Patagonia and the Wild Atlantic: Cruise to the Falkland Islands

Embark on a Falkland Islands cruise that traces the wildest edge of South America, from the world's southernmost city to the shores of the River Plate. Departing Ushuaia, the voyage carries you through the glacier-carved fjords of Chilean Patagonia, around the legendary rock of Cape Horn, and out across the South Atlantic to an archipelago where penguins outnumber people by a thousand to one.

The journey opens among the tidewater glaciers of the Beagle Channel, where the ice walls of Pia and Garibaldi calve directly into the sea. Beyond Cape Horn lies Isla de los Estados, a strictly protected wilderness few vessels are permitted to approach. Then come the Falklands: five days among the islands, from the black-browed albatross colonies of Saunders and West Point to the rockhopper penguins of Pebble Island. At Port Stanley, red telephone boxes and English pubs stand against windswept moorland — a corner of Britain marooned in the South Atlantic. The voyage turns north to Puerto Madryn, gateway to the wildlife-rich Valdés Peninsula, before concluding in Montevideo.

Unlike most cruises to the Falkland Islands, this expedition combines the archipelago with the fjords of Patagonia and the coast of Argentina in a single voyage. Zodiac landings bring you ashore among nesting seabirds and sea lion colonies, expert-led lectures give shape to what you see, and long days at sea invite unhurried wildlife watching from the decks. This is a cruise to the Falkland Islands for travelers who want the wild south in full.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Each morning brings a new landscape: Zodiac excursions to the face of Garibaldi Glacier, hikes beneath the granite towers of Torres del Paine, wildlife encounters on the Falklands’ open moorland, and a final arrival into the wide boulevards and warm welcome of Montevideo