Beachsidegirl

22 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

In response to Beachsidegirl about El Pedral  --- Thank you!  We arrive on the 16th 😐....But, I reached out anyway to see if they would by chance be open one more day.

 

Unfortunately, we are not going to the Falklands on our cruise. 

Thanks to everyone

Fingers crossed 🤞 

2 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

We are going on this Falklands penguin tour in a couple of weeks. Search for it in this forum for first-hand recommendations. It fills up fast. 

 

http://estancia-excursions.com/tour/volunteer-point/

 

They do NOT require a deposit. Payment is in cash only while on the tour. 

We went to the Falklands on an Antarctica cruise last month. We saw 4,000 penguins at Volunteer Point with Shaun Jaffray.  It and his tour was wonderful! Along with a bag lunch you also get a little penguin thumbdrive of photos.

If you have a little time after you get back to Port Stanley ask to be dropped off at the shop that has artist  wares instead of going to the gifts giftshop with stuff from China. Their post cards were the most beautiful of our whole trip.

8 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Has anyone ever gone on a cruise to SA in April and seen penguins?  We are planning are booking a tour to Porto Tumbo in Puerto Madryn but am concerned it will be for naught...

We did an Antarctica cruise last month.  In Puerto Madryn we booked directly with El Pedral for a penguin tour and lunch. I just checked their website.  Tours are available til April 15th. If that's in your time frame I highly recommend it. 

There were 3 of us with a tour guide and driver. We paid $120 each. Our ship had the same tour and charged  $300+ per. 

The tour was wonderful.  Our tour guide Rita was fabulous. Our driver,  Jesus spotted things on our drive there and back.

The lunch was first rate.

1 hour ago, Shella73 said:

I do, we were there in Jan 2023. It was with Patrick Watts. Adventure Falklands Great time. There may be shorter ways to see penguins, but I do not know if the scope of view is as encompassing or majestic. 3 kinds of penguins, ocean view, if you go in season baby chicks. and a fun cross-country bumpy ride. The stop for baked goods was fun. The provided box lunch I could live without. But, otherwise, a fantastic day.

Shaun Jaffray has taken over the business when the original owner retired, selling it to his employee. Great reviews.  We're booked with him in December. 

7 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

We used Sentir Patagonia for Puerto Madryn.  It was an all day excursion and was excellent.  Saw sea lions with pups, elephant seals, all kinds of birds, Magellan penguins with young and a great lunch at an estancia.  

Thanks!

On 8/22/2023 at 11:43 AM, Nebr.cruiser said:

The very best is the Falklands, if you actually port there.  We were lucky enough to make it and enjoyed a fabulous day with an independent tour.  Be prepared for probably the roughest ride of your life to get to the King penguins.

 

We also took a tour to see the penguin colonies in Puerto Madryn.  That was very nice too, seeing a lot of the smaller penguins.

Do you know who you toured with in Puerto Madryn and would you recommend them?

On 8/21/2023 at 8:24 AM, TayanaLorna said:

We had the Patrick Watts tour in the Falklands scheduled but the ship departed the port after determining that tendering was dangerous.  Fortunately we also had an excursion booked to Peninsula Valdez from Puerto Madryn.  Can also have penguin tour from Punta Arenas but it is weather dependent as you go by boat.

Do you recall who you went with?

Unfortunately got an update from Seabourn and they have changed our port from St Croix to St Thomas. Very disappointed. Drake, thank you for all your help for all of us checking into St Croix. Wishing you all only the best.

Drake, are you still in need of gas cans? We're headed that way, due November 15th. Are you anywhere near the pier?

We've been fortunate to visit Costa Rica a number of times. What we learned from our first tour guide then had confirmed by the locals (I speak Spanish) in the grocery stores is that only tourists buy Cafe Britt. Costa Ricans favorite is 1820.

You can get it for less than half the price of Cafe Britt on the dock. It is so good that when we gave some to a friend who is such a coffee connoisseur that he has international coffees delivered monthly, he told us this was the best he ever had!

Last time we flew down and brought back 43 bags! It makes wonderful gifts as well as having it for your own enjoyment.