Puerto Madryn

[sunnysfla]

We leave in a week and I'm still torn on a lot to do - Puerto Madryn... It seems as though many of you have used Whales Patagonia but recently there have been some unfavorable reports - what are the other options??? I don't particularly like the ship excursions. Any suggestions? Quickly!

[lvannrn]

We just returned from a 16 day cruise in SA. We used Whales Patagonia in Puerto Madryn and were very pleased. We got to Punta Tumbo before the buses, and were able to spend over 2 hours there. It was a great experience!

[sunnysfla]

Thanks - I don't know what you paid but I've seen on the boards $55pp for 4 people. This is what whales patagonia just quoted me.

It seems a bit high - what do you think?

 

Option 1

If you want a private tour the cost will

be.............USD 92 per person.

 

Option 2

If you get another people till 10 passengers including you , that are

interested in this tour , the cost will be ..............USD 55 .-each one

 

Option 3

If you get another people till 12 passengers including you, that are

interested in this Tour , the cost will be ..............USD 55.-each one.

[lvannrn]

We were four people, and we paid $92/person. It was still less than the cost of the ship's tour. It is a long trip- almost 2 1/2 hours each way- but we thought it was worth it to walk among 1000s of penguins.

[sunnysfla]

Thank you for your quick replies. I'm starting to stress since I have now waited until the last minute to plan everything. Oops! So, what did you do in each port? I have been told that you have to see the penguins in Punto Tombo and in Port Stanley. If I take my husband to too many penguins tours, he will kill me. Are those the two best? Any other suggestions for the other ports?

[lvannrn]

We were on our own in Port Stanley. We stopped in the tourist office (which is right by the dock) and picked up information. It is a small town, and easy to walk around on your own. Since we had seen the penguins in Punta Tumbo, we decided it was not necessary to see them again. We did a lot of ports on our own including Punta Arenas. We walked to the town square- there is a tourist office there. We toured several of the buildings around the square- very beautiful, and had lunch at a delightful restaurant called Marmita, on Navarro St (on the way to the cemetary). In Puerto Montt we had arranged for a guide, and he turned out to be wonderful. His name is Carlos- galindotour@hotmail.com. He took us to Puerto Varas, and then to see Petrohue Falls, Emerald Lake, and views of Osorno volcano. We also stopped at a farm with Llamas, alpacas and emus wandering around. If you email him, please say "hi" from the folks he took around on Feb 3. Please let me know if you have any more questions. You are in for an incredible experience!

[sultan_sfo]

...

Option 2

If you get another people till 10 passengers including you , that are

interested in this tour , the cost will be ..............USD 55 .-each one

...

 

Just got back. We used this option. We had to pay an additional 20 pesos pp (or US$7) entrance fees about which Whales Patagonia had told our group when we booked. The vans are not the best in the world but ours took us there and back. We had a nice guide. We were among the first group to arrive there and we could also take pictures overlooking the water (which was later stopped by the guards for safety reasons because of the large influx of coach people). On our return, luckily, we had enough time to stop at Garmin for the Welsh tea ($10 + tip /pp). /Sultan

[dileep]

Just got back. We used this option. We had to pay an additional 20 pesos pp (or US$7) entrance fees about which Whales Patagonia had told our group when we booked. The vans are not the best in the world but ours took us there and back. We had a nice guide. We were among the first group to arrive there and we could also take pictures overlooking the water (which was later stopped by the guards for safety reasons because of the large influx of coach people). On our return, luckily, we had enough time to stop at Garmin for the Welsh tea ($10 + tip /pp). /Sultan

 

Hey, Sultan. Glad to hear that you had a good time. Whale Patagonia was great for us a year ago. Back them the minibus was in good shape and the driver raced us to the penguin rookery and we were among the first there about 30 minutes before the hordes arrived on the ship's bus tours!

[englishmum]

We have just returned from our South American cruise,and thanks to Dileep's excellent reports and video,we used several of the same tour agents.Whales Patagonia were excellent,and just like Dileep we arrived at Punto Tombo well before the cruise buses and had the place to ourselves for at least an hour.We also went to the Welsh Village and the guide was very good pointing out all the places of interest.Celebrity had altered the time of arrival at this port to 7am instead of 9am but Whales Patagonia were there on the dock side waiting for us.We paid $92 as we wanted a private trip,it really was worth every penny.

[dileep]

We have just returned from our South American cruise, and thanks to Dileep's excellent reports and video,we used several of the same tour agents.Whales Patagonia were excellent,and just like Dileep we arrived at Punto Tombo well before the cruise buses and had the place to ourselves for at least an hour.We also went to the Welsh Village and the guide was very good pointing out all the places of interest.Celebrity had altered the time of arrival at this port to 7am instead of 9am but Whales Patagonia were there on the dock side waiting for us.We paid $92 as we wanted a private trip,it really was worth every penny.

 

We benefited from info posted by BC Happy Gal. Glad to hear that things worked out for you. Whales Patagonia is a class outfit. They had initially quoted us a $55 per person for 2 people minimum. They realized their mistake; that price was really for a group of 4. But they told us that they would honor their quote. We got another couple to join us so they could collect $55 pp from 4 people.

 

Feel free to tack on your comments to my post. Things may have changed since we cruised a year ago.

[sultan_sfo]

Not only for Puerto Madryn but all the guidance from Dileep proved to be a tremendous help to us. More of the road to Punta Tomba is now paved but the unpaved portions takes a heavy toll on those mini-vans! Ah! those penguins -- a lifetime of memories. /Sultan

 

 

Hey, Sultan. Glad to hear that you had a good time. Whale Patagonia was great for us a year ago. Back them the minibus was in good shape and the driver raced us to the penguin rookery and we were among the first there about 30 minutes before the hordes arrived on the ship's bus tours!

[Aussie Gal]

In Puerto Montt we had arranged for a guide, and he turned out to be wonderful. His name is Carlos- galindotour@hotmail.com. He took us to Puerto Varas, and then to see Petrohue Falls, Emerald Lake, and views of Osorno volcano. We also stopped at a farm with Llamas, alpacas and emus wandering around. If you email him, please say "hi" from the folks he took around on Feb 3. Please let me know if you have any more questions. You are in for an incredible experience!

 

We also used Carlos last year in Puerto Montt and we had a great day. We were so lucky as it was warm and we had glorious sunshine.

 

I can highly recommend him.

 

Unfortunately, we missed Puerto Madryn due to high winds preventing the ship from docking.

 

Jennie