Adventure Travel
There is only one company that has a permit to go on Martillo Island, while all the other tours take people to shoot photos from a boat. The company that has the permit is Pira Tour. We paid $165 usd (2018) and it was so worth it!!! If you don’t do anything else while in Ushuaia, please don’t miss this experience! When I did this is 2012, the cost was $100 and you were able to drive yourself to Harberton where the water shuttle takes you to the island. Now, Pira Tours will take you from Ushuaia.
The tour includes a visit to the Acatushin Museum where they do research on whale bones and have a nice display and examples. for the full experience, walk out to the curing hut. It’s a smell you will never forget. After the tour of the museum, you board a small boat that takes about 20 people to Martillo Island which is a rookery for Magellanic Penguins. You get to spend about one hour on the rookery. You are permitted to walk around the island along makeshift paths marked off with rope. While you cannot touch the penguins, the penguins wander about and intermingle with people on the path occasionally. In January, the adult penguins are tending to their offspring. They typically have two young and you can see their dependence and obedience to the parent. The route your are permitted to travel has greatly changed since 2012. There are more restrictions and you cannot travel across the island like you could in 2012.
The island also hosts a colony of Gentoo Penguins. Gentoo Penguins are playful and mischievous as we observed some interesting antics by these beautiful penguins.
Keep an eye out for the Great Skua that is constantly on the hunt to snatch up a young penguin. The adult penguins will defend their nest with threatening postures as seen in the photos.
Pira Tours in located on the pier at San Martín 847 (9410) Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. You must purchase a ticket before going to the island. They also have a full day option where they take you to Harberton by boat from Ushuaia. If they drive you it is more of a half day tour.
Nothing beats seeing wildlife in the wild