Cruise

Cape Horn & Glaciers Cruise

4.5/5 From 75 Reviews
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Voyage north from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas on a small-ship expedition cruise and experience the incredible wildlife, fascinating history and breathtaking scenery of Tierra del Fuego. Visit historic Wulaia Bay, walk among thousands of Magellanic penguins and experience some of the planet’s most remote fjords and glaciers.

Trip Summary

  1. Step off at Cape Horn, a fabled maritime landmark at the end of the earth.
  2. Sail through the stunning Beagle Channel. 
  3. Witness the awe-inspiring Pia Glacier.
  4. Ride zodiacs to Águila and Cóndor Glaciers.
  5. Walk with penguins on Magdalena Island.

Trip Overview

Location
Tierra del Fuego
Difficulty
Trip length
5 Days
Trip type
Cruise

From

$3,175 - $6,927

Operator's Itinerary

Board your ship at Ushuaia’s pier in the afternoon and set sail southwards this evening, across the Beagle Channel and into Chilean waters. During dinner, you’ll meet your ship’s staff and expedition team, as you embark on the trip of a lifetime on some of the world’s most remote waterways.

The lights of Ushuaia disappear as you turn into the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands and head due south, en route to Cape Horn for tomorrow’s first landing.

After dinner, you might like to enjoy the open bar featuring stunning panoramic windows for you to appreciate the breathtaking landscapes at 'the end of the world'. All drinks (alcoholic or not), are included on this voyage.

You're unlikely to spot any other cruise ships during your time aboard, given that very few operators have permission to sail in these magnificent waters.

Meals: Dinner

Around dawn today, the cruise crosses Nassau Bay and enters the remote archipelago that comprises Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, you'll go ashore on the windswept island that harbours the legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition - and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland - Cape Horn is a sheer 425m-high (1,394ft) rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage and is the world’s southernmost national park.

For many years this was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic and was often referred to as the 'End of the Earth'. In 2005 UNESCO declared the park a World Biosphere Reserve and the Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lighthouse keeper and his family. The tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument are also located here. If you land here today, you will get a chance to explore this small, iconic, island on foot.

Sailing back north across Nassau Bay, you'll anchor at the fabled Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s during their voyages on HMS Beagle.

This area is also renowned for its stunning beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the museum in the old radio station - which is especially strong on the Yámana people and European missionaries in the area - passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooded mountain behind the bay. On all of these hikes, you'll stroll through an endemic Magellanic forest of Southern beech trees, winter's bark and verdant ferns to reach amazing panoramic viewpoints overlooking the bay. Your expedition guides will accompany you and impart their knowledge, insight and passion for the region’s history and wildlife.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Overnight you’ll be sailing westwards through the sheltered waters of the Beagle Channel and by morning the ship will enter the magnificent Pia Fjord - one of the most beautiful stretches of water in the entire region.

Two immense glaciers slide into the seawater with verdant forests encroaching as the ice recedes. Once anchored in this magnificent aquatic and mountainous amphitheatre, you’ll disembark by small zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier. You'll take a short hike to a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea. There is also the option of a longer, much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier.

Both options are detailed by the expedition staff before disembarking, so each guest can analyse and choose which hike they’d like to take. On both options, your expedition staff will guide you for the duration of the excursion and import valuable information about the glaciers, geography and wildlife in this region.

No one knows for certain how the hulking mass of snow and ice got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the King of Italy, but standing in front of this magnificent wall of ice as it calves off into the surrounding waters is a truly regal experience.

You’ll return to the ship for lunch, and in the afternoon take to the zodiacs once more to the frigid waters of the Porter Glacier. You’ll be in your zodiac for about an hour, so wrap up warm, as you get a remarkable sense of scale as you approach this 2.5km-wide (1.5 miles) tongue of ice that meanders its way from the peaks of the Darwin Mountain Range into the waters of the bay.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Early in the morning, you'll sail through the Cockburn Channel and enter Agostini Sound. From there it is possible to see the glaciers that descend from the centre of the Darwin Mountain Range, some of them reaching the water - truly a sight worth getting up early for.

Later in the morning, you’ll disembark for a relatively easy 2km walk (1.5 miles) along the beach and lagoon which was formed by the melting of the Águila Glacier. You’ll eventually reach a spot right in front of the beautiful glacier with truly stunning views. Your guide may take you into the verdant forest in order to explain how the forest grows in these latitudes before you return to the landing site and board the zodiac back to your ship.

After lunch and a short sailing, you’ll approach another one of the region's impactful glaciers, Cóndor Glacier, by zodiac and hopefully see some of the abundant Andean condors in the area. Your guide will get you as close to the glacier as is safe and give explanations to help you understand how these magnificent blocks of ice are formed and eventually disappear.

All members of the expedition team are specially trained to interpret the flora and fauna of the region. They are seasoned travellers, local residents, and many participate in the scientific enhancement of knowledge of the region’s biodiversity. They will hugely enrich your learning experience.

Return to the ship for your final dinner, accompanied by the captain, as your ship sails northwards and enters the famous Strait of Magellan.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After an overnight cruise through the Magdalena Channel and back into the Strait of Magellan, you'll anchor off Magdalena Island* which lies about halfway between the island of Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean mainland. Crowned by a distinctive lighthouse, the nowadays protected island used to be an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers and is inhabited by an immense colony of Magellanic penguins.

At the break of dawn, weather permitting, you will go ashore and hike an easy circular path that leads through thousands of penguins to a small museum lodged inside the vintage 1902 lighthouse. Many other bird species are also found on the island. It's a fitting finale to your expedition cruise as you get the opportunity to see the nesting Magellanic penguins from close proximity.

Finally, after a short cruise south along the strait, disembarkation at Punta Arenas is scheduled for about 12:30pm (weather permitting). Here you’ll say farewell to your travel companions and expedition staff and continue your adventure into Chilean Patagonia.

Meals: Breakfast

Please note: in September and April this excursion is replaced by a ride aboard zodiacs to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions. Camera extension poles are prohibited on Magdalena Island.


Please note that the same route can be taken in the opposite direction – see full details.

Start from Ushuaia and end at Punta Arenas

Landmarks visited on Cape Horn & Glaciers Cruise

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Cape Horn & Glaciers Cruise

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What our customers think of Cape Horn & Glaciers Cruise

The cruise was a wonderful chance to experience Cape Horn and the glaciers, lands and waters of Tierra del Fuego. Opportunities to get on land and walk around were most appreciated when available.

Travelled: March 2024

Mary Dolan - USA

An outstanding experience. The boat was luxurious. The food delicious. All the staff - superb. The expeditions very day were wonderful. We had fun with the other people on our table and enjoyed meeting other guests. The lectures and other onboard activities were interesting.

Travelled: February 2023

Jacqueline Heywood - UK

All of the cruise was memorable, particularly the storm around Cape Horn with 100mph+ winds and 6 meter waves. The glaciers and scenery, were truly spectacular. It was good to be in a relatively small group of people.

Travelled: January 2023

Joy Soar - UK

Interesting and active cruise in an area with exotic and vulnerable nature.

Travelled: January 2023

Petter Finn Holland - Norway

Unique, unique, unique. We were super lucky to have great weather the entire cruise. We never missed a stop and even did some 'extra' cruising because the weather was so calm.

Travelled: December 2022

Kathryn Lowell - USA

We were able to get off the boat at Cape Horn! The food was great. The service was great. The guides were all knowledgeable and friendly. A couple of the people in our group said these were the most comfortable beds of the trip! The boat was smooth, no rocking. We liked the smaller ship. We always saw familiar faces and there was more interaction than on the huge cruise ships we have been on before. All of the hikes were very doable and fun. We saw so many glaciers! We laughed a lot on the cruise.

Travelled: December 2022

Brad Anderson - USA

Staff, excursions, food, drink, and facilities all first rate.

Travelled: December 2022

Charles Hyatt - USA

The relaxed atmosphere, the scenery and the helpfulness of the crew. I had a bad knee for the whole of the holiday (really bad) but they were so helpful and insisted I got off the boat for each trip and then provided me with a personal guide who then helped me walk as much as I was able so as not to miss out.

Travelled: November 2022

Peter Williams - UK

The Australis is well-run and enjoyable. There was no one highlight – Cape Horn, the fiords, the penguins, and so on. The wild and beautiful mountains and glaciers were amazing to see.

Travelled: March 2019

Barry Fields - United States Of America

Everything was a highlight: walking around Cape Horn, seeing the glaciers up close, going on hikes, seeing the penguins, the guides' knowledge and ability to explain things well, the food, the organization on the ship, the staff. The zodiac excursions were great and they did a good job of getting us on and off. All the guides were top-notch.

Travelled: February 2019

Mary Lou Bell - United States Of America

The Cape Horn landing was the highlight for me.....and all those steep stairs which I slowly made it up, despite having bronchitis. We also won the auction at the Captain's dinner for the navigational map of the Cape Horn landing... a thrill.

Travelled: December 2018

Diana Wood - United States Of America

The trip was well worth the expense as it was well organized, experience-rich, very safe, run by superb and knowledgeable staff and chock-full of epic scenery. I loved not only what I saw, but also what I learned. The emphasis on new knowledge about the environment was much appreciated.

Travelled: April 2018

Angie Littlefield - Canada

The daily Zodiac excursions were the highlight of the cruise. The staff was always very knowledgeable and helpful. They were fun to be around, but clearly kept everyone's safety in mind.

Travelled: March 2018

Shawn Underwood - United States Of America

The scenery was amazing. The guides provided insight to the fauna and flora of the area. Walking with the penguins was a real treat. Visiting the colony of Magellanic penguins was definitely a highlight of the cruise. Traveling in the Strait of Magellan was a surreal moment.

Travelled: November 2017

Ed Eargle - United States Of America

Review:

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