Whale Watching from the Shore Near Puerto Madryn
By Patagonia Encantadora / June 12, 2026
June 9th mattered this year for two reasons. It was cold, obviously it’s June in Patagonia , but it was also the day the southern right whale season officially opened along our coast. I don’t usually need an excuse to get on the bike, but that one was too good to pass up, so I rode out to Playa Canteras to see what the season had brought in.
What I got wasn’t the quick look I was expecting. Whales rolling onto their backs, Magellanic penguins working a school of fish right at the shoreline, a petrel that wouldn’t leave them alone. I’ve guided this coast for 17 years and it still manages to throw something at me I didn’t plan for.
Getting to Playa Canteras from Puerto Madryn
It’s about 18 km from downtown Puerto Madryn out to Playa Canteras, all of it on Provincial Route 42. The whole road is paved, so you don’t need a truck or anything special to get there a regular car does fine, and so does a bike if you don’t mind a headwind. Riding it took me around 50 minutes, nothing fast, just enough to actually notice the landscape instead of blowing past it.
By car it’s about as simple as directions get: onto Route 42, straight through, no turns to worry about.
What’s Actually There: Bajada 1 and Bajada 2
There are two access points at Playa Canteras, known locally as Bajada 1 and Bajada 2. Both are open to anyone, and neither requires anything more complicated than showing up.
Bajada 1: The Wooden Lookout and the Ranger Post
Bajada 1 has a ranger station that’s staffed through the season, and right across from it, a wooden lookout platform that’s held up well over the years. From up there you get a clean view out over the water, and on a good day, of whales moving through it. There are public restrooms too, which sounds like a minor detail until you’ve just ridden 18 km on a bike.
From this side you can walk straight down onto the beach, which isn’t sand, it’s rounded stones, worn smooth by the water, which is pretty typical of this part of the coast. At high tide, with calm seas, whales can come in close enough to the shoreline that you don’t need binoculars.
Bajada 2: More Parking, Better Angle
Bajada 2 is built for bigger crowds a proper parking area that fills up during the busiest weeks of the season. It leads down to the same rocky beach, but on the day I was there, the whales happened to be sitting closer to this side, which made it the better spot for photos and filming.
Southern Right Whales at Playa Canteras: What You’ll See, and When
The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) shows up in Golfo Nuevo from June through December, with the heaviest activity between July and October. Playa Canteras is one of the few places along this coast where you can watch them without getting on a boat, and June 9th, the day I made this trip, is the date Chubut Province officially opens the season this year.
In about an hour and a half on the beach, I watched a handful of whales lying belly-up, pectoral fins out of the water, something researchers connect to resting or regulating body heat. Further out, one whale went for a full breach, clearing the water completely. I was too far to get a decent photo of that one, but it didn’t need a photo to be worth seeing.
The Tide Is the Whole Game
If you take one piece of advice from someone who’s spent years guiding this stretch of coast, make it this: time your visit around high tide. Whales move in closer as the water rises, so your odds of seeing one from land and seeing it well, go up a lot. Low tide still gets you whales, just not the same show. Tide tables are posted on the Peninsula Valdes Protected Area’s website, or you can just ask whoever’s staffing the ranger post when you get there. They always know.
On the Way Back: Penguins at Playa Manara, Uninvited
I figured the whales were the story of the day. Then I stopped at Playa Manara on the ride home, a free public beach right off the same route, and the day had other plans. There’s parking there and a short walk down to the water.
What I found at the shoreline wasn’t on the agenda: a big group of Magellanic penguins working the water just off the coast, chasing down silverside in tight, repeated dives. Not a huge school of fish, but enough to keep them busy. No fence, no platform, nothing between me and them, just penguins fishing a few meters from where I was standing, which never really gets old no matter how many times I’ve seen it.
And they had company. A petrel stuck close the entire time, flying low over the group, occasionally making a run at one of them. Nobody was narrating any of this for a group of tourists, it was just me, a camera, and whatever the petrel was trying to pull off.
Why This Route Earns a Spot on Your Itinerary
Getting to Playa Canteras, by car, by bike, or on foot if you’re feeling ambitious, is one of the easiest ways to spend real time with the coast during whale season. No boat required, no entry fee, and you end up closer to the water than most organized tours will ever get you.
The setup at Playa Canteras won’t impress anyone: a ranger post, some restrooms, a couple of lookout points. That’s not really the point. What you’re there for shows up on its own, whales a few meters off the rocks, birds working the coastline, and the kind of quiet that Patagonian winters are good for, when everything feels a little more real than it does the rest of the year.
If Puerto Madryn is on your list, don’t save Playa Canteras for the end of the trip. Go early, aim for high tide, give it at least ninety minutes, and swing by Playa Manara on your way back if you’ve got the time. This coast tends to hand you more than you came looking for.
Practical Information for Visiting Playa Canteras
- Access: Provincial Route 42 from Puerto Madryn, fully paved.
- Distance: About 18 km from downtown Puerto Madryn.
- Cycling time: Roughly 50 minutes at an easy pace.
- Facilities: Ranger station, public restrooms, wooden lookout points, parking at both Bajada 1 and Bajada 2.
- Best time to go: High tide gives you the best shot at shore-based sightings.
- Season: June through December, peaking July to October.
- Cost: Free , no entry fee for the Playa Canteras coastal area.