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Where to see penguins in the wild

Penguins turn up on far more coastlines than most people expect. These are the wild colonies and reserves where you can reliably watch them — sorted by the ocean that carries them there.

The map

Penguin colonies around the world

Reserves, beaches and remote islands where penguins come ashore — each with the species to look for and the best season to go.

Phillip Island · AustraliaLittle penguins crossing the beach at dusk on Phillip Island
Victoria, Australia

Phillip Island Penguin Parade

On the Summerland Peninsula, rafts of little penguins ride the surf ashore at dusk and cross the beach to their burrows — the most dependable wild penguin spectacle on earth, watched from boardwalks and tiered viewing stands.

Species
Little penguin
Season
Year-round, at dusk
Access
Boardwalk viewing
Nearest
Cowes / Melbourne
Read the guide
South AfricaAfrican penguins among the granite boulders of Boulders Beach
Simon's Town, Western Cape

Boulders Beach

A colony of African penguins nests among granite boulders on a sheltered Cape beach, wandering between sunbathers and boardwalks within a protected section of Table Mountain National Park.

Species
African penguin
Season
Year-round
Best
Feb–Aug moult & breed
Nearest
Cape Town
Read the guide
ArgentinaMagellanic penguins across the scrub at Punta Tombo
Chubut, Patagonia

Punta Tombo

One of the largest penguin colonies on earth — hundreds of thousands of Magellanic penguins nest in burrows across the Patagonian scrub, with marked trails winding between them.

Species
Magellanic
Season
Sep–Apr
Peak
Nov–Jan chicks
Nearest
Trelew
Read the guide
EcuadorA Galápagos penguin on black lava at the water's edge
Isabela & Fernandina

Galápagos Islands

The only place to watch a penguin on the equator. Galápagos penguins fish the cool upwellings and rest on black lava shores, often seen while snorkelling off Bartolomé and Isabela.

Species
Galápagos
Season
Year-round
Best
Jul–Nov cool season
Access
Guided tours
Read the guide
South AtlanticKing and gentoo penguins on a Falkland Islands beach
Sea Lion & Saunders Islands

Falkland Islands

Five penguin species share these windswept islands — king, gentoo, Magellanic, southern rockhopper and the occasional macaroni — on white-sand beaches and tussac slopes.

Species
Five species
Season
Oct–Mar
Peak
Dec–Feb
Access
Island lodges
Read the guide
South GeorgiaA vast king penguin colony on a sub-antarctic beach
Sub-antarctic

St Andrews Bay

A quarter of a million king penguins gather on a single glacial beach — a sensory overload of sound and movement, reached on sub-antarctic expedition voyages.

Species
King penguin
Season
Nov–Mar
Access
Expedition ship
Nearest
Via Ushuaia
Read the guide
Antarctic PeninsulaAdélie penguins on the Antarctic ice
Weddell & Gerlache

Antarctic colonies

Gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins throng rocky points along the peninsula each summer, with emperor colonies further south — the heartland of the polar penguins.

Species
Four species
Season
Nov–Feb
Access
Expedition ship
Nearest
Via Ushuaia
Read the guide
New ZealandLittle penguins coming ashore at the Oamaru breakwater
South Island

Oamaru & Otago

Little blue penguins come ashore at the Oamaru breakwater each evening, while the rare yellow-eyed penguin can be watched from hides along the Otago Peninsula.

Species
Little & yellow-eyed
Season
Year-round
Best
Nov–Feb
Nearest
Dunedin
Read the guide
AustraliaLittle penguins on the St Kilda breakwater at dusk
Melbourne, Victoria

St Kilda Breakwater

A wild little-penguin colony lives on the breakwater a short tram ride from central Melbourne — proof that penguins share the shoreline with a major city.

Species
Little penguin
Season
Year-round
Best
Dusk
Nearest
Melbourne
Read the guide
PeruHumboldt penguins on the rocky Ballestas Islands
Paracas, Ica

Ballestas Islands

Humboldt penguins breed on these guano islands off the Paracas coast, seen on boat tours alongside sea lions and seabirds in the rich Humboldt Current.

Species
Humboldt
Season
Year-round
Best
Apr–Nov
Access
Boat tour
Read the guide
Meet the birds

Know who you are watching

Eighteen species of penguin share these shores. Learn to tell them apart before you go.

Explore the species
A mixed colony of penguins on a wild shore