5 Best Sights in Puerto Madryn and Península Valdés, Patagonia

Following the coastal road 14 km (9 miles) north from Puerto Madryn brings you to this whale-watching spot. The ocean floor drops away steeply from the beach, so between June and mid-December you can stand on the sand with a close up view of the southern right whales right from the shore, usually mothers teaching their young to swim. During the rest of the year, it's just a regular beach. It's a pleasant 1½ hours' bike ride from Puerto Madryn. Alternatively, taxis charge about 2,500 pesos for the round-trip including a 45-minute stay. Grab some food to go and make it a picnic spot. 

At the peninsula’s northern tip is the world's largest Magellanic penguin colony at and around Estancia San Lorenzo, numbering some 600,000 penguins. San Lorenzo offers three guided tours (1 hour and 15 minutes) to the penguin colony every afternoon, always with a ranger. Also on site are a restaurant and visitors can tour a sheep ranch and the ruins of a former factory that once processed sea lion blubber and skin. 

Some 4 km (3 miles) from Puerto Pirámides lies the Lobería Puerto Pirámides, a year-round sea-lion colony that is also a great bird-watching spot. A signposted turnoff from the main road into town leads here, or you can follow the coastal path on foot.

This whimsical collection of taxidermied animals, shells, skeletons, and engravings examines humankind's relationship with the sea. Housed in a restored 1915 building, the beautifully displayed exhibits evoke the marine myths of the Tehuelche (the area's indigenous people), imagined European sea monsters, the ideas of 19th-century naturalists, through to modern ecology. It's more about experience than explanation, so don't worry about the scarcity of English translations, although the excellent room on orca behavior is a welcome exception. Finish by looking out over the city and surrounding steppes from the tower.

Some 600 South American sea lions lounge on the shore below a tall, crescent bluff at Punta Loma, 17 km (11 miles) southeast of the city. Aim to visit during low tide. You can reach the reserve by car (follow signs toward Punta Ninfas); by bicycle on a scenic but hilly road if the wind is not too strong; or by taxi—expect to pay about 3,000 pesos for the return trip, including a 45-minute stay.