Very windy. Road under construction so gravel road for 30 minutes.... Enjoyed seeing the sea lion rookery but were quite a ways away. Bring binoculars!
We were protected from ourselves at Punta Loma, the viewing area for elephant seals who return here once a year to mate. We were safely high above them on a bluff which looked down on their cove. The marine elephants can grow to twenty feet in length, weigh five tons, and bite a person in half with one chomp. Photographers: bring a zoom or telephoto to get reasonable images of the seals. Be aware that the viewing platform can be crowded and you may need to take turns, so be quick.
Only one view point, but what a view! It was really rewarding to see such a colony after a 2 hour bike ride. At this time of year more interesting than punta norte in peninsula!
My family and I loved this place. You get the possibility to see the "lobos marinos" and some other local birds in their habitat, swimming and interacting with each other. There is a coin-operated binocular in case you are not bringing yours, but even if you don´t use anything you enjoy a beautiful view.
We have visited Punta Loma during a recent "Around the Cape Horn" Celebrity Infinity cruise. It is OK if you have never seen sea lions before, but we have stopped in Punta del Este before, and for the same price ($40/person) we have taken a 2-hour boat trip to the Isla de Lobos, whichwas truly excellent. Basically, there is just one spot to see sea lions below, and they are always there, but basicallyafter 5 minutes you have seen it all. We paid $40/person to take a taxi there from the town, which is a bit much (and had 2 other people in the car plus the driver, which made it crowded). I
The entrance fee is reasonable (30 pesos for residents) and the toilets are clean and well-maintained. The rangers are friendly and knowledgeable and the short trail has information on the uses of indigenous plants. The viewing platform is great for watching the sea lion colony and the rock shags. I am very happy that I visited as it had not been recommended to me and I might have missed it; I enjoyed hiring a bike to get there though the road can be sandy and has some long steady inclines both on the way there and back. Otherwise, it would be a short stop in a car (please drive slowly past the cyclists so they don't have to eat your dust!) I really enjoyed the peace and tranquility once the tourist groups had passed by.
We drove in at around 6pm and the park ranger came out and before he would take our money he told us that we might as well turn around because there was nothing to see-all the seals were out to sea during high tide. The car before us actually listened to the chump and turned around to leave. We decided we wanted to go up anyway to see the view and the park ranger begrudgingly took our money (after we almost had to force it on him). Boy, we're glad we did because it was great and we saw all kinds of se lions and baby seals getting washed in and out with the tides. So scrumptious. I'm not sure why the park ranger was set on turning people away. The park is open until 8pm and is totally worth it!
The place is nice and you arrive after a short drive from Puerto Madryn (most is unpaved road). The entrance fee is in my opinion to much for what the place offers, as you mainly end up watching the sea lions from long distance.
Not the best experience, as the sea lions were 40 feet below us. Interesting for short term only. Would skip it and got Punta Loma.
We visited Puerto Madryn on the Star Princess in February. We booked a tour with an on-line tour operator called BestDay.com. This was a big mistake as the local operator has us booked for a tour in the afternoon, around when the ship left! They scrambled to find someone to take us - ended up with a guy who spoke no English, had a car which was dirty and a cracked windshield. We even had to pay to enter the park - this was supposed to have been included in the price. The tour was to have lasted for 4 hours - we were back in Puerto Madryn in less than one hour. Apart from that, the tide was in and we only saw 3 sea lions swimming in the sea - the beach where they usually rest was covered with water. Be careful when booking tours on-line, especially with this company.