Cruise to the end of the world- Argentina and Chile

Welcome to Buenos Aires, Argentina!
Upon arrival, we will be greeted and then transferred by private coach to our hotel to check in.

Overnight in Buenos Aires

Breakfast at the hotel and then this morning we set off on a half-day (4 hr) city tour. Pick up time is 9:00 am
Highlights include Recoleta - Palermo - Plaza de Mayo - Puerto Madero - San Telmo - La Boca.

On an unforgettable route, we will live all the porteño magic. These few hours feature all the magic of Argentina’s capital city. In this most complete overview of the Paris of South America we will visit the glamorous neighbourhoods of Recoleta and its most famous cemetery, Palermo, May Square and the Pink House, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the trendiest Puerto Madero Area and many other emblematic buildings and palaces of unique architectural, historical, and cultural value. The visit would not be complete without the sights of the first settlements of the city of Buenos Aires. The pintoresque neighbourhood of San Telmo, residence to the porteño aristocracy until the end of the XIX century and where the renowned antiques market is held every Sunday; Caminito Street, in the colourful, Italian immigrants neighbourhood of La Boca. Afterwards return to the hotel and the rest of the afternoon is at your leisure.

Tonight group will have a welcome dinner and tango show at Café Angelitos .
This complete tango show covers the history of Buenos Aires
most iconic music from the 1920s to the modern edge of composer Astor Piazzolla, with a cast of twenty dancers and a talented music quintet. To the melody of the piano, the violins and the bandoneón, a delicious three course dinner with wine is served.

After breakfast we transfer from hotel to domestic airport for our flight to Ushuaia
On Arrival transfer from Ushuaia airport to hotel

Later we take a National Park Tour with Train -
Duration: 4 hs approx
Buffet breakfast
Transfer in private service from hotel to domestic airport with guide

Transfer in private service from Ushuaia airport to hotel with guide
One mineral water per pax

Optional: National Park Tour - Fee included - Private service with guide

Duration: 4 hs approx.
Suggested pick up time: from 8 hs
Highlights: National park - Ensenada - Acigami Lake - Lapataia Lake.
Only 12 km west from the southernmost city in the world, you find Tierra del Fuego National Park, the only one in Ushuaia. You will be able to appreciate the varied local flora, including different types of trees, bushes, and flowers, and fauna, including both native and introduced animals, such as Andean foxes, beavers, rabbits, and over 90 bird species. In this half-day tour, you will visit Ensenada, Acigami Lake, and Lapataia Bay, and walk short distances around the lake, beaver dams, and the bay itself, very close to the Chilean border.

Optional: National Park Tour with Train - Fee included - Private service with guide

Duration: 4 hs approx
Suggested pick up time: from 8 hs
Highlights: Ensenada - Acigami Lake - Lapataia Lake - End of the World train
Only 12 km west from the southernmost city in the world, you find Tierra del Fuego National Park, the only one in Ushuaia. You will be able to appreciate the varied local flora, including different types of trees, bushes, and flowers, and fauna, including both native and introduced animals, such as Andean foxes, beavers, rabbits, and over 90 bird species. In this half-day tour, you will visit Ensenada, Acigami Lake, and Lapataia Bay, and walk short distances around the lake, beaver dams, and the bay itself, very close to the Chilean border. From the End of the World Station on the same concrete ramp that prisoners walked on over a century ago, you will be joined by a bilingual guide who will explain in detail the story of the "train of the prisoners". Through Cañadón del Toro, you will cross Pipo river over the Puente Quemado (Burnt Bridge) to observe the re-enactment of a Yamaná Indian settlement, and the footprints left by prisoners on their daily routine of felling trees during almost 50 years of continuous work. The tour will finish at National Park Station.

Overnight at Hotel

After breakfast tour of Fagnano and Escondido Lakes
 *DEPENDING ON EMBARKATION TIME*

Duration: 7 hs approx.

Highlights: Escondido - Fagnano Lakes.
From the Andes to the Patagonian steppe 60 km away from Ushuaia Escondido and Fagnano lakes shine majestically. Fagnano lake is the largest lake in Tierra del Fuego, and one of the largest in South America. You will travel Northeast crossing different Andean mountains until reaching Rancho Hambre. At this point we will travel up a winding road leading to Garibaldi border crossing. Its viewpoint will offer you a unique view surrounded by an unbeatably beautiful landscape. At 430 m above sea level, we will stop to appreciate the stunning beauty of these unique natural treasures. Later we will visit Lago Fagnano, an impressive water mirror worldly known by its fishing. On our way back, we will stop to have lunch (optional).

In time, we will have a private transfer to the cruise terminal. Check in is between 10:00A – 5:00P.
Board the Cruise at 6:00P for our 4 Night Patagonia Explorer Cruise.

After a welcoming toast and introduction of captain and crew, the ship departs for one of the most remote corners of planet Earth. During the night we traverse the Beagle Channel and cross from Argentina into Chilean territorial waters. The lights of Ushuaia disappear as we turn into the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands.

Overnight on Cruise

Around the break of dawn, the cruise crosses Nassau Bay and enters the remote archipelago that comprises Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, we shall go ashore on the windswept island that harbors 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 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the "End of the Earth." The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a light keeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument (currently awaiting repair after being damaged by fierce winds). Sailing back across Nassau Bay, we anchor at 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 mesmerizing 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 our 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 you stroll through an enchanted Magellanic forest of lengas, coigües, canelos and ferns to reach panoramic viewpoints overlooking the bay.

Overnight we continue our Patagonia glacier tour around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and Cockburn Channel. After rounding the remote Brecknock Peninsula, the Australis cruise tacks eastward and enters the Beagle Channel again. By morning we are entering Pia Fjord and boarding the Zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier. After disembarking we take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier. 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 Italian king. In the afternoon and aboard our Zodiac boats, we will sail between high rocky walls until we reach Porter Glacier.

Early in the morning, we will sail through the Cockburn Channel and enter Agostini Sound. From there it is possible to see the glaciers that descend from the middle of the Darwin Mountain Range -- some of them reaching the water. This morning, we will disembark and go for an easy walk around a lagoon, which was formed by the melting of the Águila Glacier. We will reach a spot right in front of that glacier with stunning views. In the afternoon, we will approach the Condor Glacier via Zodiac and hopefully see some of the abundant Andean Condors in the area.

After an overnight cruise through Magdalena Channel and back into the Strait of Magellan, we anchor off Magdalena Island, which lies about halfway between Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean mainland. Crowned by a distinctive lighthouse, the 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, we go ashore and hike a 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. In September and April -- when the penguins dwell elsewhere this excursion is replaced by a ride aboard Zodiacs to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions. After a short cruise south along the strait, disembarkation at Punta Arenas is scheduled for around 11:30 AM. Our Group will then transfer to the airport for flight to Santiago .
"Notes about cruise":
• Camera extension poles are prohibited on Magdalena Island.
• The excursions described in the itineraries can usually be carried out without any problems. Nevertheless, the shipowner holds the right to alter, change or skip certain portions of the itinerary without prior notice, whether motivated by the passengers’ well-being and safety, by the appropriate protection of the environment, or in case of any extraordinary event, unforeseeable circumstance or force majeure. For this reason, departures or arrival may be subject to change. Furthermore, sighting of birds and other species cannot be guaranteed as their exact location is variable by nature.

On arrival transfer to hotel and check in for one night. Included is a three course dinner with a bottle of wine to end the trip

Overnight in Santiago

Breakfast at the hotel and then check out. At the scheduled time, we will be transferred from hotel to the airport to board our flight back home.