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Penguins

BoopTennis

By BoopTennis,
in South America

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Shella73

Shella73

Posted
Posted

On a South American itinerary making ports are tricky.

 

I recommend you don't rely on just one port for penguins if they are really important to you.

 

That said we had really good luck in Jan 2023 doing a Patrick Watts tour on Faulkland Islands with NCL Star.They have 3 kinds of penguins on the one excursion. 

 

 

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edinburgher

edinburgher

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, BoopTennis said:

Where is the best port to see penguins on a S America cruise?

Probably the Falklands/Port Stanley  if you make it in as sometimes it isn't possible to tender there due to wind and sea conditions.

 

And if you  are in SA during the breeding season you will probably also see chicks in their burrows.

Edited by edinburgher
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TayanaLorna

TayanaLorna

Posted
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We had the Patrick Watts tour in the Falklands scheduled but the ship departed the port after determining that tendering was dangerous.  Fortunately we also had an excursion booked to Peninsula Valdez from Puerto Madryn.  Can also have penguin tour from Punta Arenas but it is weather dependent as you go by boat.

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Nebr.cruiser

Nebr.cruiser

Posted
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The very best is the Falklands, if you actually port there.  We were lucky enough to make it and enjoyed a fabulous day with an independent tour.  Be prepared for probably the roughest ride of your life to get to the King penguins.

 

We also took a tour to see the penguin colonies in Puerto Madryn.  That was very nice too, seeing a lot of the smaller penguins.

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Beachsidegirl

Beachsidegirl

Posted
Posted
On 8/21/2023 at 8:24 AM, TayanaLorna said:

We had the Patrick Watts tour in the Falklands scheduled but the ship departed the port after determining that tendering was dangerous.  Fortunately we also had an excursion booked to Peninsula Valdez from Puerto Madryn.  Can also have penguin tour from Punta Arenas but it is weather dependent as you go by boat.

Do you recall who you went with?

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Beachsidegirl

Beachsidegirl

Posted
Posted
On 8/22/2023 at 11:43 AM, Nebr.cruiser said:

The very best is the Falklands, if you actually port there.  We were lucky enough to make it and enjoyed a fabulous day with an independent tour.  Be prepared for probably the roughest ride of your life to get to the King penguins.

 

We also took a tour to see the penguin colonies in Puerto Madryn.  That was very nice too, seeing a lot of the smaller penguins.

Do you know who you toured with in Puerto Madryn and would you recommend them?

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TayanaLorna

TayanaLorna

Posted
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1 hour ago, Beachsidegirl said:

Do you recall who you went with?

We used Sentir Patagonia for Puerto Madryn.  It was an all day excursion and was excellent.  Saw sea lions with pups, elephant seals, all kinds of birds, Magellan penguins with young and a great lunch at an estancia.  

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Beachsidegirl

Beachsidegirl

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

We used Sentir Patagonia for Puerto Madryn.  It was an all day excursion and was excellent.  Saw sea lions with pups, elephant seals, all kinds of birds, Magellan penguins with young and a great lunch at an estancia.  

Thanks!

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Shella73

Shella73

Posted
Posted

This is the port we missed and the reason I caution against having all your penguin plans in one port. We we supposed to swim with sea lions here and it while it was the only true dissapointing part of our trip it is a big one. 

Penguins were a huge reason for the trip so I had 2 ports with them booked to help make sure we saw them. The 2nd was a ship excursion I knew I could cancel if the 1st one worked out. 

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GeorgeCharlie "Live from...." Rare

GeorgeCharlie

Posted
Posted

As mentioned, Falkland Islands is the prime destination in SA to see penguins, mainly because it is possible to see 3, of 4 different types. 

 

We were there last December and had a great time - the highlight of our cruise.😎

 

I did a review of our cruise and you can see my comments regarding Falkland Islands, starting at post #148. Unfortunately, I understand Falklands Helicopter is not presently offering tours, but maybe they will be by the time you go.

 

 

 

 

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  • 5 weeks later...
westcoasttech

westcoasttech

Posted
Posted

I’m looking for penguin viewing tours for my “Christmas with the penguins” cruise with Azamara … in puerto madryn the ship is offering 3 different wildlife tours - San Lorenzo reserve, Punta Ninfas, or punta Tombo.  The latter 2 seem to involve long drives.  Anyone have any experience with these?  Is it worth the extra $ and time to go the extra distance?  
 

For the San Lorenzo reserve there is the alternative of using Sentir Patagonia as recommended above - which is significantly cheaper than the ship tour.

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Seago2

Seago2

Posted
Posted
On 8/22/2023 at 11:43 AM, Nebr.cruiser said:

The very best is the Falklands, if you actually port there.  We were lucky enough to make it and enjoyed a fabulous day with an independent tour.  Be prepared for probably the roughest ride of your life to get to the King penguins.

 

We also took a tour to see the penguin colonies in Puerto Madryn.  That was very nice too, seeing a lot of the smaller penguins.

Do you remember who you booked with in the Falklands? Thank you!

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Shella73

Shella73

Posted
Posted
On 10/30/2023 at 5:24 AM, Seago2 said:

Do you remember who you booked with in the Falklands? Thank you!

I do, we were there in Jan 2023. It was with Patrick Watts. Adventure Falklands Great time. There may be shorter ways to see penguins, but I do not know if the scope of view is as encompassing or majestic. 3 kinds of penguins, ocean view, if you go in season baby chicks. and a fun cross-country bumpy ride. The stop for baked goods was fun. The provided box lunch I could live without. But, otherwise, a fantastic day.

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Beachsidegirl

Beachsidegirl

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Shella73 said:

I do, we were there in Jan 2023. It was with Patrick Watts. Adventure Falklands Great time. There may be shorter ways to see penguins, but I do not know if the scope of view is as encompassing or majestic. 3 kinds of penguins, ocean view, if you go in season baby chicks. and a fun cross-country bumpy ride. The stop for baked goods was fun. The provided box lunch I could live without. But, otherwise, a fantastic day.

Shaun Jaffray has taken over the business when the original owner retired, selling it to his employee. Great reviews.  We're booked with him in December. 

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Seago2

Seago2

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Shella73 said:

I do, we were there in Jan 2023. It was with Patrick Watts. Adventure Falklands Great time. There may be shorter ways to see penguins, but I do not know if the scope of view is as encompassing or majestic. 3 kinds of penguins, ocean view, if you go in season baby chicks. and a fun cross-country bumpy ride. The stop for baked goods was fun. The provided box lunch I could live without. But, otherwise, a fantastic day.

Thank you!

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cccole

cccole

Posted
Posted
On 8/25/2023 at 6:05 AM, 0106 said:

Any recommendations for a penguin tour to Magdalena while in Punta Arenas?

Have you looked at Fiordosdelsur.com, recommended on the TA Punta Arenas forum?  They have morning and afternoon tours.  Not sure what their refund policy is if the weather is bad.  

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  • 2 months later...
Mercruiser

Mercruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

We are going on this Falklands penguin tour in a couple of weeks. Search for it in this forum for first-hand recommendations. It fills up fast. 

 

http://estancia-excursions.com/tour/volunteer-point/

 

They do NOT require a deposit. Payment is in cash only while on the tour. 

Edited by Mercruiser
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Beachsidegirl

Beachsidegirl

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Has anyone ever gone on a cruise to SA in April and seen penguins?  We are planning are booking a tour to Porto Tumbo in Puerto Madryn but am concerned it will be for naught...

We did an Antarctica cruise last month.  In Puerto Madryn we booked directly with El Pedral for a penguin tour and lunch. I just checked their website.  Tours are available til April 15th. If that's in your time frame I highly recommend it. 

 

There were 3 of us with a tour guide and driver. We paid $120 each. Our ship had the same tour and charged  $300+ per. 

 

The tour was wonderful.  Our tour guide Rita was fabulous. Our driver,  Jesus spotted things on our drive there and back.

 

The lunch was first rate.

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