Suggestions for Puerto Madryn and Bariloche trip?

[Bianca]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Puerto Madryn/Puerta Piramides and are considering going over to Bariloche while we are there. We'll be taking a bus overnight from BsAs to Puerto Madryn, stay for a day or two, then head to Bariloche and back home.

Is this time of year a good time to visit the two cities? Is there anything that is a "must-see" in either of these two places? (I read about the dinosaur fossils in Puerto Madryn on this forum, definitely a must-see!) Is a day or two days sufficient to visit each city? Any bus or accommodation suggestions? Restaurants? Tours?

 

[Bianca]

Wow, I just visited soulskier's blog... seems like two weeks + would be more a more appropriate length of time to spend in Bariloche! Funny, we planed on going to Puerto Madryn first, but now I'm really excited to see Bariloche!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

My husband and I are planning a trip to Puerto Madryn/Puerta Piramides and are considering going over to Bariloche while we are there. We'll be taking a bus overnight from BsAs to Puerto Madryn, stay for a day or two, then head to Bariloche and back home.

Is this time of year a good time to visit the two cities? Is there anything that is a "must-see" in either of these two places? (I read about the dinosaur fossils in Puerto Madryn on this forum, definitely a must-see!) Is a day or two days sufficient to visit each city? Any bus or accommodation suggestions? Restaurants? Tours?

Personally. I don't think you are allowing enough time to do justice to either of the regions - I'll let others talk about Bariloche but I spent six days in and around PM when I was travelling around there a couple of years ago and I felt that it wasn't really enough.

Given the time available to you, if I were primarily interested in the Welsh settlements I think I would base myself in Trelew for the Museo Regionale (and the fantastic paleontology museum, of course) and the easy access to Rawson and Gaiman: the latter for its afternoon teas and small but fascinating museum. If natural history then probably Puerto Piramide and get really stuck into Penínsular Valdéz. Puerto Madryn is nice and central if you want a taste of everything but I think you will probably need to hire a car if you want to cover a lot of ground in such a very short time.

As for bus companies, given the choice I would go with Andesmar. The buses are comfortable and good and I have found the crews well trained and reliable in a crisis (if you travel a lot on buses, disaster will inevitably strike from time to time). They are a little more expensive than some of the other companies, but in my opinion, they are worth it.

 

[fedecc]

Well, it's whale season in Madryn, don't miss it. Bariloche is always nice to visit, full winter season starts a bit later in july, but you may not like it as it gets filled with tourist.

As far as time, it all depends on what you want to do:
-The Peninsula de Valdez/Puerto Piramides (whales) tour is a full day tour.
-You can also go to la pinguinera in Punta Tombo to walk among lots of penguins. that's a half day trip i belive.
-You can visit the welsh settlements (Gaiman, Trelew, Dolavon) if you like that stuff. This should take a day as well.
-You can enjoy and relax in the city which is pleasent enough.

If you are tight on time my recomendation is the Peninsula the Valdez/Puero Piramide tour.

For Bariloche there are lots of things to do:

-Circuito Grande or Circuito Chico, to see the lakes, the hotel Lla Llao, etc. You can rent bikes and do the circuito chico. It's nice but make sure you are in top notch physical condition, not like me that almost die on the side of the road.
-Colonia Suiza, it's relatively close small town with a few restaurants and a fair.
-Cerro Tronador, closest to the city i think, you can hike to the top (40 min) or take a chairlift. At the top you get absoloutly spectacular views. This is a must in my opinion.

If you have more time you can do, Cerro tronado, Campanario (although it's not skiing season yet), or go to Villa la Angostura, El Bolson, etc.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Bianca]

Thanks to both of you for the helpful advice!

Maybe I can get my husband to take a few more days off of work so we can enjoy our time in both areas a bit better. I feel like this will probably be our only chance to explore the areas and I'd hate to miss out on so much. Everything you've both mentioned seem like experiences I wouldn't want to miss!

fedecc: This may be a silly question, but are the penguins there now? I checked out the "wildlife calendar" on Puerto Pirámides' website and they show the penguins highlighted from Dec - April. Maybe this timeframe is just the height of activity? Or have they migrated?

 

[soulskier]

Bianca, we just got back from Puerto Madryn last night. The penguins are not around, but the whales directly off the beach (less than 10 meters) were incredible. The tip is to go at high tide.

We also drove around the peninsula one full day, seeing lots of amazing wildlife.

Lastly, we went to an unknown spot and hung out with a colony of elephant seals for a few hours.

The Eco Center was also very informative and interesting.

We stayed in an apartment 1 block from the beach for 160 pesos/night. I would also highly recommend renting a car and going about things on your own, if your that type of person.

Bonus note, we had the best Mexican food to date in Argentina, at a place called Lupita's on Gales Ave, downtown.

I have a good contact there, feel free to PM and I can send you his info.

 

[Bianca]

soulskier: Thanks for this great information! I'll be sending a PM for details on the apartment you stayed at and the contact person. You mentioned going at high-tide to get the best view of the whales. Unless I'm reading it wrong, the tide chart says that high-tide will be late evening during the days that we're there. I think now it's about 8is and it two weeks it'll be 10ish. Just double checking that I have the right info. Renting a car is a great idea, especially when you get the pleasure of spending some hours with the elephant seals!

Thank you all so much for helping me pull my plans together!!

 

[soulskier]

Bianca, there are two high tides per day. Each day, it is 50 minutes earlier. The contact I sent you info for will have the exact times.