Piratour — Local services in Ushuaia

Wow! This was one of the best experiences in all our decades of travel. The tour was well organized and our guides (Ari and Pablo) and bus driver Beto were on point.

We did the 2:30-9:30pm tour. We had great weather. The large comfortable bus took us on a 2hr scenic journey to the boat docks located on a beautiful farm. During the drive Ari and Pablo gave some interesting history, pointed out sights along the way and explained what animals we would see and the rules to follow. Upon arrival at the farm, we were split into two groups with the first group immediately hoping on the boat to the island while the other group enjoyed some free time at the cafe or to take in the scenery of the farm.

Each group had 1hr on the island to walk amongst the penguins. We were in the second group and had great photos of the penguins with the sun just starting to set and cast an amazing backdrop of colors. You have to maintain a distance of 9ft from the penguins which is really hard to do because the penguins are SO close and some are very curious. We were lucky with a large group of sea lions as well as the two species of penguins.

After the island tours we went to the museum as one group where the volunteers did an incredible job of explaining all of the animal skeletons found in the local area. We are not "museum people" but they really made it as interesting and educational as possible and just the right duration. We were dropped back in Ushuaia on time at 9:30 pm.

Again, the guides were awesome! The tour and experience was incredible! We are so glad that we picked the tour that allowed walking ON the island. The tour that just stops for pictures (no disembarking) were surely jealous of us.

Some reviews express concern about tourist negatively impacting the animals by walking on the island. While I understand the concern, I didn't feel like we were intruding or distributing them at all. I guess the penguins are used to humans now which many people consider a negative impact. However, I think it's important to educate people about our environmental impact and let them experience nature up close to better appreciate our symbiotic relationship. The guides were VERY strict about the rules and kept a close eye on every tourist the entire time

For us the high price of the tour was worth it. People complain that it’s a long journey for “just 1 hour” with the penguins. Yes, it’s a 7hr tour. But, 1hr with the penguins and sea lions was worth the bus ride and the price for a once in a...

Wow wow wow! Piratour's Penguin Rookery Tour is a must-book excursion in Ushuaia.

We reached out to the company via their WhatsApp in December 2023 and had no issues with the booking process whatsoever. We asked clarifying questions about the 90,000 Argentinian Peso/person price we saw online versus the quoted price of $120 US Dollar/person via WhatsApp. The differences, we were told, were due to whether or not you pay in card or cash, and whether or not you want to book ahea/reserve a spot for a specific day. We felt they provided transparency about our options and, after having gone on the excursion, believe this excursion is worth every penny. As for tour start times, we were not given options for the specific day we requested but this wasn't an issue for us.

The excursion itself was an incredible experience. We left promptly at the designated time in a minivan and took approx. 1.5 hours to get to the Harberton Ranch. During the ride, our guide, Pablo, provided interesting information about Ushuaia and the landscapes we saw. From Haberton Ranch, we took a short 15 min boat ride. Next thing we knew, we were standing on the shores of Isla Martillo staring at the many nesting, fighting, swimming, and resting penguins. We were able to see three species of penguins, and a mix of both adults and babies (

You've already read how amazing it is to walk among the Penguins and see their nests. I'm sharing some of the practical experience: It is true, Piratour is the only group allowed on this private island because of a pre-existing arrangement with the Ranch that owns this island. The island is not public property. We got to make fun of people who showed up on boats trying to get close, it was part of the jokes our guide made while we were there.

The tour is not everyday, year round. Write them early via email with dates and hope for an opening. If this tour is on your bucket list, you may need to book your interbinary around this. We wrote 8 weeks prior to travel and tour was already all BOOKED. Luckily there were last minute cancellations and they fit us in. The tour is limited to 20 people on the island at one time as to not scare the penguins. In our case, being polite and constantly writing every couple of weeks probably helped us get the spots.

Booking for us was all done by email, directly with Piratour. Scary because I wasn't sure about paying cash by Paypal and sending my passport info (everyone in the group) by email, but that's how things are done down here. Even hotels need all these info. I was just not used to this.

On the day of the tour, we showed up to their small booth at the harbor, checked in and got a neck lanyard. The way to the ranch is done by bus which took about 90 minutes. The ranch itself was pretty amazing. There is a cafeteria for 1/2 the group to wait while the first 20 people went to the island for their one hour walk. Meaning if you got to go to the cafeteria, you got about one hour to kill before your turn. Return trip was a bit longer because the bus had to travel in pitch black road.

Our guide was funny. Spoke English well. He is generally pretty low key about the group not being clustered as we were told prior. We definitely had some stragglers who just can't keep up.

The penguins themselves are surprisingly docile and loved to watch us as we watched them. Some ran across our group fearlessly.

Consider the total cost of traveling, the tour is...