If you have the time to fill or love penguins then thus is a great half-day adventure from Punta Arenas. It involves a lot of time on board a hard-shell covered zodiac that navigates the famous Magallanes Stretch to Santa Magdalena Island. This is currently the best way to get close to penguins in their natural habitat.
This is a half-day excursion to see the Magellan penguins on Santa Magdalena Island, which is in the middle of the Magellan Strait. Check-in is required in the centre of Punta Arenas at 06:30hrs. This excursion should be planned into the rest of your itinerary either as a morning activity with previous night in Punta Arenas before going on to Torres del Paine or Ushuaia, or after visiting Torres del Paine or Ushuaia.
- Operated between 01 of October to 15 of April
- NOT available 25 Dec and 01 Jan
- Subject to local weather conditions
- Trip Duration: 4hrs 30mins, return.
- Check in at 06:30hrs, San José Nogueira 1255, Punta Arenas
- Return: 12:00hrs (approx.)
- FULL REFUND IF TRIP CANNOT BE OPERATED
Note: We offer this activity to be built into you’re the rest of your itinerary that we will have created, and not as a standalone.
Description
After check-in you will board a bus for the 30min road transfer to the embarkation jetty at Laredo Bay, which is about 25km north of Punta Arenas city centre. Here you will board a ribbed hull, hard-covered zodiac speed boat for a 45min sea trip to Magdalena Island, whereupon you will disembark and be able to walk a path around the island for about 1hr, either side of which are nesting penguins. This colony, consisting of around 150,000 Magellan penguins, is the largest in South America.
After visiting Santa Magdalena, you will embark onto the boat once again and be taken a short distance to another island called Isla Marta, which is the natural habitat for sea lions, sea elephants, imperial cormorants and southern seagulls. This is a sight viewed from the boat.
The return navigation will take about 1hr and 15mins, plus a road transfer back to Punta Arenas city centre, which takes about 25 minutes.
During the navigation there is also, sometimes, Austral Dolphins that can be seen jumping out of the water.
This excursion involves being in a boat that crosses the sea. You need to have a warm outer coat, warm clothing in general a warm hat, maybe gloves, sturdy outdoor hiking boots, trekking pants (trousers), sun glasses and a camera of course.
Included
- Transportation from Punta Arenas to Laredo Bay.
- Return boat trip from Ladero Bay to Magdalena and Marta Islands.
- Coffee on board.
- Guide. Entrance to the Natural Monument “Los Penguinos”
Not Included
- Pick-up and drop off at your hotel.
