tour a las pinguineras punta arenas

Worldwide Walkers

A Full Guide to Penguins in Punta Arenas: Isla Magdalena Tour

Only a few hours North of Punta Arenas in Chile, you’ll find a small green spot in the ocean named Isla Magdalena, which is an island that’s home to thousands of Magellanic penguins.

Doesn’t that sound like an amazing place?!

Visiting this penguin island in Punta Arenas is honestly still one of our best memories from Chile. There is just something about this cute bird that cannot fly.

So, in this blog post, we’ve decided to share EVERYTHING about this half day penguin tour that we did on Isla Magdalena in Punta Arenas.

We’re going to share some facts about the penguins, how to behave around the penguins, how to get to Isla Magdalena with ferry from Punta Arenas, and of course we’ll share our own experience from the island. That way, you’ll be 100% ready to do this trip yourself – if you ever make it to the end of the world.

Now, get ready to see some super sweet pictures of fluffy baby penguins!

AFFILIATE LINKS DISCLOSURE: Dear Reader, this blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more here .

About the Isla Magdalena penguin tour in Punta Arenas

As promised, we’ll first share some facts about the penguins in Chile, and give you all the practical information about how to get to Isla Magdalena from Punta Arenas.

So, if you are planning to do a penguin tour , then this section of the article should be really helpful.

Facts about the Magellanic Penguin

There are actually 5 different species of penguins in Chile: Magellanic, King, Humboldt, Macaroni and Rockhopper penguins. On this specific day tour from Punta Arenas, you’ll see the Magellanic penguin.

So here are some facts about the Magellanic penguins that live near Punta Arenas in Chile:

• The Magellanic penguin is named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who discovered the bird in South America on his attempt to sail around the world.
• Its height is between 60-75 cm and its weight is between 3,5-6,5 kg. Not a very intimidating animal…
• The Magellanic penguins are monogamous, which means that they return to mate with the same partner every year. I just love this fact! How cute is that?
• The Magellanic penguin lives between 10-20 years in the wild.
• There are estimated to be 1,5 million breeding pairs left in the world, but the penguin population is slowly declining.
• The biggest thread to the Magellanic penguin is not its natural predators such as seals and killer wales, but actually human beings. Surprise, surprise! Oil spill in the ocean, getting caught in fishing nets, and climate change are the biggest threats to the declining penguin population.

If you want to know more about Magellanic penguins, then check out this National Geographic article: Facts about Magellanic Penguins

How to behave around the penguins

Penguins are wild animals.

It’s very important that you respect this fact on your trip to Isla Magdalena.

Isla Magdalena is a nesting place for the Magellanic penguins, which means that you’ll most likely see a bunch of cute fluffy baby penguins on your tour. However, don’t try to get close to them!

In fact, the Isla Magdalena National Park made a specific trail that you have to follow, and if you leave this trail, you might get banned from the tour. You’re also closely supervised by the national park crew during the entire walk.

Since penguins know that most of their dangers are in the ocean, they feel very safe on land. This means that they won’t be afraid of you. On the contrary, they might find you very interesting. If a penguin walks into the trail you’re following, then please don’t see it as an invitation to pet it! Instead, give it some space to safely cross the trail.

Also, you should in general never try to touch a wild animal. These are wild penguins, so please don’t try to pet them. If they feel threatened by you, they may (rightfully) bite you.

If you just remember to behave well around the penguins, then you’ll have the best day on this amazing penguin tour from Punta Arenas!

Where to get your tickets to Isla Magdalena

Back in 2020, when we visited Patagonia, we could only find one company in Punta Arenas in Chile, which would take us on a tour to Isla Magdalena to see the penguins.

However, after doing some more research online, I can now see that there are several tour companies that can take you to Isla Magdalena.

The way I see it, you can either get there by going directly to the company we used, or you can easy-peasy book your ticket on Viator .

The company we went with was called Comapa Turismo. They both had a morning tour and an afternoon tour to the penguin island. We joined the afternoon tour in February 2020. After booking our ticket, we had to go to the ticket office at the Tres Puentes Pier (about half an hour before our departure) and have the tickets printed. Everything went pretty smooth.

But even though everything went smooth for us, it sometimes happens that the companies have to cancel or move the tours because of the strong Patagonian winds… One thing we humans cannot control is the weather. Maybe it’s for the best that some things are out of our hands.

How to get the ferry to Isla Magdalena from Punta Arenas

If you book the tour on Viator , then you have to meet in an office in the center of Punta Arenas, but if you book the Comapa Tour like we did, then you have to figure out yourself how to get to the pier.

The ferry we took to Isla Magdalena left right next to Tres Puentes Pier in Punta Arenas. It took us 2 hours each way with the ferry, so even though we only spend 1 hour with the penguins, the tour itself took 5 hours.

Apparently you can also spot whales and dolphins from the ferry, but we had no luck that day. All we saw from the ferry was seagulls. Not the most exciting animal in Patagonia… If you want to see whales then you can also go on a Whale Tour from Punta Arenas

Why you should choose the Isla Magdalena penguin tour

Just so you know, this is NOT a sponsored post. We paid for this experience ourselves, and recommend this day trip just because we absolutely loved it. Nothing more, nothing less.

So why should you choose the Isla Magdalena penguin tour?

It’s a true wildlife experience where you’re the one who feel like the intruder in someone else’s home. You only had a small trail to follow, whereas the penguins are allowed to go anywhere they want – exactly how it should be!

What I loved most about this tour was how serious the national park crew was about the rules. That just means that they DON’T tolerate tourists trying to get close to the penguins. Overall, I found this tour was honoring the idea of ecotourism.

I think my only critique is that the tour went by waaay too fast, and you felt really pushed by the national park crew. However, it’s also a good thing that you only have that 1 hour with the penguins on Isla Magdalena. Because if there was a constant influx of tourists on the island, then we might mess with the ecosystem of the penguins.

If you want more time with the penguins, then you can book this penguin tour where you also visit Marta Island

One thing is for sure, if you go on a penguin tour in Punta Arenas, prepare yourself to fall in love with a bird that can’t fly. Loved it!

Our experience with the penguins in Punta Arenas

All right, if you want to see the Magellanic penguins in Punta Arenas, then by now you’re hopefully prepared to book this tour yourself.

So this section of the blog post is for those who want to set their expectations before the penguin tour, or maybe for those who are just looking for some armchair-traveling. Either way, here is our personal experience from walking with the penguins in Punta Arenas.

We never saw penguins in the wild before

Let’s start from the beginning.

I’m actually not (or I was not until now) obsessed with penguins. Seeing wild penguins has in fact never been on my bucket list. But in all fairness, I thought that they only lived in Antarctica…

Yup! That was the level of my penguin knowledge up until now.

I just never thought about all the possibilities of seeing them in the wild. Of course, I would love to see them in their natural habitat, and not behind the safety glass in a zoo… But was that even possible without going to Antarctica?

After doing some research, I now know that there are penguins all over the world! There are penguins in New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica (I was right about that one!) and a few other places.

Oh how I had missed out on some serious penguin-opportunities! So, when I learned that you can see penguins in Punta Arenas, on the Southern tip of Chile, I was ready to go.

Taking the ferry to Isla Magdalena

The ferry to Isla Magdalena wasn’t anything special. There were plenty of places to sit, and a little kiosk where you could buy a few snacks. More than good enough for me!

The weather was nice, and luckily the waves weren’t too big. But as always, I’d taken my precautions and swallowed a motion sickness pill before departure. It’s just not funny to be the one who gets sick on the ferry or in the bus or in whatever means of transportation I get sick in…

Not long after departure, a film about penguins started to play in the ferry. It was a little guide to the Magellanic penguins in Patagonia. Both Glenn and I encourage you to watch this little movie on your ferry trip.

From the movie, we quickly learned that apart from penguins, you can sometimes see whales in the area!

After that discovery, I spent the majority of the next two hours on the ferry standing outside in the cold wind trying to spot a whale. But yea, I only saw a bunch of seagulls…

If you’re going with the ferry to Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas, then make sure to have a look at the ocean once in a while. Who knows, you might spot a whale!

• Whale tour from Punta Arenas

Anyways, 2 hours later, and we were ready to disembark the ferry and see the penguins of Punta Arenas in Chile! Oh how exciting.

Walking with penguins in Chile!

Once we reached the island, we saw a lot of white spots from far away. It was all penguins!

My heart melted when I saw a sign that said, “Los Penguinos” as I thought it was the cutest word I’ve ever heard in Spanish.

The minute we got off the ferry from Punta Arenas, I saw my first penguin up close.

It was hilarious.

The penguin was waddling around with its arms spread out to the sides, curious about the people who had just gotten off the ferry. Everyone on the boat had stars in their eyes because of its cuteness!

As mentioned earlier, we could only find one company that offer this tour, and we really liked the way they handled the no-human-contact with the animals.

They taught us that the island was a breeding place for birds. Therefore we had to keep our distance and respect that they were living in their natural habitat.

We learned that there was only a one-way pathway you could walk on, and you had one hour to finish it before returning to the ferry.

I absolutely hated that we only had one hour on the island because Glenn and I both film, take pictures and try to enjoy our time all at once. The one hour wasn’t enough for us, and we felt like the staff was being very pushy… But yea, I guess they were just doing their job.

Other than that, this Punta Arenas penguin tour was absolutely AMAZING!

Sometimes we were only a few meters away from the penguins – they just didn’t care at all. We were literally the “outsiders” following this little walk, feeling like we were intruding on wildlife. It was the right experience. Nobody was trying to touch the penguins and if people got too close, they would rightfully get told off by the national park crew.

The island was full of small holes, which is where the penguins are nesting. Fluffy baby penguins were often sitting in the holes, waiting for their parents to bring back dinner. Some holes were completely empty as the penguin family had moved on.

Compared to the adult penguins, the baby ones looked super cute and chubby because of their thick feathers.

You would expect this experience to be so idyllic, but Magdalena island was actually very noisy.

We quickly learned that penguins have a really loud and ugly scream, and it made me laugh several times during the walk. Let me just put it like this, I thought there were cows on the island – at least that’s what they sound like.

Other creatures lurking on Isla Magdalena

During the walk, I was so focused on the penguins that I didn’t look around to spot the other animal that was nesting on the island.

Believe it or not, Isla Magdalena was full of baby seagulls!

Seagulls are NOT my favorite bird, I think it’s actually one of my least favorite birds… I mean who hasn’t been harassed by a seagull before?

I remember a day in Queenstown, New Zealand, when I was finally tasting the famous Ferg Burger. Glenn and I took our burgers to the park, a minute later seagulls surrounded us, and I had to run around scaring them away with one hand, while trying to eat my burger with the other hand. Wow, did I feel like a fool!

However, I don’t think these seagulls were used to harassing people. They live in the middle of the sea and eat fish. So they left me alone. Thank god!

If you’re a seagull enthusiast, then you would love Isla Magdalena in Chile!

The lighthouse viewpoint at Isla Magdalena

The minute you arrive at Isla Magdalena, you quickly learn that there is nothing but penguins and seagulls here. The only thing you can spot from afar is a lighthouse, which you happen to walk by on the trail.

Once you reach the lighthouse, you have the best viewpoint over Isla Magdalena. Plus, it kind of marks the halfway point of the walk.

From here, you also realize that the island is much bigger than the trail you are allowed to walk on. It makes me happy that this place is so well-preserved for the animals!

Make sure to take a few pictures by the lighthouse before you continue down the trail.

Goodbye to the penguins and returning to Punta Arenas

In what felt like 10 minutes, our one hour was up and we were back on the ferry… The walk went by so quickly that I was ready to repeat the trail immediately. Sadly, that wasn’t part of the plan.

The half day tour was over, so we left the penguins behind and took the ferry back to Punta Arenas.

All I’m left with now, is an amazing memory of the day I went for a walk with penguins on an island in the middle of the sea in the Chilean Patagonia. How awesome does that sound?!

I really did fall in love with the penguins when watching them up close. They were so funny waddling around and screaming like cows. Even though it was one of the quickest day tours, it was still one of the best wildlife hours of my life!

I can 100% recommend this day tour from Punta Arenas where you go walk with the penguins on Isla Magdalena in Chile. If you’ve never seen penguins in the wild before, and you find yourself in Patagonia, then go for it!

Other ways to see penguins in Punta Arenas, Chile

Apart from the Isla Magdalena tour where you see the Magellanic penguins, you can also do another penguin tour from Punta Arenas where you can see the King penguin.

• King Penguin Tour
• Isla Magdalena & Marta Tour

Today I WISH that we had done both tours, but we ended up choosing the Isla Magdalena tour because it was the cheaper option to see penguins in Punta Arenas, and at the time we simply didn’t have the money to do both tours.

But if you really want to see the majestic King Penguin, then you can easily do a tour from Punta Arenas in Chile. If you have done this tour, then please let me know how it went in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about watching the amazing Magellanic penguins on Isla Magdalena in Punta Arenas, Chile. Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions about the tour, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks for reading!

Is this your first time in the Chilean Patagonia?

Make sure to check out this blog post: Plan a trip to Patagonia

Hi, I'm Cecilie! And I'm the writer behind our travel blog. I only write about places that we've personally been to and want to recommend to you. I'm passionate about creating truthful travel guides, which can help you plan your own trip. When I'm not traveling or writing, you'll find me on a hiking trail, in a coffee shop, or in a shoe store around Copenhagen.

Similar Posts

How I got Altitude Sickness in Salar de Uyuni

This is the story of when I got altitude sickness (and salmonella) in Salar de Uyuni – at one of the most amazing places on earth. I don’t mean to…

Is it safe to visit Santiago during the protests in Chile?

Editor’s note, August 2023: This blog post was first published in 2020. It’s about what we experienced during the 2020 protests in Chile, so it’s not a true picture of…

Sandboarding in San Pedro de Atacama – All You Need to Know

Sandboarding in the desert of San Pedro de Atacama is without a doubt one of the funniest things we tried in Chile! It’s probably also one of the sports I’m…

Spotting Seals at the Red Rocks Walk in Wellington

Did you know that a 15-minute drive out of Wellington can take you to a beautiful coastal walk where you’ll find 200 million years of old red rocks and spot…

Nara Deer Park: How to do a Day Trip from Osaka

Have you ever heard about the bowing deer of Nara? Apparently, there is a park full of Japanese Sika deer in Nara, and it’s located only a short day trip…

A Full Guide on How (not) to Visit Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is without a doubt the most unearthly place we have ever traveled. Also known as the “World’s Largest Mirror”, the Bolivian salt flats are just something else!…

30 Comments

Penguins are SO fascinating! What an amazing experience to see them in their natural habitat. I love the windswept, uncrowded area of Isla Magdalena.

I agree, it is a very fascinating bird! It was an amazing experience to be able to see them nest in their natural habitat. I can definitely recommend if you ever find yourself at the end of the world 🙂

Penguins are so cute! also your face in the first photo made me laugh! it’s the best.

Haha yea they are the best! Waddling from side to side, they are so cute and funny. I had to include that picture of me because my face says it all: PENGUINS!!! 😭 Thanks a lot!

I visited magdalena island in 2012!! was such a special experience

Oh really? That’s exciting, you know how great an experience it is then! (I assume) I hope you don’t see any changes to the island or the tour from 2012. From my experience in 2020, it seemed like the penguins were left alone to their natural habitat 😊

Omg these penguins are so adorable! I would love to see them myself some time (hopefully next year)!

I know! There are plenty of penguins in Patagonia both in Chile and Argentina, hope you get to see them! 😊

The penguins are so sweet! It looks like such a special experience.

Haha yea they sure are! It was a great day 🙂

Oh my god, those penguins are sooo cute! I just got a new place on my bucket list! Will use your post for reference for sure! Thanks for sharing!

Oh I’m so glad I inspired your bucket list! Thank you 🙂

Haha I love your comment about you and Glenn not being very good at group tours – my partner and I aren’t either! This looks like so much fun, I would love to see penguins in the wild. Thanks for sharing

It was a lot of fun, except for being part of a group and constantly falling behind haha! Hope you get to see them some day.

I laughed when you said you weren’t go at group tours. I can relate. Too much to see to go too fast.

Haha yes we were constantly falling behind, sometimes we even power walked to the front of the group but we still managed to end up in the back, again… Like you say, too much to see, too fast 🙂

Amazing! Really appreciate your work on the alternative solution to see those cutest animals in the world! Thanks for sharing too.

Thank you Menty, we have to look out for those cute flightless birds!

Oh wow! This looks amazing! I never would have thought to do this. Looks like I need to put this on my bucket list!

You sure should! It’s also very family friendly 🙂

I’ve been dying to go to Chile. I didn’t even know they had penguins there. Now i want to go even more haha

Haha me neither, I just knew I had to go once I found out they had penguins. Chile has so much to offer! I hope you get to go some day.

What a great experience! I’d love to see penguins in their natural habitat up close like this, plus the price seems very reasonable!

I know, it was such an experience! It was the cheapest way I could find to see penguins at the end of the world.

Oh my gosh, I would love this so very much! I can’t believe you were able to get so close to these little cuties! I would love to experience this.

I know! It was the best experience. So cute!

Oh my gosh my heart rate just bounced, THEY ARE SO CUTE. I love penguins so much too, not sure I would be able to contain myself if I was in your shoes haha. Lovely post!

I know! SO F-CUTE! 🙂 Thanks Tina!

I have always wanted to go to patagonia. Even since the 60s. I’ve gotten various answers but can you drive completely from the United States to Patagonia? I love the penguins but the bird I loved out of this video the most was the hooded grebe (sp?). Their body language just cracked me up! ❣️ So adorable.

Hi Patricia, I’ve followed Kombi Life on YouTube who drove the Pan-American Highway some years ago. It wasn’t all the way down to Patagonia, but it looks like you can do it from what I can find online. That would just be a crazy (but amazing!) adventure. And yes, the penguins are absolutely adorable ❤️ Would love to see more of them in the wild. Best, Cecilie

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.