Punta Arenas DIY walk from ship?

I think we want to visit the penguins in Punta Arenas and if we do the shorter excursion can we see sights in the city on our own? (7 AM to 6 PM ) Jan 31 2012. The other tour is about 3 hours and can be done early. What should I see in Punta Arenas?;)

If I understand your question you are going to go to Ottway Bay to see the Penguins. I would highly recommend that. Then are you asking when you arrive back can walk around the town of Punta Arenas and the answer is yes. We just walked around and took pictures of building and some of the local scenery and it is very doable. Is that your question?

Keith

Thanks Keith That was the question. It does not look like Punta Arenas is big enough to need the city tour;).

It is a small city - you can easily walk around, there are really only 2 main streets.

The cemetery is walking distance (if you like walking), and worth visiting for the architecture and the Irish/Scottish graves from the early settlers. Some interesting inscriptions where the translation into English hasn't quite worked!

Thanks Keith That was the question. It does not look like Punta Arenas is big enough to need the city tour;).

Bowie MeMe, that is correct. You can just walk around the town on your own.

Keith

Hi,

can you walk to the city center/old town from the port? Or is it only walkable once you get there and must take a cab from the port to get to town?

thank you.

mila

Hi,

can you walk to the city center/old town from the port? Or is it only walkable once you get there and must take a cab from the port to get to town?

 

thank you.

mila

You can walk right into the town. It's basically right there.

Keith

You can walk right into the town. It's basically right there.

 

Keith

thank you very much!

Very quaint town

Easy to do. After you leave the cruise termerial(note your hand carries will be xrayed for food) there are usually vans outside before leaving the port. The cost in January per person was 10 usd. to the Pegiuns. Then a 1 dollar charge for a road entrance and the fee for the park. 6usd. We got the starter of the van to add in a city tour, cemetery ( to see the grave of the Lost Indian) which gives you a good tour. Also went up on a small hill overlooking the port and then downtown for shopping Crafts set up in the main square. Good cheap shopping on the overlook and at the square. Some items were from Peru. If you are not going there it is an okay price. My little pegiun with real pegiun noise (though made in China) was a hit for everyone young children and even the adults.The only place we saw it. We ended out tour here, though could have continued on to the port. Following the crowds, it was a short walk back to the cruise termial. There is a supper market on the left about a half block form the c.t. You will see alot of ship personal here. Good place to get good, but cheap Chilean wines. I think the cemetery is a bit to far to walk to, cheap taxi a couple of dollars ride and taxis outside back. We were there two times this January and went back to the cemetary. Also there are good places to get King Crab legs( trip advisor) or guides.

Small town. Not a lot there. Ushuaia more picturesque IMHO, though a little more difficult to navigate on foot with some steep streets/sidewalks that remind me a bit of San Francisco. I saw penguins near Ushuaia. In P.A. we walked around a bit, had lunch, and returned to the ship. Roughest seas of our B.A.-Valparaiso trip were after Punta Arenas.

Small town. Not a lot there. Ushuaia more picturesque IMHO, though a little more difficult to navigate on foot with some steep streets/sidewalks that remind me a bit of San Francisco. I saw penguins near Ushuaia. In P.A. we walked around a bit, had lunch, and returned to the ship. Roughest seas of our B.A.-Valparaiso trip were after Punta Arenas.

Hi Fattony,

Ushuaia is the only other port I dont have a guide or anything scheduled. what do you suggest I do. Is it not good to walk to town from the port? I wanted to possibly take the train, which says you can catch that from outside the port or take a cab to the southern most end of panamerica hwy. I would appreciate anything you could share, my husband wont be happy about walking steep streets. can I hire an english speaking taxi driver from outside the port?

thanks.

Mila

Hi all my husband and I will travel a two or three days early on the Rio to Santiago cruise .We plan to see that area before the cruise. Any advice on the Intercontinental Rio regarding safety and also transportation from hotel to the ship?

I think we want to visit the penguins in Punta Arenas and if we do the shorter excursion can we see sights in the city on our own? (7 AM to 6 PM ) Jan 31 2012. The other tour is about 3 hours and can be done early. What should I see in Punta Arenas?;)

We took one private excursion to see the Penguins and I highly recommend it. It was an unbelievable day and you get very close to hundreds upon hundreds of penguin in a beautiful setting. And, once you arrive you can walk around either in small groups or by yourself so you don't have the type of distractions you sometimes get on organized tours. We have seen penguins in other areas but to us this is a must see.

Celebrity has an excursion for $189 pp to visit the penguins on Magdalena Island. Apparently, you take a 2 hour ferry ride to the island. Is Ottway Bay better than Magdalena Island. It sounds so much easier to get to.

Thank you for any help.

Here are my notes on this day: Punta Arenas - we got a taxi to take us out to the Otway penguin colony first thing in the morning. I think we paid about $60 for the 3 of us. The guy stopped several places along the way so we could take pictures of sheep, condors, interesting trees, ranches, and beautiful flowers. For the photos alone, I was glad we took a taxi rather than shuttle or bus. We had him drop us at the local cemetary... do stop here...it's more interesting than the one in Buenos Aires. From there we walked about 8 blocks into town, stopped at supermarket for lunch snacks. The main square in town has a market with local crafts. It's possible to walk about 6 blocks up a hill from the main square for a very nice view of the city and the beagle channel.

The penguin colonies are much better and larger at Volunteer Point, but as there's not much else to do in Puntas, we also went to the Seno Otway colony on a tour.

We took one private excursion to see the Penguins and I highly recommend it. It was an unbelievable day and you get very close to hundreds upon hundreds of penguin in a beautiful setting. And, once you arrive you can walk around either in small groups or by yourself so you don't have the type of distractions you sometimes get on organized tours. We have seen penguins in other areas but to us this is a must see.

Hi Mmliller,

Can you tell us where you saw the Penguins, Otway or somewhere else?

Thank you.

Now I am really confused. Is this the best port to see the penquins? If so Otway or Mangdelena.

Apparently these are different types of penguins than in the Falklands?

I starting to think that in every port, I'm taking an excursion to see penguins! Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

Now I am really confused. Is this the best port to see the penquins? If so Otway or Mangdelena.

Apparently these are different types of penguins than in the Falklands?

I starting to think that in every port, I'm taking an excursion to see penguins! Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

If you are going to the Falklands, it is the only place you MAY see a pair of lost King Penguins trying to breed amongst the gentoo penguins. If you go to Bluff Cove on the Falklands, you'll also see Magellanic penguins.

The penguins that you can see at Otway or Magdalena are mostly Magellanic. There will be the occasional itinerant (ie lost) gentoo, but the large colonies are Magellanics. If you go on to Ushuaia, you may see some more magellanic penguins (the colony is a long trip away) and the same chance of itinerant 'others', but more plentiful are seals and cormorants, and the occasional whale and dolphin.

Hi,

can you walk to the city center/old town from the port? Or is it only walkable once you get there and must take a cab from the port to get to town?

 

thank you.

mila

There must be two ports. We were berthed northeast of the town center about 4 or 5 kilometers away. It took us more than hour to walk to the main square. It was a nice, level walk on a wide, paved, seaside promenade. It was a nice walk on a pleasant day, but I did not even find a pleasant place to have a beer. I was relieved to take a taxi back for $10.

Google maps shows another pier south of town which would be much handier. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=punta+arenas,+chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-53.146873,-70.887222&spn=0.04911,0.154324&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Punta+Arenas,+Magallanes+Province,+Magallanes+and+Ant%C3%A1rtica+Chilena+Region,+Chile&gl=us&t=h&z=13

Thank you for the penguin advice. I think we will take the taxi to the penguins, and go from there depending on the weather.

The ships cannot always tender at the Falklands, which is why it is wise to see the penguins at Punta Arenas. It is different at Otway than at the Falklands. I am glad that we did both as they were both very different expeditions. Make sure you take Patrick Watt's tour in the Falklands though. It is the best tour and you will see three types of penguins at Volunteer Point. He also gives you a CD loaded with pictures of the different penguins and other wildlife that you view while visiting the Falkland Islands.

The ships cannot always tender at the Falklands, which is why it is wise to see the penguins at Punta Arenas. It is different at Otway than at the Falklands. I am glad that we did both as they were both very different expeditions. Make sure you take Patrick Watt's tour in the Falklands though. It is the best tour and you will see three types of penguins at Volunteer Point. He also gives you a CD loaded with pictures of the different penguins and other wildlife that you view while visiting the Falkland Islands.

We are confirmed with Patrick Watt's tour in January; I didn't know about the CD - that will be an extra plus. Thanks for your excellent comments.