Which penguin tour is preferred in SA? Magdalena Island or Punta Tombo?

Hi, Judith..

I just got home yesterday. Magdalena Island was a great place to see a bunch of Magellenic pengiuns. The small island is completly inhabited by the penguins. Even though there are designated paths to walk, the penguins pay no attention to the paths and wander all around you! It was a great experience.

Turismo Nuevo Mundo used the same ferry as the buses from the ship. On our ferry were four big buses and three or four minivans with private tours, including ours. AND, the ship also used TNM as their tour company! So, we spent half of the cost, using the same tour company, same ferry to the island.

Also, I now regret missing Punta Tombo. By the time we reached Puerto Madryn, I felt "penguined out," as did several others who had arranged the tour to Punta Tombo. We had by then already see penguins at Punta Arenas and at the Falklands. So, the tour guide allowed some of us to change our tour to Peninsula Valdes instead, to view elephant seals. It was a bit disappointing, though, as the seals were too far away on a restricted beach to get a good look at them. But, the few who went ahead to Punta Tombo were raving about their tour, saying "you've never seen penguins like this!" (meaning in such great numbers).

However...the BEST penguin tour was at the Falklands, to Volunteer Point, where you can see Kings, Gentoos, and Magellans. Check out the thread by Gixer about the Falklands. It is very informative.

Book EVERY penguin tour possible--you may not reach every port, due to weather or whatever, and you'll likely never see penguins again!

Judith - what cruise ship were you on? And did you book in advance? We are on the Star Princess and I believe the scheduled time is 7 am to 7 pm in Punto Arenas, though I know that is subject to change!

etsdas,

I was on Celebrity Infinity. All of our tours were arranged independently, with other members of our Roll Call. For the tour companies used, just search the postings under my name, or look at the posts under our Roll Call for 25 Nov sailing. All the info is there.

Tenngal,

We too will be on the Infinity and was wondering if you could tell me if Puerto Madryn was a tender or a docked port. We are to be there from 10 until 6 and I'm trying to figure out if we have time to get to and from Punta Tombo. If it's docked, I'd think the chances would be better. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cathy

Cathy,

You'll be docked at Puerto Madryn (yay!).

If I remember right, Infinity was from 7a to 5p for our cruise. I don't know why the stop is shorter for your cruise. Regardless, there is still time to go to Punta Tombo. However, since the time is short, you'd probably be wiser to book that tour with Celebrity, rather than privately--just in case. FYI, there's not much worth seeing in the town of Puerto Madryn itself, so no worries about missing out on that if your tour takes up the entire time you're docked there.

You'll have a great time on this cruise! I envy you, and want to hide in your suitcase so I can go again!

Tenngal,

We've been told that the reason we aren't getting in until 10 am is due to scheduling conflicts, which makes you wonder if another ship may be getting in there before us. I've also been told by another source that it's dependant on the weather as to if we can dock or tender. This really is tough on the planning.

As far as just booking the tour through the ship...sadly, that isn't an option since Celebrity isn't even offering the tour to Punta Tombo on our particular sailing, so if we want to get there, it has to be by private tour. They are only offering three tours for this sailing at this port, all pretty much the same with a variation or two.

I'm glad you were able to dock though, since atleast we know it is possible. :) I guess time will tell.

Cathy

Cathy,

There were tons of taxis and private tour operators right on the dock, looking for fares.

I don't think you'll have any problem simply getting off the ship, right into a taxi or tour to Punta Tombo. It is about a 2-hour drive away from the port, though, so I would be cautious about the time factor. I'd risk it, though, if you have no other penguin excursions planned.

Punto Tombo is the largest Magellan Penguin Colony in the world, 200,000 +

Punto Tombo is the largest Magellan Penguin Colony in the world, 200,000 +

It was estimated that this year (2017), there were close a million penguins at Punta Tombo. And, yes, you do walk right beside them.

Punto Tombo is the largest Magellan Penguin Colony in the world, 200,000 +

Nice resurrection of a thread that is 10 years old.

Suggest you start a new thread.