned to our bus we went to the El Pedral buildings where we had a lunch which included Argentinian style BBQed lamb and wine.
This was the best excursion we have ever been on in our 6 cruises.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hanleystrappman
Jan 23, 2020
Visiting the penguins on Christmas Day - We had a great time visiting the penguins. It was an amazing experience walking and sitting on the beach with them. New born chicks were very cute. The overall experience with El Pedral Penguin Colony Tour was outstanding.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Silverwedding
Jan 14, 2020
Great tour and visit - We were met on the dock by 2 guides and taken to the buses. Had a great drive out to El Pedral, seeing llamas and reals en route. Rodrigo also made mate for everyone to try. Went to see the penguins. Be warned that there is quite a long walk from the bus to the beach, but you will see lots of penguins on the way. You will then be taken by bus for lunch. Only negative was that we had to wait on the bus at the port for over an hour, waiting dor people to disembark as they had decided beforehand who should be on each bus. Might be better to just fill up a bus and go and let the stragglers wait for the other latecomers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sailing841
Jan 14, 2020
Simply Amazing! - This was an amazing trip. Our guide and driver were great. They answered our questions, gave us history and pointed out animals with stops to take photos before we got to the ranch. They discussed all the amazing features of each
We had no idea when we booked the trip that the penguin colony was on the ranch's private property. The daily visitors were limited, so it was really private. We were able to go on Christmas which was great as well. Make sure your batteries are fully charged as you will take a ton of photos
The only issue was that the brochure did not mention footwear and photos depicted people in sandals. Please do not do this.... it is hard to walk on the rock beach. I'd suggest a light weight hiking shoe or at least tennis shoes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_k
Feb 25, 2020
Tangol let us down badly. - Viator used Tangol as the tour agent. Tangol emailed us the night before asking us to change the, date. This was impossible due to us being cruisers. Nobody showed at the meeting place. Luckily someone directed us to the El Padral main office where the owner drove us personally. Five stars to her and the penguins and no stars to Tangol. Don't use this company.
Review provided by Viator
More activities from this operator
