PATAGONIA FJORD Cruises

PATAGONIA FJORD Cruises

One of the best ways to observe the dramatic scenery, flora and fauna of the Patagonian Fjords is by cruise ship. Excursions take guests off the ship to explore by foot and Zodiac. If you are looking for a voyage that will also offer the comfort of excellent facilities, Stella Australis and Ventus Australis are sophisticated vessels that deliver a comfortable and relaxed stay.  Each ship has a range of cabins types; please call to discuss your plans.

The best place to find out more is on our South America Tailor-Made Travel (a sister company of Luxury & Expedition Cruises) website.  Our expert travel consultants have firsthand experience of Australis ships and will create the perfect Chilean holiday for you and your travel companions.  You will travel on your own itinerary, at your pace, accompanied by private guides and drivers with private, air conditioned vehicles.

We’d love to discuss your plans, please call on 1300 784 794 or email contact@satc.com.au.

Australis ships Ventus & Stella offer two 5 day Patagonia cruise tours.

The first follows the fjords of the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego highlights the stunning, natural beauty of Patagonia and several of its most important historical sites. Whether you are sailing aboard the Australis Cruise, this four-day journey includes visits to wildlife rich Ainsworth Bay, massive Pia Glacier and Glacier Alley, as well as mystical Wulaia Bay and the legendary Cape Horn.

A second adventurous five-day, four-night journeys between Ushuaia (Argentina) to Punta Arenas (Chile) through some of planet’s most remote places and incredible scenery.

Leaving the twinkling lights of Ushuaia behind, the vessel calls on fabled spots like Cape Horn and Wulaia Bay before cruising down the Beagle Channel. Continuing through the maze of islands, we’ll visit a number of glaciers, frozen giants that guard the southern flank of the Fuegian Archipelago, before entering the legendary Strait of Magellan. Last stop is the Isla Magdalena and its boisterous Patagonia penguin colony before docking at Punta Arenas.

Several ships offer longer voyages from Ushauia in Argentina to Valaparaiso in Chile.  They will cruise through the Patagonia fjords visiting the highlights before heading north past Chiloe and onto Valparaiso.

PLEASE NOTE: When you click on the ship name you will be taken to our specialist South America site.

A well known passageway founded in 1616 by Dutch sailors, the famous act of “rounding the horn” is now a part of many Patagonian Fjord cruises. It has become well known as treacherous feat and one famously attempted by many explorers. Cape Horn is the southernmost point of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego, also the tip of the South American Continent, known as the end of the world. Walk in the footsteps of Charles Darwin and his team from the HMS Beagle, who first encountered in 1833 the Southern Wulaia Bay and the indigenous Yámana. At the point of Cape Horn there is now a beautiful monument representing an albatross in flight – a martime symbol of the souls of sailors lost at sea.

For many, a visit to Torres del Paine is described as experiencing one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Towering mountains soar above bright blue icebergs, complex glacial systems, turquoise lakes and icebergs. Golden pampas provide home to the abundance of wildlife among the 227,298 hectares of wild, rugged and beautiful landscapes. Throughout the National Park, there are 15 peaks measuring over 2,000m, the most famous of which being the vertical granite spires that give the park its name, the ‘Towers of Paine’.

Receding glaciers many, many years ago carved what is typically U-shaped valleys what we now know as fjords. The best way to explore these complex coastal systems in Patagonia is by a luxury or expedition cruise. The water provides a fantastic vantage point for weaving your way through the narrow channels and rugged peaks of the Chilean coast.  Many of Chile’s stunning National Parks border the fjord systems making easy access to these stunning landscapes. Many fjords offer access to incredible glaciers, many of which have been proved to be retreating – so there is no better time than now to witness these for yourself. There is no where as impressive as the ‘Glacier Alley’ a channel navigable via boat which home impressive blue glaciers pouring down from the mountains.