Adding Penguins to Your Itinerary | Articles of Interest for Travelers to The Antarctic
The Humboldt Penguin
Ever since the release of the 2005 Oscar-winning French documentary, March of the Penguins, travelers have been gaga over penguins, showing up on bucket lists the world over. South America and Antarctica are of course much more than penguins, but if you believe, as many people do, that you may only make one big trip to these continents, it is possible to include a destination or two to glimpse, or even better, walk among these fascinating creatures.
Return to Previous Page
-
Many of our full itineraries for Chile tours and travel to Argentina include destinations to observe penguins. For those that don’t, it is possible to add on a few days to the beginning or end of our tours in order to fit penguins into your vacation. These tour extensions range from day-trips to multi-day excursions in Peru, Argentina and Chile plus an exotic fly-in excursion to Antarctica.
-
You will have two tour extension possibilities if you wish to observe Humboldt penguins. Humboldts are tame unless startled or they perceive their burrow is threatened, making this experience a most memorable part of travel to Peru or Chile. Southern Explorations offers a three-day Peru tour extension to the Paracas Peninsula, an area often compared to the Galapagos Islands. By boat, passengers tour the wildlife-rich Ballestas Islands in the National Paracas Reserve. In June and July, the species comes here to breed. Southern Explorations also offers a day-trip to the Cachagua National Monument on the central Chile coast that includes a visit to observe Humboldt penguins.
-
To observe Magellanic Penguins, there are three tour extensions from which to choose. We offer a four-day Tierra del Fuego excursion that visits a Magellanic rookery on Martillo Island, sometimes also frequented by the Gentoo species. This itinerary comes in two versions, one with more hiking than the other, ideal for the active traveler. Southern Explorations also offers a three-day tour extension to the Valdes Peninsula and Punta Tombo to walk among the penguins, a unique encounter for visitors during their Argentina travel.
-
Two of Southern Explorations’ Chile/Argentina combo trips also give travelers the option of spending a day in the Chiloe archipelago off the coast of Chile, an area inhabited by Humboldts and Magellanics. These are the Patagonia Lake Crossing and Patagonia Lakes & Iguazu Falls trips.
-
Most people choose to make Antarctica their sole destination when planning their trip of a lifetime. For those who wish to see South America during the same vacation, we now offer three Antarctica trip options with streamlined transportation. Ranging from five to eight days, these Antarctica tours may easily be used as a tour extension to Chile tours or travel to Argentina. The trips visit the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands where sub-Antarctic and Antarctic penguin species are found.
-
Give us a call to discuss how best to combine our trips with tour extensions to fit your definition of the trip of a lifetime.
