Rent a car in Trelew at Almirante Zar Airport (REL), where Hertz Argentina lists an airport branch and Argentine agencies serve arrivals, or in the city centre - and the reason is almost always the same: Peninsula Valdes. The classic Patagonia circuit runs from Trelew up Route 3 to Puerto Madryn in about an hour, then onto the peninsula, whose interior roads are ripio - loose gravel where high clearance helps, speeds must drop, and rental gravel clauses matter; read yours before you go. South of town, Punta Tombo's penguin colony sits about 90 minutes away, and the Welsh heritage villages - Gaiman's teahouses especially - make an easy afternoon. Book ahead for whale season, September to November peak, when Valdes draws the crowds and the small local fleets fill first.
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