BIRDWATCHING · CHILE BIRDWATCHING TOURS
Every trip has one free morning too few. These 12 chile birdwatching tours justify the slot, priced and timed so you can decide in minutes and get back to packing the binoculars.
Walk among Magellanic penguins, watch sea lions, and cruise the Strait of Magellan on a practical half-day trip from Punta Arenas.
“The activity was great. We saw a lot of cute pinguïns, birds and sealions! We had a blast”
Review of Punta Arenas’ 14-hour whale, penguin, and glacier cruise, with practical advice on seasickness, food, weather, and value.
“Wonderful experience, the boat was super comfortable with heating on. The food was okay. The experience and the views are just incredible!”
Review of the Punta Arenas King Penguin tour, with ferry views, Tierra del Fuego scenery, costs, timing, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.
“There are two sides of this trip: The highlight to see the king penguins in their natural environment. We were lucky and had the penguins in about 20 m distance. But it can happen that you are 50 or even more meters away and the penguins become very, very small. So 5 stars for the penguins. The downside: You spend your whole day in a bus with 2 ferry transfers (the short one 30 minutes and the long one 2 hours). Maybe you can see some dolphins while on the ferry. The rest of the time (about 7 hours) is driving in transporter with about 10 other guests. You will…”
Walk among 50,000 Magellanic penguins, circle Marta Island, and spot sea lions, seabirds, dolphins, and whales from Punta Arenas.
“Had an incredible experience on this tour. We were lucky to see a wide variety of animals on this day, aside from the penguins we encountered many unique birds, sea lions, and Chilean dolphins. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and the boat crew were very kind and worked very hard for our comfort.”
See thousands of Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas, with Strait of Magellan views, guides, snacks, and sea lions.
“Interesting trip. saw lots of penguins close-up on the short island walk. Watched sea lions on shore from the boat for about 15 minutes, also interesting. Our seating area was somewhat cramped but tolerable. We heard some people on the trip paid about $40.00 less per person than we did. Not sure how we could have gotten that price. Overall, worth doing.”
Walk among Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas, with bilingual guides, boat views, wildlife, and practical meeting-point tips.
“The island and the penguins were great but the trip was terrible. First off since it was advertised as shore excursion we assumed that we would have transportation. Nope After having their information translated by a taxi man we found out that we needed to take a taxi to the car ferry port We did get there on time but no one was there to help us. Someone else told us what to do. The car ferry cost $50 the taxi costs $10 and we paid $230 for what????? Don't waste your money.”
A practical review of Punta Arenas’ King Penguin Reserve tour, covering ferries, long drives, costs, wildlife, weather, and what to expect.
“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.”
Review of the 14-hour Punta Arenas trip to King Penguin Park, Porvenir, Tierra del Fuego, ferry crossings, costs, timing, and practical tips.
“Honestly, the reviews of this trip do not do it justice. Of course this is a long day, penguins live in the wilderness, and therefore it takes time to get to their natural habit - it's a privilege to visit and there is a reason why we're seeing them here and not in a zoo! Atma and Hernandez were amazing with communicating the realities of the landscape and wind on Tierra del Fuego and how that might impact the timings of our trip, however everything went very smoothly. The ferry on the way there is two hours but it's comfortable and you can buy snacks and coffee, and the mini-bus…”
Review of the Magdalena Island penguin tour from Punta Arenas, with Strait of Magellan views, practical tips, timing, cost, and what to expect.
“Seeing the wildlife was definitely the highlight! I felt the ticket venue and the checking in process could be improved. The tiny area where people were waiting in to check in, was sooo crowded and overflowing that when it was announced that people could begin the check in process, it was chaotic. I’m sure the overflow of people outside didn’t even realize the check in had started. The wait time for loading was long and there was no communication about where we were being taken once we were underway. Despite these shortcomings, the excursion was well worth doing! We thoroughly enjoyed watching the penguins!!”
See wild penguins, sea lions, Concon dunes, sandboard, coastal villages, and Chilean lunch on this lively full-day tour from Valparaíso.
“Jimmy was an excellent guide. The experiences were unique, and the food was delicious. If you are afraid of the ocean this might not be right for you, as traveling to the penguins is in a small open boat. Sand dune surfing is a great experience for everyone. Bring a wind breaker for the boat ride and flip flops for the dunes. Comfortable clothes that dry quick in case you get wet on the boat ride.”
See Humboldt penguins, Pacific beaches, Valparaiso murals, and enjoy empanadas on a private day trip from Santiago.
“Book it now! What an amazing experience. Our tour guide was amazing and informative! Great way to see the coast and great cities and towns outside sandiago. Book it, you won’t regret it!”
Review of Santiago’s penguin, sea lion, sandboarding, picnic, and optional paragliding day trip to Chile’s Pacific coast.
“At first I thought this was just a penguin watching activity, to my surprise there was an option to try paragliding(paid) and sandboarding (free) as well during the day. Team organizing the events were very kind. social, made home cooked food extras for us as well. It was a long day but so much worth it for the 3 unique experiences it covers and well justified the price point. Penguins were super adorable and the highlight of my trip.”
Pick a species, a habitat or a coastline.
