Beagle Channel Tour With Penguins at Isla Martillo

What the Beagle Channel tour with penguins covers

Five hours of navigation, starting at the Canoero box office in the tourist port of Ushuaia and running east along the channel to Isla Martillo. On the way the catamaran passes Isla de los Pájaros and Isla de los Lobos in the Bridges archipelago and turns at the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse. Nobody goes ashore on Isla Martillo on this trip: you watch the birds from the deck.

Isla Martillo lies about 90 km east of Ushuaia and holds the penguin colony the boats from town visit. Magellanic and Gentoo penguins are there from October to April, with fewer birds at the very start and the very end of the season, and king penguins show up only occasionally. Pick a date in the middle of that window if your plans allow it.

The price covers the local professional guide, the boarding tax fee, five hours of navigation and an air-conditioned vehicle. Hotel pick-up and drop-off, gratuities, food and drinks are not covered, so carry water and something to eat. Weather can close the channel at short notice and cancellations are announced officially by the Prefectura Naval Argentina, which is a good reason to sail early in your stay.

The day step by step

1. Canoero box office, Ushuaia tourist port 30 min
   Check in at the Canoero box office in the tourist port of Ushuaia, exchange your ticket and get the boarding instructions for the catamaran. Be there 30 minutes before the scheduled time.
2. Beagle Channel 60 min
   As the boat pulls away from the coast the whole town opens up behind you, with Monte Olivia, the Cinco Hermanos, Las Fique, the Tunnel estancias and the Encajonado river above the waterline.
3. Isla Bridges 60 min
   The route circles Isla de los Pájaros, where skuas, black-browed albatrosses, steamer ducks, cauquenes and Cook and grey gulls gather, then Isla de los Lobos with its one-haired and two-haired sea lions. Both islands belong to the Bridges archipelago.
4. Faro Les Eclaireurs 60 min
   The catamaran heads out into the middle of the channel to the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, with imperial and rock cormorant colonies on the rocks around it. The guide tells the story of the loss of the SS Monte Cervantes, which the itinerary dates to 1930.
5. Martillo Island 60 min
   Sailing east, Puerto Almanza appears on the Argentine shore and the Puerto Williams naval base on the Chilean side, then Isla Martillo. The boat stops offshore to watch the Magellanic penguins that nest there through the summer season.
6. Ushuaia
   The return leg runs back up the channel with the mountain range behind Ushuaia in front of you for the whole approach to the port.

What is included

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Meeting point: the Canoero box office in the tourist port of Ushuaia. Be there 30 minutes before the scheduled time to exchange your tickets.
• Pick-up: none. Hotel pick-up and drop-off are not included, so plan your own way to the port.
• Cancellation: for a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• Ages: infant 0-3, child 4-11, adult 12 and over.

Other Beagle Channel tours with penguins compared

This page's trip is the mid-length catamaran option at 5 hours and the colony is seen from the water. The 5.5-hour and 4-5 hour sailings cover much the same stretch of channel for less, the 5-6 hour navigation sits between them, and the 8-hour full day at US$494 is the only one in the table that lands on the island and walks among the penguins.

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

Penguins at Isla Martillo

Penguins at Isla Martillo

Best time to visit the Beagle Channel

Best time to visit the Beagle Channel

Les Eclaireurs lighthouse

Les Eclaireurs lighthouse