Report from Sojourn - Falkland Island tour

[clarky]

I promised to write a review of the tour offered by Patrick Watt in the Falkland Islands for those of you who have booked with him or are thinking of booking with him.

 

We have just returned to the ship from the tour and it was amazing. One of the highlights of the cruise so far. You will see lots of King, Gentoo and Magellantic Penguins at Volunteer Point. The trip in the 4 wheel drive is a bit rough going through the peat bogs but well worth it. Patrick was a great tour leader and we were fortunate to be in his 4 wheel drive. There were 6 4 wheels cars in our group. We had no problem getting off the ship, even though this was a private tour. Just make sure you do not wait for the announcement that the tenders are ready and be ready for the tender at about 5 to 8 and you will be on the first or second tender allowing you to get away as soon as possible.

 

While on the beach we saw a Southern Seal surfing the waves waiting to catch a Penguin for lunch! We saw him/her nearly get a couple of Penguins. What a sight! You are able to get up so close to the Penguins it is unbelievable. My advice would be that you do not stop at the first toilet stop, Patrick really prefers that you don't as there are good toilets at Volunteer Point. When you get to Volunteer point go to the beach first as a lot of Penguins will be arriving on the shore and most people go straight to the big groups of either the King or Gentoo Penguins. This will give you the chance to get up close to the penguins (the king mostly) without any one else close by. Pick a spot and crouch down and wait, they will get close to you and you will be able to get some great photos. In the main group of King Penguin there were still a number of last years chicks, still with their brown fur. What a funny sight, they don't look like Penguins at all! Then we saw some chicks with half fur and others in different stages of malting. Their parents must feed them until they have completely shed their baby fur as they are unable to swim until then. We saw parents feeding the chicks.

 

This was a great experience and the ships tour did the same tour although they did not get a tour of the town after and also did not stop at the burnt out shell of the Argentinian helicopter sight. Patrick is also very knowledgeable about the Falklands was and gave an informative narrative about that.

 

The ships tour was offered for $325.00 and Patrick was $195.00. I'm very glad we went with Patrick. Also he wanted me to mention that they had 100 ships calling in at Port Stanly and of all those ships only two had to cancel the port of call. He feels that people have the opinion that many ships cancel this port because of bad weather and that is just not true. So for all of you that might be concerned about not making the port the evidence of that is just not true.

 

I hope this helps those of you who will be stopping in at Port Stanley.

[Hobar]

We have been told by our TA that only a small percentage of ships dock in Falklands, so in an abundance of caution, we booked Ushuai. (Still can't spell it.) But your review is great and will need to contact Patrick too. We are leaving on same itinerary in two weeks. Any other suggestions? We found a tour led by two women in Puerto Montt. Do you know of anyone who went on that?

[Keith1010]

Hobar, I always recommend that folks book penguin tours in more than one port for the reason that you mentioned. About one and three ships have to cancel the visit to the Falklands. It is always a tender port and the seas can be quite rough due to the winds. Another great place to view the Penguins is Ottway Bay about an hours drive from Punta Arenas which we visited while sailing on the Pride. Even that port can be cancelled from time to time due to high winds but far less cancellations than the Falklands.

 

For the Falklands dress very warmly and even more so if you are not used to the cold.

 

Keith

[clarky]

There is a vast difference between seeing Penguins in the Falklands versus seeing them in Ushuaia. In Ushuaia you stand on a platform and can not get close to the penguins. This trip there were only approx 45 penguins to be seen. Falklands, thousand on Penguins can be seen and you can get close to them. I was assured by Patrick Watt who is a third generation Islander that out of 100 ships this year only 2 could not make it because of rough seas. These 100 ships include expedition ships and other small ships going to the Antarctic. He has been involved in tourism on the Island for 12 years.

 

We hired a private guide in Valparaiso Chile and did a walking tour of the city. We caught all forms of public transport and ate lunch at a local market. This was a fantastic tour and our guide Leo is passionate about his job. You do need to be fairly fit but if anyone is interested I can give you his e-mail and web site. The tour was $50.00 pp.

 

Puerto Montt we hired a car and guide at the dock and did the same tour as the ship for half the price. Some guests booked cars and drove themselves and also had a great time.

 

The weather and seas have been fantastic. The average temp in all ports has been around 56F. The day in the Falklands was clear and warm in the morning with cool wind in the afternoon. I hope for guest boarding the ship in Buenos Aries the weather is as good.

[Keith1010]

Hobar, I agree with Clarky. I would not bother viewing the Penguins in Ushuaia.

 

What I would recommend is consider signing up for the Patagonian Experience: Otway Sound & Penguin Reserve in Punta Arenas. Like the Falkland Islands the viewing of the penguins is quite good and you will see them very close up.

 

I just always think its wife to have Penguins booked in multiple ports if this is something important to you. (It is/was for us) because the weather is very unpredictable.

 

Keith

[harbormaster]

Thanks so much Clarky. We are boarding the ship Monday as you get off. Can you tell me please who you used for a guide in Puerto Montt? Where did you go and how long was the tour? Thanks much - am doing some last minute comparing. Safe travels and leave some good food and drink for the rest of us!

[stamfordian]

I just always think its wife to have Penguins booked in multiple ports

 

There's no answer to that.....

[Chairsin]

Clarky,

Good thing you are there now rather than a few months from now when many tourists will be more interested in catching sight of Wills rather than penguins.

[Hobar]

Thanks so much Clarky. We are boarding the ship Monday as you get off. Can you tell me please who you used for a guide in Puerto Montt? Where did you go and how long was the tour? Thanks much - am doing some last minute comparing. Safe travels and leave some good food and drink for the rest of us!

We just signed up for GV Tours in Puerto Montt. I saw that recommended on these boards on another post.

[Hobar]

Yes, we are not used to cold, but do ski so thankfully i have some warm clothes to take along. The penguins are important to us, so will take tours in different ports for sure.

[Hobar]

Yes, we are interested in info on Leo as we will be in Santiago for 4 days. Thank you.

[All too soon...]

I have to say that foodies have a wonderful and easy option in Puerto Montt.

 

Just turn left when leaving the tender dock, walk down past all the picturesque little shops/stalls selling local handicrafts, and arrive at the local central seafood market.

 

There are many restaurants, and the upper level is lines with tiny restaurants with tables overlooking the market. The seafood is extraordinary, and you'll want to try everything. But the unmissable item you can't get anywhere else on the planet are the abalone-like "locos." I didn't care for the briny red little raw snail-like things, but everything else was heaven.

 

If you're up for a second lunch, you can split a traditional local stew of sausage, chicken, potato, and other items. It's a thing of beauty.

[msaet]

I'm keen on seeing penguins in the wild, so would happily book more than one penguin excursion just to make sure I got the change to see them. If there is space available for singles, I'll be taking the Patrick Watts trip in the Falklands (thanks for the review!). I'm a bit hesitant to count on that trip however, since there is the small chance of missing the Falklands altogether. I've also seen from both the original posting and from several other posts that the ride to Volunteer Point can be rough and bumpy, and thus not good for some folks.

 

There were a couple of comments that Ushuaia may not be the best place to see penguins, as you don't get that close to them. May I ask whether these were tours booked from the cruise? From what I've read, the Ushuaia tours can vary in how close you get to see the penguins. Several from our cruise were going to book privately, using Pira Tours, which has outstanding TripAdvisor.com ratings. According to those reviews, Pira was unlike other tours as you get to go up close to the penguins. I just wanted to see if the other comments above were regarding a different tour. Thanks! :-)

[Keith1010]

msaet, my comments were not based on the specific private tour you are referring to. As it seems you are doing, I would carefully review what you would see on your tour.

 

If you do stop at Punta Arenas, I would highly recommend visiting Otway Bay. I found the viewing of the Penguins at both Otway Bay and at the Falklands to be quite interesting and to me each experience is quite unique. If you do have back problems I would caution about the Falklands as the ride is quite bumpy.

 

The times we have visited Ushuaia, Argentina we have done the Beagle Channel and we have also visited Tierra del Fuego National Park and enjoyed each of these tours. We also enjoy walking around this particular town either before or after touring.

 

If you do have your heart set on the Penguins as I mentioned earlier I would book multiple tours. I have seen first hand on various cruises of this area stops cancelled. Weather is unpredictable in this area and can turn on the fly. I remember going around Cape Horn on the Seabourn Pride and earlier that morning the weather was perfect and it looked like those who were selected to visit Cape Horn would be able to do so. Just a couple of hours later the weather turned terribly bad and it was not possible for passengers to go over to Cape Horn. I have seen visits to the Falklands and to Punta Arenas cancelled due to the very high winds making it impossible for passengers to go ashore safely. Other times weather has been beautiful.

 

While the weather and seas can be unpredictable, this is a beautiful area of the world to visit and to cruise and I am sure we will continue to return again and again.

 

Keith

[harbormaster]

Clarky can you advise who you used in Puerto Montt? Hobar can you give me the email you are using for GV tours? Mine are bouncing back now. Thanks.

[Hobar]

Clarky can you advise who you used in Puerto Montt? Hobar can you give me the email you are using for GV tours? Mine are bouncing back now. Thanks.

Look up GV tours and fill in the contact info and they will get back to you, or try:

Gail Stein

gvstein@surnet.cl

#541-289-1058

 

Annie Yeiter

annieyeiter@hotmail.com

#541-571-3860

[conchyjoe]

I have to say that foodies have a wonderful and easy option in Puerto Montt.

 

Just turn left when leaving the tender dock, walk down past all the picturesque little shops/stalls selling local handicrafts, and arrive at the local central seafood market.

 

There are many restaurants, and the upper level is lines with tiny restaurants with tables overlooking the market. The seafood is extraordinary, and you'll want to try everything. But the unmissable item you can't get anywhere else on the planet are the abalone-like "locos." I didn't care for the briny red little raw snail-like things, but everything else was heaven.

 

If you're up for a second lunch, you can split a traditional local stew of sausage, chicken, potato, and other items. It's a thing of beauty.

 

I second this one .. the seafood market at Puerto Montt is spectacular. My one regret was not buying some of those huge shoe mussels for the ship to cook for me.

[annisquam16]

How do we reserve this tour with Patrict Watt? Know it is late but really want to switch from ship tour. Thanks Squam16 or Squam35@hotmail.com

[clarky]

Harbormaster,

 

We used the company at the dock. They do the same tour as the ship or will do whatever you want and just charge you a daily rate for car/driver/guide. We had a great day and found we managed to do a lot more than those guests on tours as it was just 4 of us. There were plenty of cars/vans and drivers and guides available.