/
Chile
/
Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region
/
Punta Arenas
/
Tours & Activities
/
Magdalena Island Penguin Tour by Boat from Punta Arenas
4 h
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Dress warmly and get ready to join this tour which will start at a meeting point in Punta Arenas and then travel with the rest of the group to the pier.
Climb aboard a large powerboat and head north for about 40 minutes on the Strait of Magellan. If you’re lucky, you may glimpse panda dolphins leaping out of the choppy grey waters.
Arrive at the small and rocky Magdalena Island, also called Los Pinguinos Natural Monument, a protected nature reserve and park since 1982, and a breeding site for Magellanic penguins. Even before the boat docks, you’ll see thousands of penguins crowding the shores and hear their squawking. During the summer, approximately 120,000 penguins occupy the island.
Disembark and spend about an hour here with your guide, keeping to the designated trail roped off for visitors. These curious birds, about 2 feet (61 cm) tall, will cross your path and may approach you, but you'll be instructed not to touch or feed them.
On either side of the trail, see hundreds of burrows in the ground, about a foot (30 cm) in diameter, each populated by a pair of penguins. Watch penguins pop in and out of the holes, where eggs are laid, and others excavate new burrows by flinging aside heaps of dirt with their webbed feet. Your guide may point out cormorants and Andean seagulls on the island as well.
Reach the highest point on the island and enter a lighthouse, which houses exhibits explaining the penguins’ habitat and breeding cycles, the history of the strait and the rich ecosystems of nearby islands.
Then warm up with coffee and snack on biscuits (provided) before leaving the island. On your way back, if the weather permits, your captain may pass by Isla Marta, where you can snap shots of sea lions and elephant seals lounging on the rocky outcrop.
After a marvelous morning with penguins, your tour will end in Punta Arenas at the same meeting point in the morning.
Read more
Show less
Climb aboard a large powerboat and head north for about 40 minutes on the Strait of Magellan. If you’re lucky, you may glimpse panda dolphins leaping out of the choppy grey waters.
Arrive at the small and rocky Magdalena Island, also called Los Pinguinos Natural Monument, a protected nature reserve and park since 1982, and a breeding site for Magellanic penguins. Even before the boat docks, you’ll see thousands of penguins crowding the shores and hear their squawking. During the summer, approximately 120,000 penguins occupy the island.
Disembark and spend about an hour here with your guide, keeping to the designated trail roped off for visitors. These curious birds, about 2 feet (61 cm) tall, will cross your path and may approach you, but you'll be instructed not to touch or feed them.
On either side of the trail, see hundreds of burrows in the ground, about a foot (30 cm) in diameter, each populated by a pair of penguins. Watch penguins pop in and out of the holes, where eggs are laid, and others excavate new burrows by flinging aside heaps of dirt with their webbed feet. Your guide may point out cormorants and Andean seagulls on the island as well.
Reach the highest point on the island and enter a lighthouse, which houses exhibits explaining the penguins’ habitat and breeding cycles, the history of the strait and the rich ecosystems of nearby islands.
Then warm up with coffee and snack on biscuits (provided) before leaving the island. On your way back, if the weather permits, your captain may pass by Isla Marta, where you can snap shots of sea lions and elephant seals lounging on the rocky outcrop.
After a marvelous morning with penguins, your tour will end in Punta Arenas at the same meeting point in the morning.
Included
- Boat tour
- Professional guide
- Transfer from the meeting point to the pier
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Snacks
- Entry/Admission - Solo Expediciones
- Entry/Admission - Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos
Not included
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Airport pickup and drop-off
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- It is recommended that you wear comfortable, warm clothes and trekking shoes or boots
- Please bring a jacket or sweater, a scarf, hat, sunglasses and water
- Important: Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
- Seasonal product operating October to March
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION: On peak season (Christmas, Holidays, Cruise dates, November to March) the departure time of your tour may vary depending on availability, there are three possible departure times, which are 6:30/10:00/15:00hrs, the regular one is 6:30am BUT we will be letting you know if we have to reschedule your departure time due availability.
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
60%
Aquatic
20%
Reviews
Similar activities in Punta Arenas
Click to discover other experiences
OK let's be fair. The Island, people and tour guide was a 4 star. BUT! Be prepared for a slow long tour that lasted well over hours and should have been no more than 3 hours. A waste of several precious hours that would have been better spent. First, they drove the boat at 10 khr to save fuel rather than get us there early to spend more time with Penguins. Second, it Took more than an hour to get off the boat. They had to ferry us back to pier. Third, they drove back at. 5 khr with people sitting on top of the boat looking for whales??? Needless to say no whales. Forth, passengers were late for return flights as the tour said it would be four hours not 5 1/2. Look into another tour maybe they will be better. At $160 is was at best a 2 star tour.
This is a must do, bucket list type of experience if you are in the area. The trip on the boat to and from the island was exciting and the penguins were very fascinating. The tour company was excellent and they took very good care of us in a rather taxing weather area. We highly recommend.
Tour was great. Highly recommend. I would not book through Viator, it's much lower at any of tour places there. Much lower for the same tour.
Came to Punta Arenas to do this and was not disappointed. Bus ride to boat takes about 45 minutes or so. Then boat ride to the island. Spend about an hour walking around the small island to the top and back to boat among these adorable creatures!!!!!!!! There are so many of them and they run right in front of you!!! The baby chicks were too darn cute. Seeing the penguins in their own environment-digging, kissing, nurturing, scawking, sleeping, running, swimming---you will take a zillion pictures! Hot chocolate and/coffee provided once back on boat! Do it!
Found the tour organisation a little chaotic in terms of knowing which busses to board, where we were going and how to get back. Departure peer is about 30 mins drive from Punta Arenas, crossing conditions can vary from everyone sitting on the boat's roof to everyone being confined indoors, and temperatures can be down to zero. Visit to the penguin island didn't feel long enough, even though walking the loop of the island and light house need only take 15 minutes, we could have done with more than an hour, especially towards the end when the penguins started getting friendly and coming to meet us. The boat then sales slowly around a fur seal island but doesn't stop there before returning to the peer. This activity starts early but is finished by midday, it is however the best thing you're likely to do in Punta Arenas, though it might lead to sea sickness as there's more than an hour of sailing and it can get choppy.
Very nice trip, only place where you get so close to the penguins. Crew was nice, coffee and cookies were offered. We also were taken to Isla Martha to see the sea lions.