Time of day for Penquin tours (Falkland or ?)

[Luscruise]

I need advice. We are taking the Infinity on 14 January. My wife wants to see penquins. My friend (who is an engineer, not a biologist) says the penquins are active at some times and not at others. Is there any truth to that? If so, does anyone have a suggestions as to what time is best?

We are thinking about doing the penquin tour in the Falklands. Any opinions on Falklands versus any other ports we will stop in.

Thanks.

Hop

[Watty]

My understanding is that mid to late morning and late afternoon are the most active times for the penguins as they go to and from the sea. Most tours will start at a time that will get you to the penguin viewing area when they are most active. The cruise ship tours are usually in the morning because they leave before the afternoon viewing time.

Be aware that a good percentage of the time cruise ships skip the Falklands even if scheduled to go there because of rough seas. Tendering is required and is dangerous if the seas are not calm. A good alternative is Punta Arenas, arguably better than the Falklands anyway.

[Keith1010]

I am not sure if you are stoping in Punta Arenas. We took a tour there in February of 2005 which was fantastic. We could get up close to the Penguins. As I understand January and February are some of the very best months to see the Penguins. We are going back on a cruise that will include South America and also includes Punta Arenas and the Falklands. Since we've already seen the Penguins in Punta Arenas this time we will see the ones in the Falklands. I've been told by some that the one in Punta Arenas is better but I won't be able to give advice on that until our upcoming cruise.

 

Keith

[Luscruise]

My understanding is that mid to late morning and late afternoon are the most active times for the penguins as they go to and from the sea. Most tours will start at a time that will get you to the penguin viewing area when they are most active. The cruise ship tours are usually in the morning because they leave before the afternoon viewing time.

Be aware that a good percentage of the time cruise ships skip the Falklands even if scheduled to go there because of rough seas. Tendering is required and is dangerous if the seas are not calm. A good alternative is Punta Arenas, arguably better than the Falklands anyway.

Thank you. I will look at Puntas Arenas also.

[Luscruise]

I am not sure if you are stoping in Punta Arenas. We took a tour there in February of 2005 which was fantastic. We could get up close to the Penguins. As I understand January and February are some of the very best months to see the Penguins. We are going back on a cruise that will include South America and also includes Punta Arenas and the Falklands. Since we've already seen the Penguins in Punta Arenas this time we will see the ones in the Falklands. I've been told by some that the one in Punta Arenas is better but I won't be able to give advice on that until our upcoming cruise.

 

Keith

Yes, we are stopping at Punta Arenas. We are going in January, so will post where we went and how it was.

[BenLynn]

BCHappyGal

Thank you for the input. As of today, the plans are Punta Tombo in Pueto Madryn, Sparrow Cove in the Falklands and Penguin Caves in Punta Arenas. (My wife really likes penguins!). I will email you for the agency you used. The email will come from Hop Porter

Thanks again.

Hop

We just returned from the Infinity Dec.3 cruise. We went to Puerto Madryn,Punta Arenas(Otway sound) and Falklands. The best place to see penguins by far is on the Falklands at Volunteer Point(Day with the Royals tour) . The Celebrity tour is very expensive but worth it. They had 24 land rovers on the day we went. I understand that there are private tours to that site but I don't know who goes there. You go in a Land Rover with 4 people for about 2 1/2 hours over rough roads and for the last 1 1/2 hours over a peat bog. They have 10,000's of King penguins walking aorund and on the beach.(second largest colony of Kings in the world)You can walk anywhere except where they are sitting within a circle of stone ring. In the ring they huddle together on their eggs or with their chicks. We saw lots of chick which are the same size as adult penguins but are brown and furry. Also large number of gentue(I think I spelled it right) and a colony with two chick per next. Finally, the Magellanic which nest in caves like gophers and come out to get food and walk around. Finally herds of sheep roaming around and loads of different birds.You can't touch the penguins but some of them will go after your shoes and peck on them.. If you go to Punta Tombo (Port Madryn) I highly recommend you use Whalespatagonia. They picked up our group of 16 at the dock and we were the first group at the site about one hour before any other group arrived. We could have had two smaller vans for between 8-12 but several people cancelled on us at the last minute.I would not go to Otway Sound(Punta Arenas) as it is a waste of time and money. Very few penguins that you can't get close to as you have to walk on roped off pathways. There was a ship tour by ferry to Magellanic Island which has about 20,000 penguins and the people who went there said they could come close to the penguins and had a good day there. The only reason to go to Otway Sound is if yopu miss the other ports due to bad weather and that is the only port left to see penguins. The cruise was great and enjoy yours and the penguins.

Ben

[crazy4cruisn]

So what else do you suggest to do in Punta Arenas?

[Luscruise]

We just returned from the Infinity Dec.3 cruise. We went to Puerto Madryn,Punta Arenas(Otway sound) and Falklands. The best place to see penguins by far is on the Falklands at Volunteer Point(Day with the Royals tour) . The Celebrity tour is very expensive but worth it. They had 24 land rovers on the day we went. I understand that there are private tours to that site but I don't know who goes there. You go in a Land Rover with 4 people for about 2 1/2 hours over rough roads and for the last 1 1/2 hours over a peat bog. They have 10,000's of King penguins walking aorund and on the beach.(second largest colony of Kings in the world)You can walk anywhere except where they are sitting within a circle of stone ring. In the ring they huddle together on their eggs or with their chicks. We saw lots of chick which are the same size as adult penguins but are brown and furry. Also large number of gentue(I think I spelled it right) and a colony with two chick per next. Finally, the Magellanic which nest in caves like gophers and come out to get food and walk around. Finally herds of sheep roaming around and loads of different birds.You can't touch the penguins but some of them will go after your shoes and peck on them.. If you go to Punta Tombo (Port Madryn) I highly recommend you use Whalespatagonia. They picked up our group of 16 at the dock and we were the first group at the site about one hour before any other group arrived. We could have had two smaller vans for between 8-12 but several people cancelled on us at the last minute.I would not go to Otway Sound(Punta Arenas) as it is a waste of time and money. Very few penguins that you can't get close to as you have to walk on roped off pathways. There was a ship tour by ferry to Magellanic Island which has about 20,000 penguins and the people who went there said they could come close to the penguins and had a good day there. The only reason to go to Otway Sound is if yopu miss the other ports due to bad weather and that is the only port left to see penguins. The cruise was great and enjoy yours and the penguins.

Ben

 

Ben,

Thank you. I will check out the Day with the Royals Tour. Not sure what we will do about Puntas Arenas.

Hop

[Luscruise]

I am not sure if you are stoping in Punta Arenas. We took a tour there in February of 2005 which was fantastic. We could get up close to the Penguins. As I understand January and February are some of the very best months to see the Penguins. We are going back on a cruise that will include South America and also includes Punta Arenas and the Falklands. Since we've already seen the Penguins in Punta Arenas this time we will see the ones in the Falklands. I've been told by some that the one in Punta Arenas is better but I won't be able to give advice on that until our upcoming cruise.

 

Keith

 

Keith,

I would be interested in knowing which tour you took in Puntas Arenas. Thank you.

Luscruise

[BenLynn]

So what else do you suggest to do in Punta Arenas?

You can take the tour to Magellan Island on the ferry boat and see a large group of magellanic penguins.

Ben

[Luscruise]

I am not sure if you are stoping in Punta Arenas. We took a tour there in February of 2005 which was fantastic. We could get up close to the Penguins. As I understand January and February are some of the very best months to see the Penguins. We are going back on a cruise that will include South America and also includes Punta Arenas and the Falklands. Since we've already seen the Penguins in Punta Arenas this time we will see the ones in the Falklands. I've been told by some that the one in Punta Arenas is better but I won't be able to give advice on that until our upcoming cruise.

 

Keith

 

Keith,

We are trying to decide between two penguin tours in Punta Arenas. The choices are the Magdalena Island Penguin tour or the Penguin Caves tour (Otway Bay). Were either one of these where you went on your February 2005 cruise? I would appreciate a quick response, if possible, since I need to book by 3 January.

Thank you.

Hop

[cruzisme]

we did the Princess SA cruise in Feb. 06 and loved everything about this cruise!

Punta Arenas: it was a Sunday which meant much was closed. We went into town on the Princess bus and got off in the center of town. Lovely park there with musicians and vendors--penguin figurines, woolens, etc. it was fun to walk around.

 

We also just walked up and down the various streets. We did visit various museums which are free on Sundays; even on other days, we felt they were interesting--former homes of rich people and homes converted now to museums.

 

Lunch at a cafe called Lomits; good atmosphere & food and not expensive.

 

penguins: we recommend Punto Tombo for Feb. cruises; Otway in Feb. last year was pretty scarce of them (they left early)

 

Falkland Islands: great to visit if the seas are calm. Post Office for great stamps and to listen to the English accent. Globe Tavern and others for lunch (not much atmosphere) Friendly people but be prepared for a windy day.

 

Hope this helps

ciao!:)

[Luscruise]

To all,

Just to wrap up this thread. I did see the penguins at Punta Tombo and Puntas Arenas. Unfortunately, we were unable to get off in the Falklands.

We took a private tour at Punta Tombo. The penguin viewing (Magellan penguins) was very nice. Unfortunately, it was a 2 hour drive each way. I recommend a private tour since we were able to spend some time there before the buses arrived.

We took the ship arranged tour in Puntas Arenas (Magdalena Island). Again Magellan penguins. I liked this slightly better than Punta Tombo. Unfortunatley, it is a 2 hour ferry ride each way!

That's it.

LusCruise.

[dileep]

We took the ship arranged tour in Puntas Arenas (Magdalena Island). Again Magellan penguins. I liked this slightly better than Punta Tombo. Unfortunatley, it is a 2 hour ferry ride each way!

 

Seno Otway is slightly more than an hour drive from Punta Arenas and the setting is quite different from Punta Tombo.

[sultan_sfo]

Deleted dup post. /Sultan

[sultan_sfo]

We were on the Jan 22, 2007, Golden Princess.

Puerto Madryn: Whales Patagonia did a good job getting us to Punta Tombo before the crowd got there. Zillions of Megellanic penguins.

 

Falkland Island:We took the cruise ship excursion to Sparrow Cove -- the boat took us directly from the anchored ship using one of the tender exits to an area on the Falkland Island on the other side of town and from there we got on 6 jeeps for a rough shod half-hour very bumpy ride to Sparrow Cove. We got a good lesson on doing off-road jeep driving! At Sparrow Cove we found exactly one pair of King Penguins ready to pose for pictures and many many other penguins (I forget what type they are). Some penguins crossed the rope line and bit at the jeans and shoes! We did not touch them nor even shoo them away. Some of the group were a little frightened that the penguins would really bite them! /Sultan

[coo359a2]

Did anyone on your cruise take the Bluff Cove Penguin tour? Do you have any info on that one? Thanks