Hi!
My fiance and I are planning a trip to Argentina for our honeymoon. Our trip so far is shaping up like this:

6 days - Florianapolis, Brazil beach time
3 days - BA
3-4 days - boat fjords cruise??
10 days - patagonia hiking (TdP, FitzRoy, Perito Moreno Glacier and helsingfors estancia)

We are concerned that things are a bit too tight in the Patagonian portion. There are lots of travel books that suggest a boat trip like Australis to experience the fjords and see the penguins, but I can't tell if its a REALLY great thing to do with our time. We would go from Ushuia to Punta Arenas. Any insight as to the value of this trip would be greatly appreciated!! Also, if you experienced that part of the trip in another way that you recommend, we would love to know!

Thanks!

We took the Australis from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas in 2006 - here is a link to our blog - you have to scroll down the page to the Australis portion

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l..._south_/chile/

We really enjoyed ourselves but if you are tight for time (and money) you will be seeing glaciers at TdP. The fjords were lovely and the penguins were very funny but we did find the cruise a little sedentary.

Happy to answer any questions

Thank you! I wish the trip were a bit more active - maybe some kayaking. I was worried that we would be the youngest people on board. I just can't seem to find another way to get in and around the fjords. I hadn't thought about the fact that we would be seeing some of the same scenery in TdP. We have also discussed just going to Ushuia for a few days or trying to squeeze in Salta. So many choices....

Btw- I love all your focus on food in your blog. Right up my alley!

Oh - can I ask which level of the cruise you stayed in? There is a HUGE price jump...

We had the least expensive cabin - the main price difference (other than suites) was location on the ship. But it's so small it really doesn't matter. there is a pic of our cabin on our blog.

How old are you? I was about 48 when we were on it and I certainly felt young!

Thanks! If we go, we will do the cheaper rooms. We are 30. None of the travel books give good other suggestions for an active boat/fjord trip. maybe we should do something else... yikes !

What about going to Torres del Paine from Puerto Natales via cutter and zodiac? You go through the Ultima Esperanza fjord, reaching the Serrano and Balmaceda glaciers. Then you get into zodiacs and head up the Serrano river to the Serrano waterfalls, a short walk and then on to the park administration. This is the most spectacular way to enter the park.

Hello,

Congratualations on your honeymoon! I would say that you will probably get more out of your time its just it will work out to be more expensive, so its a personal preference really! Ushuia is an amazing place and the penguins are incredible!! Make sure you do some Tango, order a "bife de chorizo" at a "parilla" and you'll have a great time!



Thanks!

huentetu - thanks for this suggestion! do you have any idea of how we go about arranging that? seems like we may miss the penguinos which would be a bummer...

bsasexpert - which thing would have us get more out of our time? taking the australis cruise or not? I could not understand...

Turisimo 21 Mayo does the cutter/zodiac, http://www.turismo21demayo.cl/index1.htm
Although you do not get up close to icebergs with the cutter/walk.

There are various kayak opportunities, including on Grey Lake in TdP.

Short cruise to the Glacier Grey in TdP was nice.

You can see the Magellanic pengies out of Punta Arenas at Isla Magdalena (voyage required) or on and at the smaller colony at Seno Otway

http://www.islamagdalena.com/

Be advised that pengies are seasonal creatures

There are tour companies which do it from Puerto Natales. I think our company (a while ago now) was Cascade-Ecocamp or similar. I think we arranged it through Ecocamp. It is really worth the trip and is not really expensive. Try google and I will see if I have a receipt.

missViv - just realized you can see the penguins from Punta Arenas as a day trip - same place we stopped at on the Australis - are you starting your TdP trip from PA?

http://www.aventourpatagonia.com/puntaarenas-en.php

I had posted photos of the Balmaceda/Serrano cruise up Ultima Esperanza Fiord from my January 2009 visit

http://picasaweb.google.com/kiwifann...erranoGlacier#

And the Glacier Grey area

http://picasaweb.google.com/kiwifann...goGreyGlacier#

You can see the cool blue iceberg on Lago Grey

We were very happy and surprised with the roomy accomodation (for a ship) and very nice public areas. The food was not great, but not terrible. I'd never done more than 36 hours on a boat before (in the sounds/fjords of New Zealand), but didn't get stir crazy, except for the final leg, where we just needed to make the last part of the trip. The penguins were plentiful (it may just be luck) as were the seabirds, but we also enjoyed the walks on a couple islands with a guide, looking at plants, and so on, but, yes, I would have loved to do some climbing around. Kayaks would have been terrific, too, though sometimes you are in unprotected, choppy waters. The highlight for us was getting of on Cape Horn. I thought it would be no big deal, but it was terrific. Incredibly windy, fierce waves, nervous guides (you can't always make the landing), a tourist blown into the reservoir - it was great fun.

thank you so much for all of this insight! seems like we will have to fly into El Calafate since we are coming from Florianopolis (going down to Ushuia and doing the boat tour would have worked, but I think we have decided against Cruceros Australis) - flying into Punta Arenas is a huge endeavor. Kind of a bummer... but hopefully we can work out one of these tours to see some penguins and do a boat trip into TdP.

We did the cruise last year. The average age was about 40. I had never been on a cruise so it was exciting from that perspective. Like the response above the last day only has a brief time you leave the ship. Our group was fairly active so rather than the one hour hike, the guide made it a two hour hike. Going around Cape Horn was rough. I and several others were seasick.

I would skip Punta Arenas unless you are going off on an excursion. Punta Arenas is a small dirty town with stray dogs everywhere, and expensive to fly into. On the other hand, Ushuia, although small has charm, has nice places to stay.

Enjoy