Port Stanley Penguin Tours

[jeana]

Hi Everyone,

I just recently booked a March cruise on the Golden Princess (traveling solo) and was disappointed to see that all the Bluff Cove and Sparrow Cove penguin tours were waitlisted.

Has anyone done a private penguin tour at Port Stanley?

Any advice / suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeana

[lizbeth]

Hi -
We will be in Port Stanley on Celebrity Infinity (the ship's penguin tour is sold out, too) and we have also researched penguin tours. Here are some sites that may help you -- you'll have to click thru' to find the tours.

We booked with Ian Doherty for March 2, 2007, but we won't be home until Mar. 26, so I can't tell you how we will like it.

So, try these:
www.discoveryfalklands.com
www.falklandtravel.com
www.penguintravel-falklands.com
www.visitorfalklands.com (Ian Doherty)

Hope these help get you started researching penguin tours.
Note: I am not a travel agent. I am not a tour guide.
Liz

[Splinter]

When we went, we just took the shuttle to the preserve that you can book on the tender dock. $10, and you go there and back in a school bus. The driver narrated both ways, and there were free docent tours at the preserve. I don't feel like I missed anything, although there were few penguins when we were there (Thanksgiving Day). You could come back whenever you wanted. I then walked around the town and did a little shopping. The tender dock is right in town.

[jeana]

Thank you, Lizbeth and Splinter for your information. Lizbeth, I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

Splinter, do you recall if the bus you took went to Gypsy Cove? Seems in my online research, I read something about this area being close to the pier.

Thanks so much, and Warm Regards,
Jeana

[Cruisin Grandma]

Hi everyone, I am trying to find out for a friend if anyone has been to Arica, Chili and if so went on the tour to Lluta Valley on the train. My friend is booked on the Golden ofr the March cruise. I am going on the Sun on March 10th. Any help would be great.

Cruisin Grandma

[Splinter]

Jeana, yes, it was Gypsy Cove.

[h2so4]

The bus ride to Gypsy Cove is about 15 minutes, so while it is close to town, it's not walking distance if you have a limited amount of time. Keep an eye out for the penguins on the beach below. The beach is off-limits to visitors due to mine-danger, but there is a nice-sized colony down there that likes to frolic in the water. Also, there are burrows on either side of the trail as you enter into the reserve; a lot of people overlook these - we saw some adorable chicks in these burrows. People also seem to overlook the blue-eyed shags nesting in the cliffs; three weeks ago they had chicks in the nest and you could easily see them being fed by parents.

Have a great time; we thoroughly enjoyed our two hours at Gypsy Cove (ended up coming back early because there was a large enough group who had had enough and wanted to return to town before we were scheduled). In our case, the bus driver was kind enough to drop people off at the museum once the rest had been dropped off at the visitor center near the public jetty. The walk along the shore from the museum back to town is very easy - maybe a mile or so; I lost track time with all the birds distracting me as I walked.

[azkitty]

Ian Doherty, Dodo Penguin tours, provides a full (long) day tour to Volunteer Point. It sounds a bit rough, but probably interesting if you don't mind the long day and price of $160 pp to see many penguins. It is definitely more than we want to spend to see penguins and too long a day, 2.5 hours each way. If it is raining, it won't be much fun. If anyone is interested, go to Falkland Islands tourist bureau for his email.

[jeana]

Thank you all so much for your great ideas! I did come across Mr. Dougherty's website and he did offer a spot on his Volunteer Point tour for $160 USD. While it does sound like a really great tour, I think I am going to do the Gypsy Cove local route. I like to take my time, take lots of photos at my leisure, and will look forward to touring the town and stopping in at a pub for a quick meal.

I'm definitely looking forward to my day in Stanley, even more so thanks to your help!

Warm regards,
Jeana

[cleats007]

When we went, we just took the shuttle to the preserve that you can book on the tender dock. $10, and you go there and back in a school bus. The driver narrated both ways, and there were free docent tours at the preserve. I don't feel like I missed anything, although there were few penguins when we were there (Thanksgiving Day). You could come back whenever you wanted. I then walked around the town and did a little shopping. The tender dock is right in town.

Hi Jeana,
We're in A615 on your march 8th cruise. We intend to do the above.Join us??
Ted & Laurie
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
tedstir@aol.com

[dileep]

Originally Posted by Splinter

Jeana, yes, it was Gypsy Cove.

There are very few penguins at Gypsy Cove. Mostly Magellanic penguins. Last January (2006) there was just one King Penguin there, but he put on quite a show for us!

With Celebrity last year, they had reserved all the places that had lots of Gentoo and King Penguins and private operators were not allowed to go there.

here's what we saw at Gypsy Cove
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La4Z38I5hXg

[rnewste]

Just returned from the Rotterdam Feb 19 - March 4, S. America cruise. Did the Bluff Cove penguin tour and saw thousands of penguins close up. Best tour of all our stops, and well worth the $160 pp. Dileep, thanks for all the private tour links - - we used many of your recommendations and were very pleased. Came back with 2000 digital photos I have now put on a PhotoDVD disc. This is a cruise not to be missed!

Ray Newstead
Campbell, CA

[terpla]

Dileep I watched your video and that one king penguin really did put on a show. The rest of the penguins are so tiny so I see what you mean. I found Kennedy's name on the official website and am in contact with him. It seems like alot of money and we won't get a chance to see the town so I have to think about that. All your posts have been very helpful to us who are planning. Is Bluff Cove and Volunteer Point 2 1/2 hrs. from the ship. Ian Doherty recommends Volunteer Point.

[DonahCBrown]

Originally Posted by terpla

Dileep I watched your video and that one king penguin really did put on a show. The rest of the penguins are so tiny so I see what you mean. I found Kennedy's name on the official website and am in contact with him. It seems like alot of money and we won't get a chance to see the town so I have to think about that. All your posts have been very helpful to us who are planning. Is Bluff Cove and Volunteer Point 2 1/2 hrs. from the ship. Ian Doherty recommends Volunteer Point.

We did Bluff Cove on a Princess tour in March. It was a great tour, but there had been several days of rain and the 4 wheel drive vehicles bogged down on the first run of the day, putting all the tours behind, and finally ending up with the final tour of the day (on which we were booked) being cancelled. We got 'waitlisted' on the tour before ours and made it, and it was a wild ride, but fun.

Bluff Cove is privately owned, and the 4 wheeling portion is conducted by friends and family of the farmer who owns it. You take a bus out of Stanley for about 45 minutes or so, then transfer to this wildly diverse assortment of 4 wheel drive vehicles. Your driver may or may not be chatty and informative - some were, some just thought all the people from the ship who were doing this were quite mad - and you take off across open farm land - no roads - and drive for another 30 or 40 minutes - probably less if the weather cooperates.

You are let out on a ridge above the cove where the rookery is. The penguins here are Gentoo, and there are a couple of pair of King penguins as well. The area is beautiful, rugged, and very much covered in manure of various kinds, as there are sheep and/or cattle around, as well as the penguins.

I strongly recommend that you obtain either some disposable shoe covers or, preferably, some of those cheap plastic boots that you can put on to tramp around in the penguin poo and then discard before you go back on board ship. The terrain is gently sloping, but there are no trails or real paths, so you are going to need to watch your footing as well.

There is a sort of track from the cove up to a structure that serves as the summer cottage for the farmer and his family, but which is pressed into duty as a sort of cafe for the visitors during penguin season. The family puts on a very nice tea with coffee, tea and other beverages available, and some wonderful home made cakes and cookies.

It was overcast, drizzling and COLD when we were there and gloves and heavy socks were a real necessity. You return, normally, via the 4 wheels to the same spot where you were dropped off, and reboard the big bus to get back to town. As we were running about 45 minutes to an hour late (thankfully on a ships tour so they waited - the flights out of Stanley go once a week!) the 4 wheels took us all the way back to the pier. All in all, it was a wonderful tour and we got to see hundreds of penguins, plus we had an 'adventure' ride over the farmland!

[dileep]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Just returned from the Rotterdam Feb 19 - March 4, S. America cruise. Did the Bluff Cove penguin tour and saw thousands of penguins close up. Best tour of all our stops, and well worth the $160 pp. Dileep, thanks for all the private tour links - - we used many of your recommendations and were very pleased. Came back with 2000 digital photos I have now put on a PhotoDVD disc. This is a cruise not to be missed!

Ray Newstead
Campbell, CA

We are almost neighbors!

[singer22]

we are going to South America on the HAL Rotterdam Departing Dec 18th from Rio. We are interested in sharing tours. Has anyone taken the Penguin tours? What other tours would you recommend? We were just in Western South America and we liked it so much we decided to give the east coast and the Horn a try. We have never been on HAL what is your experience compared to the Princess?

[infohunter]

Originally Posted by singer22

we are going to South America on the HAL Rotterdam Departing Dec 18th from Rio. We are interested in sharing tours.

Hi singer22.... don't forget to check in on the Roll Call. There aren't very many there yet, but I'm assuming that as we get closer that more folks will jump on.