Incredible experience - Be sure to go with Piratour they are the only one when you get to go on the island! We were there December21st and there were so many little chicks! Most were just 2 weeks old. Saw Gentoo and Magelllanic Penguins and even 1 King Penguin. This was one of the highlights of a 14 day trip. DONT Miss it!

We made a stop to see the penguins during a boat tour in the Beagle Channel. There were hundreds on the beach, not bothered at all by the boats. We were able to get an up close view and were able to see one "king" penguin.

This is a very long ride in a van from Ushuaia all the way to the Martillo island. Once you get there, you still have to wait for the previous group of 20 people to come back from the island… In other words, you spend a lot of time waiting and riding in a van until you actually board a large zodiac for a short ride across to the island. Overall, it’s still worth it, thanks to the one hour you spend on the island walking among the penguins.

Seeing the penguins for the first time live and in their habitat was just amazing. It took us ages to get there but it was really worth it. We left from the Piratur Office by bus, the drive was rather long and tedious but maybe it was because our guide wasn't really Mr. Friendly, so 2 hours on the bus was a bit long. We then got on a boat and after about 15 minutes we arrived on the island, it was fantastic to see the penguins in their environment, we had to be careful as they were hatching. We stayed on the island for an hour which was actually the right amount of time. Plenty to see. The weather was beautiful, sunny and no wind, which is actually very rare. When we got back to Haberton Ranch we saw the museum which was very interesting but we had to do that in a hurry because it was time to go back to Ushuaia. Do they food and water with you. No restaurant or take away food on Haberton Ranch. Those of us who had food had to eat it on the bus. We really enjoyed it but as I said before the guide is very important.

We have been very lucky to see many things in the world. Our Patagonia trip was also a great experience traveling from Barilochte to Ushuaia capped off by our day trip to Martillo island to walk among the Gentoo and Magellanic penguins. We had seen the worlds smallest penguins in the Galapagos but this was a much more moving experience. It is 7 - 8 hours in total but it is not to be missed if you are in this part of the world.