The 15 Best Penguin Tours in Chile

1.Walk with Penguins on Magdalena & Marta Island

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 611 reviews · 5 hours · from $150Our pick

Walk among Magellanic penguins, watch sea lions, and cruise the Strait of Magellan from Punta Arenas on this wildlife-filled half-day tour.

“We loved our experience! Sebastian was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable :) Getting to watch the sunrise from the top of the boat and see the sea lions on Isla Marta was very cool. Seeing the penguins up close was AMAZING and being able to have a hot drink after the walk was much appreciated. The transport worked smoothly and everyone knew what they were doing. It’s expensive but so is the public ferry to the island. It’s definitely worth doing the tour and we’d recommend it to others!”

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2.Full-Day Whales, Penguins, and Glaciers Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 325 reviews · 14 hours · from $365

Spend 14 hours from Punta Arenas seeking humpback whales, penguins, glaciers, dolphins, and sea lions in the Strait of Magellan.

“Wonderful experience, the boat was super comfortable with heating on. The food was okay. The experience and the views are just incredible!”

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3.Full Day Tierra del Fuego & King Penguins

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 179 reviews · 15 hours · from $110

Review the 15-hour Punta Arenas King Penguin tour, with ferry views, Tierra del Fuego scenery, costs, stops, and practical advice.

“The King Penguins were amazing to see and up fairly close to the viewing area. Katherine our guide was lovely, as was Robert, our driver.”

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4.Navigation Magdalena Island and Marta

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 164 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $140

Review of Punta Arenas’ Magdalena and Marta Islands tour, with penguins, sea lions, boat details, timing, value, and practical tips.

“Absolutely fantastic. Amazing experience. Well worth the trip. The excursion company - friendly but not over the top. Professional and well organized. We loved this experience.”

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5.Walk alongside Penguins on Magdalene Island and navigate Marta Island

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 116 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $140

Walk among 50,000 Magellanic penguins, circle Marta Island, and spot sea lions, birds, dolphins, and possible whales from Punta Arenas.

“Great trip for my family and specifically for my daughter who had the chance to see penguins first hand. We recommend it!”

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6.Shore Excursion: Magellan Penguins Natural Reserve in Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 114 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $190

See Magellanic penguins, sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds on a weather-dependent Magdalena Island excursion from Punta Arenas.

“Showed up at providers office and manager connected me with a younger lady to lead me to the bus to the boat. After 5 blocks we arrived at area with all spanish speaking people. We asked the lady if this was the penguin cruise and she said it was a free walking tour in Spanish. We hustled back to the office and a younger lady at counter said the boat had already left. We were unhappy and after 5 minutes an elderly man came out and said we should just wait. Fortunately another couple ran a half hour late and we were driven a half an hour to the boat.…”

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7.Magdalena Island Penguin Tour by Boat from Punta Arenas

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 107 reviews · 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $160

See thousands of Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island, cruise the Strait of Magellan, and look for dolphins, sea lions, and seals.

“Penguin are ok, tour operator is MUST AVOID ON ALL COSTS! First of all they changed our tour time last minute and stated that because of the weather. All our future plans was broken because of that. What was the surprise when we find out that there was actually a tour on time we booked, so this tour operator just decided to move our time for their needs and lie to us Organization is awful - you will constantly wait for something and loose your time because of their disorganization At the end they stoped responding to our messages and refused to refund our tour. Moreover we found out that…”

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8.Magdalena Island Navigation & Penguin Walk

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 73 reviews · 5 hours · from $209

Walk with Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island from Punta Arenas, with bilingual guides, boat views, and practical port advice.

“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.”

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9.King Penguin Nature Reserve – Tierra del Fuego Island

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 73 reviews · 14 hours (approx.) · from $148

Review of Punta Arenas’ King Penguin Nature Reserve tour, with ferry logistics, costs, wildlife, weather tips, and honest advice on value.

“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.”

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10.King Penguin Park and Tierra del Fuego Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 67 reviews · 14 hours · from $180

Review of Punta Arenas’ 14-hour Tierra del Fuego trip, including the King Penguin Park, ferries, Porvenir, costs, and practical tips.

“Look ima be honest, the main activity that is the penguin reserve is 1.5 hour, there’s no need to wander around in a bus all day, just take me to the penguins and that’s it, this tour was unnecessarily long.”

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11.Magdalena Island Penguin Tour by Boat from Punta Arenas

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 62 reviews · 5 hours · from $160

Cruise the Strait of Magellan from Punta Arenas to Magdalena Island, home to thousands of Magellanic penguins, on this five-hour wildlife tour.

“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!!”

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12.Fr VALPO: WILD PENGUINS, SEALION, SANDBOARD, PARAGLIDING & PICNIC

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 57 reviews · 7 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $250Top rated

Explore penguins, sea lions, sand dunes, coastal towns, Chilean food, and optional paragliding on a full-day Valparaíso adventure.

“Wildlife on steroids…penguins, sea lions, dolphins and more. Jimmy put together a wonderful program for us with tons of wildlife, awesome food, and great conversation about life in Chile. On top of all that, there were opportunities to sand board and parasail! What a wonderful, truly memorable day!”

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13.King Penguin & Tierra del Fuego Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 51 reviews · 14 hours (approx.) · from $154

Review of Punta Arenas’ King Penguin and Tierra del Fuego tour, with ferry times, costs, penguin viewing, food tips, and honest value advice.

“If you love penguins I would recommend this! But it’s about 8 hours of travelling round trip. It was a really long day of sitting in a car to see the penguins for 45 minutes. Our tour guide, Paula, was very knowledgeable. The tour was a lot of money considering it does not include lunch and entrance into the penguin park. Also if you get motion sick I recommend brining anti nausea medication for the roads on the island.”

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14.Penguin Watching Navigation Cachagua Lunch From STGO Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 7 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $398

See Humboldt penguins from Cachagua Island, enjoy Chilean empanadas, and explore Viña del Mar and Valparaiso on a private day trip from Santiago.

“Really nice day out from Santiago to see the penguins, pacific coastline and Valparaiso. Terry was an excellent guide.”

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15.Fr STGO: WILD PENGUINS, SEALION, SANDBOARD, PARAGLIDING & PICNIC

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 9 to 13 hours (approx.) · from $300

See penguins, sea lions, Concon dunes, Chilean food, wine, and optional paragliding on a long, lively day from Santiago.

“Our guide had to improvise a bit because a road (Hi 68) to sand boarding was closed for a holy day on December 8, 2023 for a pilgrimage to a church, so he filled it with a visit to the Alpacas instead, which was delightful. He made our lunch and we ate by the shore of the paragliding facility. I was cold and he talked to the owner, who sold me an amazing jacket for very little money that I wear all the time now that has the Chilean Paragliding logo on it. The penguin boat ride was a little chili but well worth it to see the Penguin Island.…”

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