Punta Tombo or Estancia San Lorenzo to see penguins?? Which is better?

Hi,

I came across two ship excursions in Puerto Madryn that I like for my Celebrity cruise. The one goes to Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery - a 7 hour excursion (5 hours is driving time) - and the other is Estancia San Lorenzo Penguin Reserve and Punta (8 hours - also 5 hours driving). The latter includes the Patagonian Barbecue Lunch, and ends at Punta Norte to see the elephant seal and sea lion colony. I'm almost more attracted to this for the variety included in the tour. Most importantly, I want an excursion where you are walking up close with the penguins. I don't want any where you simply view them from a boat.

While I'm at it, I may as well ask for opinions on these....at Stanley (Falklands): I've been looking at either Sparrow Cove Penguin Adventure (2.5 hours) or North Pond Penguin Tour (goes to Cape Dolphin to see Gentoo and Magellanics). Obviously, I already know about Volunteer Point as being highly recommended.

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Keith

We chose a Punta Norte tour rather than Punta Tombo in large part because of the greater variety of wildlife species (both birds and mammals) said to be likely on the Punta Norte tour. We knew that we would see fewer Magellanic Penguins than would be sighted at Punta Tombo. We were happy with our choice. The Punta Norte trip included a walk along a path through the penguin colony, with penguins right up to the edge of the path.

John

Thanks John. That encourages me to go with the Estancia / Punta tour. I thought also that it'd be nice to see some other wildlife besides just concentrating on seeing penguins.

Hi,

 

I came across two ship excursions in Puerto Madryn that I like for my Celebrity cruise. The one goes to Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery - a 7 hour excursion (5 hours is driving time) - and the other is Estancia San Lorenzo Penguin Reserve and Punta (8 hours - also 5 hours driving). The latter includes the Patagonian Barbecue Lunch, and ends at Punta Norte to see the elephant seal and sea lion colony. I'm almost more attracted to this for the variety included in the tour. Most importantly, I want an excursion where you are walking up close with the penguins. I don't want any where you simply view them from a boat.

 

While I'm at it, I may as well ask for opinions on these....at Stanley (Falklands): I've been looking at either Sparrow Cove Penguin Adventure (2.5 hours) or North Pond Penguin Tour (goes to Cape Dolphin to see Gentoo and Magellanics). Obviously, I already know about Volunteer Point as being highly recommended.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!!

 

Keith

We did the Valdés Peninsula(Estancia San Lorenzo) and loved the tour. There is a lot of driving, but you see quite a lot.