Discovering the Falkland Islands: Penguins, Wildlife, and Local Life

In episode 107 of the Global Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined by Roxy King-Clark, a seventh-generation Falkland Islander who runs Lupin Tours and shares everyday life on the islands as Roxy in the Falklands.

If your Antarctica cruise calls at Stanley, or you are thinking of flying in, this is the local view of what to expect, from king penguins at Volunteer Point to the colourful houses along Stanley’s seafront.

Tracy stopped in the Falklands on her Antarctica expedition in November 2025 and came away wishing she’d had more time and booked Volunteer Point sooner.

Roxy covers how to spend a day in port, which penguin trips to book well ahead, how to get around outside Stanley, what to pack for four seasons in one day, and flights from the UK and Chile if you are not cruising. If the Falklands are part of a bigger Antarctica trip, start with how to plan an Antarctica expedition cruise and Tracy’s HX Antarctica episode (episode 88).

Grab our free Global Trip Planner workbook if you are starting to plan your own trip, and the Antarctica packing list if the Falklands are a stop on your cruise.

Click the blue button below to listen:

Episode 107 – What you’ll learn in this episode

• Where the Falkland Islands are, what being a British Overseas Territory means day to day, and why the islands are much bigger than most visitors expect (about half the size of Northern Ireland, with around 3,600 people)
• What growing up in Stanley is like for a seventh-generation Falkland Islander, when there is a beach with penguins five minutes from the supermarket
• How Lupin Tours went from a stop-gap idea, live within a week, to a team of 14 guides, and the garden full of lupins behind the name
• When the cruise season runs (October to April, busiest December to March) and why most visitors arrive by ship
• The two ways to fly in if you are not cruising: the twice-weekly flight from the UK with a refuelling stop on Ascension Island, and the Saturday flight from Santiago via Punta Arenas, plus roughly what the UK flight costs
• How to spend one day ashore in Stanley: the walk along Ross Road, the Historic Dockyard Museum, Christ Church Cathedral and the Whalebone Arch, Government House and the monuments along the waterfront
• Why Volunteer Point is the place for king penguins, and why tours there can be booked up a year or more ahead (Tracy left it too late and missed out)
• Which penguin beaches near Stanley you can reach by taxi or the hop-on hop-off bus (Gypsy Cove, York Bay and Rookery Bay), and why most other sites need a tour, as the land is privately owned
• What to pack for four seasons in one day: layers, something windproof and sun cream, as the sun is much stronger than it feels in the wind
• Roxy’s favourite penguins, the southern rockhoppers, and what happens if you get too close to their chicks
• The wildlife beyond penguins, from elephant seals and sea lions to albatross on the outer islands, and the Falkland flightless steamer ducks you can hear along Stanley’s sea wall
• Where to eat and drink in Stanley: the gin distillery by the jetty, Falkland Beerworks, Groovy’s and the Malvina House Hotel, and why the local squid is worth ordering
• How Roxy’s postcard project grew to more than 1,000 handwritten postcards sent to over 40 countries and territories

Links to relevant articles and podcasts

Guest information

• Lupin Tours – Roxy’s tour company, with penguin, wildlife and landscape tours from Stanley
• Roxy in the Falklands – Roxy’s website
• Order a postcard from the Falklands – handwritten by Roxy and posted from Stanley
• Roxy in the Falklands on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube – everyday life on the islands
• Lupin Tours on Facebook – tour news and photos from the season

Mentioned in this episode

• Getting to the Falklands – the Falkland Islands Tourist Board’s guide to the UK and Chile flights
• Volunteer Point – the largest king penguin colony in the islands, where tours book up well ahead
• Historic Dockyard Museum, Stanley – Roxy’s pick for a day in port
• Christ Church Cathedral and the Whalebone Arch, Stanley – the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world, on Ross Road
• Falkland Beerworks – the local brewery, up the hill from the jetty, with a beer garden
• Groovy’s and the Malvina House Hotel – Roxy’s two favourite places to eat in Stanley
• Falklands Conservation – the charity Roxy did conservation work with on Steeple Jason

Podcasts

• Episode 88 – Exploring Antarctica: What It’s Really Like on an HX Expeditions Cruise – the expedition that took Tracy to the Falklands
• Episode 86 – Around the World in 2025: Global Travel Planning’s Year in Review – where Antarctica fitted into our 2025 travel year

Articles

• How to Plan an Antarctica Expedition Cruise: A First-Timer’s Guide – start here if the Falklands are part of an Antarctica trip
• The Best Time to Visit Antarctica and How to Choose Your Expedition – timing and choosing an itinerary
• What to Pack for Antarctica: A Complete Checklist – the layers work for the Falklands too
• Things Nobody Tells You About Visiting Antarctica: Insights From My HX Expedition – what Tracy wishes she had known
• What an Antarctica Expedition Is Really Like – day to day on board and ashore
• Crossing the Drake Passage: What to Expect – the crossing to the Antarctic Peninsula
• 2025 Travel Year in Review [Good, Bad + the Ugly] – including the Falklands stop

Guest Bio – Roxy King-Clark

Loved this episode? Have a question? Get in touch!