Right Whale Diving Trip Report 2025
Puerto Pyramides, Argentina
September 8 - 15, 2025
September 8, 2025. Arrival Day.
After leaving Brazil and a full day of travel, I finally made it to Trelew, Argentina at 2 a.m. Collected my bags, jumped into a taxi, and got to my hotel. By the time I settled in, it was closer to 3 a.m.
At 7:15 a.m., the hotel front desk called to say our driver had arrived.
I was hoping for another 30 minutes of sleep, but that’s travel life… time to go.
Everyone made it safely. Ernesto and Antonio were picked up at the airport, and the rest of the group stayed at the same hotel as me. Bags loaded, we hit the road to Puerto Pirámides.
Since it was too early to check into the hotel, our driver Juan Carlos took us to Puerto Madryn to look for Chilean flamingos. Always nice to see those beautiful, goofy looking birds.
Unfortunately, there weren’t any flamingos in their usual spots, so Juan Carlos brought us to a lookout point instead.
From the cliffs, we could see whales swimming below in the ocean. Quite a few were around, and our driver mentioned that when whales gather like that, it’s often because orcas might still be in the bay off Puerto Pyramides hunting them.
As we photographed the whales from up high, burrowing parrots flew around the cliffs where they nest in huge colonies. Beautiful, fast flyers, tough to photograph in the air, but I managed a few shots.
From there we continued to Puerto Pirámides to check into our hotel and prep gear for tomorrow.
The road from Puerto Madryn to Pirámides is always good for wildlife, especially guanacos, which are often spotted near the roadside.
The adventure has begun!
September 9, 2025 — Day One
We set out to sea this morning under a drizzle, with heavy clouds, wind, and cold air.
A perfectly normal day in Patagonia. lol
There are so many whales here right now, a crazy amount. We searched for a good spot with playful individuals, hoping for an encounter.
This season has already brought some dramatic changes.
For the first time ever recorded here, orcas have begun hunting southern right whale calves. Last season, avian flu devastated the elephant seal population, wiping out around 95% of the newborn pups.
With fewer seals this year, the orcas have adjusted, and so far, at least three right whale calves have been killed. These are the same orcas known for their unique hunting strategy of taking seal pups directly off the beach.
Today, though, we found whales that wanted to play.
Angiolo went in first, then Thomas, and soon we were surrounded, whales all around us. The sound of them blowing was like thunder, echoing across the water.
So loud, so powerful. Patagonia is a truly special place.
The whales were extremely playful, which was a gift given the recent reports of orcas in the area.
One by one, we took turns entering the water. At the end of the rotation, I finally got my chance, with a calm, friendly whale resting on the sandy bottom.
Sharing the water with these guys is just the best. Easily my favorite whales. Why? Because they are the friendliest whales I have ever encountered.
When you get in the water with most whales, they will swim away. They want nothing to do with you.
With right whales, a big percentage of them are extremely curious and some of them are very, very playful. Some of them are too playful.
I shot a few images before my time ran out and I had to return to the boat.
By then, the winds were picking up fast.
As the next round of encounters with the group, the weather turned rough, and we had to call it a day.
So much magic out here. They are all absolutely fired up for tomorrow, this place has exceeded their expectations. Makes me super happy.
All images of the whales captured under Government Permits.