The name – Latin for "Southern Wind" – reflects Tierra del Fuego's distinctive weather, a factor that has long determined the region's socio-cultural development and that so impressed the early mariners who endeavored to explore Patagonia's southernmost waterways. Tailor-made for exploring the remote southern tip of South America, all aspects of the 210-passenger ship including size, length, draft and engine power -- are designed to give Ventus Australis the extreme maneuverability necessary to navigate narrow fjords and channels where no other cruise ships can venture.
Day 1 Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas is the southernmost city on Earth, overlooking the Straits of Magellan. Situated astride one of the world's historic trade routes, its prosperity has risen and fallen with that trade. Punta Arenas enjoyed its first great boom during the California Gold Rush, when it served as a haven for great clipper ships. Although the port's importance diminished after the opening of the Panama Canal, the city reached even greater prosperity early in this century as the center of Chile's international wool trade. Today, Punta Arenas reflects a great mix of cultures, from English sheep ranchers to Portuguese sailors, and it remains an utterly fascinating testament to the Chile's rich history. Punta Arenas is also the starting point for excursions to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
Day 2 Ainsworth Bay
Ainsworth Bay is a one of the most scenic and picturesque bays in South America. Here you will discover a beaver dam in the midst of glaciers and a Magellanic forest. Meanwhile, nature enthusiasts will enjoy viewing colonies of penguins, and sea elephants in their natural habitat.
Day 2 Tucker Islet
Day 3 Pia Glacier
Within the Beagle Channgel and chiseled among the Darwin mountains in Patagonia, the Pia Glacier is a highlight among the "Avenue of Glaciers", viewable by hiking up to a vista point where you can watch and listen to the loud shifts of ice and earth.
Day 3 Glacier Alley
Day 4 Cape Horn
Rounding the extreme southern tip of South America, you'll be awestruck by the rugged beauty and imposing vision of Cape Horn, a craggy, massive rocky point that was the bane of early explorers.
Day 4 Wulaia Bay (Bahia Wulaia)
Day 5 Ushuaia
The world's southernmost city, Ushuaia overlooks Beagle Channel, named after the ship that took Charles Darwin to the bottom of the world. Founded just over one hundred years ago, this rustic town is situated amidst incredible snowcapped mountains, dramatic waterfalls, massive glaciers, and a forest known for its red foliage. Tierra del Fuego, the "Land of Fire," twelve miles to the west of Ushuaia, is known for its glacial landscape and its national park, which is a bird-watcher's paradise.