Excursions in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

[cruiseej]

For those who have been to the Falkland Islands on a SS cruise, any recommendations among the three excursions SS offers? There's (1) "Exploring the Highlights of Stanley", a 2-hour bus tour; (2) "Battlefields - A Mountain Perspective", a 2.5 bus tour; and "Mount William Hike", a 4-hour strenuous hike. I might try the hike; is it easy to switch to one of the others at the last minute if the weather is nasty? My wife probably won't do the hike; any thoughts on which of the other two is better? Thanks!

[RachelG]

The hike would be great-  and not that strenuous as the definition of mountain is a bit lax in the Falklands.  I would do it inan instant. My husband and I were there on Regent,andi think we probably did the equivalent of the battlefields tour. We liked it , but the hike would have been better 

[drron29]

Well when we went on the Explorer we just did the Stanley highlights. I enjoyed it and a very good local guide. You then have plenty of time to walk around the shops. The only problem a Quark ship was in and 95% of the passengers were a Chinese tour group. We ran into a few of the 5% and they were regretting booking that cruise.

[Stumblefoot]

I wouldn’t do any of those three tours, but rather set up a 4WD tour with Jimmy Curtis to see the King Penguins at Volunteer Point.  The area is also home to numerous Gentoo and Magellanic penguins too.  A veteran of the Falklands War, he’ll fill you in on all of the key sites as well.

[cruiseej]

@Stumblefoot Thanks for that suggestion. Do you think it's worth going to see the penguins there considering our next stop is three days in South Georgia Island and then on to the Antarctic peninsula? From everything I've seen and read, it seems like we'll be getting our fill of penguins on this trip. Or perhaps one can't see enough penguins? 😉 

[Fletcher]

47 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

@Stumblefoot Thanks for that suggestion. Do you think it's worth going to see the penguins there considering our next stop is three days in South Georgia Island and then on to the Antarctic peninsula? From everything I've seen and read, it seems like we'll be getting our fill of penguins on this trip. Or perhaps one can't see enough penguins? 😉 

You're obviously on one of SS's expedition ships. That will take you to outer islands in the Falklands - New Island and Saunders, for instance, where the penguin colonies are spectacular.  They have rockhoppers there which are rare on South Georgia.  If you sit down albatrosses literally walk over you.  And from the clifftops you can see the penguins do amazing dives and landings. It's different from South Georgia but just as spectacular. If you go to these islands there is no need in my view to stray beyond Port Stanley which provides an extremely pleasant wander around. British people often like to tour the battle sites like Bluff Cove.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Fletcher

[Stumblefoot]

7 hours ago, cruiseej said:

@Stumblefoot Thanks for that suggestion. Do you think it's worth going to see the penguins there considering our next stop is three days in South Georgia Island and then on to the Antarctic peninsula? From everything I've seen and read, it seems like we'll be getting our fill of penguins on this trip. Or perhaps one can't see enough penguins? 😉 

For us, it was such a dramatically different experience at Volunteer Point. First, the 4WD trip across an unmarked, rugged landscape without a road. Second, the area where the Kings are located was super isolated, so it was practically a private experience. And, third, being able to sit on the ground and have the curious Kings come right up and check us out was amazing.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

For us, it was such a dramatically different experience at Volunteer Point. First, the 4WD trip across an unmarked, rugged landscape without a road. Second, the area where the Kings are located was super isolated, so it was practically a private experience. And, third, being able to sit on the ground and have the curious Kings come right up and check us out was amazing.

Your picture immediately gave me these two thoughts:  (1) the terrain makes it seem that this penguin colony is not the usual guano-stinky nesting area I think of as normal; (2) you must have arrived around 7 pm, because these penguins all seem to have just left happy hour!

[RachelG]

The penguins we saw in the Falklands and in Argentina were a totally different experience than in South Georgia and Antarctica.  I loved both, but for different reasons.  In Argentina, I was in shorts and a t shirt with penguins all around who were lining up on the beach waiting to rush out and avoid getting eaten.  In the Falklands, they were more solitary, so you could enjoy just one at a time.  In South Georgia, it was penguin overload on land.  In Antarctica, it was all about the ice and snow.

[audobon_tx]

Volunteer Point

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

15 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

For us, it was such a dramatically different experience at Volunteer Point. First, the 4WD trip across an unmarked, rugged landscape without a road. Second, the area where the Kings are located was super isolated, so it was practically a private experience. And, third, being able to sit on the ground and have the curious Kings come right up and check us out was amazing.

IMG_2810.MOV

Thanks for the excellent advice. Great movie. You had me at "practically a private experience". We are returning in 2024 and this sounds perfect even if it does precede 5 days in South Georgia. 

[Stumblefoot]

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Your picture immediately gave me these two thoughts:  (1) the terrain makes it seem that this penguin colony is not the usual guano-stinky nesting area I think of as normal; (2) you must have arrived around 7 pm, because these penguins all seem to have just left happy hour!

I need two different emojis to reply properly; 👍 and 🤣.

 

14 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Thanks for the excellent advice. Great movie. You had me at "practically a private experience". We are returning in 2024 and this sounds perfect even if it does precede 5 days in South Georgia. 

Thx. It was really incredible. And, to think it came while on board the luxury of a brand new Silver Muse at the time was magical.  Between the Chilean Fjords, a mid-voyage overnight land tour in Patagonia, and the Falklands, it was all so inspiring that in just a matter of weeks after that voyage, we booked our cruise to South Georgia and Antarctica on the Cloud.

 

12 hours ago, RachelG said:

The penguins we saw in the Falklands and in Argentina were a totally different experience than in South Georgia and Antarctica.

Rachel, your descriptions are spot on. Couldn’t say it any better. Thx for commenting!

[highplanesdrifters]

23 hours ago, audobon_tx said:

Volunteer Point

 

 

Those are some great shots!

[mancunian]

When we went to the Falklands a few years’ ago with HAL a guide told us that during the war the king penguins were fascinated by the planes going over and beaks up they would follow them with their eyes and sometimes fell over backwards!,

 

I loved the Falklands and we were lucky to have sun and blue skies.

[cruiseej]

On 12/2/2022 at 1:38 PM, Fletcher said:

You're obviously on one of SS's expedition ships. That will take you to outer islands in the Falklands - New Island and Saunders, for instance

 

Yes, we'll be on the Cloud, stopping at the Falklands enroute to South Georgia and then Antarctica. We are scheduled to stop at New Island and West Point Island one day, and Port Stanley the next. No stop of Saunders Island on this trip.

 

On 12/2/2022 at 11:29 AM, Stumblefoot said:

I wouldn’t do any of those three tours, but rather set up a 4WD tour with Jimmy Curtis to see the King Penguins at Volunteer Point.

Thanks, @Stumblefoot for the suggestion, @audobon_tx for the fantastic pictures, and @RachelG for the affirmation. We're scheduled to be docked at Port Stanley for only 6 hours (8 am to 2 pm). From the time until we can get ashore and need to be back onboard, I figure we have a maximum of 5 hours in Port Stanley. Is that enough time to get out to Volunteer Point and spend time there with the penguins? Google Maps shows it as a 90 minute drive each way, but I don't know how accurate that is if there's no real road! We appear to be the only cruise ship in port on this day, so perhaps it's do-able? I've reached out to Jimmy Curtis to inquire. Is the ride out to the point interesting, or just a long ride to reach the destination. 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

We're scheduled to be docked at Port Stanley for only 6 hours (8 am to 2 pm).

This probably explains why SS isn’t offering a tour to Volunteer Point.  
 

When visiting Port Stanley, Jimmy knows what is important and doesn’t dilly dally.  He had us out to Volunteer Point a full hour before the SS vehicles started to arrive.  So, IMO yes, you can visit Volunteer Point and it’ll probably be even more spectacular as it’ll be virtually empty.  Jimmy will properly advise you, but I imagine you’ll most likely need to forgo any overview of Port Stanley or visiting more than one or two war sites at most.

[drron29]

Sorry to rain on your parade Stumbles but the best interaction I have had with a penguin was a king penguin on South Georgia. We landed over a kilometre from the king penguin colony. It was the last trip of the season for South Georgia. The young male fur seals were practising aggressive moves and would charge at you.

A king penguin sensed that I was exasperated and came over to say hello.

 

He said goodbye to the group he was travelling with.

 

And signalled to me to follow him.

 

From then on if a male fur seal charged he charged right back.

 

When we were past the fur seal colony he bade good bye. Just one of those incredible interactions you can have with animals.

Edited December 5, 2022 by drron29

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

Sorry to rain on your parade Stumbles but the best interaction I have had with a penguin was a king penguin on South Georgia.

❤️🐧❤️

[Fletcher]

My Falklands photos are here -wish I could get back there one day.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/up70mm/albums/72157629953566910

 

[LouChamp]

On 12/2/2022 at 11:29 AM, Stumblefoot said:

I wouldn’t do any of those three tours, but rather set up a 4WD tour with Jimmy Curtis to see the King Penguins at Volunteer Point.  The area is also home to numerous Gentoo and Magellanic penguins too.  A veteran of the Falklands War, he’ll fill you in on all of the key sites as well.

That was an excellent tour.  My daughter loved the penguins and we went to the home of a family who served tea and baked goods.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Due to weather and sea conditions not every ship is able to dock and the visit is often cancelled.

[Fletcher]

The Falklands often get visited by very large cruise ships which anchor in the outer bay and send tenders ashore, weather permitting. So it's well worth checking Cruise Timetables to see if you will be alone or not.   On our ship, Island Sky, we went alongside and just walked off the ship.  Not sure, but the Cloud might be too big to do that.

[drron29]

We visited on the Silver explorer and anchored in the harbour with a zodiac ride both ways.

[cruiseej]

12 hours ago, Fletcher said:

The Falklands often get visited by very large cruise ships which anchor in the outer bay and send tenders ashore, weather permitting. So it's well worth checking Cruise Timetables to see if you will be alone or not.

 

Yes, always a wise move to check who else is in port with you! 😉  As I noted above, the good news is that we appear to be the only ship in port on December 20. Unfortunately, Silversea seems to be just about the only cruise line limiting visits here to just 6 hours, at least on the December cruises. I haven't yet received a reply from Jimmy, so I don't know if this tour would be viable with our limited time. 

[cruiseej]

I just looked back at our original itinerary for this trip in 2020, before it was canceled, and we were to have been at Port Stanley for 9 hours, from 7 am to 4 pm. But all the itineraries for the Cloud and Wind this year are for only 6 hours, 8 am to 2 pm. Did South Georgia Island move farther away? 😉

 

They also switched Saunders Island for New Island (while retaining West Point Island). I don't know if that's a plus or a minus. I just hope we're not in the first zodiac group when we arrive at West Point Island… at 6 am! 😴

[highplanesdrifters]

14 hours ago, cruiseej said:

I just hope we're not in the first zodiac group when we arrive at West Point Island… at 6 am! 😴

Nothing worse than going to the briefing and finding out you're in the 6am group.