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Punta Arenas port of call


angeleyes27
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When is the Otway Sound penguin colony opening? Will be open at the end of January 2018 when we go there for our cruise?

 

I am looking for what to do when we are there in late January. I looked into going to Magdelena Island by speedboat but it seemed dangerous to me. Are the ferries usually available and do they have schedules? As another option, how is Fort Bulnes? If we want to go into town, is it far from the dock and do we need a shuttle? Thank you

 

 

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I had read that Otway was closed last season (2017) due to very few penguins. Definitely do your research before making plans to visit.

 

Yes, Punta Arenas is very walkable from the port. Several museums and a very pretty cemetery are within walking distance.

Nao Victoria Museo is really cool. but requires a short bus or taxi ride from town.

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When is the Otway Sound penguin colony opening? Will be open at the end of January 2018 when we go there for our cruise?

 

I am looking for what to do when we are there in late January. I looked into going to Magdelena Island by speedboat but it seemed dangerous to me. Are the ferries usually available and do they have schedules? As another option, how is Fort Bulnes? If we want to go into town, is it far from the dock and do we need a shuttle? Thank you

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We did a fab penguin tour in the Falklands so we were rather listless in Punta Arenas. I can tell you this...

It's about 3 miles from the ship to the main (Magellan) square downtown. Def not walkable. The ship provided shuttles at a very low cost $2. or so, each way. However they (HAL) did not make it known. We milled around on the dock for way too long before it became evident what was available.

We wanted to do Bulnes, but were too late by the time we made it to downtown.

After three types of penguins and good weather at Volunteer Point in the Falklands, Magdalena Island wasn't that appealing.

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People on the trip to Magdalena Island on the speedboat complained of not enough life jackets, water coming into the passenger section, unsafe practices so I am nervous about that excursion

 

 

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Do you know what tour company they used?

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It's about 3 miles from the ship to the main (Magellan) square downtown. Def not walkable. The ship provided shuttles at a very low cost $2. or so, each way. However they (HAL) did not make it known. We milled around on the dock for way too long before it became evident what was available.

I don't know where you docked (well, actually I do since there is only one pier), but it is not three miles from the pier to the Magellan statue in Plaza De Armas. It might be half a mile, max. Punta Arenas is very walkable. It took us about 30 minutes to walk from the ship to the cemetery, and we passed Magellan in the first 10 minutes. Or, is there some other Magellan Square I'm not aware of?

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Or, is there some other Magellan Square I'm not aware of?

 

Thanks for your reply and no, there isn't another Magellan Square however...

 

There is another pier where we docked and in a straight line it is 3 miles from Magellan Park.

 

The pier is here

53°07'32.28"S 70°51'29.99"W

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Holland America and other cruise ships have been using a cargo pier near the Tres Puentes ferry port. This pier is the one that is three miles from town. I believe the pier in town has been extended however many cruise lines are using the other port

 

 

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Holland America and other cruise ships have been using a cargo pier near the Tres Puentes ferry port. This pier is the one that is three miles from town. I believe the pier in town has been extended however many cruise lines are using the other port

 

 

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Do you know where Princess is docking for the season? Thanks

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Do you know where Princess is docking for the season? Thanks

 

 

 

Princess are scheduled to use the pier in town according to the ports website. If they aren't able to dock alongside, they tender to the pier. The pier that Holland America is too short for the larger cruise ships

 

 

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Shows what I know. I wasn't even aware that cruise ships used that pier north of town. If there is a silver lining to being so far out of town, it's that you're very close to the Museo Nao Victoria where there are full size replicas of several ships, including the Beagle. That was our favorite part of Punta Arenas.

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Shows what I know. I wasn't even aware that cruise ships used that pier north of town. If there is a silver lining to being so far out of town, it's that you're very close to the Museo Nao Victoria where there are full size replicas of several ships, including the Beagle. That was our favorite part of Punta Arenas.

 

 

 

From looking at the cruise schedules on the port website. I think the Zaandam is the largest ship to dock there. Other ships like the Norwegian Sun are too big for the pier. It is known as Muelle Mardones and is used by mid sized cruise ships visiting the port. I believe from October 2018, all cruise ships will use the Muelle Prat in the centre of town. The Museo sounds great but we are doing a tour to Magdalena Island

 

 

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Shows what I know. I wasn't even aware that cruise ships used that pier north of town. If there is a silver lining to being so far out of town, it's that you're very close to the Museo Nao Victoria where there are full size replicas of several ships, including the Beagle. That was our favorite part of Punta Arenas.

Nao Victoria is where I want to go. How far is it from that pier? Is it walkable?

 

When we were in PA in 2012 we used a different dock than Zaandam did last year. The photos I saw from a CC member showed Zaandam in the background of photos from NV.

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Nao Victoria is where I want to go. How far is it from that pier? Is it walkable?

 

When we were in PA in 2012 we used a different dock than Zaandam did last year. The photos I saw from a CC member showed Zaandam in the background of photos from NV.

Nao Victoria is definitely too far away from the downtown pier to walk. It looks like it's only a mile or so from the north pier. Whether the area is walkable though is another question. Calling up the satellite view on google maps, it actually looks like it wouldn't be too bad of a walk, assuming you can walk along the side of Hwy. 9. Google says it's a 30 minute walk.

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