When one plans a trip or vacation in Ushuaia and begins to investigate what can be done in the southernmost city in the world, outstanding options appear within the national park and sailing on the Beagle Channel.
When choosing which boat tour to buy you may get a nervous breakdown because there are many options available for sale and it is very difficult to know which one to book because it is not easy to know well what the difference is between all of them.
This article comes to bring a possibility of help in that regard.
What do all the rides have in common?
The most important thing is to know that all the tourist tours available from the pier in the port of Ushuaia have part of the journey in common since they visit some of the most interesting attractions of the canal, namely:
The island of birds
The island of wolves
The Lighthouse les Eclaireurs
All three attractions are viewed from the boat regardless of the choice of selected boat tour with no possibility of getting off those islands.
Brief description of each:
The island of birds is a small stone islet full of different varieties of birds in which Cormorants, Petreles, Seagulls, albatrosses and penguins stand out (depending on the time of year) that can be enjoyed from the deck of the boat.
The Isla de lobos is also a small rocky island that one surrounds with the boat where you can see sea lions resting on the stones in the sun and some seabirds.
The Les Eclaireurs lighthouse (the explorers- translated into Spanish) is located on another small island. It is an iconic symbol of Ushuaia and is part of the best-selling postcards to tourists. The contrast generated by its white and red colors in the middle of the dark sea that surrounds it is very nice. Some people call it the lighthouse at the end of the world when in reality it is not, since there are others further south.
Brief overview of available boat trips
The most outstanding boat excursions are:
It is the cheapest and shortest ride. It goes out twice a day in the morning and in the afternoon. Exclusive visit of the canal and the three main attractions.
The tour lasts 4 hours and can be done in the morning or afternoon. To the three attractions included by all the visits is added Isla Martillo, which is the place to see penguins in the season that runs from October to April. (The sighting is done from the boat since it does not include getting off and walking on the island)
In addition to the lighthouse and the island of birds, change the island of Lobos for the island Alice where there are also one-haired and two-haired sea lions. 4-hour walk with departure twice a day. The key to this option is that they are small groups on a smaller boat, allowing you to position yourself better to take photos on deck. Includes hot drinks and a snack on board. The highlight is a walk on Bridge Island where you will find a wide variety of birds and marine fauna as well as typical flora of the region. Here you can see where the Yamanas who were the original people who lived there until the arrival of the colonizers lived.
Full day tour (9 hours) that visits the lighthouse, the islands of wolves and birds and also the hammer island to see from the boat penguins. After navigation, it disembarks at the Harberton Ranch and it is traveled to know how it is a rural stay in Tierra del Fuego. Includes visit to the museum. There are replicas of the Yamanas boats and houses to understand how the first settlers lived there just over a hundred years ago.
If one can pay for it by far the best boat excursion in Ushuaia. In addition to the visit to all the landmarks of the Beagle Channel, the experience is crowned with a 1-hour walk in a small group among the penguins on Martillo Island where it disembarks (the only tour that descends on this island so full of life) and also It also includes a visit to the Harberton ranch. From my perspective the best tour since the walk between penguins is tremendous. Take the full day (9 hours)
I hope the article has been helpful.
If anyone wants us to organize a complete tailor-made trip in Ushuaia, you can contact us.