A Penguin Excursion at El Pedral

We went to Patagonia for our very last short trip before we move back to the US. Patagonia is a very large region. We didn't go to the Andes, where everyone thinks of when they think about Patagonia, but instead went to the eastern side of Patagonia or the east coast of Argentina. While we were there, we went on a penguin excursion and it was incredible! We promised our daughter we would go on a penguin excursion when we came to Argentina, so she has been patiently waiting for this for a long time. We originally wanted to go to Ushuaia, which is the southernmost city in Argentina. It's so close to Antarctica that you can see the glaciers and the mountains and it looks incredible! Unfortunately, all of the penguins excursions I found involved boats and traveling long distances to see these penguins and they were super expensive, at least $100 USD per person for just the excursion. While looking into the Puerto Madryn area, I found a couple of different options and decided on a whole day excursion at El Pedral.

We met the guides at their office in downtown Puerto Madryn. We picked up two other groups and ended up with 7 total so we had tons of space on this van. We were initially scheduled to do this on Thursday Thanksgiving Day, but due to rain they'd had all week it was pushed to Friday.

It took us about an hour and a half to get to Punto Ninfas, our first spot, and we were able to admire the lighthouse there. We were right on the ocean and there are cliffs that drop down to it. My husband was raised on the west coast of the U.S. and he said it reminded him of the Oregon coast, except the water is a lot clearer and the landscape is pretty barren. We spent about 10 minutes here just enjoying the view.

We then drove another 20-30 minutes to the El Pedral Estate so we could have a bathroom break and get some water. We were able to see the lamb that was roasting for our lunch that looked and smelled amazing. We got a tour of the estate and saw where we would be eating lunch. The pool looked very inviting, especially to my water-loving kids, but it was a little chilly. After the tour, we were driven about 15 minutes closer to where the penguin colony is. The guide told us we probably wouldn't see as many penguins at the start because we were still about two kilometers from the beach, but within three minutes, we saw penguins on both sides of us.

These are Magellanic penguins so they're fairly small and live in warmer climates. They live here for seven months of the year and then for the other five months, they live in the water and swim north to Brazil where the anchovies, their favorite food source, tend to live. While they live here in Argentina, they stay on land and breed. The males start build nests in September and then the females come a few weeks later and lay their eggs.

The eggs hatch in November so our timing was perfect because we were able to see a bunch of penguin chicks on our visit. The mother and father penguins take turns going up to two kilometers to the water to get food, while the other stays with the nest. We probably saw a few hundred penguins on this walk. It was two kilometers each direction and very hot. We were definitely exhausted by the end. I'm so glad we had water and we definitely needed sunscreen.

We were then driven back to the ranch where we had lunch. I didn't get many pictures or videos of lunch because I was busy with kids, but it was delicious.

When we were done eating, we got a tour of the ranch. It really isn't much of a working ranch anymore, but they did have a few sheep on the far side of the ranch. The original house functions as a hotel you can stay in if you have a minimum of 10 guests.

After our tour, they offered us Welsh cake and tea, something we didn't participate in, but I loved the gesture. We explored a little more and then they drove us back to Puerto Madryn and dropped us back off at the office. The whole day was definitely exhausting and we were all pretty trashed by the time we got back, but it was incredible and SO much fun.

The total cost, with everything included, was less than $400 USD for all of us. I can confidently say it was worth the time and money. I will say the baby made it difficult and I don't think I would necessarily recommend taking a kid so young, but it was absolutely perfect for our daughter.

This was a once in a lifetime experience and we really can't say enough good things about it. We made memories to last a lifetime!