Must do ports for Penguins

[sunnysfla]

Of all the ports we stop at on the Celebrity Buenos Aires to Valparaiso trip - what are the must do penguin ports? It seems as though there are too many choices and I want to narrow it down to one or two - but of course the one or two best must sees!:D

[attagirl1490]

I just got back form this trip, January 28th-February 12th; Punta Tombo excursion in Puerto Madryn was completly worth the money, it's the largest penguin colony in the world. We're not too adventuous, so through Celebrity was the best bet. We were even given a very nice boxed lunch. At the Falklands, the Bluff Cove Penguin Rookery was a good tour, and because it didn't last the entire day we were able to walk around Port Stanley and have fish and chips with a pint at a local pub. If you do both tours you will have seen Magellanic, Gentoo and King penguins.

[johnql]

I vote for Punta Tombo. It was incredible being able to walk among the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of penguins in their natural habitat. Unforgettable.

[sunnysfla]

Do you suggest Punta Tombo only or along with Sparrow and/or Bluff cove in Falklands? And then not do penguins in Puerto Arenas? There's just too many to choose from and I'll probably never be down there again - I want to do it right! But can't do them all.

[dileep]

Do you suggest Punta Tombo only or along with Sparrow and/or Bluff cove in Falklands? And then not do penguins in Puerto Arenas? There's just too many to choose from and I'll probably never be down there again - I want to do it right! But can't do them all.

 

I don't know about this year, but last year several ships had to skip Port Stanley and/or Puerto Madryn due to weather.

 

Punta Arenas and Puerto Madryn both have Magellanic (aka *****) penguins. Some on our cruise chose to go see seals in PM and penguins in PA. We did penguins in both places and the environment was different at the two places.

 

You will see Gentoo and King only in Port Stanley. Last year the only option was a Celebrity tour.

[johnql]

Do you suggest Punta Tombo only or along with Sparrow and/or Bluff cove in Falklands? And then not do penguins in Puerto Arenas? There's just too many to choose from and I'll probably never be down there again - I want to do it right! But can't do them all.

I never got to see penguins in the Falklands, so I can't comment on that. I did visit a penguin colony in Otway Sound. I enjoyed the outing but I definitely enjoyed Punta Tombo more so.

[dileep]

Seno Otway near Punta Arenas

 

Punta Tombo near Puerto Madryn

 

Watch and decide!

[attagirl1490]

I did Punta Tomba, Port Stanley, And the Beagle Challel catermaran trip. All to see penguins. I was afrain of missing a port and not seeing enough. I was not dissappointed! All were very different places and the catermaran was a water trip where you stopped at the rocks where Maganellic penguise, cormorans, fur seals and sea lion rest. If you want to be sure , do all tree. We were not "penguined out" at all.

[sunnysfla]

What catamaran tour did you do? Did you pick it up at the pier or do it through the ship? The one you did sounds great - you got to see so much!

[tak2]

I too was on Infinity Jan 28, and was very delighted that we made all the ports. The cruise before us missed Port Stanley.

Our first port of penguin tours was Punta Arenas, but due to sea condition the Isla Magdalena penguin tour had to be cancelled as the ferry could not run under those conditions. Those that went to Seno Otway were satisfied.

I went to see King, Magellanic and Gentoo penguins at Port Stanley's Volunteer point. It was awesome to see so many kings, who shared the beach with the two other species. We stayed there for almost an hour and a half. It was a long trip sitting in a land rover... eack way was one hour on paved gravel rd plus 75 minutes of NO ROADS( very bumpy, but in itself an experience for me, we were stuck in mud and had to be towed out TWICE!)

[sunnysfla]

Who did you use in Port Stanley to see the penguins? And, did you wish you had spent the time and money to see them in Puerto Madryn? There are so many choices and I worry about missing something. THank you for all your help and advise!!:D

[tak2]

Who did you use in Port Stanley to see the penguins? And, did you wish you had spent the time and money to see them in Puerto Madryn? There are so many choices and I worry about missing something. THank you for all your help and advise!!:D

 

Volunteer point was only offered by Celebrity shore excursion. It was a high point on my cruise, never regretted one moment, despite being bounced around in the land rover for 2.5 hrs ( the NO ROAD segment)

If I had enough energy to endure another 5 hrs of travelling time 2 days later I would have done Punta Tombo as well. One option is to book all three( or four ) penguin tours and see if you want to see them again after the first one or two. Bear in mind there's the risk of the ship missing a port( or more) so you may wish to see penguins early on just to be sure. Many tours will be sold out by embarkation( if not also by now if you are going in the next month)so there will be people on the waitlist that will be grateful if you cancel.

I have not met a single person on our cruise that was unhappy with their penguin tour. The important thing is to make sure you have at least one booked ASAP.

[BCHappyGal]

We did the Tombo Penguin trip from Puerto Madryn on our SA crusie. Well worth the 2.5 hour drive each way.

 

We did it privately with a private driver & guide which I recommend. Our driver got us to the Tombo Penguin Reserve over an hour ahead pof the ships tour buses. thus we had the penguins to ourselves (relatively). We were just leaving after having spent over an hour with the penguins when the ships buses arrived.

 

Being first sure made a huge difference with the washroom facilities too!

 

And our guide stayed with the 8 of us the whoel time too!

[sunnysfla]

Who did you use for the tour? Were they able to put you together with the other 6 people or did you have 8 in your group? There are only 2 of us and I'd rather do a small group than a private with just us and definitely not the ship group! I'm in communication with Whales Patagonia. By only hesitation is how long the trip will be - we are in Puerto Madryn for 10 hours - I don't want to be on an excursion the entire time.

[sunnysfla]

Who did you use for the tour? Were they able to put you together with the other 6 people or did you have 8 in your group? There are only 2 of us and I'd rather do a small group rather than private for just us two and definitely not the ship group! I'm in communication with Whales Patagonia. My only hesitation is how long the trip will be - we are in Puerto Madryn for 10 hours - I don't want to be on an excursion the entire time.

[attagirl1490]

At Ushuaia, Catermaran through Beagle Island tour. Very nice. Called "Penguin Rookery Navigation" with Celebrity. Punta Tombo is 2.5 hours, but it's in a nice bus. The Falklands(Bluff Cove) is in a bus and then just less than 30 minutes in a 4x4 to the beach. These are very nice Celebrity excursions. And like someone else said, you never are sure that you'll make all the ports, so pick a few, you can cancel if you've seen enough. But there are few places in the world to see penguins, so why not see your fill.......

[dileep]

Who did you use for the tour? Were they able to put you together with the other 6 people or did you have 8 in your group? There are only 2 of us and I'd rather do a small group than a private with just us and definitely not the ship group! I'm in communication with Whales Patagonia. By only hesitation is how long the trip will be - we are in Puerto Madryn for 10 hours - I don't want to be on an excursion the entire time.

 

 

We were a group of just 4 and one of the first to leave and we had t least half an hour before the tour buses arrived. We stopped at a Museum on the way back, but the old Welsh town might have been a better choice. There is not much else to do in PM. We walked around town for 2o niutes or so before returning to the ship.