Beagle Channel navigation with minitrekking, step by step

What the Beagle Channel navigation with minitrekking covers

The trip lasts 4 hours and leaves from the tourist port of Ushuaia, using the KAMS and the TELIENKA, twin yachts of 15 metres. Groups are limited to 25 passengers and the guides work in Spanish and English. Boats of that size can hold a close line to the islands, so the sightings happen from a few metres of water rather than from the middle of the channel.

The sailing route takes in Isla Alicia, Isla de Pájaros and Isla de Lobos for sea lions, cormorants and the rest of the channel's birdlife, then turns at the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, about 20 km from Ushuaia. The itinerary dates the lighthouse to 1919. This is not the Faro del Fin del Mundo, which stands on Isla de los Estados more than 200 km away and is out of reach on any day trip.

After the lighthouse the yacht ties up at Isla Bridges and everyone goes ashore. The trail is an interpretation path about flora and birds, with the guide covering the history of the Yámana people; the island holds the largest Yámana shell middens in the region. The walk ends at a panoramic point looking down the Beagle Channel with the city of Ushuaia in the distance.

Food is not served on board. There is cafeteria service with coffee, tea and hot chocolate, which is worth knowing if you are sailing over a meal time, so eat before you present at the port.

How the four hours are spent

1. Faro Les Eclaireurs 15 min
   The guide tells the story of the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, a symbol of the city of Ushuaia, while the boat holds position for photographs.
2. Isla Bridges 30 min
   The minitrekking itself: a guided walk through the island's flora and fauna, the history of the native Yámana people and the climb to the panoramic point.
3. Canal Beagle 240 min
   Beyond the lighthouse and Isla Bridges, the yacht calls at other islands of the Beagle Channel to watch marine fauna and the variety of birds.

What is included

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Meeting point: the Patagonia Explorer office in the tourist port of Ushuaia, Avenida Prefectura Naval Argentina at the corner of Calle Roca. On Google Maps it appears as Patagonia Adventure Explorer. Present yourself 30 minutes before departure.
• Cancellation: cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time for a full refund.
• Ages: infant 0–2, child 3–9, youth 10–18, adult 19+, senior 66+.

Other Beagle Channel navigations with trekking compared

The four alternatives below are all 3-hour sailings that also land on the Bridges Islands, priced from US$95 to US$140, with ratings between 3.4 and 4.5 and review counts in single or low double figures. The 4-hour trip on this page has 724 reviews behind its 4.8, so take one of the shorter ones only if your afternoon genuinely has three hours in it and not four.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 29 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

More ways to plan your visit

The Bridges Islands and the walk ashore

The Bridges Islands and the walk ashore

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and the one it is confused with

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and the one it is confused with

What to wear on the channel

What to wear on the channel