Martillo Island: Boat Trip to the Penguin Colony & Beagle Channel
Description
Visit one of the biggest penguin colonies in the world and learn more about this incredibly social animal during a 5-hour tour. Take a boat trip to the penguin colony, accompanied by a professional local guide, and discover the city's highlights from the river while navigating on the Beagle Channel towards the Penguin Colony. Learn more about this animals and get as close as possible to them, listen to your guides recommendations and get some historical facts about Ushuaia.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The tour starts at the Canoeros box office located at the Touristic Port of Ushuaia. Here, you will receive all the indications to board the Catamaran
As we move away from the coast, you will see the incredible panoramic views of the entire city and its most important buildings, plus a combination of sea and mountains , highlighting the Montes Olivia, Cinco Hermanos, las Fique and Tunnel Estancias and the Encajonado River .
You will sail around the Isla de los Pájaros where you will see the birds of Tierra del Fuego watching Skuas, Black-browed Albatrosses, Steam Ducks, Cauquenes, Cook Seagulls and Gray Seagulls; and of the Isla de los Lobos where we can observe sea lions with one and two hairs. Both islands belong to the Bridges archipelago.
The ship heads to center of the Beagle Channel, to the southwest, reaching Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. When arriving at the Lighthouse Les Eclaireurs you will be able to appreciate the colonies of Imperial Cormorants and Rocky Cormorants; and also listen to the story of the collapse of the SS Monte Cervantes, which he starred in in 1930.
Continuing, we will navegate towards the East enjoying the wonderful landscapes of the channel and the mountains that surround it. From the Argentinian coast we will see Puerto Almanza and on the Chilean coast the Puerto Williams Naval Base, and then we will see the Isla Martillo. We will stop to observe from the Catamaran the colony of Magellanic Penguins that nest during the summer season.
At the end of the journey, you will be amazed by the view of the mountain range that surrounds the city of Ushuaia and the sumptuous nature that surrounds it.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Not suitable for cruise passengers
- It does not include walking among the penguins.
- For bromatological reasons it is forbidden to enter the catamaran with external foodstuffs.
Reviews(115)
It was comfortable boat trip for a few hours in the afternoon. Very good catering at the boat. The penguins are so lovely. We had 30min to observe them from the boat.
The Beagle Channel is stunningly beautiful and we enjoyed the scenery immensely. The island with the sea lions and cormorants is very interesting and the Fin Del Mundo lighthouse is very picturesque. But if you are going on the penguin to see the penguins, choose someone else. When our boat approached the island to see the penguins, there were 2 other boats there already. Our boat headed for a small group of penguins. They waddled away and stopped about 50 meters from our boat. The other boats - which were the same size as our boat, and directly across from other penguins on the beach - left. Our boat made no effort to get closer to penguins. When I asked if they were going to, tour staff said our boat was too big to get near the penguins. But the boats that left were as big as ours. Whether our boat was too big, or the tour staff didn’t want to move, being so far from the penguins was unacceptable. All the other boats got a much closer look at the penguins than we did. And this tour was very expensive. We knew we would not be able to walk on the island, but we expected and deserved a lot better than seeing them from A distance, especially given the exorbitant price we paid for this trip. My recommendation is to take a penguin cruise on the Beagle Channel, but use some other operator than Canoero Catamaranes.
So glad we did the longer and more expensive trip to the penguin colony. The scenery was amazing throughout, and we saw so many birds, sea lions and of course penguins. Getting only a few metres away from them was really special. The boat was comfortable, had reasonably priced good and drink onboard. Lovely friendly knowledgable guides and staff.
Excellent 5 hour tour of the Beagle Canal and Oenguin Island, the staff was fluent in English. Remember Penguins make people happy !
What a fun experience. We saw many different types of whales, sea lions, many different types of birds (including Magellenic, Gentoo penguins of course), etc. The captain did a great job at positioning the boat to see the animals but it didn’t feel like we were being overly aggressive / invading their territory. I also appreciated the guide’s information - so knowledgeable and provided all of the information in Spanish and English which was an impressive feat (learned so much). He did a great job at rotating people so everyone could enjoy the penguins. It was a great experience. I would definitely do it again if I have the fortune of returning to Ushuaia!
Superb Excursion on board a comfortable catamaran. Nice service. numerous stops lighthouse, island birds, penguins 👍 perfect timing, the captain leaves us all the time needed for photos. Had the chance to see the whales.Very nice experience in Ushuaia, to do!
Wonderful. Exactly as it was promised. We saw a lot of penguins, very up close. In addition to the penguins (<3), there were sea lions, cormorans, and other species. All very close. The ride was very pleasant, the catamaran is very comfortable, and the staff was really nice. The guide talked about every site we passed, giving very interesting insights. The food onboard was good enough
⸻ We went on a large, very comfortable catamaran carrying around 200–300 people. The journey out to Isla Martillo was calm and incredibly scenic. Along the way, we saw sea lions, Imperial cormorants, and a stunning lighthouse standing proudly against the landscape. One of the absolute highlights was spotting about eight sei whales — such an unforgettable sight! When we arrived at the penguin rookery, we were delighted to see both Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. They were absolutely gorgeous. The rookery was huge, and we were able to spend at least 45 minutes observing their behaviour up close, which made the experience even more special. The trip out and back was smooth, the scenery was breathtaking, and the entire day was simply beautiful. I highly recommend this tour.
An excellent and well organised tour. The boat was comfortable and it was great to see the penguins. But the team pulled out all the stops and span the boat around when a whale was spotted. They also ensured all sides of the boat got to see the wildlife. A great afternoon.
An unforgettable tour on a super comfortable catamaran that has a snack bar with various snack options and two bathrooms. The boat arrives very close to the island where the cormorans are, the lighthouse, where the sea lions are also, and finally, Martillo Island, where the penguins are.
