3-Day Whale Watching in Tierra del Fuego

You’ll be picked up bright and early from your hotel this morning and taken to the embarkation point to begin today’s sailing through Tierra del Fuego’s canals and fjords.

Your destination is Carlos III Island, located close to Francisco Coloano Marine Park. Sailing for nine hours, you’ll pass a number of historic locations from Chile’s maritime history, including Cabo Froward, Fort Bulnes, Bahía el Águila, San Isidro lighthouse and Mount Tarn.

Make sure to have your cameras ready around 6:30 pm, when you’ll reach an optimum location for whale-watching. Depending on weather conditions, you’ll arrive at Carlos III Island around 7:30 pm. Here, at the scientific field station, you’ll hear from researchers and marine biologists before having dinner and settling into your cozy dome accommodation for the night.

After breakfast at the eco camp it’s time to set sail for the Francisco Coloano Marine Park. Full of glaciers, shard-like fjords and strong winds, this marine reserve marks the union of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and provides the sheltered waters and food necessary to house and protect a great diversity of marine fauna, sea and land birds.

A biologist will accompany you on this journey, pointing out markings and identification techniques specific to this area’s wildlife. Watch out for penguins, albatrosses, skuas, giant petrels, sea lions, and of course, Humpback whales. After lunch you’ll visit the untouched Santa Ines Glacier, part of Santa Ines Island whose fjords and extensive vegetation provide Humpback whales, leopard seals, cormorants and albatross with a safe, pristine place to call home.

This morning you’ll sail around Rupert Island and have the chance to see fur seals, sea lions and sea birds. However, the most memorable sighting of the day will be the bustling nesting colony of Magellanic penguins that live on the island. These dapper, social little penguins (the largest of the Spheniscus genus including Galapagos, Humboldt and African penguins) are an absolute delight to see as they waddle, preen and interact; completely disinterested in the gasps of delight they cause their human visitors.

We strongly advise you booking an additional night in Punta Arenas as the tour will end quite late.