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King Penguin - Tierra del Fuego Island

Name: King Penguin - Tierra del Fuego Island
Brand: Turismo Viento del Sur
SKU: 225783P2
Price: 124.00 USD
Rating: 4.0 (52 reviews)

Punta Arenas, Chile

14 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

What's Included

Guide

Lunch
Park tickets

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

05:00 AM

Pickup details

The transfer picks you up at your accommodation within the urban area of Punta Arenas. Tell us your pick up address

What To Expect

Estancia San Gregorio

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Cerro Sombrero

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Parque Pinguino Rey

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level

Not recommended for children under 4 years of age
Not recommended for women over 27 weeks pregnant
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Operated by Turismo Viento del Sur

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Katherine_B

I highly recommend the tour. It is a long day (about 14 hours) but seeing the penguins at the reserve was a wonderful experience. Our guide was fantastic and we made several other fun stops along the way. The penguin reserve is very well-managed, and they have scopes that allow you to see the penguins even closer. The lunch was fantastic - one of the best most authentic meals I had in Chile.

Reviews

4.0

52 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 52 reviews

Excellent tour with José! I would absolutely do this tour again!

Tiffany_T, Apr 2024

José was an excellent guide - funny, personable, knowledgeable and overall very welcoming. I also appreciated that he helped take photographs of the penguins through the monocular! I would absolutely take more tours with him! It is a long day, but there’s so much to see and experience. I went on this tour for the penguins, but I also wanted to see other wildlife and learn more about the area/region. I thought this was absolutely worth the day-trip! Notes for travelers: bring binoculars, it definitely elevates the experience. I dressed in layers, and was grateful I included extra socks in my layers!

Response from Host, May 2024

Great tips Tiffany! Thank you for sharing Best VDSTours

King penguins

Siamak_F, Apr 2024

It was a great adventure to the penguins in their natural habitat. We saw baby chicks too. This is the only colony of King penguins in Chile. The ride was long with limited scenery. Our guide of an English tour did not have command of the English language, so it was very frustrating at times.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello We are very sorry to hear that can you please tell us your Booking number so we can know who was your tour guide that day ?

Worth the journey!

Katherine_B, Apr 2024

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello katherine! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us Best VDSTours

Penguins + driver and guide +++. Rest of trip too protracted. Go to penguins early and shorten trip by 3 hours

Jeff_F, Feb 2024

See title The trip takes too long and could be e if an earlier time to view penguins was adopted with earlier return.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hello Jeff Unfortunately is very hard to do this tour in a shorter time because the distances. King Penguin Park is very far from Punta Arenas.

Penguins were awesome, everything else was terrible

Carrie_M, Feb 2024

This review is based on the tour itself, not the experience of seeing the penguins (which were amazing). This was an unnecessarily long day, dragged out by visiting uninteresting dilapidated oil and gas infrastructure and sheep farms. Guide seemed like he didn’t want to be there. No stops for food until 5 pm (and we got picked up at 6 am). I understand there are logistical challenges running this tour, with the variable ferry schedule, long drive, timed admission to the penguin park and unpredictable weather - but things like the guide showing any interest at all in the tour, an earlier stop to buy food and/or information in advance that we should pack food, and skipping the last stop at an abandoned sheep farm when it was already 7 pm would have helped a lot. Even little things like one other tour we saw, the guide packed a hot water thermos so they could enjoy a coffee while waiting to get into the penguin park, while we were just standing around in extreme wind - would be cheap and easy to add and make the experience much better. But the penguins are fantastic and the reserve is very well run. The guides there were excellent and knowledgeable. Highly recommend seeing the penguins but maybe better to rent a car and go yourself.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you so much for your opinion It help us a lot to improve this tour and make it a better experience for all our passengers Best VDSTours

Bad value

Tracy_K, Jan 2024

The penguins were the highlight and did not disappoint. Our guide was inexperienced, his microphone battery was dead so we could not hear him, when asked questions he didn’t have much to offer. When we stopped he didn’t take care of the guests or give directions on what to do or expect. The trip was not scheduled well, we had to waste time until our scheduled tour. Overall a disappointment. We also felt like the reserve tickets should have been included for the price.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello Tracy. I´m sorry to hear that. Our guide has a lot of experience in this tour for several years working with us. We always tried to cross with ferry early in the morning because sometimes we have wind conditions and port is close so we prefer to cross early than wait there and lost our reservation time in King Penguin Park.- Off course the main atraction of this tour is King Penguin the rest of it is just part of the way... We always try to stop in some interesting places so you can strech your legs and take some air because it's a long day in a vehicle. But of course it's your point of view and we really appreciate you share it with us and the rest of the travelers. Best VDSTours

Cindy

Yinghong_l, Jan 2024

It is much more expensive than local tour agency. I got US$155 per person from VIator and the local tour agency just quote CL 80000(US$90). This really hurt my heart.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Dear Yingho. Our agency price is that one $80.000 CLP per person but when you buy on Viator they charge you a comission over our rate. When you give 2 start is not to viator is to us the agency ..... Best

Penguins and other bird surprises!

saralbuckingham, Jan 2024

What a wonderful day-trip! We were picked up right on time from our lodging and drove to the shorter ferry crossing, with our guide pointing out wildlife and points of interest along the way. We saw oh so many guanacos, rheas, and different birds. On the ferry we also got to see dolphins and a lone Magellan penguin. Driving through Tierra del Fuego was also great, with Chilean flamingos along the way. The King Penguin Park is incredible. The visit time is an hour and it didn’t feel rushed. The penguins were quite close to the view point when we were there so it was easy to view their behaviors, molting, and even some eggs! Lunch was in Cerro Sombrero at a small restaurant- choice of protein (beef ribs, chicken, or fish) with rice or potatoes and veggies with a soup to start. $12.000 pesos ($13-14 USD). Our driver and guide were also really attentive, making stops for coffee and bird watching. They were low key but happy to share more if you expressed interest or had questions. Wonderful day. Yes, it’s long - but that’s just the nature of where you’re going and where you start. It’s a great trip. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hi Sara! Thank you so mucho for sharing your experience with us Best VDSTours

Amazing king penguin trip!

Erin_E, Jan 2024

We loved our tour! It was amazing seeing the landscape and animals in the Patagonia on the drive. It is a long drive to get there, but it’s well worth it and the driver/guide made it fun! And the ferry breaks it up and it was a good experience. Penguins we’re a highlight! The park is amazing and the workers are so passionate and do incredible work. Stopped at a great place for lunch on the way back which was reasonably priced. Plenty of stops to stretch legs, see some of the oldest ranches in the region, and go to the bathroomz

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you Erin for the goods comments We are very glad you enjoyed the experience Best VDSTours

Unfortunately not very enjoyable

Janne_U, Jan 2024

First of all, everything was well organized, our guide Camila was really nice and sweet and did her best to comfort everybody. The tour started later (I was picked up at 7:15am) and lasted longer (was dropped of at 11pm). From these almost 16 hours we spend around 9 hours driving in the car, nearly 3 hours on Ferrys, 1 hour at lunch, 1 hour at the penguins and 2 hours with some really short stops, that were interesting, but not breathtaking and waiting around for Ferrys or other stuff. The penguins were very cute, but pretty far a away and not very good to see with your eyes. Which is okay, because they are protected - but all in all, in my opinion, that's not really worth the long drive. The landscape and the animals were pretty much the same all the time - Patagonian Pampa. All in all, for me personally, this tour was pointless, felt endless and really boring. Nothing was really worth the endless driving - and I really wished that I would have choosen the shorter tour (4,5h) to see the penguins.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

hello Janne. We are very sorry you were disappointed about the tour. It's very long as you said but we have all the specifications on Viator, the hours you will spend in this tour and the stops you will be able to do. This tour depends always of weather conditions and ferry itinerary. Sometimes ferry is delayed or there are too many vehicles waiting to cross to city and we can do nothing but wait. Best VDSTours

Would not recommend this tour

Alannah_W, Dec 2023

We did see the penguins which was the aim of the tour but the rest of the tour was a mess. Manuel was the driver and Christian was the tour guide. 95% of the bus only spoke English and I'm all for it being in both languages but he gave a bunch of instructions or info only in Spanish and finish the last sentence in english and expect us to understand. He would also repeat some words putting emphasis on them like we could understand way more about it by saying it twice. Food stops were a mess, it was very unclear how much the meals were. Lunch orders were completely wrong and we were asked about 5 times from the guide what we ordered. We started the day with a 2 hour ride to the ferry across the narrowest part. Before we stopped for breakfast. The toast was cold and the eggs were okay. We then stopped in cerro sombrero, which is a ghost town and and not given any information on it. The penguins were good but it was cold in the wind which is how it is in this part of the world. We then got back on the bus for the lunch stop where we were informed it was too late to go to Porvnir as that ferry left at 2pm. I can't see any tours being able to get that ferry that early. Overall would not recommend this tour. Find another to see the penguins.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

We are very sorry you had a bad experience with us We will work on it ! Thank you for sharing your experience with us

Loved the penguins. Everything else, not so much.

emily_h, Dec 2023

The penguins were the best part of this tour. The rest of the tour, including the tour guide, was very subpar. The tour would have been better if it was just to see the penguins and if there weren’t additional filler sites in between to pass time. Our tour guide took us to the local YMCA and an abandoned building as part of the tour; it seemed pretty pointless.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Hello Emily, we really appreciate your opinion. We understand your point of view and we will work on it for the next trip.

Penguins are wonderful - might be worth booking another version of the tour to learn more

Heidi_A, Dec 2023

The penguins are wonderful and I would definitely recommend the king penguin nature reserve it is fabulous. The penguins are cheeky and charming and the rangers are enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable. We had a really friendly and kind tour guide but his English wasn’t always easy to understand and he was not as knowledgeable as other tours I’ve taken but if you’re happy to just learn the basics it’s probably fine. We didn’t go to Porvenir or the museum we went to Cerro Sombrero, fascinating but we weren’t given any information on why it’s a ghost village or why it’s so derelict. We were also not informed as to why we were missing the museum. The driver was also lovely, it’s not that the guide wasn’t nice but he wasn’t well informed. As others have noted lunch is tasty but expensive.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Hi Heidi Thank you so much for your opinion. We will work on that for sure. Best VDSTours

Worth it to see the penguins but it is a long day

Zachary_D, Nov 2023

Gabriel and Andres did the best job to make a very long drive to the king penguin park enjoyable. Yes it is a 13 hour day of traveling mostly in a van other than the 30-45 minute ferry ride to get to the park. Know this going in and it is still worth seeing the penguins. Cold and windy there - bring sunscreen and warm clothes. Gabriel shared other information in both Spanish and English that we would otherwise have not known if we did the trip ourselves. Ancient and current history of the island, information on the geology of the area, how Patagonia got its name, the animals, and more. Pickup and drop off at our hotel was easy. You are driving through the middle of no where so there is only one option for lunch, a Chilean diner type place. Kinda a neat experience. Very limited options but did the job, cost about $34000 clp with a soda for 2 people. Plenty of stops were made to use the bathroom and stretch our legs.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Hi Zachary, thank you for the good comments. Our sincere thanks Best VDSTours

Definitely worth if you have atleast full day in Punta Arenas

Parth_B, Oct 2023

Atma is a fantastic guide who made it feel at home! I was the only one who didn't understand Spanish and he made sure he repeated everything in English for me! It was unfortunate that weather delayed our ship back to Punta Arenas by 3 hours but Atma kept us updated with the policies of marine administration! Perfect trip, definitely worth what I paid! 😄

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Thak you for your comments Paeth! We really apreciate the feedback Best VDStours

We got to see the Penguins!

Romelita_V, May 2023

Another great trip reserved through Viator. Well-organized and our guide, Luis made sure we were informed from pick up to drop off. It was the late in the season but we were fortunate to still see the King Penguins. The rangers at the Penguin Park were so amazing and informative! I highly recommend this trip.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you so mucho for your good comments! Best

Informative and enjoyable experience!

Jack_C, May 2023

It was a very long day of travelling around, but it provided an excellent chance to see the beauty of Tierra del Fuego. The guide was very knowledgeable and catered to both the English and Spanish speakers very well. All the travelling was totally worth it for the Penguins!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for your good comments. Best Vdstours

Amazing Day Trip

Leona_K, May 2023

We had a great time on the tour, everything was well organised, the guide was knowledgable, professional and fun. Visiting the island is a truly special experience, fully recommend Be aware that given the long distances it’s a long day (of driving), but it’s the only way to see the penguins and completely worth it :)

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for the good comments Best

Great trip to see Penguins

Tanim_I, May 2023

Small day trip down to the southern tip. Was a fantastic day, however very cold and windy. The boat on the way back is very slow, and at night so not a lot to do.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for your comments Best!

The best

MuhammadIsmail_P, Mar 2023

The trip was superb. Guide was very kind, informative and able to make me feel really enjoying the trip. We managed to witness some penguins that are returning from the sea and regrouping with the colony. Penguins are making loud noises and walked really funny 😄

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you for your goos comments

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