punta tombo or peninsula valdes

[trishu]

2 tours offered by crystal. i want to see penquins, and i understand they are at both places. anyone have any input? sounds like a long drive to both places.

[dileep]

2 tours offered by crystal. i want to see penquins, and i understand they are at both places. anyone have any input? sounds like a long drive to both places.

 

Punta Tombo has many more penguins and the 2+ hour drive is worth it!

 

We live in an area that has plenty of seals and you can only see penguins in the southern hemisphere. We chose not to go the Peninsula Valdez.

[A Knitter]

Trip to and from and well worth it. Take snacks with you. One stop to the Reserve to use the restroom. I was advised not to go and went anyway. Sure glad I did. No comparison to Punta Arenas and Puerto Madryn. You won't be sorry.

[BCHappyGal]

We took the trip to the Tombo Penguin REserve and it was definitely well worth the long drive. You walk right among the penguins they are everywhere and not at all afraid of humans.

[greatam]

Punta Tombo has many more penguins and the 2+ hour drive is worth it!

 

We live in an area that has plenty of seals and you can only see penguins in the southern hemisphere. We chose not to go the Peninsula Valdez.

 

The elephant seals at Penisula Valdes are VERY rare. They are only in South America, if I am not mistaken. They are not anything like the seals in California. They are absolutely HUGE. Much larger than any sea lion I have ever seen (and I was born and raised in LA). You can get VERY close to them, if you are capable of walking up and down the hill to the beach.

 

The ride was long, with a rest stop along the way. We saw a lot of wildlife (guanaco (sp?), llamas, different birds, etc), but NO penguins.

 

If you have NO other opportunity to see penguins, go to Punta Tombo. We went to Magdalena Island and it was spectacular.

[dileep]

The elephant seals at Penisula Valdes are VERY rare. They are only in South America, if I am not mistaken.

 

Elephant seals come to California in the winter months to breed. Check out the Ano Nuevo State Park near Santa Cruz.

 

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1115

[greatam]

Elephant seals come to California in the winter months to breed. Check out the Ano Nuevo State Park near Santa Cruz.

 

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1115

 

 

Thanks for the info. We are both correct. The South American elephant seals are a different species of the breed entirely and they are bigger (by about a ton).

 

http://www.biosbcc.net/ocean/marinesci/05nekton/esintro.htm

[trishu]

thanks so much. still trying to find someone to share a private tour. definily going to punto tombo.