Puerto Madryn is a main gateway to the peninsula. They offer organized tours, but car gives you more flexibility. We visited peninsula today. Some gold-worth practicals: The maximum loop from Puerto M to peninsula and back was 410 kms. First you by asphalt road to national park gate. They charge 850 peso per person and 120 peso per car handing ouf poor park map. Then you drive 22 km on asphalt to the information center in the flat and boring landscape. Here you can get info and better map. Then you can continue to the only settlement on peninsula Puerto Piramides 25 kms – still on paved road. 5 kms before PP gravel road goes left to the park. All fauna observation point are on the east coast. Northernmost is Punta Norte (42+37 kms)
Here on the coast is sidewalk overlooking the beach for tourists : you can go 100 m left and 100 m right. On the beach there are laying sea lions and young elephant seals. They are in the distance 50-70 m from you. They said that yesterday 4 orcas were visible, but not today.
Then we went along eastern coast to Punta Cantor -47 km.. Just before Punta onthe seaside is a little colony of Magellanic Penguins. The terrace for the tourist is 30 m wide. Penguins ( about 40 cm high) have nest in the holes – some of them just 3 m from you, but most of them stays on the beach – like 50 m away. I think I saw 40 of them in total…
On Punta Cantor 1 or 2 kms onward there is restaurant an viewing balcony – you can see young elephant seals laying in the distance of 70 m maybe… The activity on the beach is minimal 🙂
There is a little trail to the left to the next two observation balconies, but therd is even less to see.
Then the road took us further south – to Punta Delgada 42 kms again on geavel. But nothing to see there: the nice punta gate is closed – they say that punta is occupied by army. No reason to drive there and to continue 70 kms to Puerto Piramides… White salt lake is visible from the gravel road on the way.
Summary: if you didn’t see the penguins and seals you will be happy. If you have been to Antarctic like me – you will be disappointed.
