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If anyone has questions about the Falklands...


Gixer
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I would be happy to try and answer them for you as I live in Stanley. I actually registered to cruise critic to find info about Disney cruises as we are taking the children on a trip in January, and just had a look in this forum out of curiosity!

 

Hope I can be of some help to those of you planning a future trip :)

Hi JasonWe are planning a tour to volunteer point. Have heard back from 3 operators, Wayne McCormick, Estancia and Patrick Watts. Patrick's tour though reviewed a lot is quite abit more expensive than the other 2. Do they all do the same thing would you recommend one above the other?

Regards Linda

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Start now, never too early the guides get booked up a long time in advance especially for teh biigger ships.

Hi Jason we are looking to book a tour to volunteer point in November we have heard back from 3 organisers Wayne McCormick, Estancia and Patrick Watts. Of the 3 Patrick's tour is much more expensive. Do they basically offer the same experience? Would you recommend one above another?

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We're planning on going out to Gypsy Cove. There are 4 of us, so I would assume that a taxi would be significantly cheaper than taking a minibus at $20 pp. But, assuming we don't want to pay for the taxi driver to hang around, what are our options for returning? Can we arrange for the driver to return in an hour or so, or can we expect any empty taxis looking for fares?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Fred,

 

I'm not sure a taxi will be significantly cheaper than the minibus. But you may be able to negotiate a good price. As you point out, the trick is getting back! The buses may be more reliable and frequent. The problem can be the weather. Gypsy Cove has no shelter, and if the weather is poor, it can be unpleasant to wait a while for transport. I charge a little more than the bus per head, but will show you round Gypsy Cove, and point out things you wouldn't otherwise see, and I will take you back to town when you want to go. If I am not otherwise busy that day, I will be at the jetty with a clipboard, asking if anyone wants a tour. :-) Enjoy your visit.

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  • 5 weeks later...
I would be happy to try and answer them for you as I live in Stanley. I actually registered to cruise critic to find info about Disney cruises as we are taking the children on a trip in January, and just had a look in this forum out of curiosity!

 

Hope I can be of some help to those of you planning a future trip :)

 

I understand there is a guide that has a bull horn on the front of his truck. Do you know who this is?

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  • 1 month later...

I know this is 10 years past the beginning of this thread, but I do have a couple of questions.

We want to see the penguins and other wild life. Thoughts are now that the Rock Hoppers would be a better fit for us and less crowded than Volunteer point and the King Penguins.

Thoughts of anyone who has been on both or was on 1 but now wishes they had done the other.

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You can see Gentoos and a few Kings at Bluff Cove Lagoon (and we had dolphins offshore when we were there). The complimentary cakes in the cafe are beyond amazing and the small museum offers interesting insights.

 

Much closer to Stanley than Volunteer Point and so gives you more time in Stanley.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We will be in Stanley on a cruise in February 2018. I have been in contact with a tour guide to Volunteer point. Looks like a great tour but it must be paid in British pounds on the day of the tour. It isn't a problem for us to get pounds at our bank before we leave but I was just wondering is this is the standard procedure for all tours on the island.

We have been to the Falklands before several years ago and I don't remember this!!

 

Thanks for any clarification.

 

Mary

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We will be in Stanley on a cruise in February 2018. I have been in contact with a tour guide to Volunteer point. Looks like a great tour but it must be paid in British pounds on the day of the tour. It isn't a problem for us to get pounds at our bank before we leave but I was just wondering is this is the standard procedure for all tours on the island.

We have been to the Falklands before several years ago and I don't remember this!!

 

Thanks for any clarification.

 

Mary

This past winter we went to Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts. He requested payment on the day of the excursion in dollars (new, large denominations preferred). Payment was made after visiting Volunteer Point and while we were eating our provided box lunches. That seemed to be the 'normal' method of business; we saw lots of other groups doing the same thing.

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This past winter we went to Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts. He requested payment on the day of the excursion in dollars (new, large denominations preferred). Payment was made after visiting Volunteer Point and while we were eating our provided box lunches. That seemed to be the 'normal' method of business; we saw lots of other groups doing the same thing.

 

 

Thank you,

I will check Patrick Watts out. Does he have a tour site or name?

The tour that requested pounds is Estancia. Highly rated on Trop Advisor.

 

I appreciate your quick response.

Mary

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Why not email Estancia and ask if they'll take dollars? They are a good outfit. Patrick can probably be found by a quick Google. He takes dollars because it suits most people, but I can't see him refusing pounds. New notes are needed as banks don't accept torn or damaged notes. (dollars, that is)

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Thank you,

I will check Patrick Watts out. Does he have a tour site or name?

The tour that requested pounds is Estancia. Highly rated on Trop Advisor.

 

I appreciate your quick response.

Mary

 

Patrick can be reached at pwatts@horizon.co.fk. I spoke with members of our roll call who greatly enjoyed their tour with Estancia but I don't remember them mentioning anything about taking only pounds. I would clarify that with Estancia.

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Patrick can be reached at pwatts@horizon.co.fk. I spoke with members of our roll call who greatly enjoyed their tour with Estancia but I don't remember them mentioning anything about taking only pounds. I would clarify that with Estancia.

 

 

I will clarify the pound versa dollars with them. The tour was quoted in pounds and their website says no ATM's or paypal payments. Thanks for Patrick's email address.

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  • 1 month later...

Has anybody been to Seal Bay or know how that compares to Volunteer Point? Holland America offers an excursion there for the chance to see gentoo, rockhopper, macaroni, magellanic and maybe king penguins -- we're considering that or the Volunteer Point excursion. I'm not able to find any information about Seal Bay so any input or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Hi, I've not been to Seal Bay, so can't comment on what is there. I will say that there are only a very few sites that have King penguins. There are more sites with Rockhoppers, but they are well-known, as the penguin climb (hop) up the cliffs. Rockhoppers are rarely found on sandy beaches, where you see Kings and Gentoos. Macaronis - I've seen 2 in 5 years in the Falklands. That's not to say there aren't more around, but few people will claim you will see them in advance, as they are lining you up for a disappointment!

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Also, understand that most sites (in the Falklands) are privately owned. It may be that the owner of Seal Bay has only recently decided to allow the public on to the site so that he can make some money. Not all landowners want tourists, and not all landowners want payment! So just because it is not well known, doesn't mean it isn't a great site!

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  • 1 year later...

I realise no one has posted for a long time so may not get an answer. We are booked with Patrick Watts to Berthas Beach. I know no one can foresee the weather but just wondered if anyone knows what proportion of cruises don't get to land folks in Stanley. We may need to book a penguin tour elsewhere on our cruise as my wife loves penguins.

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I recall somebody from the crew saying ships are able to tender there 60-70% of the time. I happened to be incredible calm when we were there on 31December last year.

 

 

 

I would recommend booking at least one other penguin tour -- as the others have said the experience will be different each time. The Falklands was the only stop where we could see king penguins so we ended up doing that after much deliberation with trying to see rockhoppers. I think we made the right call with our tour choice because you are essentially guaranteed to see king penguins but you only have a chance to see rockhoppers -- I heard that a few people did on other tours though. Also, volunteer point wasnt very crowded and we were able to get many pictures with just the two of us and the penguin.

 

 

 

If you are stopping in Puerto Madryn I would strongly recommend the "Exclusive Penguin and Seal Estancia" that Shore Excursion Group offers. I wrote a review on their site but, in brief, it was a small tour where we were able to see from a distance elephant seals, guanacos, rheas, hawks, and up close tons of Magellanic penguins. The Estancia is essentially a bed and breakfast with a 20 minute walk to the beach on a dirt road with penguins all along the way.

 

 

 

Thanks for the question and getting me to remember this two excursions this morning!

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