falkland island guide patrick watts

[DougH]

All of the vehicles travel in a convoy so that if one gets stuck the others can pull it out. Treat it as a big adventure and have fun. Patrick knows how long it takes to get back to town as he does this all the time.

[bcnvcanada]

We did this tour on the 29th of January. We had over 20 vehicles, another group had over 15 and Princess had 15. In total 57 vehicles. They all are aware of each other and do look out for everyone. It is a wonderful trip, the driver of course was on his day off, was born in the island and great. The ride out is a hoot. As for tipping we gave 20 usd each, but that is again a personal choice. Most of all enjoy. For those who can't get a booking, take an early (first) tender in an wait around. Off times there is a cancellation and you can get on. Our friends did this and make it out, though in seperate vehicles.

[Randy H]

I posted a full review of our trip elsewhere, but...

 

Patrick Watts is without doubt the best trip you can book!

 

The trip is rough once you hit the moors, but that in itself is a wonderful adventure... He and all his drivers are very skilled and personable...

 

You do need to get off the ship on an early tender... we were first in line for the non ship's tour people and got off with about 20 others, but after that it was difficult. Our ship (the Veendam) seemed to be a real problem getting passengers ashore... we are both "2 star" mariners in a vereanda cabin and were not able to work any special access (we were able to on Veendam in Nov 2008, but not this time)

 

We also rode with Patrick. We had family members in two other vehicles... both had wonderful times... With all the problems getting folks off he sent 5 vehicals ahead... (5 stayed behind) we stayed behind and hung out with the other drivers... all good, all personable, all would have been good to ride with.

 

In our group of 5 two vehicles bogged (one was Patrick, but he was testing a route after putting sand bags in the hole...) It was not required, but I chose to open and close gates, and my wife and I dropped a fence and stood on it at one point to let our convoy go by.

 

I wanted to see the Lady Elizabeth, and Patrick took us to see it after the tour... he also took us to see the other wrecks scattered about the harbor...

 

We also tipped but I don't remember how much...

 

So, in closing...

 

1) book with Patrick

2) fight to get off the ship early

 

Randy

[travelngrammy]

We just off the Star Princess and can not say enough positive things about how professional Patrick Watts and his group is. All the drivers know each other and the ride is a wonder in itself. The only additional advice I have is go light on the coffee the morning of the trip. There are no restrooms on that 2 1/2 hour trip and a line when you get to Volunteer Point. That being said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

[hillslife]

Have been emailing Patrick Watt for about 2 weeks...emails keep bouncing (horizons address) back and getting no response....anyone else have another email address or another way to get in touch with him???

[jasonflk]

He is out of the Islands at the moment (He spends the Falklands winter in the northern hemisphere), so I can't phone hime upo asnd ask for you sorry, will do some research and see if there is another way to contact him

[digitl]

Have been emailing Patrick Watt for about 2 weeks...emails keep bouncing (horizons address) back and getting no response....anyone else have another email address or another way to get in touch with him???

Don't forget you'll need around 7 hours to do Volunteer Point with Patrick. If you have anything less then he won't accept the booking. If that's the case, I suggest you book another trip such as Bluff Cove which has excellent reviews.

[Deeleedog]

I was in the Faulklands on HAL Veendam SA/Antarctic cruise that departed Valparaiso Dec 20th 2011. My visit to the Faulkands was amazing and Patrick Watts and his driver Stephen were the best. My mom accidently left some personal items including credit cards and cash in Stephens 4 X 4 and didn't realize it till we were back on the ship. By the time I got to my laptop to email Patrick of the slip up Stephen had already brought the items to Patrick and Patrick had emailed me asking for an address to ship them to. Shortly after our return to California my mom received the package with all of her belongings intact.

 

Patrick and Stephen are 100% great, honest and enjoyable people to spend time with.

 

Also the trip to Volunteer Point and the visit with the King Penquin Colony out there was incredible and one of the highlights of our trip. Would have loved to stay longer visiting with the Penquins but not enough time to do everything we wanted to do. There WILL be a next time.

Lynn Bowen

Sebastopol CA

[rainbow6]

Just returned from So America Jan 25 2011. Highly recommend Patrick Watts, yes he has many drivers that assist on his tours. However, they all go in Tandem across the island ,over difficult terrain.

 

Everyone with us and on the Patrick Watts tour had no complaints and a great time

[MsMermaid]

Guess his good recommendations are from long ago, because I just got off Seabourn and he no-showed not only for us, but also for at least 10 other passengers I know of on our ship. Shame on him for ruining people's once in a lifetime port stop. He never even emailed an apology.

[cruiseluv]

Ms Mermaid,

 

This is very disturbing to read. My husband and I will be on the Sojourn's sailing on 2/3 and have been in conversations with Patrick to do a tour with him.

 

Were you on the cruise that arrived in Buenos Aires a day or two ago? Patrick says he had to cancel his tours for the time being because heavy rains have made the trip 4 hrs and almost impossible to do. Regardless, of course there's no excuse for him not contacting you and explaining. Were you part of a group that had booked with him ?

[Cosmic Rays]

Oh dear, that is not good particularly as reasons were not communicated to you all.........

[az_tchr]

Oh dear, that is not good particularly as reasons were not communicated to you all.........

Not good. I note that Estancia Excursions run by Nyree Heathman also goes on the same run. Nyree has had others running her tours as she had a family emergency. Have heard from others and they had no problems with any of the tour operators.

[Deeleedog]

Wow this doesn't sound like the Pattrick I worked with a couple of years ago when my elderly mom & I went on his trip. We had a great driver and everything Pattrick said would happen did. In fact, my mom left her wallet with credit cards and cash in the drivers vehicle and she didn't realize till we were back on our ship. By the time I tried to contact Pattrick about it he had already emailed me a message after his driver found it and brought it to Pattrick. Pattrick sent it back to my Mom at her address in California, we offered to pay for the postage and he refused to allow us to do so. When the package arrived everything was there.

 

Sounds like there must have been some sort of communcation gap in your case or Pattrick and his way of running his business has dramatically changed. I do hope that you were able to enjoy yourself still while in The Faulklands. It is such a special and unique place.

 

Lynn Bowen

[HappyFeet13]

I contacted Patrick about this incident, and here is what he said:

 

"I had 13 passengers booked from the Seabourn Sojourn for Volunteer Point but because the route across to the location was in a very poor state after 4 weeks of non-stop rain I knew that it would be impossible to make the tour with them and get them back in time to catch the last tender and accordingly they would have missed the ships sailing. The ship was due in port for just 7 and half hours while the Star Princess was in port for 10 hours.

 

I was able to e-mail 8 of those people and informed them PRIOR to the ships arrival that I could not make the tour. Unfortunately I did not have the e-mail address of the other 5 persons who were all one family, so I wrote a letter to ********* which I left in the Visitors Centre, informing *** of my decision not to make the Volunteer Point tour with passengers from the Seabourn Sojourn and because it was in *** interests given the short duration of the ship in port and the conditions of the grass track."

 

Patrick has an absolutely stellar reputation. I have seen dozens and dozens of other postings attesting to his professionalism and his honesty. This is the only negative one I have ever seen, and I have done a lot of searching. One posting I saw said the tourist left his wallet and credit cards in the van, and Patrick emailed him and immediately posted the wallet back to the owner. I'm sorry that the poster had a bad experience but I believe it was an aberration. I'm booking Patrick for my visit to Pt Stanley.

[digitl]

In the interests of accuracy (and probably nit-picking!) the correct name is Stanley, rather than Port Stanley.

[cruiseluv]

Jim in Florida,

 

Glad that you contacted Patrick and gave him the opportunity to give his version of events. I'm also planning to use him for our touring in Port Stanley in February.

[peterscot]

Ms Mermaid,

 

I'm curious as to what you did when he no-showed? There must have been dozens of drivers going to Volunteer Point that day. Could any of the others have taken you? Or did you ask in teh Tourist Centre at the jetty if they knew where Patrick was? (Its a small place and he probly lives a few minutes away, or could be phoned).

 

Having said that, I heard several of the 4x4s got bogged on the track and I noticed Sojourn didn't sail till after Star Princess, despite planning to leave long before it. I assume that was because passengers were late returning from Volunteer Point. So Patrick may have had a point about the trip.

 

Doesn't excuse the poor communication, but it sounds as if he tried to get in touch.

[Deeleedog]

Having been on this trek with Pattrick and his drivers I would most definately book with him again. When reading about the response from him it makes sense. Once you get off the main road and off the gravel road you drive over miles of no road on a big farm of which you are basically driving on 4-5 feet deep peat moss that has collected and grown over time. I can imagine it getting boggy after a bunch of rain. They would for sure know how weather conditions can affect the access to Volunteer Point. even in good conditions drivers get stuck in a bog and other drivers stop to help the stuck one get out. It is rather comical at times watching this and at times they like to tease each other. Often times the stuck ones are the younger or less experienced drivers. It IS an incredible trip and too bad that ms mermaid and her people were not able to make the trip. It is also too bad they didn't ask at the visitor center which is pretty much right in front of where the tenders drop you off. It is a small town and everyone knows everyone. We were told that most of them don't lock their doors on the islands due to how safe it is and how well they all know each other. It is such an interesting place and I hope that ms mermaide and her group of an opportunity in the future to go back and experience it again. The penguin colony is continuing to grow so they should be there for some time.

[az_tchr]

I don't think you understand the conditions in the Falklands. They have had 4 weeks of daily rain. The "road" is impassable. A local tried to get there and it took them over 5 hours to go one way. If you do the math you arrive at 8am and leave about 4:30 giving you need to do the drive in 3 hours or less or you miss your ship. Nobody has been going there recently. They need 1 WEEK or good weather to dry thnigs out.

[peterscot]

In case anyone is wondering, the penguins at Volunteer Point are not the only ones on the Falklands - far from it. There are thousands dotted around, and I see some every day a few miles from Stanley.

 

However, it is the main place to see King penguins. You can also see Gentoo and Magellanic penguins there in season.

 

Rockhoppers are the other main species, but these tend to be close to cliffs, and aren't at VP.

[MsMermaid]

Yes, we were able to find another driver who took us to see penguins at a different point. Yes, it was raining and the conditions might have been difficult to go all the way to Volunteer Point. However, how hard would it have been for him to personally appear at the meeting point and apologize in person and perhaps offer to go to another area (which obviously lots of people were able to do?). He had my email but never used it. I saw the family of 5 he left a message for in the Visitor Center, but there was also another family of 5 and another party of 2 that received no message ever. I am guessing he took the people on Star Princess (who arrived earlier) for a tour and that is why he wasn't there for us. I think he just overbooked us as a "back-up" in case Star Princess wasn't going to make it in due to difficulties with the Argentine authorities, etc. That way his pockets were filled regardless. So book him if you want, but he certainly won't get my vote of confidence.

[Idaho woman]

We will be in the Falkland Islands feb 27,2018. How do I book a trip to volunteer point with Patrick Watts tours??

 

Thank you

 

Idaho woman

[HappyFeet13]

pwatts@horizon.co.fk

This was his email address when I went there in 2013. Good luck!

[neenee61]

pwatts@horizon.co.fk

This was his email address when I went there in 2013. Good luck!

 

This is Patricks current email. I made contact with Patrick last month for a tour in Feb 2019. He got back to me straight away and have our tour booked and rearing to go......I know long way off yet LOL.