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

It's not much longer, only 3.5 months, and the ship shore excursions are available on Infinity to book. I want to book a penguin tour, but not sure which one. I am thinking of booking both and cancelling the Magdalena if we can do the Punta Tombo tour. However, if the Magdalena Island is so much better, I will rely on only that penguin tour. Are the 2 tours very different? I could do both and enjoy both. Any comments? :rolleyes:

I am not familiar with the Punta Tombo tour so I cannot make a comparison. All I can say is that Magdalena Island is fantastic and is the tour that everyone on CC seems to recommend. Hopefully someone else can give you a comparison of the two.

my wife and i have the same question,it appears that punta tombo is a two hour drive,in what maybe non-air conditioned van,while the magellan island trip is on a ferry.maybe some kind person who has done both would care to share info.

surely some person can be more helpful?

We visited Punto Tombo in Feb of this year and it was one of the highlights of the cruise for me.We did a private tour and yes the journey from the port is fairly long but seeing all those penguins certainly made it all worth while.We arrived before the ships coaches and had the place to ourselves.There are literally thousands of penguins there walking right in front of you a sight I shall never forget.On our way back we drove round the Welsh Village and the driver was excellent giving us a running commentary about the area.I also saw penguins in the Falkland Islands but nothing could match Punto Tombo.

We visited Punto Tombo in Feb of this year and it was one of the highlights of the cruise for me.We did a private tour and yes the journey from the port is fairly long but seeing all those penguins certainly made it all worth while.We arrived before the ships coaches and had the place to ourselves.There are literally thousands of penguins there walking right in front of you a sight I shall never forget.On our way back we drove round the Welsh Village and the driver was excellent giving us a running commentary about the area.I also saw penguins in the Falkland Islands but nothing could match Punto Tombo.

Englishmum. I was also thinking of visiting Punto Tombo, and your experience sounds fantastic. Would you be willing to share the name of your guide? We will be on Journey Dec 23rd trip, and almost always prefer a private guide rather than the ships's tour. My only concern is with the time needed for travel back and forth to this site. Would that be cutting it close to get back to the ship? Thanks for the information.

-Judith

Magdalena Island is ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR. No long dusty drive, great ferry ride to the island, entertainment on the ferry, the most southern lighthouse in the world, penguins, penguins, everywhere. Very interesting history at the lighthouse, you are actually standing in Chile/Argentina.

I have never been to Punto Tombo and have absolutely no desire to go. Went to Peninsula Valdes to see the elephant seals. Long, hot dusty drive, with lots of people complaining. Van broke down and the van that came to rescue us had a flat tire. No more long dusty drives for me. The ferry was a lot of fun and the scenery was spectacular.

we did a private tour to Punta Tombo in a 2004 cruise. It was amazing to see over 200k penguins. We did a private tour and had an excellent time with them. The ride down to the rookery is long, but we made a stop on the way there and on the way back. It is best to arrive before the tour buses get there. We also saw the penguins at Bluff Cove Rookery in the Falklands - only few hundred penguins here, but the background scenery was better here. Did not do the tour to Magdalena Island - 2 penguin driven excursions was enough for us. According to my research, there are about 60k penguins at Magdalena. For us, since the scenery from the ship was incredible, any excursion aboard another boat was not a priority.

In summary, I don't think there is a wrong choice to make here. But beware that bad weather could cancel any of them (because the ship can not dock or because the seas are to rough for the bus ferry). So, if penguins are important to you, I would consider arranging penguin tours in 2 of the ports.

By the way, we are repeating the SA itinerary this coming December. However, we are making an effort to visit different places this time around. For example, horseback riding in Peninsula Valdes (Puerto Madryn), and a visit to a King Penguin rookery (Volunteer Point) in the Falklands.

Greetings,

Noel

Tess111--

I've booked BOTH tours, and I've booked a tour to Volunteer Point, also!:D For Punta Tombo, per Troy86's advice on our roll call (thank you, Noel!), we're using Huinca travel, which appears to be a high-quality tour provider (website is huincatravel dot com).

I figure with 3 penguin-intensive tours, I should hit at least one of them, in case rough waters cause me to miss any of them. Of course, if I end up getting to go on all 3 tours, I'll be very happy!

Have a great time!

jruth4

Hi Judith here is the info you asked for.We used a company called whalespatagonia which came highly recommended on this board.The name of the person at whalespatagonia is IIeana Medici and you can email her at info@whalespatagonia.com.ar also they have a website which is http://www.whalespatagonia.com.ar.We wanted a private tour so for the 2 of us the price was USD 92 each,also included with this tour was a tour of Gaimen[Welsh Village] on our way back to the ship.Lunch was not included neither was the entrance fee to Punto Tombo which was 20 argentine pesos each.They do supply you with bottled water during your journey.I understand that the price could be reduced if there were more people sharing the transport but we like to do our own thing.I have read other peoples opinions on where to see penguins but for us this was just a fantastic tour.You can freely walk around this colony as areas are roped off to protect the penguins but they are walking across the pathways and you are so close to them.On the Falklands the penguins we saw were at Gypsy Cove on a beach which you were unable to access due to landmines,also the number of penguins could not compare with Punto Tombo.I think it is the number of penguins all in one place that makes Punto Tombo so special.

Personally I think you could do too many penguin tours at the expense of not seeing many other interesting things.For us Punto Tombo fulfilled all our requirements.Hope this helps.

We went to PT in an air conditioned bus on paved roads except for the last bit ... I guess I thought seeing 200,000 penguins was well worth it. The penguins were within 2 feet of us. In Antarctica, we managed to get that close to penguins, but at PT they were more used to humans up close.

We used a ship's tour, but also ended up in a Welsh city. It was OK, but next time, we will hire a private vehicle and spend all our time at PT.

BTW, we did not get to see Magda... Bay in the Falkalnd Islands as we got married there that day. But we are going back in February and will see more then. We can give you an accurate report on both sites when we return in March 2008. <wink>

Also, we did not feel wanderig around Puerto Madryn was something we would like. My husband describes it as a sleepy town.

Heather and Ed

It seemed on our cruise that all the penquin tours were waitlisted, so if you want penquins, book early. If possible, book the penquin tours and cancel later if you change your mind. In Punta Arenas we did the ferry to see the Magellanic Penquins..If you want to see penquins, this was the place. They were everywhere and you could walk around and see them with the babies. It was very windy and cold, so make sure you have hat, gloves and warm clothing so you can really enjoy the tour. The ferry was crude, so don't expect some nice ferry! We were sorry we missed the penquins in the Falklands, as they are really the only attraction there and they are a different species of penquin, like'Happy Feet". Definitely book all the penquins and have fun..dress for the weather, and enjoy!:) :)

I would book them all. On our SA cruise we missed two ports due to bad weather.

We did the Infinity in Feb-March 2004 and went to Punta Tomba with Port Compass. It was the highlite of the cruise..so many and so close. We missed the Falklands and Ecuador due to the engine problems. We did go to Puerto Arenas and it was very cold and windy there and not many penquins left. Going again in 2009 and will go to Punta Tomba again really enjoyed that tour. In Uruguay we did the Day at the Estancia with the ship and it was a wonderful day and worth the price.

Is the Magdalena Island tour only available through the ship or do people do private tours there as well? I've read where the ship's buses drive right onto the ferry.

pvmeistrel,

One of the members of our roll call found Turismo Nuevo Mundo, and several of us are booked on their private tour to Magdalena Island. The cost was less than half of the cost of going on the ship's excursion. You can get more info by e-mailing Mariela at sales@turismonuevomundo.cl. (If I didn't type that right, simply google the company for more info.) Good luck!

pvmeistrel,

One of the members of our roll call found Turismo Nuevo Mundo, and several of us are booked on their private tour to Magdalena Island. The cost was less than half of the cost of going on the ship's excursion. You can get more info by e-mailing Mariela at sales@turismonuevomundo.cl. (If I didn't type that right, simply google the company for more info.) Good luck!

Please check this out very thoroughly. Last year, the private tour was operated in the afternoon, so the ship tour could go in the morning. There is a limit to how many people can be on the island at one time.

Our friends booked the private tour-December 3, Infinity, Valparaiso to BA-only to find out when they got to Puenta Arenas that their "private" tour left at 10:00AM and returned at 5:00PM, either the same time as the ship departure or after the ship departed. They were VERY disappointed, as the ship's tours to Magdalena Island were sold out.

And they also found out that the private tour was only run on certain days. Oceania does an overnight in Puenta Arenas and they found out that the tour was actually set up for Oceania pax. When we went, X had EVERY tour/ferry to Magdalena Island booked for ship booking only.

Again, things change all the time. Please just make SURE that the tour doesn't get back too late for the ship departure. Don't need any more disappointed people.

greatam,

Thanks for the heads-up! I'll pass along your info to my fellow roll-call member, so we can be sure.

Donna and I were on the Celebrity Infinity in Dec. 2006 from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. I've posted more information on that cruise in the Celebrity Infinity Nov. 29, 2007 roll call.

If you are going to the Falklands, the ship anchors between East and West Falkland Islands and tenders to Port Stanley. In bad weather, that stop can get cancelled. I would recommend reserving an "extra" penguin excursion in case one gets cancelled. The ship will credit your onboard account. We did Volunteer Point in the Falklands and Magdalena Island out of Punta Arenas. Magdalena Island is a bus trip from the port to the ferry. We left the busses at the ferry terminal. The ferry has an enclosed seating area.

Good luck on your cruise, I'm sure you will enjoy the trip. I guarantee you will see lots of penguins!!

Bill and Donna (Okiguy and kylea_s):)

I just can say that Magdalena Island is a fantastic place to see thousands of penguins...and you can walk among them !!! There is also a lighthouse with very interesting information about that region. :D

Unfortunately, I haven't been in Punto Tombo penguin colony so I cannot compare it with the island tour.

What private tour companies were used for the penguin tours in Magdalena Island besides the Turismo Nuevo Mundo, or are they the only ones? Also, did anyone have a private tour in Ushuaia that they can recommend?

Thanks.

What private tour companies were used for the penguin tours in Magdalena Island besides the Turismo Nuevo Mundo, or are they the only ones? Also, did anyone have a private tour in Ushuaia that they can recommend?

Thanks.

As posted previously, PLEASE check the times of any privately booked tour to Magdalena Island. The cruise lines that offer Magdalena Island usually book all the spots to Magdalena Island. The Island is limited in the amount of people who can be on the Island at one time (much like Antarctica).

Some of the privately booked tours leave later than the ship's tours and get back to the ship either VERY close to departure or AFTER departure. Our friends totally missed any penguin tour Dec. 2006. Booked a private tour, but it got back to the ship too late for comfort.

Magdalena Island is really spectacular (you actually walk over and around the penguins-most within a foot. We touched them, although you really aren't supposed to). Please check on the timing of any private tour.

I would book them all. On our SA cruise we missed two ports due to bad weather.

pvmeistrel,

One of the members of our roll call found Turismo Nuevo Mundo, and several of us are booked on their private tour to Magdalena Island. The cost was less than half of the cost of going on the ship's excursion. You can get more info by e-mailing Mariela at sales@turismonuevomundo.cl. (If I didn't type that right, simply google the company for more info.) Good luck!

Tenngal,

By now you must be back from your November South America trip. Hope you had a great time. I'm curious to know how your Magdelena Island trip went with Turismo Nuevo Mundo? I'm most likely going with them in Dec. What was the boat like, and did you arrive on the island before the ferry? Would you recommend doing the island with this tourist agency? Anything else I should know before I go?

-Judith

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!