The Beagle Channel is a unique feature in the Ushuaia region. It is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. There are small islands that fall within this channel, a haven for local wildlife. Tour groups will help you get on the Channel and experience that wildlife for yourself.
Beagle Channel Tour Options
If you want to do a tour in the Beagle Channel, there are three different tour options available to you. They depend on the length of time you have available to you and what you want to see when you are in Ushuaia. They also range in time spent on the water, which could greatly impact your experience if you do not do well with boats.
Visiting the Penguinera by Boat
Trip Length: 6 hours
Your first option will be to visit a small island with a large penguin colony on it. These penguins are Magellanic penguins and use this island yearly for breeding. In addition, you may get the opportunity to walk among the penguins. You get to see these penguins, one of the southernmost lighthouses, an island with sea lions and unique birds, and islands with unique fauna. For this option, you will be doing the round trip by boat. Avoid this tour if you easily get seasick as weather conditions change rapidly in the channel.
Visiting the Penguinera by Bus
Trip Length: 9 hours
This option is very similar to the first option, but one leg of your trip will be by bus, either to the penguin island or returning from it. While your time on the boat is half of the first option, it is still a lengthy time period because you will also visit a local estancia. Here, you will learn about the local native populations and later ranchers who populate the land.
The Lobos Tour
Trip Length: 4 hours
The final option excludes the visit to the penguin island. It only includes the lighthouse, the island with sealions and birds, and a short walk on an island in the channel. For this option, the entire trip is done by boat, but it is the shortest of the options. If you have had the chance to visit other penguin breeding areas in the world, this might be the best option for you. This was the tour that we opted for. We had already visited a penguinera in Punto Tombo (you can read about that here) and we liked the option of a half-day tour.
Beagle Channel Boat Options
There are three different boat options for your excursion. Each boat does each of the tour options so it really is a personal preference on your comfort level and how intimate you want to get with the wildlife in the area. It’s also important to consider the weather that you may face when booking your boat excursion. I will talk below about how to book your boat. When going through the different boats, I will start with the largest option.
Large Catamaran
These large vessels are great for people who may be more susceptible to being seasick. These large boats hold many people. As a result, you may not be able to get an intimate experience with the animals. You will not be able to get as close to landmasses as other boats. These boats will be the least expensive option.
Midsize Yachts
These aren’t the luxury vehicles you might be thinking of. They fit up to 30 people and, as a result, allow for a more intimate experience. They are still able to battle the windy weather you might face in the channel. These boats allow you to get relatively close to the islands and will even be able to dock so you can walk on some islands. This is the option that we opted for. We wanted an intimate experience without being too close to the water.
Smaller Boats
This will be the most intimate and expensive option in the channel. These boats fit from 8-16 people and are more of an adventurous option. With these boats, you will get right onto the shore of the penguin island and as close as possible to some other locations. Because they are small, they might be the rockiest option, especially with some windy conditions that are common to the channel.
How to Book the Beagle Channel Boat Tours
While you can book these tours prior to your arrival online, it is recommended to wait until you get to Ushuaia to book your boat, especially if you have a few days in town. You will get the best price in person and you will be able to evaluate every option prior to booking. In addition, the weather in Ushuaia changes very quickly and these companies are tracking it closely. They will tell you the best day and time to take the tour, with the smallest chance of cancelation.
There is one area (located here) where all the different companies have kiosks that show you their offerings and options. Go directly to these kiosks to learn about their availability and pricing. They are open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. We booked our tour three days early and there was availability with every tour group.
Our Beagle Channel Tour Experience
We ultimately booked our tour with Patagonia Adventure Explorer. They provide the Lobos tour on two yachts twice a day, once at 10 am and once at 3 pm. Based on the recommendation of the tour group employee, we chose the morning option.
We arrived at 9:30 AM and were split into our group. The tour was led by Maria and had a captain and a deck hand to help with the boat operations. This post is both informational for you and true praise for this team who masterfully navigated us through the Beagle Channel. The tour interspersed knowledge about what we were seeing with the history of the region. We learned about the flora and fauna that we were observing. But we also learned how the native populations also interacted with that flora and fauna.
The first destination was an island inhabited by sealions and cormorants (not penguins) that can both swim and fly.
The next stop was the iconic lighthouse (Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse) of the Beagle Channel (misconceived to be the southernmost lighthouse in the world).
After this stop, the team had set up coffee and hot chocolate for us to enjoy while we went to the last island for a small hike. However, the wind had a different idea for us and the water suddenly got incredibly choppy. Our captain, who had experience sailing in Cape Horn, masterfully navigated the water and got us to Bridges Island with no issues and very little seasickness.
On Bridges Island, Maria guided us to the peak where we had incredible views of the mountains surrounding us, we could smell the beautiful combination of mountain and sea air, and we could feel the power of the wind in this part of the world.
Finally, we got back on the boat to return to the dock. We were extremely happy for the length of our tour, the size of our boat, and the quality of the experience. We highly recommend this experience, especially with Patagonia Adventure Explorer.
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Hi! We Are Kevin and Melina!
We are Kevin and Melina, two avid travelers who have decided to take our hobby of traveling into our new lifestyle.
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