Patagonia Wildlife Safari Reviews

4.6 Rating 11 Reviews

Oct 26 - Nov 8, 2025 | Patagonia birding & wildlife tour: beginning in Buenos Aires, Argentina and venturing to Torres del Paine National Park, we will encounter a diversity of wildlife. Witness Southern Right Whales and Elephant Seals in Peninsula Valdes. Further south we will find King, Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins in the straights of Tierra del Fuego. We will also look for pumas, guanacos, rheas, and condors in their natural habitat while soaking in the grandeur of Torres del Paine.

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“Adventuresome, mind-blowing, gorgeous, lots of action; dream destination. Chose EET from many companies offering this kind of tour; everything right up my alley. I will remember this trip my whole life. Just superb!”

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Posted 2 years ago

Mr John Rowland - Tynedale Rugby Club

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“Not a wildlife safari just a box ticking exercise for hard core birders. Very poor value for money with guides that only cater for dedicated birders.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi John, sorry to hear that this tour did not meet your expectations. We do try to set expectations with our "featured wildlife" list and previous year's species lists on the website page. We're happy to hear that on your trip you saw southern right whales, elephant seals, armadillos, over 11 pumas and many fantastic birds.

Posted 6 months ago

“Excellent tour including Valdes Penninsula and Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) as well as national parks in Chile including Torres del Paine.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“Starting in Buenos Aires, which is lush, the trip took us southward to Trelew, a subdesert environment, and then to Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, with mountains and tundra. We drove through to Chile, to see the magnificent mountains in Torres del Paine. It was quite the experience, seeing so many birds, plus sea lions, pumas, guanaco and other animals. The food and wine were an experience that needs to be had. I totally recommend this trip for anyone wanting to experience something different.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“This a great tour if you want to see the birds and mammals of Argentina & Chile!”

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Posted 4 years ago

Peter Taylor

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“This was my third tour with Eagle-Eye, having previously traveled with them in Thailand and on the trio of Australian tours, and all are among the most memorable vacations of my life. The start to this tour in Buenos Aires, with two extra nights booked at Hotel 474 before the pre-tour began, was a relaxing opportunity to recover from the flight, see a few city sights (lots to see within walking distance), and exercise my 12 words of Spanish. The Pre-Tour to Iguazu Falls was excellent, with Steve Ogle in charge of our group of six. Steve's knowledge extends far beyond birds and other wildlife to include mastery of the Spanish language, general knowledge of South America, and Smartphone-assisted organizational skills that assured a steady supply of food and birds. He seems to know every restaurant and empanada outlet in both Argentina and Chile (and Colombia too, I gather). Accommodation at Iguazu was excellent, the Falls were extraordinary (with a decent amount of walking among the ever-changing vistas) and the birding was first-rate. A few of the highlights at or near Iguazu were Chestnut-eared Aracari, Blond-crested Woodpecker, Buff-bellied Puffbird, and the iconic Great Dusky Swifts. A full-day side trip to Urugua-i Provincial Park brought great views of Black-fronted Piping-Guans, a most obliging and active Surucua Trogon, and more subtle pleasures such as several Sharp-tailed Streamcreepers, all enough to offset the annoyance of sweat-loving bees - enticed by our group of sweaty jungle hikers! Tropical rains on the last day added to the mystique of a tour of lower-level trails at the Falls. Back in Buenos Aires, we met the rest of our group, now a total of 10 for the main tour, plus Steve's co-leader Paul Prior, and we all enjoyed an evening of birding in the Costanera Sur wetland reserve, getting to know each other and a host of South American waterfowl and other goodies. Paul's sharp birding skills and affable nature were further assets to the group. Next morning saw us flying south to Trelew, then directly to the immense Magellanic Penguin colony at Punta Tombo (which also produced our first skuas, giant-petrels, steamer-ducks, sierra-finches, Guanacos, and more) before doubling back north through Trelew, past the imposing, life-size Patagotitan dinosaur replica and on to Puerto Madryn for the first of three nights at Peninsula Valdez. Here on the peninsula, the main highlights were mammal spectacles - Southern Elephant Seals, Southern Right Whales, and South American Sea Lions - but also seabird highlights such as our first Snowy Sheathbills. Two nights in Puerto Madryn bracketed one at the whale-watching centre of Puerto Piramides, where we also had a memorable morning walk in the Patagonian wind on the sandy plateau above the little port. Back in Puerto Madryn, the Fiesta Nacional del Cordero (Lamb Festival) provided a change of pace for a couple of hours. En route to Trelew airport next day, we had another healthy dose of waterfowl at Laguna Chiquichano, a large urban park blessedly free of Mallards and Canada Geese, but teeming with Coscoroba Swans, all manner of ducks, and some most approachable Chilean Flamingos. From Trelew, a further flight south brought us to Ushuaia, from where we drove and hiked to the snowline at Glacier Martial and saw Ochre-naped and Dark-faced Ground-Tyrants pretending to be wheatears, with spectacular views of the Beagle Channel. There was smooth sailing for us in a twin-hulled vessel next day on the channel, en route to Estancia [Ranch] Harberton and its extraordinary whale museum, as well as a side trip to an island colony of Gentoo as well as Magellanic Penguins, along with numerous Upland Geese. The speedy return to Ushuaia was by comfortable coach. The following morning in Tierra del Fuego National Park, we saw our first high-soaring Andean Condors, a pair of Magellanic Woodpeckers (same genus as the legendary Ivory-billed), a handsome Ashy-headed Goose, several Black-faced Ibises, and a pair of Austral Pygmy-Owls being mobbed by swallows and other small birds. We spent one more night in Ushuaia, followed by a long drive north through the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego, punctuated with well-timed empanadas, and taking in the Costa Atlantica Red Knot reserve, which also featured large flocks of Hudsonian Godwits at the southern extremity of their migration. After a leisurely border crossing into Chile, Steve managed to squeeze an unexpected extra highlight into our itinerary with a visit to the Pinguino Rey (King Penguin) reserve on the shore of Bahia Inutil (Useless Bay) - certinly not useless to birders! While I enjoyed all of our accommodation and meals on this tour, I think the Hosteria Tunkelen, a country establishment where we spent the night surrounded by open, short-grass pampas, was my favourite. Our first full day in Chile included a brief but eventful ferry-ride across Magellan Strait with bow-riding Commerson Dolphins, and a hike among the volcanic mysteries of Pali Aike National Park, then a long drive to Puerto Natales. A late-morning departure from Puerto Natales gave time to enjoy Black-necked Swans along the waterfront, and the journey to our last major destination, Torres del Paine, included a stop to visit the immense Milodon Cave. The stunning island location of Hotel Pehoe, with its rustic, wind-blown footbridge access, was unforgettable. But even more so were the seven Pumas that we saw on our first evening drive - four half-grown kittens, their mother, a second female nearby (auntie, cousin, or big sister?), and finally at last light a big, world-weary old male. And the landscape - the geologically recent plutonic outburst of Torres del Paine, always veiled by ever-shifting cloud formations, defies description. This was the setting for our last few days of some of the freshest air ever breathed. After the tour ended at Punta Arenas, and with time to spare at a hotel near Santiago Airport, I was most fortunate when two fellow birders from our tour invited me to join them for a bonus day of birding up to 3000 m in the Andes, which they had arranged in advance with a local guide. This made me wonder whether Eagle-Eye might consider offering an optional post-tour for two or three days out of Santiago and/or Valparaiso. All this seems far away in the new age of Covid-19, and I think of all those who helped us along the way - the many excellent drivers, local guides, airline crews, hotel and restaurant staff, souvenir vendors, as well as our Eagle-Eye leaders - all of whom must be anxiously waiting for some kind of normalcy to return.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Eagle-Eye's tour of Patagonia was so well organised by Steve Ogle that we saw a huge range of birds and other wildlife, in a variety of habitats. Examples: 3 species of penguin, whales up close, Commerson's dolphins, as well as so many beautiful birds, and the amazing pumas. The scenery was also spectacular. Unforgettable, special experience.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“There are few places remaining that are as remote and beautiful as Patagonia. Steve Ogle is a wonderful, considerate guide who knows the region intimately and puts tremendous effort into showcasing its unique landscapes and wildlife for participants. I absolutely loved Pali Aike NP. Being alone in this moonscape environment was so worth the long drive (just our group and the Guanacos). The boat trip into the Beagle Channel was excellent.”

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Posted 4 years ago