What to do in Puerto Madryn, Argentina for the day??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

We have never been to Puerto Madryn, Argentina before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

If you have been to Puerto Madryn before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Also does the cruise ships dock near the city? or do we dock a long way from it?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome :)

[Crewbie]

Hi, Kiwi - When we were on Star Princess in December, the ship was able to dock at the (long!) pier located convenient to the city. Cruisers could walk down its length; I also believe there were free shuttles going back and forth to the main gate.

 

Puerto Madryn itself has a fairly walkable strip once off the pier, but from my impression I wouldn't say it would be a highlight compared to excursions heading out. We had a fantastic day by booking directly with El Pedral's Full Day Trip with Penguins for Cruisers- with about an hour's drive we were able to take a view from the cliffs, visit a penguin colony, and be treated to a delicious lunch. I was nervous about booking directly through email, but once we managed to find them at the pier among other vendors near the ship and got to our guide and shuttle, the rest of the experience made up for it in spades.

 

CCer scubacruiserx2 also has some great visuals of their day in Puerto Madryn and traveling to Punta Tombo (page 13) - you can check it out as linked below.

 

 

 

[boom_boom]

We used Flamenco Tour for  trip to Punta Tombo. It's a 2 hour drive each way to the penguin preserve, but worth the time.

Our tour guide was Max, and he did an excellent job. If you want to see penguins, lots and lots of them,up close - take a tour to Punta Tomob.

If your ship is at the end of the pier, as ours was, it is at leas 1000 meters to the shore But usually there is a shuttle bus that will take you most of the way.

[California Dreamer]

We also booked directly with El Pedral and loved it. We paid a lot less than the ship offering this same excursion. There were only 6 people in our little bus and had a great guide and nice driver. Saw lots of penguins, the lighthouse, toured the house, and had a huge wonderful lunch!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Celebrity offers an excursion to see a colony of elephant seals.  Has anyone done this in Puerto Madryn?

[teacherman]

Once you arrive at Punto Tombo, approximately how long (distance/time) is the walk to see the penguins?  A bit worried about our "older" knees.  We are planning for January, 2020.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Thank You everyone for their replays and information, very helpfully 😎