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The red-and-white Les Eclaireurs lighthouse on a rocky islet in the Beagle Channel near Ushuaia

Sample journey · 9–11 days

The edge of the world by water: the fjords of Tierra del Fuego

Punta Arenas, the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, Cape Horn & Ushuaia

Photo: Paul Lucyk / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The southern tip of the Americas isn't a single coastline but hundreds of islands, straits and fjords, among which the Cordillera Darwin comes down in glaciers. There are almost no roads here, so the best way to see it is by ship, as Magellan saw it first, then FitzRoy with the young Darwin and, long before them, the Yagán, who paddled these channels by canoe. A small expedition ship sails from Punta Arenas in Chile to Ushuaia in Argentina, stopping each day where there are no harbours: in glacier bays, at islands with penguins and, when the sea allows, on the rock of Cape Horn.

This journey is for people who have already seen Patagonia from the trail, or who would like to see it slowly, without a backpack and without packing up every day. You live aboard for four nights, and landings are made by inflatable boat, so a little agility and a readiness for wind are needed. The voyage is framed by two nights in Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan and a few days in Ushuaia with the Beagle Channel and Tierra del Fuego National Park. The stays range from a historic house in town to a cabin with a window onto a glacier.

The route

The journey

  1. Punta Arenas
  2. The Strait of Magellan
  3. Almirantazgo Sound
  4. Glacier Alley
  5. Cape Horn
  6. Ushuaia & the Beagle Channel
  7. Tierra del Fuego National Park
  1. The colourful rooftops of Punta Arenas and the Strait of Magellan under a cloudy sky

    01Days 1–2 · Punta Arenas

    A city on the strait

    A flight to Punta Arenas, where the wind off the Strait of Magellan greets you at the airport. Two nights in a city that grew rich in the late 19th century on sheep farming and shipping, until the Panama Canal opened: a square with a monument to Magellan, the mansions of the wool barons, and a cemetery of clipped cypress avenues holding the stories of early settlers and of the peoples who lived here before them. On the second day, a half-day by the strait. In spring and summer a boat can take you to Isla Magdalena, where tens of thousands of Magellanic penguins nest, or you can drive to Fuerte Bulnes, Chile's first settlement on the strait. In the evening, Patagonian lamb or king crab, and an early night: tomorrow you go to sea.

  2. Dark open water and a distant island under a cloud-filled sky off Punta Arenas

    02Days 3–4 · The Strait of Magellan & Almirantazgo Sound

    Into the fjords

    On the afternoon of day three you board, sailing in the evening as the lights of Punta Arenas fade slowly astern. Overnight the ship heads south through the Strait of Magellan, among the islands of Tierra del Fuego. In the morning, Almirantazgo Sound and the first landing: by inflatable boat into a bay where a glacier ends and elephant seals sometimes rest on the shore. Naturalist guides lead a short walk through sub-Antarctic forest and meadow, talking about the beavers brought here against their will and about the forest's plants. In the afternoon, by boat to small islets where Magellanic penguins and cormorants nest in spring and summer: there's no going ashore here, and the birds are watched from the water. In the evenings, talks on the region's history, a chart on the table and a long sunset.

  3. 03Day 5 · Glacier Alley

    Ice falling into the sea

    In the morning the ship enters a narrow fjord at whose head a glacier comes down from the Cordillera Darwin to the water's edge. By inflatable boat we approach as far as is safe and land on a shore facing the wall of ice: now and then a section breaks away with a roar, and blue icebergs drift in the bay. It's worth simply standing and listening. In the afternoon the ship turns into the northern arm of the Beagle Channel, known as Glacier Alley, where glacier after glacier, each named after a European country, descends to the channel. Many travellers spend these hours on deck with tea and warm gloves, watching the light change on the ice. Which glaciers and bays are visited is decided each time by the weather and the ice.

  4. A sunlit hill on Cape Horn Island above a restless sea, Chile

    04Days 6–7 · Cape Horn & Wulaia Bay

    Where two oceans meet

    Overnight the ship sails south and, if the sea and wind allow, reaches Cape Horn at dawn: the place where the Atlantic and the Pacific meet over a shallow shelf and where sailing ships foundered for centuries. Ashore, steps climb to a small lighthouse kept by a Chilean Navy family, and to a memorial to seafarers in the shape of an albatross. A landing isn't always possible: sometimes the Horn is seen from the deck, which is striking in its own way. In the afternoon, quiet Wulaia Bay, once the site of a Yagán settlement and where the Beagle called with Darwin in 1833. A short walk up a hill with a view over the channels, and the story of the people who lived here for thousands of years. On the morning of day seven the ship sails into Ushuaia.

  5. The harbour of Ushuaia and freshly snow-dusted mountains in early-morning light

    05Days 7–8 · Ushuaia & the Beagle Channel

    A town between mountains and channel

    Ushuaia is tucked between the Beagle Channel and the snowy Martial mountains. Three nights here at an easy pace: on the first day, the old prison, now a maritime museum that tells the story of the town's beginnings, and a slow lunch by the harbour. On the second, back on the water, this time on a small boat along the Beagle Channel: past the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse and rocks where sea lions often haul out and cormorants nest, to Isla Martillo, where Magellanic penguins, and sometimes gentoos, breed from spring into autumn. Anyone wanting to stretch their legs can climb to the Martial glacier above town or walk to Laguna Esmeralda in a valley outside it, an easy if sometimes muddy hike through forest and peat bog.

  6. A snowy mountain and islands across the Beagle Channel, seen from the start of the coastal trail in Tierra del Fuego National Park

    06Days 9–10 · Tierra del Fuego National Park

    The end of the road

    The last day is for Tierra del Fuego National Park, only half an hour from town. The coastal trail follows the Beagle Channel through southern beech forest, past coves with shingle beaches and old Yagán shell middens left by camps thousands of years old. The path is calm and not long, leaving time to stop and look across the channel to the islands of Chile. The day ends at Lapataia Bay, where Route 3, which begins thousands of kilometres to the north, comes to an end. In the evening, a last dinner looking over the channel, and in the morning a flight home via Buenos Aires. With more time, one extra day in Ushuaia lets you slow down and leaves room for the weather.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    A glacier up close

    A landing at the head of a fjord where a wall of ice comes down to the water.

  2. 02

    Cape Horn

    A lighthouse and an albatross memorial on the legendary rock, when the sea allows.

  3. 03

    Glacier Alley

    An afternoon on deck as glacier after glacier slips past.

  4. 04

    The Beagle Channel

    A lighthouse, sea lions and a penguin island close to Ushuaia.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • In the other direction

    Ships also sail from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas, so the journey can begin in Argentina and end in Chile, with Torres del Paine added on.

  • For a honeymoon

    A cabin with a larger window, a quieter stay above Ushuaia with a view of the channel and free mornings after the voyage.

  • By season

    In spring (October–November) there are fewer travellers and more snow on the peaks, in summer the longest days and the most penguins, and in autumn (March–April) the forests turn red.

  • With the mountains or Antarctica

    Before the voyage, a few days in Torres del Paine or at the Perito Moreno Glacier; after it, Ushuaia is the gateway for journeys on to Antarctica.

Practical considerations

  • Expedition ships on this route usually sail from roughly September to April. The weather is changeable at any time of year: wind, rain and sun often take turns within an hour.
  • Landings, especially at Cape Horn, always depend on weather and sea; the captain adjusts the route each day, so we can't promise specific places.
  • Landings by inflatable boat need a little agility; waterproofs, warm layers and sturdy boots are essential even in summer.
  • The journey crosses the border between Chile and Argentina; before you travel, we check the latest travel advice and both countries' entry requirements.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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