How to See Penguins at Punta Tombo, North Patagonia, Argentina

If you’d love to see wildlife during your trip to Patagonia, especially penguins, then you’ll definitely want to visit Punta Tombo in north Patagonia. Punta Tombo is home to the largest colony of Magellanic penguins in South America. Here, you’ll be able to observe the daily routine of thousands of penguins. Whilst a trip to this part of Patagonia may seem out of the way, spending hours watching these penguins waddle around, feed their chicks, tend to their homes, micro-nap, or just give you some good old side eye, will be completely worth it.

In this guide, we’ve put together everything you’ll need to know before visiting Punta Tombo including how to get there, driving tips if you hire a car, where to stay in the area, the best time to visit and more details on the walking trail.

If you’d like to see our experience visiting Punta Tombo, make sure to watch our Puerto Madryn video, which we shared on our YouTube channel Kitti and Jon. For more videos from the country, check out our Argentina playlist.

About Punta Tombo and the Magellanic Penguins

Punta Tombo is located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, in the province of Chubut in northern Patagonia. It’s about 125 km south of Trelew and 190 km south of Puerto Madryn.

Punta Tombo is a narrow, rocky peninsula about 3.5 km long. It has been a protected area since 1979. What’s unique about Punta Tombo is that, in the peak season, the peninsula is home to over a million Magellanic penguins.

Magellanic penguins are named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who spotted them in 1520. They are medium-sized flightless birds that can be found mainly in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands. Magellanic penguins have black bodies and white bellies, as well as two black bands between their chest and head. Often, you can also see some pink patches of skin around their eyes. They are monogamous and normally return to the same site they hatched from each year.

Seeing the sheer number of them in Punta Tombo, it’s hard to imagine that these penguins are under threat due to climate change and other human activities, such as overfishing and oil spills.

How to Get to Punta Tombo from Buenos Aires

Most visitors would likely arrive to Punta Tombo from Buenos Aires.

Flying to Punta Tombo

Taking a domestic flight is going to be the fastest way to get to Punta Tombo. You can either fly to Puerto Madryn or Trelew.

The main airlines offering flights are Aerolinas Argentinas and Flybondi. Flight time is around 2 hours from the capital. Flights usually depart from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), the domestic airport located in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, or from Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), which is the capital’s main international airport. Read our article if you need guidance on how to get around Buenos Aires.

Long-Haul Bus to Punta Tombo

Alternatively, if you have the time, you can also take a long-haul bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn. Popular bus companies offering services between these two locations are Via TAC, Andesmar and Condor Estrella. We used many of these companies whilst travelling across Argentina by bus. Most buses depart from the Retiro Bus Terminal in Barrio Retiro.

The main downside of taking the bus is the journey duration, which is about 20 hours. This is actually an average long-haul bus travel time in Argentina, due to the size of the country. In terms of cost, if you want the most comfortable seats then you’ll need to spend a little bit more. In the end, a flight ticket is going to cost roughly the same as a bus ticket, but you get to your destination much faster.

Best Place to Stay Around Punta Tombo

Although Trelew is closer to Punta Tombo, we recommend basing yourself in Puerto Madryn. It’s a great place to stay, as it has everything you’ll need. The city is also the closest to Peninsula Valdes, one of the best places to see marine mammals, such as southern right whales and orcas.

There are a variety of hotels, hostels and apartments for all budgets. You’ll also find plenty of cafes, bars, restaurants and other amenities. In addition, there are also plenty of car hire companies along the waterfront (Avenida Julio A. Roca) and plenty of day tours depart from Puerto Madryn.

How to Visit Punta Tombo from Puerto Madryn

There’s no public transport to Punta Tombo. Therefore, you can only visit the penguin reserve with either a private vehicle or a tour.

Organised Tour to Punta Tombo

If you don’t want to hire a car, then the only way to see penguins in Punta Tombo is with an organised tour. There are many day trips departing from Puerto Madryn.

Top Tip. If you’re visiting this area between June and December, you should also consider going on a dedicated whale watching tour.

• Peninsula Valdes Tour with Optional Whale Watching. This popular day trip will take you around Peninsula Valdes, stopping at the iconic viewpoints to observe wildlife. In Puerto Piramides you’ll also have the option to go on a whale watching boat tour.
• El Doradillo Whale Watching Tour. If you’re a bit short on time, then check out this half-day tour to El Doradillo beach between Puerto Madryn and Peninsula Valdes for shore-based whale watching.

Hire Car

Our suggestion is to visit Punta Tombo with a hire car. This will give you the chance to set off as early as you want to beat the heat and the crowds, and spend as long as you want there observing the penguins. There are many places you can hire a car from in Puerto Madryn. Once you leave the city behind, driving will be easy because the roads here are quite straight. However, it’s important that you are well-prepared, so below we’ll give you some useful advice for a safe driving experience.

Tips for Driving to Punta Tombo

Arrive with a full tank. We suggest filling up your car either in Puerto Madryn or Trelew before visiting Punta Tombo. After Trelew, there won’t be any more gas stations.

Gravel road. The road turns to gravel at the Punta Tombo Penguin Reserve access point, about 22km from the visitor centre.

Obey the speed limit and other rules. The speed limit is 60 km/hr on gravel roads and 80 km/hr on tarmac. You don’t want to drive too fast to avoid tipping over, especially on the gravel roads. By law, you must have your lights on at all times.

Watch out for wildlife. Obeying the speed limit isn’t just important because of respecting the country’s laws. Wildlife roams free in this area and they can cross the road at any time in front of you.

Spotty signal. After leaving Trelew, there will only be very spotty signal. We suggest downloading offline maps, although the roads are generally easy to follow.

Bring enough food and drinks. Although there’s a cafe at Punta Tombo, we suggest bringing enough food, drinks and snacks for the day. It’s worth noting that you cannot eat on the trails though.

Have enough local currency. We could only pay cash for our admission fee, so bring enough Argentine pesos.

Have full coverage. Make sure to have full coverage and get insurance for your tires and windscreens too. We definitely ended up with a few cracks on the windshield because of driving on the gravel roads. When people pass you, they can also stir up some dust and small rocks, so even if you’re careful, others might not be when passing you. It’s just better to be insured.

Practical Information on Visiting Punta Tombo to See Penguins

Opening Times and Entry Fee

Punta Tombo is open from 8AM to 6PM between September and April.

The admission fee to Punta Tombo is $25,000 ARS per person for foreign visitors. Visit the website for up-to-date entry information. When we visited it was cash only, so make sure to have enough Argentine pesos on you, just in case.

You’ll have to buy your entry ticket at the Visitor Centre. From there, you have to drive a little further down to the trailhead. Here, they’ll check your ticket and tell you a few safety regulations before you set off.

Facilities in Punta Tombo

Visitor Centre. The visitor centre is where you have to stop first to buy your entry ticket. There’s a small museum area that tells you about the wildlife you can see here and gives you more information about the penguins. We loved the world map showing the different types of penguins and their locations across the globe. There was also a small gift shop, as well as a little path circling around the building, where we could walk to get an overview of the area.

Toilets. There are toilet facilities at the visitor centre, as well as at the start of the trail.

Cafes. There is a small cafe at the visitor centre, although we recommend bringing your own food and drink for the day. Also, please note that you won’t be able to eat anywhere along the trail, so either eat before or after your visit.

Best Time to See Penguins in Punta Tombo

The best time to see Magellanic penguins in Punta Tombo is between September and April. Male penguins start to arrive from August and September to find their nests. Females will arrive after them and start laying their eggs. Hatching starts from around November, so visiting anytime between November and February is when you will see plenty of penguins with their chicks. During the breeding season, you’ll be able to see the chicks growing and their parents busy trying to keep them fed. By mid-March and April, the chicks will have moulted into their adult plumage and are ready to head to sea to migrate to warmer waters.

If you also want to avoid larger crowds, try to visit outside the holidays and weekends. Arrive as early as you can if you decide to hire a car, to avoid larger tour groups.

Wildlife Rules for Visiting Punta Tombo

You’ll be visiting a protected area and you’ll be in close proximity to penguins and other wildlife. Therefore, there are some strict rules that you need to follow in order to protect the animals and their homes. A ranger will also tell you about these rules before you enter the trail.

There will be rangers on the walkways, mainly to make sure that penguins don’t get stranded on them. However, they will also keep an eye on visitors to ensure everyone is following the rules.

Stay on the walkways. You are the guest here, so make sure to stay on the dedicated boardwalk. Penguins have nests all over the ground (even right underneath the wooden path) and it’s important that you don’t accidentally damage them by leaving the marked trail.

Maintain a safe distance. You should keep a minimum of 2 meters distance from the penguins. Now, penguins obviously don’t care about social distancing and can walk up to you. If this happens just stop, stand still and give them priority. Never approach one on purpose or try to touch one!

Keep quiet and move slowly. Avoid making too much noise that could disturb the penguins. Keep conversation to a minimum and also walk slowly.

No food is allowed on the trail. For obvious reasons, you aren’t allowed to consume food on the trail. You can’t even take mate on the walkways. However, you can drink water to keep hydrated.

Leave No Trace! Obviously, don’t leave any rubbish behind.

Punta Tombo Walking Trail

The walking path is a roughly 3 km out-and-back trail that takes you right through the penguin colony. It mainly consist of wooden walkways that were created to keep visitors from walking along the ground where the nests are. The trail is relatively easy to walk on and will take you out towards the ocean, to an outcrop overlooking the beach.

We saw penguins immediately after starting our walk, but there were more and more as we walked further out. Walk slowly and quietly, and stop regularly to observe the penguins going about their daily routine of feeding their chicks, waddling around, or stopping for a noisy chat with their neighbours. Penguins can appear from anywhere and they often sneaked up on us, so always be mindful of your surroundings. Rangers were there patrolling the area to help some of the penguins who would otherwise have gotten stuck on the footpath and wouldn’t have been able to get off.

There will be other wildlife around you, so watch out for them too. We saw a few guanacos crossing the footpath in front of us and spotted a handful of other birds too.

As mentioned, the path will end just above the beach, where you can see many penguins getting in and out of the water. It was incredible to see how much smoother they are in the water compared to how they waddle to get to and from it. From the beach viewpoint, you’ll have to walk back to the trailhead the same way you came.

Final Thoughts on Seeing Penguins in Punta Tombo

Seeing Magellanic penguins in Punta Tombo was one of our favourite wildlife encounters during our time in Patagonia. The experience felt real and intimate and we were so grateful to be able to get an insight into the penguins’ daily lives. Seeing so many penguins definitely made up for the lack of whales and orcas, which we unfortunately just missed on Peninsula Valdes since we visited around mid-December.

Hiring a car was also a great idea, because it gave us so much freedom to spend as long as we wanted at the site. Plus, we could drive to Gaiman afterwards, which is one of the most popular Welsh towns to visit in Argentina.

Have you ever visited Punta Tombo in Argentina? If so, what was your experience? If not, would you want to see thousands of penguins up close on your trip to Patagonia? Let us know in the comments below.