The wealth of marine life along Patagonia’s Atlantic coastline is little known yet includes breeding whales, dolphins and penguins, plus resident orca, pinnipeds, and a huge array of birdlife.
Where the vast and desolate open grasslands of the Patagonian steppes, dotted with guanaco and lesser rhea, meet the South Atlantic Ocean, lies the remarkable Peninsula Valdes. Here, fossil-filled sedimentary cliffs, nesting sites for Magellanic penguin, overlook gulfs filled with Southern right whales, who come here to breed, and other marine mammals including South American sea lion, southern elephant seal, and Commerson’s and dusky dolphins. Orca patrol the shores year round, gorging on the plethora of prey to be found here.
On land, the peninsula’s sandy soils and rocky terrain conceal grey and culpeo fox, large hairy armadillo and pichi, Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk, mara, cavy and the rarely seen pampas and Geoffroy's cats. With prolific birdlife from land birds to waterfowl and marine specialists too (don’t forget the flamingos!), initial impressions of a barren, inhospitable land, couldn’t be further from the truth.
Venturing south, visit Cabo Dos Bahias, a reserve protecting one of the many areas used by nesting Magellanic penguins during their breeding season (September to April) and then continue to the southernmost point on your journey, Puerto Deseado. Explore this little-known town with its huge estuary frequented by Commerson’s dolphins and red-legged cormorants and visit Penguin Island offshore. Rockhopper penguins nest here from October to April, and luxuriating in their presence for an hour or so is a real treat.
With a little geology, palaeontology, and a petrified forest thrown in for good measure, prepare to be astounded by Patagonia’s marine life.
Suggested Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
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Days 2-3
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Explore Buenos Aires
Welcome to South America! Explore the ‘Paris of the South’ enjoying a guided city tour and discovering that there’s more to this metropolis than Evita, malbec and tango! Enjoy a comprehensive introduction to ‘the urban jungle’ with an excursion to Constanera Sur Ecological Reserve.
Accommodation: 474 Buenos Aires Hotel, 2-nights
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Days 4-6
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Arrive in Patagonia & explore the Peninsula Valdes for whale watching
Flying south, let your Patagonia wildlife holiday really begin today. Your private naturalist guide meets you on arrival and accompanies you throughout your time in the region. Guanacos, lesser rheas, variable hawk, American kestrel, turkey vulture, caracara, burrowing owl, and more, may line your route to the superb Valdes Peninsula, your base for the next three nights.
As you explore in excess of 400 kilometres of coastline, let whale watching and penguin watching take centre stage. The breeding season for Southern right whales is between June and December, and these Goliath cetaceans can be seen from both land and sea. Towering shell and fossil-filled sedimentary cliffs bleed into sand dunes, providing useful lookout points for a variety of other marine life too, notably South American sea lion, Southern elephant seal, Commerson’s and dusky dolphin, fishing penguins and orca. The largest species within the dolphin family, orca, are resident year round, and this is one of a handful of destinations where they've been recorded internationally stranding. Surging onto beaches at high tide, they risk beaching themselves in order to snatch unsuspecting South American sea-lion pups in March and April, and southern elephant seal pups in October and November. With no natural predators, they also live up to their alternative name, killer whale (or more accurately, killer of whales), by targeting Southern right whale calves.
Magellanic penguins nest here between September and April, utilising burrows in varied terrain and low scrubby bushes, in which to rear their young. Enjoy the assault to the senses as they jostle over nests, females and food, in close proximity to you.
As you drive the straight, long, gravel roads of the peninsula’s interior, passing through arid scrub and past salt flats, small mammals waiting to be discovered may include Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk, large hairy armadillo, pichi (or dwarf armadillo) grey and culpeo (or red) fox, mara (a rodent that looks like a hare crossed with a kangaroo) and potentially, although rarely seen, wild cats of the pampas and Geoffroy’s variety. Marine birds are very well represented with kelp and dolphin gull, rock and imperial shag, blackish and American oystercatcher, neotropical cormorant and southern giant petrel to name but a few. Beaches are tinged pink by glorious Chilean flamingos, strutting elegant-crested tinamou are aptly named, and small birds such as Patagonian mockingbird, buff-winged cinclodes, mourning sierra-finch and scale-throated earthcreeper will see you constantly referring to your field guide.
The incredible marine, land and avian wildlife viewing opportunities in such a ruggedly beautiful landscape, is really quite a heady combination!
Accommodation: Hosteria The Paradise, 3-nights
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Day 7:
Dinosaurs, birding & a transfer to Camarones
Following one final morning enjoying the peninsula’s riches, head south, breaking the journey at Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum to uncover the secrets of long past inhabitants of the Patagonian steppe, dinosaurs! Numerous excavations have shown that they thrived here 90 million years ago.
Afterwards, head to a local reservoir to give waterfowl a shot at the limelight. A plethora of coot, teal, grebe, shoveler, pochard and wigeon shall grace the water alongside the graceful long necks of Coscoroba and black-necked swan. Continue on to the ochre rocky terrain of coastal Camarones for an overnight stop.
Accommodation: Casona Islas Blancas, 1-night
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Days 8-10
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Explore Puerto Deseado & visit Penguin Island
Visit Cabo Dos Bahias, a reserve established to protect nesting ground for Magellanic penguins, but also superb for birding, before reaching the southernmost point on your journey, Puerto Deseado. Little visited, this remote treasure trove of wildlife on the Atlantic awaits as you follow in the footsteps of Darwin, exploring the area by boat and on foot.
Dominated by its huge estuary, take to the water to find Commerson’s dolphin (often referred to as skunk dolphin due to their distinct black and white markings), South American sea lion, albatross, petrel, tern and other seabirds. Scan high cliffs for red-legged cormorant, and of course, visit Penguin Island, the only known continental nesting site for rockhopper penguins. More commonly associated with the Falkland Islands, their breeding seasons falls between October and April and their antics cannot fail to charm and impress.
Accommodation: Tower Rock, 3-nights
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Day 11:
Depart Patagonia for Buenos Aires
It may be the last morning of your Patagonia tour, but there's more to see yet. Head inland traversing the Patagonian plateau in order to visit Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados, the site of a petrified forest dating back 150 million years.
Later, bid farewell to your naturalist guide at Comodoro Rivaderia airport and fly back to Buenos Aires. You’re transferred to your overnight hotel, and your final evening in Argentina is yours to do with as you wish.
Accommodation: 474 Buenos Aires Hotel, 1-night
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Day 12:
Depart Buenos Aires
Transfer to the airport for an overnight flight back to the UK.
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Day 13:
Arrive UK
Please note: As a fully customisable holiday, this itinerary can be tailormade to suit your requirements. Why not consider extending your stay to experience other parts of South America? A short flight away to the north lies impressive Iguazu Falls and the surrounding rainforests positively teem with tropical birdlife. To the south, Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, is an exquisitely beautiful and wild park dominated by imposing granite towers, the Grey glacier and its gorgeous berg filled turquoise lake, Lago Grey. Here, enjoy a big cat experience as you search for, and trek with, elusive pumas. Just across the border back in Argentina is El Calafate, gateway to the Patagonian icefield and Los Glaciares National Park. Further south still, lies the magnificent island of Tierra del Fuego, and on it, the city of Ushuaia, gateway to Antarctica. The world literally is your oyster! Contact us to discuss your plans.
