migration : july to november
ARGENTINE PATAGONIA: SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES
Southern right whales seek out shelter and protection, even amongst predators, in their calving bays of the Valdez Peninsula.
IN BRIEF
Península Valdés is where the South Atlantic's southern right whales come to give birth. Every winter, more than a thousand animals gather in the two shallow gulfs that flank the peninsula, and stay for months: mothers with calves resting metres off the beach, males jostling in courtship groups, juveniles lifting their tails into the wind to sail. They are unhurried, curious, and enormous, and in the clear green water of early spring they come to you.
Swimming with them is not a tourist activity here. Argentina prohibits in-water contact with right whales, and for good reason: this is one of the most important nurseries for the species on the planet. Access is granted only under a special permit, and only to people producing professional level work, and only one permit is ever issued at a time. That is the trip. A small team, a permit that few people have ever held, one boat, and whales that have never had a reason to fear a person in the water beside them for decades. Photography instruction is included for those who want it.
ITINERARY
DAY 1: Arrival in Puerto Madryn. Participants arrive independently Puerto Madryn (regular flights are available from AEP Aeroparque regional airport in Buenos Aires) and transfer to our base in Puerto Pirámides. Trip briefing in the evening.
DAY 2: Land day Península Valdés. Once a week we leave the boat behind and drive out to the peninsula's outer coast, where the wildlife concentrates: about 180 km of gravel road there and back, front-loaded into the morning. Wildlife is most active and the light best in the first hours; by early afternoon we are back in Pirámides. We schedule the land day typically on the first day of the trip, so it can also act as a buffer day incase of delays getting into Puerto Pirámides.
DAY 3-7: On the water. Consecutive mornings on Golfo Nuevo, weather permitting. Mornings are generally the calm window on the gulf; the wind builds through the afternoon. We are typically on the water from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (flexible), working the sheltered edges of the bay where mothers and calves rest and the courtship groups form. Drops are guide-led, one group at a time, and dictated by the whales: we stay with animals that choose to stay with us.
Afternoons are left specifically unscheduled. Weather days (there will be some) go to the peninsula itself: the elephant seal colonies on the outer coast, the sea lion colony at Punta Pirámides, the guanaco and rhea on the steppe, and, if the tide and the season line up, the orcas that patrol the beaches at Punta Norte. We also have presentations, down time and photography lessons (including post processing flow) in the afternoons.
DAY 8: Departure. Guests may schedule flights out of Puerto Madryn, we will help coordinate rides to the airport.
2027 EXPEDITION DATES
Each session is limited to only 3 participants.
SESSION 1
17-24 September, 2027 (1 spot left)
SESSION 2
22-29 September, 2027 (2 spots left)
SESSION 3 (overflow session only; not open until the other two sessions are full)
27 September - 4 October, 2027
TRIP DETAILS
ON THE WATER
We work from a rigid inflatable operated by Luis García Trucco of Patagonia Scuba, a Puerto Pirámides dive and whale operator and our permit partner on the water. Right whales sit in shallow, sheltered water close to shore, so the runs are short and the boat is small by design: quiet, low to the water, and able to hold position with the engine off while the whales decide what they want to do. Entries and exits are over the tube, which is easier in a thick wetsuit than a ladder.
The water in spring is cold, green and often silty: expect 9–12°C and visibility that swings from two metres to fifteen depending on wind, tide and plankton. A 5–7 mm opencell wetsuit with hood, gloves and boots is essential. Encounters are largely surface encounters. Right whales rest and log at the surface, and a curious calf, or its mother, will often come within touching distance on its own terms. No one touches anything.
The permit sets the in-water rules, and we hold to them exactly, as a government observer is onboard with us every day. One person plus one safety diver are permitted in the water at a time. The guide will enter first to determine the conditions and then help guests with camera settings. The guide will participate in the turn rotation along with max three guests.
ACCOMMODATION
We base ourselves in Puerto Pirámides, the only settlement inside the Península Valdés reserve and a village of a few hundred people that exists almost entirely for the whales. The dock is a two-minute walk from anywhere, and in the evenings you can hear the whales blowing from the beach.
Rather than a hotel, we rent a house and an apartment in the village and base out of them for the two weeks: private rooms to retreat to, and a shared living room and kitchen where the day's images get reviewed, the wetsuits dry, and the evenings happen. Nothing in Pirámides is really big enough to hold the whole group comfortably under one roof, so the exact split is set once the group configuration is confirmed.
This trip is based on single rooms, couples and or friends looking to share a room can let us know beforehand (a discount of $300 per person will be applied). We work with a local agent who configures the rentals around the room requests we receive. Final rooming is confirmed closer to departure.
The village has a handful of good restaurants (Patagonian lamb, seafood, and better wine than you'd expect at the end of a dirt road). Dinners are not included and always optional; we organize a table each night for anyone who wants one. Breakfasts and lunches are included.
SEPT 2027 DATES
SESSION 1 (1 spot left)
17-24 September, 2027
SESSION 2 (2 spots left)
22-29 September, 2027
SESSION 3 (not open until the other two sessions are full)
27 September - 4 October, 2027
COSTS
CORE PROGRAM COSTS
Main Program: $9900 USD
OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
Camera kit rental (per 5-days):
Sony a7r iv + 12-24mm + seafrogs housing $700
Sony a7r iii + 14mm + seafrogs housing $450
INCLUDED
7 nights private-room accommodation in Puerto Pirámides (house/apartment base, no shared rooms, no single supplement).
5 on-water expedition days with Patagonia Scuba (RIB, captain and safety diver), weather permitting.
Chubut Province media permit and government observer fees (very expensive, hence the price).
All in-water guiding, permit supervision and safety support.
1 full-day self-drive wildlife excursion on Península Valdés, including reserve entry fees, vehicle and fuel.
Airport transfers from/to Puerto Madryn on arrival and departure days, and daily dock transfers in town.
Breakfasts every day and lunches every day (boat days and land day).
Weights and weight belts.
EXCLUDED
Flights to/from Puerto Madryn.
Camera system, housing and all personal in-water gear (mask, snorkel, fins, 5–7 mm wetsuit or semi-dry, hood, gloves, boots). Limited camera kit rental available.
Dinners.
Travel, cancellation and medical-evacuation insurance (required).
Argentina entry requirements, if any apply to your nationality.
Alcohol, personal spending and gratuities.
HOW TO JOIN
REQUIREMENTS
Photographers and videographers only. Every participant must be a photographer, filmmaker, artist or journalist producing material for publication, broadcast, fine art, research or exhibition. There is no condition that work must be published.
Professional equipment required. Interchangeable-lens camera systems with underwater housings. Phones, action cameras and compact cameras do not qualify. Drones are permitted with an additional permission, but drones alone do not qualify for in water access with the whales; only a professional camera set up does. We have limited rental kits available.
In-water whale experience. Experienced with large pelagic animals in water. SCUBA or free dive certification is required.
A named crew list. Names and outlets are submitted to the authorities about 2 months in advance of the trip. Late substitutions are not possible. All balances must be paid in full before the crew list is submitted.
Permit conditions on the water. Guide-led initial drop, a hard cap on people in the water (one swimmer and one local safety diver), and following guide and captain instructions at all times.
Application to join. Because of these specific restrictions, spots are not sold through a checkout. Apply and we'll talk.
This expedition runs under a media permit issued by the Province of Chubut. The permit is what makes in-water work with the whales possible, and it comes with conditions we cannot bend, including who is permitted to participate in this documentation expedition.