Advice for Punta Arenas: Magdalena Island or Otway Sound?

[DonfromNC]

I just returned from the trip on the NCL Sun (1/4 - 1/18/2009).

 

The NCL excursion to Punta Tombo was awesome. A long bus ride, but the bus was quite comfortable and a box lunch was included. It's a long walk to the end of the trail with several small hills. We chose to turn around half way there, but still saw loads of penguins up close. There are nests under every bush along the path and many more in the open.

 

At Stanley we took the $20 bus to Gypsy Cove. Quite a disappointment after Punta Tombo, but the price was right and you did see a few penguins if you happened to miss them before.

 

We scheduled the NCL excursion to Magdalena Island, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest.

 

Don

[lt05]

We just returned from the Infinity SA cruise and took the Magdalena island excursion. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and comfort of the ferry. We were told by the tour operators that it was brand new. It had two levels of plush indoor seating, with many sets of four seats facing a table (think of the nicer Amtrak trains). Coffee and tea were complimentary throughout the journey, and a "light bag lunch" (sandwich and water) was served. Bring something to do on the ferry ride if you book this, as there is not much to see on the journey.

On the island, there were MANY penguins--beginning right as you got off the ferry. You could choose to walk up the hill or not (almost everyone did.) We had about an hour to spend there.

[vickie_bernie]

looking for a recommendation for a private tour company in Punta Renas to Otaway can anyone help.

[babblefish]

We were on the Veendam Nov 14-26, BA to VAL and had opportunities to see Penguins in any of three ports, Falklands,Ushuaia and Punta Arenas. I researched various scientific data on the penguin populations to get an understanding of where in the breeding cycle each population would be on the date of the proposed excursions. We ended up betting on Magdalena Island as the best opportunity for us. I will comment more about this below.

 

Our only available access to MI was via the shore excursion as HAL chartered a ferry and buses to the ferry terminal (several hundred yards from the Veendam). As other posters have noted it is a very comfortable ride even in windy and very choppy conditions. We were on the island a little over an hour. I imagine one may be able to arrange a private tour to have a longer time on the island, maybe other posters have this information.

 

The observing area is a corridor which is roped off and stretches from the water and runs up to the lighthouse. There will be nests everywhere and one of the more interesting things is to watch groups make for the water and shuffle across the corridor. You can even see them swimming, feeding in the surf and gathering nest materials. I think there is something like 130K magellanics on the island so you will not be disappointed. Weather will be the biggest problem, the day we were there the wind was 30kts sustained and sandblasting us and made it difficult to video. Although we took lots of photos the real treat was the video. The penguins really put on a show! There was nest building, birds on eggs, swimming, surfing and many groups just sunning all within yards of the viewing corridor.

 

Although I have not been to Otway I feel that Magdalena would be more rewarding if one likes to get close to the birds. They are more timid that some other areas but will come right up to you if you are careful. The excursion might not take the entire day and one could travel into Punta Arenas to sight see or shop.

[vickie_bernie]

We were on the Veendam Nov 14-26, BA to VAL and had opportunities to see Penguins in any of three ports, Falklands,Ushuaia and Punta Arenas. I researched various scientific data on the penguin populations to get an understanding of where in the breeding cycle each population would be on the date of the proposed excursions. We ended up betting on Magdalena Island as the best opportunity for us. I will comment more about this below.

 

Our only available access to MI was via the shore excursion as HAL chartered a ferry and buses to the ferry terminal (several hundred yards from the Veendam). As other posters have noted it is a very comfortable ride even in windy and very choppy conditions. We were on the island a little over an hour. I imagine one may be able to arrange a private tour to have a longer time on the island, maybe other posters have this information.

 

The observing area is a corridor which is roped off and stretches from the water and runs up to the lighthouse. There will be nests everywhere and one of the more interesting things is to watch groups make for the water and shuffle across the corridor. You can even see them swimming, feeding in the surf and gathering nest materials. I think there is something like 130K magellanics on the island so you will not be disappointed. Weather will be the biggest problem, the day we were there the wind was 30kts sustained and sandblasting us and made it difficult to video. Although we took lots of photos the real treat was the video. The penguins really put on a show! There was nest building, birds on eggs, swimming, surfing and many groups just sunning all within yards of the viewing corridor.

 

Although I have not been to Otway I feel that Magdalena would be more rewarding if one likes to get close to the birds. They are more timid that some other areas but will come right up to you if you are careful. The excursion might not take the entire day and one could travel into Punta Arenas to sight see or shop.

 

very helpful information, thank you

[BurBunny]

looking for a recommendation for a private tour company in Punta Renas to Otaway can anyone help.

 

No need to hire a tour company - taxis out there do just fine. Just negotiate the price with the taxi coordinator at the pier, and the time you want on site (most quote 1 hour - I'd ask for more unless you just want to do the loop without really stopping and watching).