Penguins in Punta Arenas: the best way how to see them
Did you know that there are penguins in Punta Arenas? I didn’t!
When we were (well, Michal actually was) planning our trip to Patagonia, he mentioned that we could go on a penguin-watching tour. I was shocked! For me penguins = Antarctica.
But no, there are penguins in South America, too, and it’s actually quite easy to visit them.
In short, there are two places to see penguins in Punta Arenas. You can see King Penguins on Tierra del Fuego and Magellanic penguins on an island near Punta Arenas called Isla Magdalena. We recommend going to Isla Magdalena, as it’s a lot closer, you are guaranteed to see a ton of penguins, and it’s more convenient all around.
Read on to see why!
You don’t feel like reading the whole article? Book a tour to see the Magellanic Penguins here!
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Types of penguins near Punta Arenas
So, let’s get this out of the way: there are technically two types of penguins that you can see near Punta Arenas. Those are King Penguins and Magellanic penguins.
King penguins
The King penguins are on Tierra del Fuego – a huge island in Patagonia, in a park called Parque Penguino Rey. It’s really not so close to Punta Arenas so you must spend a full day to visit the colony that is there – among other things. From the tours that I checked, they are pretty much full-day trips to the Tierra del Fuego island, where you see the penguins, the town of Porvenir, the Cerro Sombrero town, and some other things.
Theoretically, you can visit the Penguino Rey Park by yourself, too. Just board the ferry to Tierra del Fuego (the port is not too far from Punta Arenas) and drive to the park. You’d just need to rent a car for that, which is, anyway, our suggested way of exploring Patagonia.
Magellanic penguins
The Magellanic penguins, on the other hand, are on an island near Punta Arenas called Isla Magdalena. The island is located just off the coast of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan and is home to some 120 thousand penguins.
You can join a tour to Isla Magdalena or visit on your own.
If you go on your own, you have to take the normal ferry which is rather slow. So basically you’d spend a long time on the water (sometimes even more than 2 hours) and have to worry about getting back.
On the other hand, if you join a tour, many of them have a speedboat, and all of them have guides that point things out to you. Plus, most visit Isla Marta as well where sea lions and seals dwell!
And I definitely recommend joining one of the tours – it was one of the highlights of our whole trip to Patagonia!
So where to go?
When we visited Patagonia, we chose to go on a tour to see the Magellanic penguins in Punta Arenas. For us, it was the perfect option!
The main reason for us was that the tour was half a day long. That meant that in the morning, we went on the tour to see the penguins and after lunch, continued to Torres del Paine. We arrived in the park in the evening, perfectly in time for dinner.
Second, and this is just a small reason, with the King penguins, you are at quite a distance from them and see not too many. With the Magellanic ones, there are hundreds of penguins to see!
And last, Tierra del Fuego requires just way too much driving to see penguins – so if that’s your main objective, the Tierra del Fuego tours won’t be for you, either.
How our Magellanic penguin tour to Magdalena Island in Punta Arenas went
1. Pickup and transfer
Our trip to see penguins in Punta Arenas started with a pick-up from our hotel, but from what I can gather, very few tour companies offer it now. Basically, all of them say – the meeting point is at 1255 José Nogueira Street in Punta Arenas. The meeting is at 6:30 in the morning, and you’re supposed to be at least 10 minutes early. The bus leaves on time!
From there on, a bus takes you to the Laredo port where you board a speedboat.
It takes approximately 45 minutes to go from the port to Isla Magdalena.
2. Magdalena Island and the penguins!
All of the tours give the guests an hour to explore the island.
If you get overwhelmed by loud noises, make sure to bring some noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs, or something like LOOPs. The penguins are LOUD.
There are specially marked footpaths which you have to use. Isla Magdalena is a natural monument called Los Pingüinos managed by CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) so the whole island is protected.
The paths lead to a lighthouse which is a national historic monument. It offers for an amazing view of the whole island so make sure to find time to go there as well.
On your way to the lighthouse, you’ll get to see hundreds of little caves where little baby penguins are. We actually managed to see some – they are very, very cute!
And not just penguins. There are Albatros de Ceja Negra, Skuas, Gaviotines, Cormorants and Dominican Gulls on Isla Magdalena. So keep your eyes wide open!
If you’d like to hear more about the island and the penguins, make sure to be close to the guides. All of the tours have bilingual guides.
The Magdalena Island penguin colony is huge!
Isla Marta
You can’t really see anything in that video, so here’s a zoomed-in picture.
After visiting Isla Magdalena, if the weather is still cooperating, the next stop is Isla Marta. There, the Zodiac doesn’t land – at least not in our case – but you get to see sea lions, seals, and of course, gulls.
We sailed around the little island for a bit and went back to Punta Arenas.
Depending on when you visit, it might be possible to see whales and dolphins on your tour. Unfortunately, we weren’t so lucky.
Arriving back
The catamaran takes you back to Laredo Bay port from where the bus will take you to the original meeting point. We got taken to the hotel, but again, I don’t see hotel drop-offs offered in any of the tours.
After the tour, we were starving so we picked up our luggage (left it in the hotel) and went for lunch in the city.
We had the long way to Torres del Paine in front of us!
Where to book Magellanic penguin tours
There are quite a few places where you can book tours. If you’d like to compare some of the offers, check out:
Otherwise, we booked our tour through COMAPA. But really, in the end, you end up in the same boat with all the other companies.
Booking through Viator or GetYourGuide offers you the chance to cancel without problems really close to the tour, in case your plans change. But if you book directly, it’s generally easier to get a refund if something goes wrong on the operator’s side. Although I personally haven’t had any problems with the aggregators, either.
What you need to take on a penguin tour
- Passport
- Your tour voucher
- Water
- Snacks or proper food
- Warm clothes – it’s usually windy and cold in Patagonia, even in the summer
- Camera
- Something for sea sickness – just in case
The most important things to know about visiting penguins in Punta Arenas
- You need a passport to board the ferry.
- None of the tours offer food. Some offer coffee and tea on board the boat (also called Zodiac)
- Pregnant people, people with serious health problems, and wheelchair users are not allowed.
- The tour can be cancelled last minute if the weather conditions are not good.
- Tours to visit penguins on Isla Magdalena are run from October until March.
- You are not allowed to touch the penguins!
- Penguins have right of way on the footpaths, so if you see that a penguin is about to cross, you must stop.
In conclusion
So, this is how to see penguins in Punta Arenas. Again, I was quite shocked that there actually are penguins in Patagonia! Who knew! And you can even go really close to them.
If you decide to go on a tour, enjoy! And send pictures!
FAQs about Patagonia
How to plan a trip to Patagonia?
Although Patagonia is definitely a nature lover’s and hiker’s paradise, there are loads of other things to do. If you have limited time in that part of the world, make sure to check out our 10 day Patagonia itinerary and the ultimate guides for Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks.
How to get around?
We definitely recommend renting a car in Patagonia, as that gives you the most freedom. Driving there is quite easy and with all of the weather changes, a car gives you the most freedom for exploring.
Where to stay?
We generally book our accommodation at the last moment, but for Patagonia, that’s not the best option. Since it’s a remote region, the accommodation can get really expensive. And what’s even worse, the hotels can get booked out! So – we have listed some well-rated places to stay in Torres del Paine, El Calafate, and El Chalten.
For other places, we checked Booking.com and Hotels.com and compared the accommodation prices vs quality. If you want to visit penguins in Punta Arenas, staying there for at least a night is a must.
What to do?
Tons of things! Again, it’s a nature lover’s and hiker’s paradise, but that doesn’t mean all you can do is hike.
So check our articles on activities in Torres del Paine and things to do in Los Glaciares, and specifically Perito Moreno glacier.
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