Every Antarctica voyage begins in South America, and the cities at either end are well worth your time. Tango and steak in Buenos Aires, mountains and the Beagle Channel in Ushuaia, Andean views in Santiago and the Strait of Magellan at Punta Arenas.
Almost every Antarctica cruise begins in South America, and on many your fare includes a hotel night in a capital city and a flight down to the port. Here are the cities you are likely to pass through, using the HX voyages from 2026/27 to 2028/29 as the example.
Buenos Aires, Ushuaia and back to Buenos Aires by sea. The Northbound voyage starts the same way but sails home via the Falklands and Puerto Madryn, right into Buenos Aires (or Montevideo in 2029).
Valparaíso to Ushuaia. The Antarctica & Patagonia Expedition, new for October 2027, boards in Valparaíso, sails south through the Chilean fjords to Antarctica and finishes in Ushuaia, with a flight to Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires to Punta Arenas.Life Returns boards in Buenos Aires and finishes in Punta Arenas, with a flight to Santiago.
Santiago to Buenos Aires. The Punta Arenas to Buenos Aires voyage starts in Santiago, flies to Punta Arenas and sails all the way to Buenos Aires via Puerto Madryn.
International flights from the UK are not included, and we would always suggest arriving at least a day before the included hotel night. It is a long way to come, connections in South America are not always punctual, and the charter flight to the ship will not wait for a late arrival. An extra day or two also lets you enjoy the city with your body clock back in order. We can book the extra nights for you.
Argentina
Buenos Aires
Start of most Antarctica voyages
The Argentine capital is a big, warm, sociable city of grand avenues and leafy squares, often compared to Paris or Madrid. Start at the Plaza de Mayo, with the pink Casa Rosada presidential palace, then wander south into San Telmo, with its cobbled streets, antique shops and Sunday street market. La Boca, the old port district, is famous for the brightly painted houses of the Caminito, while elegant Recoleta is home to the extraordinary Recoleta Cemetery, a city of marble tombs where Eva Perón is buried.
In the evenings, the city comes alive late. Dinner rarely starts before nine, usually at a parrilla serving superb Argentine beef with a glass of Malbec, and tango is everywhere, from formal shows to neighbourhood dance halls. HX offer an optional Buenos Aires dinner and tango show and a short Highlights of Buenos Aires tour.
The Casa Rosada on the Plaza de MayoWeekend markets in the parks of Buenos Aires
Tierra del Fuego
Ushuaia, the end of the world
Ushuaia calls itself the southernmost city in the world, and it certainly feels like the end of the road. The town sits on the north shore of the Beagle Channel in Argentine Tierra del Fuego, squeezed between the water and a ring of jagged, snow streaked mountains. It began life in the late nineteenth century as a missionary settlement and then a remote penal colony, and the old prison is now the Maritime and Prison Museum, which tells both stories, along with the history of Antarctic exploration.
On HX voyages from Ushuaia you usually fly in from Buenos Aires on the morning of embarkation and board the ship the same day, so there is little time to explore unless you come early. If you can, it is worth it. Tierra del Fuego National Park, just west of town, has walking trails through southern beech forest to lakes and bays on the Beagle Channel, and the little End of the World Train runs into the park along the route once used by convicts to haul timber. Boat trips on the Beagle Channel visit islands crowded with sea lions and cormorants and the striped Les Éclaireurs lighthouse, and a chairlift and trail lead up to the Martial Glacier above the town for views over the channel.
Suite guests on the Ushuaia voyages are welcomed before boarding at the Arakur Resort & Spa, high on a hillside above the town with sweeping views of the Beagle Channel. The ship leaves Ushuaia along the Beagle Channel in the evening, and many guests stay out on deck to watch the mountains slip by.
Chile
Santiago de Chile
Start of the MS Fram voyages via Punta Arenas, and the nearest airport for Valparaíso
Chile's capital sits in a wide valley with the snow capped Andes as a backdrop, and on a clear day the mountains seem to rise from the end of every street. The historic centre is compact: the Plaza de Armas with its cathedral, the busy Mercado Central for seafood lunches, and La Moneda, the presidential palace. For the best view, ride up to the observation deck of the Sky Costanera, at the top of the tallest building in South America, or take the funicular up Cerro San Cristóbal.
With an extra day or two, the wine valleys of Maipo and Casablanca are close by, and the colourful UNESCO listed port of Valparaíso is an easy day trip to the Pacific coast.
Valparaíso is also where the new Antarctica & Patagonia Expedition begins. The old port climbs a ring of steep hills above the bay, linked by creaking funiculars, the ascensores, and its historic quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción are full of painted houses, murals and small cafés, and Pablo Neruda's hillside house, La Sebastiana, looks out over the harbour. The drive from Santiago airport takes around an hour and a half, and we would suggest a night or two in the city before you board.
Punta Arenas stands on the Strait of Magellan, and before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 it was one of the busiest ports in South America, grown rich from wool, sheep farming and passing ships. That wealth shows in the grand mansions around the main square, the Plaza Muñoz Gamero, where a statue of Ferdinand Magellan stands. At its foot sits the bronze figure of an indigenous man, and local legend says that if you touch his shiny toe you will one day return to Punta Arenas.
The town's cemetery, with its clipped cypress avenues and grand family tombs, is one of the most unusual sights in Patagonia, and the Nao Victoria Museum has full size replicas of Magellan's ship and of Shackleton's lifeboat, the James Caird. From around October to March, boat trips run to Magdalena Island in the strait, home to a large colony of Magellanic penguins. Leaving Punta Arenas, MS Fram sails through the Strait of Magellan, a fine start to the voyage.
The main square, Punta ArenasThe cypress avenues of the Punta Arenas cemetery
Argentine Patagonia
Puerto Madryn and the Valdés Peninsula
Two late season voyages, the Northbound and the Punta Arenas to Buenos Aires sailing, call at Puerto Madryn on the coast of Argentine Patagonia on their way north. Readers in Wales may feel a flicker of recognition. In 1865 a group of around 150 Welsh settlers landed here from the ship Mimosa to found a Welsh speaking colony, and the town is named after Love Jones-Parry of Madryn in Gwynedd. Welsh is still spoken in parts of the Chubut valley, and the tea houses of Gaiman, inland, serve Welsh cakes and bara brith to this day.
The main reason to come, though, is the Valdés Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great marine wildlife areas of South America, with around 180 species of birds. Southern elephant seals and sea lions breed on its beaches, Magellanic penguins nest along the coast, and guanacos and rheas roam the dry steppe. In late March and April, the time of the HX calls, the orcas of Punta Norte are famous for a rare hunting technique in which they surge right up onto the beach to catch young sea lions, though sightings are never guaranteed. A visit to the peninsula is available as an optional excursion.
Before and After
Extend your trip: Patagonia and Iguazú
Having come all this way, many of our clients add a few days at one end or the other. Most cruise lines offer pre and post programmes, HX among them, and we can tailor extra nights around your flights.
Patagonia
HX's Breathtaking Patagonia pre programme takes you into the wild landscapes of southern Argentina before the voyage. Patagonia is a land of vast open steppe, turquoise lakes and granite spires, and its best known sight, the Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate, is one of the few glaciers in the world you can watch calving from viewing platforms just across the water.
Iguazú Falls
After the ice, the jungle. The Iguazú Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil are among the most spectacular waterfalls on Earth, a curtain of around 275 separate falls stretching nearly 3 km, with the thundering Devil's Throat at their heart. HX's post programme, The Iguazú Experience, flies you up from Buenos Aires to see both the Argentine and Brazilian sides. It is a wonderful contrast after two weeks among the icebergs.
Buenos Aires
If you would rather keep it simple, a couple of extra nights in Buenos Aires, with a tango show and a day exploring the city's neighbourhoods, is an easy and enjoyable way to wind down before the flight home.
Ask us about combining any of these with your voyage on 0333 405 0194, and see our practical information page for advice on flights, travel insurance and entry requirements.
Questions
Gateway city questions
Should I arrive a day early for my Antarctica cruise?
Yes, we strongly recommend it. International flights to South America are long and connections can be delayed, and the included charter flight to Ushuaia or Punta Arenas will not wait. Arriving at least a day before your included hotel night gives you a buffer, time to get over the journey and a chance to see the city.
Are flights to Ushuaia included?
Yes, on the HX voyages that sail from Ushuaia, the economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia are included, along with a hotel night in Buenos Aires before the voyage. On the MS Fram voyages from Punta Arenas, flights between Santiago and Punta Arenas are included. International flights from the UK are not included, but we can help you arrange them.
Which voyages finish in Buenos Aires by ship?
Two late season voyages sail all the way back to Buenos Aires via the Falklands and Puerto Madryn: the Antarctica & Falklands Expedition Northbound on MS Fridtjof Nansen, and the Antarctica & Falklands voyage from Punta Arenas to Buenos Aires on MS Fram.
