best place to see the penguins.

We are departing on the Celebrity Infiniti March 1st, Buenos Aires to Chile. There are many shore excursions to see the penguins. What is the best one? Or is it better to join one in a port other than what Celebrity offers?:confused:

Just returned from SA cruise on NCL, we arranged tours off ship after leaving pier area. Very easy to pick others going your way. The vans hold between 12-17. The more people the cheaper. We always found english speakers and others to share a vehicle with our group of 4.

We used Carlos Noda -carlos.noda@gmail.com for puerto montt

scarlettcp1@hotmail.com for punta arenas Scarlett penguins

crazyhorsebestguide@yahoo.ca- for ushuaia Laura

puerto madryn- flamingo tours Noemi and Charlie I need to look for their info penguins

wall.ric1@hotmail.com for montevideo

Going rate is 30-50 usd pp with 15 dollars for park entrances. Rates change with the number of people in the van. sunseeker 17

Well, I need to say in Puerto Madryn because there is Punta Tombo, where is where more magallanic penguins are in the world, I dont recomend Seno Ottway, in Punta Arenas, check my blog, post for questions

Just back from a round the horn" cruise on Radiance of the Seas. My best highlight of the entire cruise was seeing a colony of 2,000 King Penguins on the Falkland Islands. There were also Magallanic and Gentoos at the same place. IMHO you can't top that!

- Glenys

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

Yes, but this season there was only one guide taking folks out to Volunteer Point. It is one tour that should be arranged in advance so as not to be disappointed. There are other places on the Falklands to see King penguins but they are most plentiful at Volunteer Point. For more information on the Falklands, check out the thread started by Falkland Islander "Gixer."

Also, I suggest arranging a tour to Punta Tombo in advance. The place gets crowded very quickly, so the faster you can get off the ship and on the road, the better.

We are departing on the Celebrity Infiniti March 1st, Buenos Aires to Chile. There are many shore excursions to see the penguins. What is the best one? Or is it better to join one in a port other than what Celebrity offers?:confused:

My advise, is since it is late in the penguins season, is to book several excursions in different ports and cancel when you have seen enough. You don't know at this time what ports you will miss or even if the penguins will be there.

Very good advice from jtutak. See them as early in your cruise as possible in order to avoid disappointment. Do not wait until the last stop to only find out there is fog, colony has left, bus breaks down or whatever. Some people have previously posted their disappointment.

We saw them in Punta Arenas first and then again in the Falklands.

I definitely recommend Punta Tombo near Puerto Madryn for VOLUME of Magellanic penguins. We also did Otway Sound and were disappointed after Punto Tombo. (There were tall grasses at Otway and I suspect most of penguins were lounging there or out fishing.)

The only opportunity to see rockhoppers was in the Falklands. Same with Kings and Gentoos. We made the choice to see rockhoppers. This was based 50% on cost and 50% on the cuteness of those little penguins. Next trip we'll do Volunteer Point, as everyone who went there raved.

Except for the Rockhoppers (which offered only ship's tours), we booked all of our excursions independent of the ship. The experience is the same, the crowds are fewer and the costs are significantly lower.

The implied advice we got from these boards pre-trip was to book every penguin excursion since there may be weather issues when the ship won't be able to dock and at least you'll have a back up penguin excursion.

For puerto madryn- We used Flamenco tours. Note correction of spelling.

www.flamencotour.com Noemi and Charlie took us to peninsula valdes.

sunseeker 17

Just back from a round the horn" cruise on Radiance of the Seas. My best highlight of the entire cruise was seeing a colony of 2,000 King Penguins on the Falkland Islands. There were also Magallanic and Gentoos at the same place. IMHO you can't top that!

 

- Glenys

Hi Glenys

Can you let me know the location of where you saw the King Penguins, we are going in March and we want to make sure we see them. Can you please email me at mlramos14@yahoo.ca much appreicated.

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

Hi

Would you be willing to share who you used on your tours, if so please email me at mlramos14@yahoo.ca we will be visiting in March.

Thanks

Hi

Would you be willing to share who you used on your tours, if so please email me at mlramos14@yahoo.ca we will be visiting in March.

 

Thanks

Thanks for the advice.

So was Wally good.

He is not going to run away with me and my husband or anything.

Does he talk English ? I guess he does.

What time did you get him for? Did you share with another couple.

Kathy

wall.ric1@hotmail.com for montevideo

Going rate is 30-50 usd pp with 15 dollars for park entrances. Rates change with the number of people in the van. sunseeker 17

kimiata,

I just saw your post about the private guide for the Falklands and Volunteer Point. I would also be interested in getting their name, if you wouldn't mind. We are leaving March 11 and haven't booked anything there yet. My email is schulzww@verizon.net

Thanks,

Cheryl

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

Hi:

We are interested in a private tour at Volunteer Point. Who did you use for a private tour? Please email me at arleneza@optonline.net if you do not want to post the name here. Also, who did you use in Punta Tombo.

Thanks,

Arlene

I loved the penguins at Volunteer Point in the Falklands. Tour guide was Patrick Watt, my driver was Val. He was the retired ambulance driver for the local hospital had lots of great stories about living on the island. Tour was worth every penny, and probably even worth paying the cruise line price :)

I concur. Almost didn't go on the tour as others in my party were told not to go. So glad I did. There were far more, thousands than the other ports.

I definitely recommend Punta Tombo near Puerto Madryn for VOLUME of Magellanic penguins. We also did Otway Sound and were disappointed after Punto Tombo. (There were tall grasses at Otway and I suspect most of penguins were lounging there or out fishing.)

 

The only opportunity to see rockhoppers was in the Falklands. Same with Kings and Gentoos. We made the choice to see rockhoppers. This was based 50% on cost and 50% on the cuteness of those little penguins. Next trip we'll do Volunteer Point' date=' as everyone who went there raved.

 

Except for the Rockhoppers (which offered only ship's tours), we booked all of our excursions independent of the ship. The experience is the same, the crowds are fewer and the costs are significantly lower.

 

The implied advice we got from these boards pre-trip was to book every penguin excursion since there may be weather issues when the ship won't be able to dock and at least you'll have a back up penguin excursion.[/quote']

For puerto madryn- We used Flamenco tours. Note correction of spelling.

www.flamencotour.com Noemi and Charlie took us to peninsula valdes.

sunseeker 17

Hi:

How was the tour with Flamenco to Peninsula Valdes? Their website is all in Spanish. I have an email from Matias Emanuel Garcia with all the details, but I would love to hear from someone who took a tour as to whether or not it is a good tour.

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

Could you please e-mail the information for your tour in the Falkland Islands/Volunteer Point? robinstrick@cox.net

Thank you...Robin

Could you please e-mail the information for your tour in the Falkland Islands/Volunteer Point? robinstrick@cox.net

Thank you...Robin

Did you ever get the information on private tour to Volunteer Point? Could you share the information?

Thanks!

Did you ever get the information on private tour to Volunteer Point? Could you share the information?Thanks!

Touring resources are quite limited on Falklands so advance planning is strongly recommended. Here’s a fantastic site for everything Falklands, including what’s available for private excursions: http://www.visitorfalklands.com/content/view/185/170/

We took the excursion to Volunteer Point to see King Penguins in March/09 with Patrick Watts at pwatts@horizon.co.fk It was a highlight of our South America cruise. If you can, try to get in the 4x4 vehicle with Patrick himself for the bumpy (yet fun) ride to Volunteer Point. While I’m sure all the guides are great, Patrick is in a class by himself. He’s so much more than a guide/driver. He’s part naturalist, part historian, part storyteller, local hero & all-round great guy (Google him for the real scoop). He obviously loves Falklands & is so eager to share it with others. He really added to our overall enjoyment. You’re in for a real treat. :):)

Kimiata - could you also share with me your volunteer point Falkland info. Going in Febraury 2010.

Thanks Sonia

MBordo7555@aol.com

We saw penguins in two places on our cruise. Punta Tombo (from Puerto Madryn) was great. Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) was INCREDIBLE, and the highlight of our cruise too. Both tours were with private operators and we arranged them before the cruise.

Can you provide me with the tour company you used in Puerto Madryn to Punta Tombo angeles56@aol.com. Thanks

Ditto for me-we are on the Infinity Dec 20th sailing.

ltcusarmy@aol.com

Thanks