South America Shore Excursions

[Diva Onboard]

We are interested in several of the shore excursions offered through Celebrity for our South American cruise this February.

 

Here are a few we are interested in:

 

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands - Stanley Guided Walking Tour or Stanley Highlights

 

Montevideo, Uruguay - Montevideo Highlights

 

Puerto Montt, Chile - Petrohue Falls and the Childean Lake District

or the Osorno Volcano by 4 x 4

 

Puerto Madryn, Argentina - Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery or Punta Loma & Patagonian Ranch

 

Punta Arenas, Chile - Magdalena Island Natural Penguin Reserve or Punta Arenas City and Museum Tour.

 

Ushuaia, Argentina - Beagle Channel Navigation and National Park or Train Ride to the End of the World or Beagle Channel Catamaran to Sea Wolves Island.

 

If anyone is familiar with any of the above and can provide some comments, it would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Dontom]

Just returned 12/30 from a wonderful cruise experience on the Infinity.

PORT STANLEY-was not on our itinerary.

MONTEVIDEO-we did Day at the Estancia. One of the best shore excursions we have taken. :D

PUERTO MONTT-Petrohue Falls & the Chilean Lake District. Falls outstanding:) , scenery good.

PUERTO MADRYN-Punta Tomba Penquin Rookery-Long bus rides. Time with penquins was interesting and fun.

PUNTA ARENAS-Magalena Island Natural Penquin Reserve-We enjoyed this rookery the most. The boat ride is slow and boring but it is the only way to the island.

 

USHUAIA-Beagle Channel Navigation & National Park-Catamaran was comfortable. Be first on and go to top deck. Wildlife, great scenery, and lots of fresh air.

If you want more info, just ask. You will have a unique trip.

 

Don

[Diva Onboard]

Dontom -

 

Thanks for your comments. They will help us decide what we are going to do.

 

Do you have any suggestions on how to dress? Should we bring heavy winter down type jackets or something lighter with sweaters and dress in layers? Did you find there to be any problem with bugs? Would you recommend sunscreen?

 

Tons of questions, I know - but your input will be helpful.

 

Thanks.

[mygirlscats]

And on the bugs topic...I've read about nasty biting flies in Puerto Montt...will standard insect repellant keep them away?

[Dontom]

You do not need heavy coats. Sweater,wind breaker,ski cap, gloves, soxs and comfortable shoes. We did not encounter a bug problem. We did use sunscreen on our excursions. At Cape Horn it was 40 F with a strong wind.

 

 

70-80 F Buenos Aires, Montevideo

60 F Valparaiso

50 F Puerto Madryn,Ushsaia,Punta Arenas,Chilesn Fjords,Puerto Montt and most days at sea.

80 F Santiago

[cabo de hornos]

We were there in mid-January 2002.

 

They are large and can be bothersome, but they don't bite. They are much less attracted to certain colors, but I'll be darned if I can remember what they were and don't want to give you incorrect info. It was defnitely worth the trip though. The Osorno volcano is something to see up close, as is the color of the river. Our all-day X-cursion included a fabulous lunch at a bungalow colony on Lake Llanquehue (with salmon that was out of this world).

 

Enjoy!!

 

Cabo

[Nancyquilts]

You may want to do your own research - either on the net or at the library - on the various ports. We found that Port Stanley is easy to navigate on your own - excellent local museum, by the way.

At Puerto Montt there are numerous taxis, vans, etc., who would like to take you around their area, at the entry to the pier. We took a ride (with a driver and his wife) in a new van with 4 others to all the places visited on the tours without the hassle of getting off and on buses and for a much lower price.

IMHO, unless you want to go to somewhere not accessable except by a ship's tour, there is rarely a good reason to take one. We've never had a bad experience - okay, there was that time in Ecuador when the door to the car fell off, but it was put back on quite easily. Whenever possible, we try to travel with at least one other couple, and we do make a point of getting back to the ship at least an hour before it is due to leave. Nancy

[mygirlscats]

There's also the South America section in Ports of Call here on Cruise Critic, which has some good, if not always X-specific, info. One cruiser took the "Train to the End of the World" but said it was not recommended.

 

When you're on that board, check out Dileep's postings; he gave a detailed review about his South America cruise on Celebrity last year, with tours.

 

We've booked one X tour to the Punta Tomba penguin rookery but are going to "play it by ear" for the rest of the cruise and see what we feel like doing each day. Frommer's guidebook to Argentina and Chile has quite a lot of information -- actually more than I found on the internet -- in English, anyway!;) I'm feeling reasonably confident about organizing taxis...but I completely agree that if you're not on a ship's tour, you should plan to return at least 1 hour before sailing.

[Splinter]

I would also recommend considering some independent tours. We were on HAL, and arranged all our own shore excursions ahead of time.

 

In Puerto Montt we used this company for a private car tour. Much better than what the buses got, and we had a great driver and guide. For 3 of us it was actually cheaper than taking the ship tours. I would recommend a tour that includes the lake, Fruitilla, Petruhue Falls, and at least a drive part of the way to Osorno. The open air market near the pier in Puerto Montt had the best prices on the trip for woven and woolen goods, so plan some time for that.

http://www.chile-travel.com/eureka.htm

 

In Port Stanley, we just purchased a ticket for the shuttle to the penguin preserve on the pier ($10 round trip at the time). The driver gave us a running narrative about the island history and sights as we drove there and back. There were docents giving walking tours for free at the preserve. Once we returned we walked the entire town (about 1/2 mile long) on our own....it is right at the pier. No need for a tour at all here.

 

In Ushuaia, those who took the train were disappointed. We walked around town (be sure to have some chocolate!) and went to the historical museum.

Friends who took a catamaran trip had a good time, but I would want to have a little time to see the town too. It was VERY cold here (gusty winds and temp in the high 30s in late November).

 

I would skip the city tour in Puenta Arenas. There is little to see in this town. Take the penguin tour. There are some shops close to the pier.

 

We used http://www.southstartours.com to arrange all our other tours. We had vans or cars for most tours, much more personal attention, and avoided the cattle car type atmosphere of the ship's tours, and actually saved money considering what we saw (for 3 of us).

 

I disagree about not needing warm clothing. It was COLD in Puenta Arenas, and raining. Going through the Darwin Channel, Ushuaia, Cape Horn, and Stanley can be very cold, no matter what time of year. We would NOT have been comfortable with only wind breakers! We took woolen stocking caps, mittens, and down jackets. Layers is helpful. You do need to be prepared for mild temperatures in Valparisio and warm temps in Buenos Aires. We went to Rio too, and had temps in the 90s. The challenge of this cruise is how to pack!

 

Check out the South America forum here. I know a lot of people there have arranged non-ship's tours for many of their cruises in SA.

[mygirlscats]

Wow! Thanks for the info, Splinter! I am sold on the Puerto Montt and Port Stanley suggestions. My sweetie will have her birthday while we are in Puerto Montt and I am looking for something special to do without being on the cattle car...that sounds perfect! (of course, since we are leaving Yellowknife in less than a week for this journey, I'd best get cracking!!)

 

We are also a party of 3, and I found in Europe on our Mediterranean cruise that we had lots more fun (and saved a huge amount of $$) by touring by taxi or private tour company over the ship's tours.

[Marylebone37]

Whatever you do... do not miss the Magdalena Island Natural Penguin Reserve. It was the best excursion of the entire trip. Just amazing and neat to cross the Straits of Magellan on a bus that traveling on boat rocking and rolling. Kind of like an amusement park ride to get there and then all those penguins! Make sure you walk all the way up to the lighthouse and then up to the top of the lighthouse via the circular stairs for some great view. Tip: wear old shoes since you'll be walking through some not-so-nice-smelling penguin waste. But trust me, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[BayAreaCruisers]

Re: private vs. tours through the cruise line, another consideration should be whether you are using tenders or are docked.

 

On Infinity, we had to tender into Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt. Those without shore excursions through the cruise were told not to even try getting off for over an hour after the ship was cleared. It actually took longer than that.

 

We also had a 2-hour delay getting into Montevideo. They didn't change the departure time, so we only had about 5 hours. Even though we were docked, they let the cruise excursion people off first, which meant elbowing our way through a crowded stairwell. The folks with private tours were very angry.

[moxey]

Did you book your trip to Magdalena through the ship or on your own. If on your own, who did you use.

[moxey]

Whatever you do... do not miss the Magdalena Island Natural Penguin Reserve. It was the best excursion of the entire trip. Just amazing and neat to cross the Straits of Magellan on a bus that traveling on boat rocking and rolling. Kind of like an amusement park ride to get there and then all those penguins! Make sure you walk all the way up to the lighthouse and then up to the top of the lighthouse via the circular stairs for some great view. Tip: wear old shoes since you'll be walking through some not-so-nice-smelling penguin waste. But trust me, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Did you book your trip to Magdalena through the ship or on your own. If on your own, who did you use.

[Marylebone37]

Booked Magdalena tour through the ship. No issues whatsoever.

[Diva Onboard]

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions. It has really helped us plan our shore excursions.