USHUAIA, ARGENTINA
Ushuaia is known to most as the “End of the World” and is the gateway to Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego region! It is a town built for tourism and if you visit during the summer (December-February), the daily sunlight is incredible! In January, the sun rose at 5:00am and didn’t set until 10:30pm. Talk about good sun! Most travelers spend their time in this area hiking and exploring the surrounding water. This is the closest many people ever get to setting foot on Antarctica!
Attractions:
Beagle Channel: There are many different tour options to sail the channel lasting anywhere from 2.5-8 hours. In my opinion, the best option is the 4.5-hour cruise from 9:00am-1:30pm; this tour costs 12,300 ARS ($50 USD). Tickets can be purchased in person at the harbor and do not need to be bought in advance. I like this option because it does not take up your full day and also allows you to see all of the most important and beautiful attractions in the channel. The longer cruises solely allow for more time in the open water; they do not offer any additional stops. The stops worth prioritizing are: Penguin Rookery (Isla Mirtillo), Les Éclaireurs Lighthouse, Sea Lion Island (Isla de los Lobos), and Bird Island (Isla de los Pájaros). My favorite part of the cruise was floating within 10 feet of Penguin Rookery to see hundreds of penguins waddling around in their natural habitat! On most tours (including the one recommended above), you cannot get off the boat to interact and walk with the penguins, but if that is something you want to do, book through Piratour. For more cruise information, visit the Ministry of Tourism Center or check out their website!
Laguna Esmeralda: This hike takes 4-5 hours and requires hailing a taxi from town to get to the trailhead. Drivers will request 12,000 ARS ($49 USD) round-trip to sit at the start and wait for you to finish the hike. The first half of this trek is well-marked, but the back half is harder to follow. Be prepared to get muddy, this hike is known for being messy! To stay as clean as possible, stay along the river. The view at the end makes it worth all the mud!
Hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park: The two most popular hikes are Senda Costera (3-5 hours) and Cerro Guanaco (4-6 hours). For trail information, read through this park map. Both are accessible by tourist bus (2,700 ARS round-trip) or taxi (roughly 3,600 ARS round-trip). Buses to the national park depart hourly from Ushuaia, but be mindful that the last bus back to town leaves the park at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased through your hostel or at the Ministry of Tourism Center.
Hike to Glaciar Martial: This 2-4 hour round-trip hike is a great option if you don’t have a lot of spare time. To get here, take a 15-minute taxi from town for 1,200 ARS ($5 USD) to the base of the hike. Over the course of the trek, you will get terrific views of the city and Beagle Channel. Apart from the taxi, this hike is free!
Tren del Fin del Mundo: This 2-hour train ride gives listeners a history of the prison and park via audio guide. Tickets cost 6,300 ARS ($26 USD) plus an additional 1,560 ARS ($7 USD) for the national park entrance fee. Given the information provided over the headset and the slow, monotonous train ride, you are better off skipping this and doing a hike instead.
Other attractions include: Cabo San Pablo, Maritime & Prison Museum, and Glaciar Vinciguerra.
Accommodation:
Hostel Cruz del Sur: Given Ushuaia’s size, hostel options are fairly limited. For the price I paid, I found this hostel to be clean and convenient. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi only worked in one room though and there were strangely specific rules around where you could and could not leave your shoes. That being said, I had a pleasant stay and think you will, too.
Transportation:
Ushuaia’s main bus station is Terminal de Ómnibus de Ushuaia; all buses below leave from here.
Puerto Natales, Chile is 15 hours from Ushuaia (indirect; via Punta Arenas) and costs 6,200 ARS ($39 USD). There are no direct flights between these two cities, but you can fly indirectly through Buenos Aires. There are also no border crossing fees for this journey.
El Calafate is 17 hours by bus from Ushuaia (indirect; via Rio Gallegos) and costs 15,080 ARS ($62 USD). The flight is 1.5 hours and costs 18,500-30,000 ARS ($105-$165 USD).
El Chaltén is 20 hours by bus from Ushuaia (indirect; via El Calafate and Rio Gallegos) and costs 18,280 ARS ($76 USD). The best route would be to fly from Ushuaia to Calafate and then bus to El Chaltén.
Buenos Aires is 48 hours by bus from Ushuaia (indirect; via Rio Gallegos) and costs 45,500 ARS ($189 USD). The flight is 3.5 hours and costs 15,000-30,000 ARS ($61-$122 USD).
Malvinas Argentinas Ushuaia International Airport (USH) is 4km (2.5 miles) from the city center and accessible via taxi. The ride is 10 minutes and costs 1,200 ARS ($5 USD).
There are no direct, international flights in or out of Ushuaia; all flights connect in either Buenos Aires or El Calafate.
