South America

Stella Australis: Fjords of Tierra del Fuego

5 Days aboard M/V Stella Australis. From AUD $4,043pp.
Small Ship Expeditions
Details

Overview

We invite you to enjoy a unique experience on the Stella Australis with expeditions by land and sea next to the fascinating landscape that Patagonia and Cape Horn offers. Immerse yourself in the magical scenery filled with turquoise glacial lakes, green hillsides and ice-capped mountains. This is an adventurer's paradise which really does have to be seen to be believed.

Save up to A$820 pp

Book by 16 May 2025

Itinerary Highlights

  • See Magellan Penguins in their natural habitat
  • Visit a glacial waterfall with spectacular views
  • Enjoy the history and scenery that Ushuaia has to offer
  • Sail to Cape Horn National Park and explore the historic area

Itinerary in Brief 

  • Day 1: Punta Arenas
  • Day 2: Ainsworth Bay - Tuckers Islets
  • Day 3: Pia Glacier - Glacier Alley
  • Day 4: Cape Horn - Wulaia Bay
  • Day 5: Ushuaia

 

*M/V Stella Australis vessel offers longer round trip cruises. For more information on detailed itineraries, feel free to contact us. 

Ship Information

For more information on the Australis please view the ship page.

View Australis

Travelling with Eclipse

Peace of Mind
  • Eclipse Travel is Australian owned and run, and an ATAS accredited travel agent.
  • 24/7 emergency numbers and local contacts provided for support while you’re abroad.
  • We provide all the information you need to organise your visas and vaccinations, making travel preparation stress-free.
  • No currency surcharges. Once your deposit is paid, your price is guaranteed.
Specialists
  • Our consultants are true destination experts, with firsthand experience and extensive travel in the regions we offer.
  • Expect quick, professional responses and dedicated service from our knowledgeable team.
  • We conduct regular checks on destinations, hotels, and services to ensure quality for every trip.
Authentic Travel
  • Tailor-made itineraries designed around your unique requirements.
  • Freedom to select your preferred style and standard of accommodation.
  • Unique itineraries that take you beyond the major highlights, immersing you in each location.
  • Committed to responsible travel: we reinvest in the environment and local communities across our destinations.

Day 1: Punta Arenas

Check in at 1398 Costanera del Estrecho Ave. (Arturo Prat Port) in Punta Arenas between 13:00 and 17:00 (1-5 PM) on the day of your Australis cruise departure. Board the vessel at 6 PM. After a welcoming toast and introduction of captain and crew, the ship departs for one of the remotest corners of planet Earth. During the night we cross the Strait of Magellan and enter the labyrinth of channels that define the southern extreme of Patagonian. The twinkling lights of Punta Arenas gradually fade into the distance as we enter the Whiteside Canal between Darwin Island and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego

Dinner included.

Day 2: Ainsworth Bay - Tuckers Islets

By dawn the ship is sailing up Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo), a spectacular offshoot of the Strait of Magellan that stretches nearly halfway across Tierra del Fuego. The snowcapped peaks of Karukinka Natural Park stretch along the north side of the sound, while the south shore is defined by the deep fjords and broad bays of Alberto de Agostini National Park. We go ashore at Ainsworth Bay, which harbors copious bird life and a colony of southern elephant seals which can sometimes be spotted from the Zodiacs. Two guided excursions are available: one is along the edge of a stream, peat bog and beaver habitat to a waterfall-and-moss-covered rock face tucked deep inside a pristine sub-polar forest; the other is a more strenuous hike along the crest of a glacial moraine. Both afford views of Marinelli Glacier and the Darwin Mountains.

Leaving our Ainsworth Bay tour behind, we sail west along the sound to the Tucker Islets. After lunch, we board the Zodiacs again for a close-up view of the Magellan penguins that inhabit the tiny islands. More than 4,000 penguins use Tucker as a place to nest, give birth and nurture their chicks. Many other bird species also frequent the area including king cormorants, oystercatchers, Chilean skuas, kelp geese, dolphin gulls, eagles and even the occasional Andean condor. In September and April -- when the penguins live elsewhere -- this excursion is replaced by a short walk to a glacier at nearby stunning Brookes Bay.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.

Day 3: Pia Glacier - Glacier Alley

Overnight we sail around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and Cockburn Channel. After rounding the remote Brecknock Peninsula, the Australis cruise tacks eastward and enters the Beagle Channel again. By morning we are entering Pia Fjord and boarding the Zodiacs for a Pia Glacier tour. After disembarking we take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier.

No one knows for certain how the hulking mass of snow and ice got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king.

Back onboard the ship, we continue east along the Beagle Channel through an area called Glacier Alley. Living up to its name, the passage features a number of impressive tidewater glaciers flowing down from the Darwin Mountains and Darwin Ice Sheet on the north shore. Most of them named after European countries -- Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.

Day 4: Cape Horm - Wulaia Bay

During the morning we cruise across Nassau Bay into the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, we shall go ashore on the windswept island that harbors legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition -- and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland -- Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the "End of the Earth." The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lightkeeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument.

In the afternoon we navigate the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands and drop anchor at historic Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s during their voyages on the HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for its mesmerizing beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the Australis-sponsored museum in the old radio station -- which is especially strong on the Yámana people and European missionaries in the area -- passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooden mountain behind the bay. On all of these you will be strolling through an enchanted Magellan forest of lengas, coigües, canelos, ferns, and other endemic fauna to reach a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the bay. Before leaving Wulaia Bay, drop something into the wooden mail barrel inside the museum – letters or postcards meant to be hand delivered by future travelers – an ancient mariner tradition revived by Australis.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.

Day 5: Ushuaia

The following morning we sail into Argentine waters and dock in Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. Arrival at 08:30 a.m. and 9:30 am according to date of departure.

Breakfast included.

Next Departure Date: 20 Oct 2025
DatesCabinFromSpecial Offer
20 Oct 2025 - 24 Oct 2025 AUD$4043ppExpand to view offers
B CabinAUD$4043ppContact us
A CabinAUD $5403ppAUD$4583ppSave up to A$820
AA CabinAUD $5895ppAUD$5075ppSave up to A$820
AAA CabinAUD $6387ppAUD$5567ppSave up to A$820
AA Superior CabinAUD $7141ppAUD$6321ppSave up to A$820
AAA Superior CabinAUD $7616ppAUD$6796ppSave up to A$820
28 Oct 2025 - 01 Nov 2025 AUD$4043ppExpand to view offers
05 Nov 2025 - 09 Nov 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
13 Nov 2025 - 17 Nov 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
21 Nov 2025 - 25 Nov 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
29 Nov 2025 - 03 Dec 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
07 Dec 2025 - 11 Dec 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
15 Dec 2025 - 19 Dec 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
23 Dec 2025 - 27 Dec 2025 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
31 Dec 2025 - 04 Jan 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
08 Jan 2026 - 12 Jan 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
16 Jan 2026 - 20 Jan 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
24 Jan 2026 - 28 Jan 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
01 Feb 2026 - 05 Feb 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
09 Feb 2026 - 13 Feb 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
17 Feb 2026 - 21 Feb 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
25 Feb 2026 - 01 Mar 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
05 Mar 2026 - 09 Mar 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
13 Mar 2026 - 17 Mar 2026 AUD$5503ppExpand to view offers
21 Mar 2026 - 25 Mar 2026 AUD$4043ppExpand to view offers
  • Port taxes and national park fees are not included in the price of the voyage and will be an additional cost of US$135 per person for the 2025 / 2026 season. These will be charged to you during the booking process.

**Prices are per person based on twin / shared accommodation.
**Single supplements may apply

Cabin Details

B Cabin

177sqft/16.5sqm, located on the Magallanes Deck, twin beds, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, bedside table, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

B Cabin
B Cabin
A Cabin

177sqft/16.5sqm, located on the Magallanes Deck, twin beds or a double bed, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, bedside table, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

(twin bedding image not available)

A Cabin
A Cabin
AA Cabin

177sqft/16.5sqm, located on the Tierra Del Fuego Deck, twin beds or a double bed, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, bedside table, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

(twin bedding image not available)

AA Cabin
AA Cabin
AAA Cabin

177sqft/16.5sqm, located on the Cabo de Hornos Deck, twin beds or a double bed, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, bedside table, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

(double bedding image not available)

AAA Cabin
AAA Cabin
AA Superior Cabin

220sqft/20.5sqm, located on the Tierra Del Fuego Deck, double bed, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, sitting area, bedside tables, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

AA Superior Cabin
AA Superior Cabin
AAA Superior Cabin

220sqft/20.5sqm, located on the Cabo de Hornos Deck, double bed, large floor-to-ceiling picture window, sitting area, bedside tables, desk, ensuite bathroom with shower, wardrobe and storage space.

AAA Superior Cabin
AAA Superior Cabin

M/V Stella Australis Deckplan

deck plan

Specifications

  • Year of launch: 2010
  • Passenger capacity: 200
  • Crew: 64
  • Total cabins: 100
  • Length: 72.3m
  • Draft: 3.30m
  • Beam: 13.4m
  • Propulsion: 2 Cummins diesel main engines at 850 hp each
  • Cruising speed: 10 knots
  • Electricity: 110-220 volts
  • Safety: complete navigation systems, emergency generator, fire stations, smoke detectors in every cabin, corridor and lounge and a sprinkler fire suppression system

What’s included?

  • On-board accommodation
  • All meals throughout the voyage
  • Tours led by English-speaking Guide
  • Activities as specified 
  • On board entertainment
  • All alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (only when bar is on duty)

What’s not included?

  • Air transportation
  • Passport, visa, immigration fees
  • Airport arrival/departure taxes 
  • Airport transfers
  • Additional hotel nights
  • Port taxes*
  • National park fees* 
  • Travel Protection Plan
  • Laundry service 
  • Gratuities
  • Any items not mentioned as included

Notes

*Port Taxes & National Park Fees

Port taxes and national park fees are not included in the price of the voyage and will be an additional cost of US$135 per person for the 2025 / 2026 season. These will be charged to you during the booking process.

**Required clothing

Please note that trekking or hiking shoes are required for all passengers. 

Price Assurance

At Eclipse Travel, our expert destination knowledge and decades of travel planning experience come at no extra cost to you. While many think booking through a tour operator is more expensive than planning a trip independently, that’s not the case. We’re paid by our travel partners—such as hotels, activity operators, and cruise providers—via commissions, not by our clients.

Our team negotiates the best rates for you and ensures you receive unbiased advice, with no preference for any particular supplier. In fact, where we secure higher commissions, we often pass the savings on to you, giving us a competitive price edge.

Additionally, we lock in exchange rates at the time of your deposit, ensuring no surprise costs when it’s time for final payment. You can rest easy knowing we’ll handle the details with our suppliers. The only exceptions are national park fee increases or fuel surcharges imposed after your booking, though these are rare.

Take advantage of our team’s expertise and let us help you plan the perfect holiday—hassle-free!

Destination: South America

The vivid sights and sounds of South America offer something for everyone. Stretching from the Caribbean to Patagonia, the variety of cultures, climates and landscapes has to be experienced firsthand to be believed. The memories you take home will leave you wanting more – we’re sure you’ll want to return again and again, just like us!

Downloadable travel guide

Planning your next adventure has never been easier with our free downloadable travel guides. Get in-depth insights into local attractions, dining options, and hidden gems, all curated by our team of travel specialists with decades of experience.

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Stella Australis: Fjords of Tierra del Fuego

5 Days aboard M/V Stella Australis. From AUD $4,043pp.