Falkland Islands

Holidays in the Falkland Islands

Forget what you may have heard, forget the war and forget the bleak images broadcast in the 80s, the Falklands are a wildlife holiday heaven; crystal clear air, haunting landscapes, phosphorescent night skies and wildlife to rival Galapagos.

The rock-strewn beaches and rugged cliffs are teeming with bird and marine life, untroubled by curious crowds. It’s no wonder the islands have starred in more than one Attenborough film; this isolated landscape offers the chance for the kind of wildlife encounters many dream of but few ever get to experience.

Wildlife highlights of the Falkland Islands

Penguins

The absence of visitors have made the hundreds of thousands of island penguins amazingly unwary: you can get right up close to comic, tiny and inquisitive Gentoo colonies, leaping and preening Rockhopper families, bizarre burrowing Jackass penguins and the noble King Penguins in black tie, huddled on egg duty or marching in procession towards the ocean.

Black Browed Albatross

With soft white swan-like feathers and an enormous wing span of up to 2.5 metres, the gentle Black Browed Albatross are the real wildlife treasure of The Falklands. Rarely seen outside these islands - which boast at least 80% of the world’s nesting population – they glide along the cliff tops in silent, effortless and graceful flight, sometimes coming so close as to brush your hair with the tips of their wings.

Seal life

Beautiful, playful, largely docile and naturally affectionate, seals are soulful creatures that only come to the land in order to breed. On wind swept beaches all over the islands you can see thousands of gigantic elephant seals, sea lions and fur seals flip on the sand, nurse their young and dive in and out of the ocean. A true wildlife holiday highlight.

Little Britain

Elsewhere on the island, you can take a break from outdoor adventure to enjoy a good old British cup of tea. The capital Stanley is British through and through; they drive on the left and use the pound. Georgian red pillar boxes and red phone booths abound and everyone knows who you are before you’ve said a word. You can also see the largest number of visible shipwrecks on the planet in the harbour here.

Trips to the Falklands

Hundreds of miles from anywhere, most people take a wildlife holiday in the Falklands as part of an organised tour. We stop here on a selection of our Antarctic itineraries.