Patagonia Whale Tour

Mike's Whale Watching Details Location: Puerto Madryn, Argentina Species: Southern Right Whale Tour operator: Booked through hostel Date: June 2007, 3 days Trip rating: Beyond compare More whale tour information »

We were on a 9-month tour around the world and were near the end of our trip when we hit Puerto Madryn on the coast of Argentina at the tip of Patagonia.

We had already done a whale watching tour on the trip in Kaikoura where we were lucky to see 6 sperm whales. However that tour was nothing compared to what we saw in Puerto Madryn.

The tour started at about 8am and we drove for 30minutes to a beach, where immediately we could see several (about 10-15) Southern Right Whales about 20 metres off shore. These whales were rolling around and playing a lot.

We then continued to do a boat tour from the Valdes Peninsula. The boat was quite small but safe and we were taken around the bay to view several more Southern Right Whales up close and personal. These whales are different to the sperm whales we had seen in Kaikoura. These whales didn't come to the surface to breath and then dive again, these whales were living on the surface and were apparently either looking for or were actually mating.

On the hour boat trip we must have seen over 30 whales and at one point 2 whales swam right under our boat. The water was so clear that you could see the whole of the whale below.

The next morning we were walking along the beach in the morning with the sun rising in the distance and then all of a sudden a southern right whale jumped out of the sea right in front of us. This whale continued to do 5 jumps and with the sun it made it a magical experience. Several whales could be seen from the beach of Puerto Madryn for the whole day where we just sat and watched for hours.

Valdes Peninsula is also a famous place to view Killer Whales, however we were not in the right season. It is famous for Killer Whales because this is where they beach themselves to grab seals of the shore, a magical experience that we will be coming back in the hope to see.

A magical place to see active whales.

Logistics

We booked the tour through our hostel, but there were loads on offer. The hostel we stayed at was a great hostel called Hi Patagonia and the owner was amazing and very helpful.