Patagonia Cruises

One of the most popular Patagonia cruises is exploring the island of Tierra del Fuego between Ushuaia (Argentina) and Punta Arenas (Chile). The biggest attraction here is the chance to visit the almost legendary Cape Horn – a place that once struck fear into every sailor's heart.

Cape Horn cruises offer so much more than visiting this isolated speck at the bottom of the world however. Vast glaciers are a major highlight, including the breath-taking Pia Glacier that feeds down from the mountains into an icy lagoon. Here and elsewhere on the cruise there are opportunities for zodiac cruises among bobbing ice, or landings for hiking through forests to dramatic viewpoints.

As well as cruising through Glacier Alley in the Beagle Channel to follow the route of Charles Darwin's famous voyage of discovery, ships visit other historic sites such as Wulaia Bay with its fascinating museum on the region's original Yamana inhabitants.

Tierra del Fuego also offers plenty of opportunities for wildlife watching. Places like the Tucker Islets and Magdalena Island are home to colonies of Magellanic penguins, along with plenty of other birdlife and sightings of dolphins, South American fur seals and Southern elephant seals.

Chile’s immensely long and mountainous coastline offers two excellent cruising locations: the Northern and Southern Fjords.

Exploring the Northern Fjords gives a brilliant mix of landscapes, culture and wildlife. The ship explores the last outposts of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field as it tumbles down into the sea, with its most spectacular terminus being the mind-bogglingly huge San Rafael Glacier, whose surroundings have been designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

Closer to the cruise’s home port of Puerto Montt, the ship calls in at several points along the island of Chiloé as well as the Llanquihue, Chonos and Aysen archipelagos. In Chiloé there is the opportunity to hike through temperate rainforest, visit traditional fishing villages and historic wooden churches. On the mainland of Chile, remote landings include bathing in the thermal springs at Quitralco.

The birdwatching on this cruise is superb, from seabirds along the coast to hummingbirds in the forests – and not forgetting Magellanic penguins in the Queilen Channel off Chiloé. With luck, there is even the possibility of seeing blue whales in the Corcovado Gulf when they visit between December and April.

The Southern Chilean Fjords present a dramatically craggier and icier landscape compared to their northern counterparts. Everyone is utterly captivated by the breathtaking spectacle of glaciers on display. Cruises navigating these fjords witness the awe-inspiring experience of glaciers calving, where colossal chunks of ice break off and plunge into the sea, forming magnificent icebergs.

These cruises provide daily opportunities for landings at secluded locations, nature hikes that bring you close enough to actually touch the icy faces of these ancient glaciers and you can keep an eye out for diverse wildlife, including the possibility of spotting elephant seals, playful dolphins, and many bird species. These cruises embark and disembark in the rustic port city of Puerto Natales.

End to End Cruises allow you to explore Patagonia's long coast as Darwin once did but with much more comfortable, in fact luxurious, mothership. Zoom in zodiacs to rarely visited glaciers to watch them calve, discover small isolated communities better accessible by sea and marvel at the incredible coastline changes. Remote Patagonia has never been so convenient.

Patagona’s cruising season runs from the start of October through to the end of March. Departures are sometimes available at the end of September or beginning of March, but the weather tends to be sharper with some attractions not on offer (for example, Magellanic penguins will be at sea during these dates instead of in their colonies).

If seeing wildlife is a particular focus for you, see our Wildlife Cruises page for a more detailed breakdown of some of the species you can see while on the different itineraries, as well as shorter whale-watching trips.

All the cruise itineraries are five days/four nights, with the exception of the Northern Chilean Fjords route, which is six days/five nights on board. All meals, drinks and excursions are included in the price of the cruises.

The majority of guests on Cape Horn cruises tend to be international travellers, and guides speak English as well as Spanish. Guests on the Fjords cruises are more of a mix of domestic and international tourists, giving passengers a fantastic slice of Chilean culture along with the scenery. Guides may speak English as well as Spanish, but English audio translations during activities means you’ll never miss out.

Four purpose-built cruise ships operate in Patagonia: two each on the Cape Horn route, and two in the Chilean Fjords. All are small enough to penetrate deep into fjords but with high quality service and plenty of space to offer a fine home for several nights at sea.

Sister ships Ventus Australis and Stella Australis sail in either direction between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas to Cape Horn and the Beagle Channel. Both carry a maximum of 210 passengers in five classes of cabin. 

Skorpios II and Skorpios III operate the routes through the Northern and Southern Chilean Fjords from Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales respectively. Skorpios II carries 106 passengers, while Skorpios III carries just 90. 

With cruise itineraries coming in at just four or five nights, there are plenty of opportunities to build out your voyage as part of a larger Patagonia voyage.

For those sailing to Cape Horn, there are plenty of remote treks to do in Tierra del Fuego, but the cruise termini of Ushuaia and Punta Arenas also connect well to the wider region. From Ushuaia there are direct flights to El Calafate, the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park, as well as to Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires.

Punta Arenas can also be reached easily overland from Puerto Natales, the port for cruises in the Southern Chilean Fjords. For those wanting to explore Torres del Paine National Park, Puerto Natales is a major entry point. As well as flights to the Chilean capital Santiago, Punta Arenas is also connected by air to Puerto Montt, the port for Northern Chilean Fjords cruises as well as the main airport to reach the Chilean Lake District. Coyhaique (Balmaceda) in Aysen also has flights to and from Punta Arenas.