Penguins?

I saw penguins in South Africa last year and they are also tiny, I'm sorry to report. I hope perhaps the Falkland Islands will pan out for you.

I just saw some on a boat excursion from Ushuaia. It was definitely worth the trip from Ushuaia.

I’ve seen them in the Galapagos and in South Africa too, but there is nothing quite like seeing the cold weather ones.

We also did a boat excursion from Ushuaia. We saw several penguins. It was wonderful!

Hi Charlene,

My husband and I went to the Falklands, South Georgia Island and Antarctica a few years ago. In the Falklands we did two landings (the third one was canceled due to weather). The first island we stopped at required a long hike to the penguin colony and the footing was very treacherous when we got there. The second landing was a wet landing where you climb out of the zodiac into knee deep surf. In South Georgia Islands, we did wet landings and some of the hikes were on wet slippery slopes. One person slipped and fell in a stream on one of the excursions. In Antarctica it will again be wet landings or landings on large slippery rocks, snowy steep slopes, rocky beaches. I am sorry to say that this would not be a trip for you if you have balance issues. I would add that you will be required to get a doctor’s ok to go to Antarctica.

Thanks everyone! Mary it sounds like you visited the Falklands on a cruise? I was concerned about those landings, which is why I’m leaning towards flying to the Falklands and just doing a land tour. What time of year were you there?

Hi Charlene,

We were there in mid November but I would suggest going in January when the chicks will have hatched. I would check with the tour company on whether or not this is doable for you.

Thanks Mary. This is very helpful information.

When you say tiny, do you mean the size of the penguin, or the size of the group? I like penguins too and definitely got a good penguin fix at Boulders Beach near Cape Town, South Africa. The penguins are fairly small, but there were lots of them, both adults and young, very active on the beach and in the water, good viewing in a scenic spot. And of course there’s lots else to do in the Cape Town area as well.

In Galapagos the penguins were tiny and there weren’t a lot of them. My brother also recommended the South African penguins so I’ll have to look closer at those. I’ve never been to South Africa so that could be fun. Thanks!

If prepared to travel all the way to Australia, you won’t be disappointed with the penguins. https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/
Whilst in Australia, particularly Phillip Island in Victoria, you could also combine the trip with viewing koalas, kangaroos and other unique wildlife.

CharleneB,
KB and vg0608, who left from Ushuaia probably went to Isla de los Penguinos. We took a four day cruise with Australis Cruises from Punta Arenas, Chile. They also go to/from Ushuaia (Argentina). The ships (small, about 150 pasengers) went to the islands in the Straits of Magellan area by way of Zodiac boats. On the island we landed at a dock, so no need to wade ashore. The crew gave us a hand getting into and out of the boat, and there were lots of penguins, as that island was where they laid and hatched their eggs. We saw a lot!
The only difficult part might be boarding the Zodiac from the ship and getting back on to the ship. We were 71 and 72 then, and one of us was in need of two new knees at the time, and it was still doable. The crew were very helpful when we needed it.
We really liked the cruise and all its stops (nature, islands, etc....not any towns). It was educational but not stuffy, the cabins were nice and comfortable, the food was great, our fellow passengers congenial and fun, and there were no extra charges (all drinks were included).
We got a good penguin fix, and I would take another cruise with Australis in the same area. Have a fun time searching out the penguins! Here's to Happy Feet!

I’ve seen smaller penguins in two places:
1) In South Africa at Boulders Beach (African penguins)
2) in New Zealand at Oamaru (little blue penguins)

Both South Africa and New Zealand are worth a trip, although I wouldn’t choose either if you are exclusively interested in penguins. If you are able to combine your penguin interest with other interests (e.g., going on a safari in southern Africa or visiting beautiful New Zealand), I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either place.

We went to the Penguin Parade at Philip Island near Melbourne, Australia. The penguins are small but there are lots of them. Our favorite part was walking back to the car along the boardwalk. We were surrounded by penguins! If you plan to be near Melbourne, you'd enjoy it!

I saw penguins in the Falkland Islands as part of an organized tour on a Holland America cruise. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by hundreds of penguins of all types - King penguins, rock hoppers, gentoos, magallenic were some of the species I saw.

South Georgia is probably the place to see penguins, can be added onto a Falkland Islands cruise.

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Ffz17nt7w33861.jpg

We have seen penguins in our cruise around the horn of South America, I think we saw them in Argentina and Chile.

Also, we saw penguins in Australia, south of Melbourne. It is called Philip Island and hundreds of small penguins migrate back to their home when it gets dark. It is an amazing experience.

We haven't done Antarctica, but did see some Antarctic penguins at the famous San Diego Zoo.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses and so much useful information. Things I hadn’t even considered, like baby penguin season. And zodiacs vs boats that pull up to docks. This certainly is a well-travelled group! Now I must do some research & see how I can put this together.

And Toby, thanks for that photo of South Georgia island. That’s pretty much what I have in mind.

Hi Charlene,
You might enjoy the book "How the Penguins Saved Veronica" by Hazel Prior. My book club members thought it was heartwarming.

This isn't exactly what you asked about, but Seaworld in San Diego has a Penguin Encounter tour that lets you get into the exhibit and learn more about the penguins!

I have seen penguins in South Africa. Their populations had a major decline, but are now slowly being rebuilt. One fun aspects of seeing them in South Africa is that you can also go on safari and see other animals on the same trip.

One fun photo I took at the Stony Point penguin colony in South Africa was a sign in the parking lot. It had a picture of car with a red circle around it and the text "Check under your car for penguins."

A quick update -- I've been doing lots of research, focusing on the Falklands or South Georgia Island. A cruise would be the easiest but we are not sure about climbing in and out of zodiacs.

Flying to the Falklands from Santiago, Chile is doable -- but just one day a week. If that flight is cancelled, it would mean whiling away a week in Chile waiting for the next one, changing reservations ....

One interesting option is traveling to the UK, to Brize Norton RAF near Oxfordshire, for an RAF flight direct to Falklands! My husband's eyes lit up at that one. Needs more research.

Going to look at South Africa next.

The San Diego zoo and Seaworld options are obviously the most sensible, and it's good to know they are available. Meanwhile I've requested "How the Penguins Saved Veronica" from my library. I do love all these suggestions!

Flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas Chile are about 3 1/2 hours and are frequent. From there you can take an Australis cruise to Isla de Los Pinguinos, as we did, plus other sights in Tierra del Fuego. The Megallanic penguins we saw are not tiny, not big. There are several at the Long Beach (Calif) Aquarium of the Pacific, just fyi. They are a joy to see. Good luck on your search for these wonderful birds. Happy Feet!

There’s also a large penguin exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

We were on a Holland America cruise which stopped in the Falkland Islands in Stanley and we found Derek Pettersson from Johnson's Harbour Farm on Volunteer Point, a 54,000 acre preserve on the ocean. Other passengers went on the cruise tour and saw only a handful of penguins.

He picked us up in his jeep and drove us to the Farm where thousands of King Penguins were located. We were amazed at the penguins and literally walked within 2 feet of them and sat and watched them as they sat on their eggs. They played in the green waters of the ocean and waddled all over the white sand beach. We were there for four hours and that included lunch.

It is still one of my favorite animal encounters!

Email him at [email protected] for an incredible experience!

Carla, that sounds like so much fun. Do you remember if you took a tender or a zodiac from the cruise ship to shore? I'm guessing tender, which we could do. And what time of year was this?

I'm a little hesitant about zodiacs, although Judy's trip tempts me. Judy, did you do this 4-day cruise, as well as the Easter Island stop, as part of a larger tour or did you handle all these logistics yourself?

I'm so grateful for everyone's input. I really am kicking myself for not doing this years ago when our legs were more reliable.

We took a tender from the Holland America ship.

Perfect. I just emailed Derek to check his availability! Thanks Carla.

Charlene B,
This was a self-planned trip. I had lots of Alaska Airline miles so we flew business class on LAN Chile Airlines (as it was called then) to Santiago and spent 4 nights there at an aparthotel. We then flew to Easter Island for 3 nights (purchased air tickets) at a charming real B and B, returned to Santiago for one night and flew the next day to Punta Arenas (miles on this flight also). Did some sightseeing there and next day went on a 3 night cruise around and through the Straits of Magellen (penguins!). We stayed one more night in Punta Arenas before flying back to Santiago for a last night in Chile, leaving the following day.
It was pretty easy to make the arrangements. And I was able to use miles for all but the Easter Island trip. Flights to and from Santiago to there and to Punta Arenas were not long, about 3-4 hours if I recall correctly. We used taxis to and from the airports in Santiago and Punta Arenas (reasonable prices), and our hosts on Rapa Nui picked us up and dropped us off at the airport there (a very small airport). In Punta Arenas our hotel was a short walk to the embarkation point of the cruise.
I do think a commercial tour for 2 weeks, with the Rapa Nui flights, would have cost us double what we spent. Our cruise was the most expensive part...just over $2400.00 for the two of us, 3 nights and 4 days (with no bar tab needed, all drinks included, even my husband's pricey cognac digestif!) I found our lodgings through Booking.com. One of the best parts also was an all day wine tour (7 people on it) to the Colchagua Valley. It was three upscale wineries and a gourmet lunch with accompanying wines included. Pickup and return to lodgings.
Wine tour was "Uncorked Wine Tours". Cruise was Australis Cruises. I highly recommend them. All our sightseeing, cruise and wine tour was found through my doing some research on Chile. I took some time vetting these, and deciding on the things to see and do on Rapa Nui, in Santiago and Punta Arenas. Time spent was well worth it!

Judy, thank you for all that detail. You saved me a lot of research, which is really helpful, as I’m trying to make this happen by March. I do like the idea of adding Easter Island.

This forum is such a wonderful resource!

I don't know if I mentioned this. We went in March also, mid to late March.