There are 18 species of penguins in the world. Smaller penguins generally have quite large populations and are not that difficult to spot. However, the largest penguin species live in Antarctica. Consequently, seeing them without an expedition to the South Pole is quite challenging. But. There is always a “but.” King penguins (the second tallest species) live perfectly well in the south of Chile, and anyone can go see them. We couldn’t resist and organized a tour to see these beauties. Overall, it’s not complicated, but…
Visits are only possible from October to May
In short:
- Travel to the southernmost part of Chile, to Punta Arenas
- Rent a car (yes, you can also go by tour bus) and drive for 2.5 hours
- Then cross the Strait of Magellan by ferry
- Drive for another hour
- And there you are. But you can only access the penguin trail by reservation. We booked 3 months in advance.
- Return journey in reverse order
Yes, it was cool. Yes, I’m very glad we went. 100% recommended. Now, let’s get into the details.
Navigation:
- A bit about penguins
- How to get to Punta Arenas
- How to get to the King Penguin colony
- What else to see in Punta Arenas
A bit about penguins
As I mentioned earlier, there are 18 species of penguins in the world.
The largest is the “Emperor Penguin,” which has colonies exclusively in Antarctica. It is the titan among penguins: up to 120 cm tall and nearly 45 kg of pure charm.
The second largest is the “King Penguin.” It’s slightly smaller than the Emperor, standing about a meter tall and weighing up to 17 kg. These penguins have bright yellow necks and are real beauties. These are the ones you can see near Punta Arenas.
Next after the King penguins is the Gentoo. Males reach a weight of 9 kg, and females about 7.5 kg, with adults standing 75–90 cm tall.
In Chile, specifically in Valparaiso, lives another species—Humboldt penguins. But these are tiny, standing only about 60 cm tall. Even though they live on an island just 10 meters from the shore, they are very hard to see even with binoculars.
The King Penguin
The King penguin colony in Chile was discovered in 2010. This location is considered ideal for them because:
- The area is a natural zone protected from fishing, so there is plenty of food for the penguins.
- A cold current passes through here, bringing lots of fish and nutrients.
In short—there is plenty of food and few dangers. Therefore, the penguins reproduce quickly, and their puberty period has shortened.
How to get there
Punta Arenas is the largest city in southern Chile, with a population of about 120,000. Today, it is an economically and infrastructurally developed regional hub. The city features industrial sectors (including oil and natural gas extraction) as well as tourism. Additionally, Punta Arenas is a key departure point for cruise expeditions to Antarctica.
By Plane
Punta Arenas is served by the Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport (PUQ).
Note that there is no currency exchange at the airport. Also, there is no public transport from the airport, only taxis.
Flights arrive here from Chile’s capital, Santiago. The flight takes about 3.5 hours, and tickets cost around $50.
By Bus
We traveled to Punta Arenas by bus from Puerto Natales after trekking in Torres del Paine National Park.
Several buses run between the cities daily, almost every hour. Of course, it depends on the season—more buses in warm months, fewer in cold ones. Regardless, many locals commute to Punta Arenas for work, so buses are always running.
Travel time: 3 hours
Ticket price: CLP 8,000 / $9
Tickets can be bought in advance.
How to reach the King Penguin Colony from Punta Arenas
To visit the penguin colony, you must reserve a time slot.
This can only be done on the sanctuary’s official website: https://www.pinguinorey.com/
The sanctuary is located about 4 hours away from Punta Arenas.
You can rent a car and drive there yourself, which is what we did. I thought we would stop at various places along the way to take photos of beautiful locations. In reality, we only stopped once near some guanacos; there wasn’t much else interesting or scenic on the way.
Estimated costs:
- Car rental for 1 day: 50 EUR. We rented from Hertz. Everything went well, no hidden fees.
- Gasoline. The price per liter in Chile is CLP 1,500 / $1.60. By the way, there are gas stations in Tierra del Fuego. You don’t need spare cans or anything; all amenities are available. There is a gas station in Tierra del Fuego located here.
This is a gas station near Punta Arenas. Probably the most beautiful gas station ever. A panoramic view of the pampa, where an ostrich was running around while we drank our coffee. - Ferry crossing. The ferry across the Strait of Magellan is located here. The cost is CLP 20,500 / $24 one way PER CAR! Tickets are bought inside the ferry. There are toilets and a cafe (the sausage roll was actually good). If you’re lucky, you might see dolphins, though we didn’t.
Driving onto the ferry. Payment is per car. Inside the ferry, there are toilets and a cafe. - Sanctuary tickets.
Adult entrance: CLP 18,000 / $21
Child entrance (up to 10 years old): Free
Teen entrance (11 to 17 years old): CLP 14,000 / $16
You are only allowed in the sanctuary for one hour, at your strictly reserved time.
There is a ferry from Punta Arenas to Porvenir, but it only runs a few times a week. We didn’t want to risk it and chose the longer route instead. However, when it rains or gets wavy, ferry services are suspended. On our way back, there was light rain and moderate wind by Patagonian standards, but the ferry crossing was closed for several hours. There are no cafes or shops right by the crossing. So, it’s better to bring food and not plan to fly out on the evening of the same day. It’s too risky.
A guide is always nearby to maintain order and answer questions. It’s impossible to see the penguins without the tour, as they are quite far from the perimeter fence. And yes, drones are strictly prohibited as they affect the animals’ behavior.
If you can’t rent a car, you can take a guided tour. The price ends up being roughly the same, but it’s definitely less exhausting.
What else to see in Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas struck us as a rather industrial city, not a tourist one. Given that we only had two nights and one day there, we didn’t see much. But honestly, I didn’t find much else to see anyway.
- On the way into the city, giant white spheres catch the eye. Against the backdrop of nature, they look like UFOs. In reality, it’s much simpler.
These are just antenna radomes, not UFOs. They protect the antennas from the Patagonian wind. - The city cemetery deserves special mention. It’s beautiful, with grand crypts, similar to Recoleta in Buenos Aires but smaller.
- In Punta Arenas, you can visit an island to see Magellanic penguins. There are boat tours to the islands of Marta and Magdalena. It’s a much shorter trip. Magdalena penguins live there—they are smaller and not as striking as the King penguins, but still very cool.
Powered by GetYourGuide
- Punta Arenas has many cafes and restaurants. However, since exchange offices only work from 10 AM to 7 PM, we never managed to change money. This was a real problem. Cards aren’t accepted everywhere, and everyone refused dollars except for one cafe. By the way, it turned out to be excellent. It’s called Cantina de Luna, located right in the center. The prices are relatively low, and they serve the famous Calafate cocktail, which is a signature drink of Patagonia, though I haven’t seen it anywhere else.
Find cheap flights every day HERE
