Confused about penguin excursions.

We are signed up for an excursion with Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point. I think these are the Magellanic penguins. I understand that sometimes it is too rough and the ship doesn't stop there. We are also signed up for the Magdelena Island Penguin Reserve in Punta Arenas. I think these are also the Magellanic penguins. We are also stopping at Puerto Montt and they also have a penguin excursion. For people who have gone on all these tours....should we also sign up for a penguin excursion at Puerto Montt or do you think that would be too much? I'm really looking forward to seeing penguins. Thank you.

We are signed up for an excursion with Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point. I think these are the Magellanic penguins. I understand that sometimes it is too rough and the ship doesn't stop there. We are also signed up for the Magdelena Island Penguin Reserve in Punta Arenas. I think these are also the Magellanic penguins. We are also stopping at Puerto Montt and they also have a penguin excursion. For people who have gone on all these tours....should we also sign up for a penguin excursion at Puerto Montt or do you think that would be too much? I'm really looking forward to seeing penguins. Thank you.

Volunteer Point is a three-fer.

Magellanic

Gentoo

King

are all at VP....the huge colony of Kings is a wonderful sight!

Volunteer Point is a three-fer.

Magellanic

Gentoo

King

are all at VP....the huge colony of Kings is a wonderful sight!

And the Kings greatly outnumber the others at Volunteer Point. Whereas on Magdalena island (Punta Arenas) the penguins are Magellanic. There are thousands of them (one website I checked said 120,000!) nesting in holes in the ground. In late December we saw lots of babies too.

Puerta Madrym has Punta Tombo as well. I stack up my tours and never tire of going.

I agree with Budget Queen. Not knowing what your itinerary is, my suggestion would be to definitely sign up for more than one penguin excursion, cause you never know when a stop at places like Port Stanley will be canceled due to weather-related issues, so you wouldn't want to place all your hopes of seeing penguins based on just one location. When we were there, they told us that had our ship been scheduled to come into port the day before, we would not have been able to do it. I know that Volunteer Point seems to be the most popular choice, but instead we went to Bluff Cove and loved seeing the Kings and Gentoos. The 4-wheel drive out there alone is quite an experience. Then, following a visit with the penguin colonies, a stop at the Sea Cabbage Cafe is a must-do as well for their homemade pastries and a cup of tea. At Puerto Madryn, we went to Estancia San Lorenzo and saw the Magellanic penguins. This is a nice visit since you also get to see the sea lions at Punta Norte and the elephant seals at Peninsula Valdes.

For those of you who have done the excursions at Puerto Madryn how did you find the roads? Were they very bumpy? I have got a back condition which gets aggravated by driving on rough terrain but really want to see the penguins.

For those of you who have done the excursions at Puerto Madryn how did you find the roads? Were they very bumpy? I have got a back condition which gets aggravated by driving on rough terrain but really want to see the penguins.

If you're referring to the roads leading to Punta Tombo, they are in great shape. Paved roads all but the last 20 km or so, and that last part is on packed gravel which was very smooth. You'll have a bumpier ride pulling into your driveway at home.