estancia san lorenzo, pinguins land

Estancia San Lorenzo was one of our favorite penguin sites (second to Volunteer Point in the Falklands). Magellanic penguins were everywhere - we were able to wander about freely as long as we didn't impede the penguins and stayed within the rock borders. We were amazed at how close we could get to these magnificent birds. They are fearless of humans and pretty much ignore our presence. We were able to explore the nesting area and beaches for an hour before having a delicious lunch at the ranch house. Loved the lamb BBQ, empanadas and Malbec. After lunch we visited Punta Norte, where we saw many sea lions (unfortunately we didn't see any elephant seals as they were further away).

Estancia San Lorenzo, about 160 km from Puerto Madryn shelters a colony of Magellanic penguins. The cliffs and beach with the penguins are a short drive from the main house. There you will be among thousands of penguins with the opportunity to walk to the beach where penguins enter and come out of the water. The restaurant at the Estancia has outstanding barbecued lamb served with ham, sausages and delicious salad fixings. Very good Argentinian wine is plentiful. This is a "can't miss" place in the Valdés Peninsula.

We visited Valdes peninsula in the end of 2014. Penguins are absolutely awesome creatures and it's extremely interesting to watch them. And after we spent some time with them we went for lunch in San Lorenzo estancia. And this was our best meal in Argentina. I had never ever tried such lamb barbecue. I even could not imagine that meet can have such a taste! We also had some sausages and ham. They were also great. And the wine was fantastic. The price is very reasonale too. I highly recommend to come here if you are travelling in Valdes. It will be unforgettable. The place is also very quiet, not many people were there at all. Do not miss this unique opportunity!

This is the place to go to see Penguins on Peninsula Valdes! Estancia is a bit further away which keep most of the masses away. They take you to see the penguins buy car so you can not drive near by them on your own. We had 1 guide to our group of 3. So total 4 people, a beach and hundreds of penguins. Totally worth the drive.The restaurant serves good lunch and service is good.Entry fee to see penguins was 550ARS in November 2014.

We were completely alone at the beach with all These pinguins. It is amazing to walk among them. Really nice! Worth do to it

This is a wonderful spot in many ways, providing you're not looking for a fully guided tour. The visit is mostly self-guided with clear walkways and signage. There is an area close to the beach that is roped off so you won't be joining the penguins in the surf, but otherwise you'll be up close and personal with the birds. These are Magellenic Penguins, a small-statured variety (they're about 2 feet/65cm tall) that are perfectly at home with limited human interaction. By limited, I mean the place isn't crowded with people - the penguins are curious and you'll be within a half-meter of them much of the time. Depending on the time of year, the penguins are in various stages of molting and breeding and this is one area where a guide does help: the penguin life cycle, and the alternating care-giving and fishing roles of the adults deserves some explanation, so read up before you go. Also be aware that most of the paths are gravel and not suitable for wheelchairs.You'll also see other wildlife nearby - certainly plenty of Guanaco, a type of llama, on your drive out, and I spotted a Patagonian burrowing owl nearby. This is a wonderful attraction, and don't miss a chance for lunch at the Estancia - the food there is very good.

Puerto Madryn has an unique place to live the real experience with 200,000 PENGUINS nesting walking and patroling literally everywhere. Penguins can be found within the extensive lands of ESTANCIA SAN LORENZO, located in PUNTA NORTE, only 160kms from Puerto Madryn City and managed by the same old immigrant's family for more than 100 years with the same professionalism and eco-friendly approach. it is remarkable that owners are truly committed to UNESCO's biological and ecological research programs to preserve and study the habitat and all it's ecosystems. The fact: Every year those 200,000 penguins CHOOSE to return to this Estancia and Penguins community is growing at 20% y/y based on lastest stats. Community of Penguins are so large that you will find penguins up to 3 kms from their multiple nesting areas! and when driving there you will have several stops because there will be penguins on your way!..really must see.A huge advantage is that it is the ONLY place where you can have the complete tri-experience in the same area: WHALES, ELEPHANT SEALS, PENGUINS. Otherwise you will need to drive more than 200 KMs just to see around the same ammount of penguins in average and, of course, you will lb tired and loose quality time for the other key attractions: WHALES/ELEPHANT SEALS. This place is so unique that the local government "competes" with a second best proposal (Punta Tombo), which is located really far away (over 240kms) from the other must-see attractions (Elefant Seals, and Whales) and I heard fails to provide specialized personnel (biologysts, etc)Estancia San Lorenzo is ideal for adults AND childrens, because you can: -Enjoy a typical premium Patagonian food (6+hs slowly roasted lamb, excellent Malbec, meat empanadas),-Children can learn the origins of raw WOOL, and live the real Patagonian FARM experience.-Unique CLOSE UP experience with Penguins and Elefant Seals in real crowded communities in virgin-like areas of the Estancia's coast and nearby nesting areas. Children love Penguins because they get really close and they are not afraid of humans (close encounters mean 20cms, no touching of course!). -Have the whale experience with a short driving distance from the Estancia (whale watching takes 1.5 hs and it's only 90kms from th Estancia in perfect condition roads)It is important to note that Estancia SAN LORENZO has "no marketing initiatives" going on and that is because they only need "mouth-to-mouth" marketing between europeans, local argentines and americans to be booked way in advance each year, including large cruises from around the world. As recommendation: sun screen, comfortable clothing (layered fleece/ goretex) , binoculars, walking sticks, breathable mountain shoes, dry fit socks, cargo pants, small backpacks, waterpack, camera (zoom 50-250 or 300), sunglasses, cap, humectants. During SEPTEMBER you will see plenty of whales, elephant seals including their reproduction dynamic between male/female competing with each other, really nice wheater, dry.

We heard about this penguin place by coincidence from somebody in Puerto Madryn, because it´s not on one of the tourist info maps, and that´s a shame because this place is fantastic. Beautiful nature and loads of penguins, all over the place, and the cool thing is that you can walk in between them. They´re so incredibly funny, wonderful creatures. And the guide we had was great, he knew everything about the place and the animals. I think it was good that you can only visit the place with a small group at one time, a good balance between tourism and nature conservation. I recommend this place big time!

Visited Estancia San Lorenzo last year while traveling around Peninsula Valdes with my parents. Several of my colleagues at Class Adventure Travel advised me to make a stop at the most northern point of the peninsula. All of them have had very good experiences with the tours at the estancia and only had happy clients coming back from their excursions. So said, we did arrive at the estancia around mid-day. It rained a lot during the days before our visit, but because of the good maintenance of the road to the estancia, we were able to get there! Welcomed with a small, but very typical Argentine ‘picada’ (platter of cheeses and salami, olives) and a glass of Malbec wine and water we waited for our tour to depart. As it was a quiet day our guide decided that we would have a private tour, in order to not lose time waiting for other possible visitors to arrive. We took off in one of the estancia’s jeeps and drove to the penguin colony. At that moment the baby penguins were not born yet and all moms would do everything they could to protect their eggs. You will walk on sandy paths in the penguin colony, and every now and then penguins will cross here every now and then, it takes you very very close-by! Take your time to listen to the explanation of the guide, enjoy the penguins playing and of course to take as many photos as you like and don’t forget to sit down for amazing views of the penguins on the long and wide beach. Visiting Estancia San Lorenzo is definitely one of the must do´s while driving around at Peninsula Valdes!

My wife and I recently participated in an excursion offered by Princess Cruises to Estancia San Lorenzo. Enroute to the estancia, we were delighted to see numerous small herds of guanico, a pair of rhea, a family of Patagonian hares, a burrowing owl and thousands of Magellenic penquins at Punta Norte. Much to our surprise, the penquin colony exists in the sandy terrain adjacent to the ocean and the trail through it takes one very close to many of the small creatures.The lunch provided by the estancia was a delicious barbeque consisting of many courses, all of which were very tasty. This was one of the very high points of this cruise.

A great place to see and walk among penguins. Super meal also. Just a gentle stroll takes you to the beach nag among the penguin burrows.

On an old sheep farm, the penguins have come to nest and raise their young. You can get up close and personal with Magellenic penguins and other South American fauna not usually seen at home.

I can't imagine any place else will get you so close to the Magellanic penguins. The penguins were delightfully curious and stood along the walking path eyeing us up as we passed by. The baby penguins were approaching teenager status by December and were darling gray fuzzballs. We arrived early at the Estancia (about 1130) and initially one employee seemed to be trying to turn us away (our Spanish is shaky to say the least), but we stayed put and were treated to a personal tour just for our family of 4. You will pay for the privilege. It cost almost 700 ARS for 2 adults and 1 child (our 8 yr old was free) but the experience is well worth it compared to seeing them from a 100 meters away on a boardwalk which is the typical experience at most colonies. If you are going to travel this far to see something, spend the money to see it up close, not through a telescope.Some folks comment on other colonies being bigger. We are told 200,000 are at San Lorenzo and we easily saw hundreds if not thousands of penguins standing, walking, running and swimming - how much bigger do you really need?

WE were there in the beginning of November and they were nesting on their eggs, thousands of penguins. You can walk around and there are all these penguins everywhere. wow.

In 2009 we went for the first time to this place and were were able to enjoy the penguins breeding. This time we were hoping to see the young ones ...Due to a couple of heavy thunderstorms the roads were damaged and we were not able to see the penguins. There was no communication and even the tourist office in Puerto Pirámides was unaware that the estancia had been closed for 3 days. Unfortunately it meant a drive of around 80 minutes (70 km) one way on gravel roads to see a "we are closed" sign. On our 5th day we checked first with the tourist office and were told it is open again. Unfortunately we arrived shortly after 12:30 pm and there was no opportunity to see the penguins unless one would wait until 2:30 pm - all staff were involved in serving food to 200 tourists and during this time no visits were possible. In addition they charge you either USD 50 (or Pesos 210) per person to see the penguins. Near Caleta Valdés you can see them for free !! Not the same quantity but you can get as near as at the estancia. Because the estancia was closed we went one day to Punta Tombo (http://www.puntatombo.com/pinguinera.html) and we really enjoyed this day trip. Unfortunately it is a one way 280 km trip from Puerto Pirámides - but worthwile doing !!! The access fee was "only" pesos 35 per person !!