Penguin tours in South America

Which are the best penguin tours in South America. I have booked several with the Golden Princess just to be sure. Any help would be appreciated. You can e-mail me at gayelfand@sbcglobal.net

Patrick's tour on the Falklands is extremely popular. Sells out quickly as do all the good guides there

IF you get to the Falklands…Patricks is BY FAR the best imaginable! He does book up very quickly though!!

IF you get to the Falklands…Patricks is BY FAR the best imaginable! He does book up very quickly though!!

x2 :)

We booked with Patrick Watts for our cruise last January. We did not make port in the Falklands, though.

Even though, Patrick is a privately booked shore ex, he did not charge us. There was no deposit, so we did not lose anything.

I hated missing this port and this tour. Oh, well... maybe next time.

Patrick's tour in the Falklands to Admiralty Point is by far the best. However, it's hours of bouncing and banging in a 4WD (two hours each way) so if you have back pain of any kind, I wouldn't do it.

The next best is Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas. There aren't as many species as in the Falklands and there aren't King Penguins but there are large colonies and you get to see them up close. I'd book this as a back-up in case the ship doesn't stop at the Falklands.

Which are the best penguin tours in South America. I have booked several with the Golden Princess just to be sure. Any help would be appreciated.

If you like penguins, all of them.

When we did the itinerary we went to Puerto Madryn, Argentria we did the tour to Punta Tombo.

In the Falklands we did two Princess tours, one in the morning to Aparrow Cover and one in the afternoon to Bluff Cove.

In Punta Arenas, Chile we did Magdalena Island.

All were great excursions and there were different types of penguins at different locations.

So as someone else suggested, book early.

Another vote for Patrick Watts in the Falkland Islands. Best tour I've taken anywhere in 50+ cruises. He does sell out very quickly (mine was full over a year plus early) so book as soon as you can.

x2 :)

X3, we were there last week, unbelievable! Over a thousand king penguins plus thousands more other species. The trip is great fun getting there.

x4. Shared the ride with KirkNC last week. I agree that Patrick Watts one of the best excursions I've ever done. Need to do it again! Love me some penguins...

Pam

x4. Shared the ride with KirkNC last week. I agree that Patrick Watts one of the best excursions I've ever done. Need to do it again! Love me some penguins...

 

Pam

x5

Another vote for Patricks tour. Best ever tour taken. Wonderful guide. Just loved the Falkland Islands.

Go for 2 tours, Bluff cove in Falklands is a shorter bus(20 minutes) and Land Rover(20 minutes) with King and a Gentoo Penguins. I got great photos in February and have done Blow ups to 12by18 inches with very good resoultion.

In Punta Arenas the Magdalena island tour had a 1.5 hour ferry ride each way. The wind swept island and Magellan penguins were interesting and very close. They walk across the path you walk on. The burrows in the ground were understandable as the wind is fierce.

Our cruise does not go to the Faulkland so I am looking at penguin tours in Puerto Madryn, Ushaia, and Punta Arenas. Does anyone know the main differences in these and is there a port listed here that you wouldn't visit the penquins because you'd be missing out something else unique to one of these stops?

Our ship is scheduled to be in the Falklands for seven hours. Is that sufficient time to get to Volunteer Point and back?

Thanks

That may be a bit tight as you also need to factor in tendering times and the tender has to travel about 10 or so minutes to get to the dock. the trip to Volunteer Point takes about 1.5 to 2 hours each way so that would probably only leave an hour or so there (factoring in tendering times and wanting to get back with some cushion on the last tender.

Do any of the tours involve drives with switchbacks?

Not the "penguin tours" that we've been on -- at Puerto Madryn (to Peninsula Valdez), in the Falklands (from Port Stanley to Bluff Cove), or at Punta Arenas (to Otway Sound).

John

The Falklands just had regular 4-wheel drives.

We saw penguins in tours from Puerto Madryn, Argentina, and Punta Arenas, Chile.

We used SouthExcursions for Punta Arenas

Otway Sound Penguin Colony

Half Day Activity (This tour can begin at 09:00 or 13:30)

Leaving Punta Arenas, you’ll head north on to the Brunswick Peninsula, along the Straits of Magellan. From there, you’ll take a detour to Otway Sound, a beautiful landscape of plains, bays and fjords.

Next, the tour will take you to the Picket Mine, an important open-pit mineral deposit in the region’s gigantic coal mantles.

Finally, you’ll arrive at the pingüinera, the nesting ground of the Magellan penguin (Spheniscus magallanicus). Thousands of birds, which are called “******* penguins” due to the donkey-like braying sounds they make, come ashore in the spring, to breed, and lay eggs here.

Prices:

On a basis of 2 passengers: $110 USD per person

On a basis of 4 passengers: $95 USD per person

On a basis of 6 passengers: $85 USD per person

On a basis of 8 passengers or more: $70 USD per person

Prices do not include lunch

After a sea day, our next port was Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Our tour was to the Peninsula Valdes with Nievemar Tours, which was arranged by Eric and Paula. The tour was a full day tour and cost $100 per person. We traveled extensively over gravel roads to see much wildlife. We probably spent about half our time traveling. However, if you want to see the animals that is what you need to do. There are basically two options at Puerto Madryn. Peninsula Valdes or Punta Tombo. Punta Tombo has a colony of Magellanic Penguins, but we had plans to see the same penguins at Punta Arenas, so we elected to go with Peninsula Valdes. The Peninsula is actually a large ranch, which included some mining; however there are animal preserves which protect the animals. Our group included Eric and Paula, Mike and Pam, Wing and her Mom, Kathy and Dani, Kathy and Lloyd as well as Ginny and I. It was great company. On the drive to the first preserve, we saw herds of guanaco, an animal that is from the camel family, but about the size of an alpaca. We saw a bird that is in the roadrunner family, but larger. The first preserve was to see Magellan Penguins. We were able to get very close to some of the penguins. There were about a hundred of them that we could see. You could see how they burrow into the earth to create a nest. There were a few chicks, or young penguins, but the chicks were closer to being full grown, however, you could still see they did not have the adult coloration. Next, we visited another area overlooking a beach where we could see elephant seals. We were told by our guide that these seals are able to dive hundreds of feet in the ocean, far deeper than a nuclear submarine. Apparently, scientists have attached sensors and GPS devices that have proven the animals can dive over a thousand meters deep in the ocean. Our reviewing stands were not as close as with the penguins, but with our telephoto lenses, we were able to take great photos. The last animal preserve was one filled with hundreds of sea lions. It was mating season, we were told, and it was noisy out there with the sea lions. After visiting all these preserves, we stopped at a former whaling town on the peninsula that now specializes in eco-tourism, with boat tours to see the whales. We had a late lunch of fish and fries, which was good. All the seafood we had in South America was excellent, especially in Chile.

The key is to book tours in several places as sometimes you are unable to make it into a port because of weather conditions.

Keith

If you are booking independently you might look into only doing the penguins and spend more time there. We booked privately in P Arenas and the tour included a city tour, stop for lunch and time at the crafts market. If I were to book again I would tell them pack us a box lunch or do a brief stop ( not sit down), and spend more time at penguins- like 2 hours. The boardwalks were full of all the tours and many with mobility problems did not get wheelchairs as there were not enough. One the tours left it improved a lot.

Our cruise does not go to the Falkland so I am looking at penguin tours in Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, and Punta Arenas. Does anyone know the main differences in these and is there a port listed here that you wouldn't visit the penguins because you'd be missing out something else unique to one of these stops?

Hi, no-one seems to have mentioned Pira Tours in Ushuaia. If you are Port for preferably 8 hours or more, then there is sufficient time to get to Martillo Island where there are a lot of Magellanic Penguins, a small number of Gentoo Penguins, and on my last visit in February this year, there were even a couple of King Penguins too. There are only 20 people allowed on the Island at any one time, so it is a real privilege to get there. Check them out on Trip Advisor etc.

I would also endorse all of the positive comments about Patrick Watts too on the Falkland Islands. if a ship is due to be there for less than 8 hours (I think) he does not offer to go to Volunteer Point, as he considers it too short a time to be able to fully enjoy the experience there, after the long roller coaster of a ride to get there (and back). If you do have a bad back it is not advisable to go there.

On those occasions, Patrick usually offers to take passengers to Bertha's Beach, where there is a small colony of Gentoo Penguins, and there was even 4 King Penguins there in January 2014 too. He then can take you to Gypsey Cove where there are some Magellanic penguins and if you are lucky, you might be able to see some Peales Dolphins too. Look out for them anyway when you sail into and out of the Outer Harbour. He usually rounds off the trip with a tour of Port Stanley

Great Question. I am eager for the answers. You are correct to not want to miss something really special in one port as there are several opportunities to see penguins even if different varieties.

For those of you that saw penguins on Magdalena Island, did you book a private excursion, a ship tour or go on your own? If a private excursion, who did you use?

Hi, no-one seems to have mentioned Pira Tours in Ushuaia. If you are Port for preferably 8 hours or more, then there is sufficient time to get to Martillo Island where there are a lot of Magellanic Penguins, a small number of Gentoo Penguins, and on my last visit in February this year, there were even a couple of King Penguins too. There are only 20 people allowed on the Island at any one time, so it is a real privilege to get there. Check them out on Trip Advisor etc.

 

 

 

Would you recommend the day tour in Ushuaia even if this is the first time there? I wanted to see Tierra del Fuego--green lagoon, beaver dam,wooden stairs to view the mountains, Latatai Bay,...so if the tour to Martillo Island takes 8 hours don't thing I could see anything else. We dock at 10 am and leave at 7pm. Thanks for your recommendation

JJ