Magellanic or king? Choosing your Punta Arenas penguin tour
From Punta Arenas you can reach two penguin species, on two very different days. The Magellanic penguins of Magdalena Island are a short boat ride away and come close to the trail, while the king penguins of Tierra del Fuego need a ferry and most of a day, and you watch them from further off. This page helps you pick one, or plan for both.
Two species, two kinds of day
The choice is less about the birds than about the shape of the day. A Magdalena boat takes about five hours and has you back in town for lunch, while a king-penguin trip to Tierra del Fuego fills 14–15 hours with roads and ferries.
The price gap runs the other way. The long day starts at ~$119, while the Magdalena boats start at ~$160 and ~$170, because a half day on a boat costs the operators more per hour than a van on the steppe.
Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island
Magellanic penguins are medium-sized, with black bands across a white chest. On Magdalena Island they nest in burrows dug into the ground, and they come back to the same burrow each spring, with both parents taking turns at the nest.
The colony runs to tens of thousands of birds, and Solo Expediciones ranks it second in size among Magellanic colonies in South America. The marked trail runs right between the burrows, so penguins often stand a few steps from your boots.
The island is protected as the Los Pingüinos Natural Monument, and you spend about an hour ashore. Solo Expediciones' speedboat trip from ~$160 adds the sea lions of Marta Island; our guide to the walk on Magdalena describes the hour on the trail.
The limit is the calendar. The penguins are on the island roughly from October to March, and outside those months the penguin boats do not sail. The season guide shows when chicks fill the colony.
King penguins in Tierra del Fuego
King penguins are the second-largest penguin species after the emperor. They stand much taller than a Magellanic, with orange patches on the neck and head and an orange streak on the beak.
The colony at the King Penguin reserve (Parque Pingüino Rey) in Tierra del Fuego is small, and Go Patagonia's listing calls it the only king penguin colony in South America. Numbers vary through the year, and one reviewer counted about 100 birds in April.
Getting there means a ferry across the Strait of Magellan and long drives on the island. Go Patagonia's full day from ~$119 takes about 15 hours with hotel pickup, for roughly an hour with the penguins.
A full day for the tallest penguins in the region
Go Patagonia picks you up at your hotel, crosses the strait by ferry and spends about an hour at the King Penguin reserve. Lunch on the way is paid in cash.
How close you get to each
This is where the two days differ most. On Magdalena the trail is fenced or roped, but the burrows sit on both sides and penguins cross the path in front of you, so a phone camera is enough.
At the king penguin reserve the birds are watched from a distance. Reviewers advise binoculars or a long lens, and without one you may come home with photos of small dark shapes on the grass.
What you gain is a different kind of sight. A king penguin stands tall and still, with orange on its neck that shows from far off. A small group on open grassland looks nothing like the busy burrow slopes of Magdalena.
Time with the birds is short on both days, about an hour. On the king-penguin day that hour sits in the middle of a long drive. A fogged lens or a flat battery costs you more there than it would on Magdalena.
On both islands the rules are the same in spirit. You keep your distance and give way when a penguin wants the path. Touching or feeding a bird is off limits.
Who should pick which
Most visitors can only spare one day. Pick the trip that fits your days and your budget. Which bird sounds more famous matters less.
- Magdalena if you are short on time, since you are back by midday with the afternoon free
- Magdalena if you travel with kids, because 15 hours in a van tests most children
- The king penguins if you carry a long lens and want a rarer bird in the frame
- The kings if you have already seen Magellanic penguins elsewhere in Patagonia
- The kings if you visit outside roughly October to March, when no Magdalena boats sail
Seasick travelers heading to Magdalena have a choice of hull too, with very different times at sea. Our boat comparison sets the speedboat against the catamaran.
Doing both in one stay
With two free days you do not have to choose. Put Magdalena first, because wind can push the boat to another day, and keep the long ferry day for the second morning.
The two-day plan covers start times and rough totals. For the full Tierra del Fuego route, from Porvenir to the return via Cerro Sombrero, see our king penguin guide.
If you have only one day and cannot decide, think about what you want to remember. Thousands of penguins at your feet on a windy hill, or a handful of tall birds after a ferry ride across the strait.
What the two days cost
On Magdalena you pay ~$160 with Solo Expediciones or ~$170 with Caminos Tours for a day of five to six hours. For the kings it is ~$119 with Go Patagonia or ~$140 with Caminos' small group. Lunch comes on top, and in some cases the reserve entry too.
The price comparison lists what each fare includes. Measured per hour with the penguins, Magdalena gives you more birds for your money, while the king-penguin day sells a rare sight in small numbers.