Strait of Magellan Whales and Glaciers Full-Day Boat Tour Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas and the road south

The day starts at 04:00 at the departure office at José Nogueira 1255 in the centre of Punta Arenas, the capital of Chilean Magallanes and the main gateway to the Strait of Magellan. A shared bus then drives about 50 km south along the coast road in the dark, past the last ranches and beech forests of the mainland, to the boarding point roughly an hour away.

Punta Arenas itself sits on the strait that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, discovered for Europe in 1520 by the navigator the strait is named after. The early start is unavoidable: the distances in the Strait of Magellan are large and the navigation takes around 12 hours, so leaving before dawn is the only way to reach the marine park with enough daylight for whale watching. Breakfast is served once you are on board.

The Strait of Magellan

From the boarding point the vessel heads south-west along the Brunswick Peninsula for about 1.5 hours of navigation through the Strait of Magellan. The water here is wide and often calm in the morning, with the snow-capped mountains of Tierra del Fuego to the south and dense forests of lenga and coihue beech on the mainland shore. Petrels and cormorants follow the boat, and the first dolphins, Peale's and Commerson's, often appear in the bow wave.

Your bilingual guide uses this stretch to explain the geography of the strait, its history as the main shipping route before the Panama Canal, and what to look for when a whale blows. The outer deck is cold even in summer; the inside cabin has large windows and hot coffee, so you can move between the two as the scenery and wildlife change.

Cape Froward

Cape Froward, Cabo Froward in Spanish, is the southernmost point of the continental American mainland, a dark headland dropping steeply into the strait and crowned by a large cross that marks the spot. Rounding it is a moment every passenger comes on deck for: beyond lies the western arm of the strait, open to the Pacific weather, with the Darwin mountain range and its glaciers on the horizon.

The passage past the cape takes about 30 minutes. The guide explains the cape's role in the early voyages through the strait and why the weather changes so sharply here. For travellers wondering how to get to Cape Froward, this boat tour is the practical answer: there is no road, only a multi-day hike or the water.

Francisco Coloane Marine Park

Francisco Coloane Marine Park, created in 2003 as Chile's first marine protected area, covers the waters around Carlos III Island at the western end of the strait. Every southern summer humpback whales migrate here from the tropics to feed on krill and small fish in the cold, nutrient-rich channels, often within a few hundred metres of the boat, and sei whales, among the fastest of the great whales, are also seen. The vessel spends about 3 hours in the park following the animals at a respectful distance.

The whale watching from Punta Arenas in this park is some of the most reliable in South America in season. A further 2 hours of marine-life viewing follow: a colony of Magellanic penguins on a rocky shore, sea lions hauled out on the rocks, cormorants and dolphins. Lunch is served on board during this part of the day.

Glaciers and the return navigation

The park is also where the mountains meet the sea: tidewater glaciers spill down from the ice fields into fjords off the strait, their blue ice cliffs calving small bergs into dark water, with lenga and coihue forest clinging to the lower slopes. The boat approaches for photographs before beginning the long return, about 3.5 hours back along the strait with the afternoon light on the mountains and a snack and coffee on board.

Back at the boarding point the bus returns you to José Nogueira 1255 in Punta Arenas in the evening, roughly 14 hours after you left. It is a long day, but it is the only tour in which whales, penguins and glaciers can be seen together in a single outing, and the reason many travellers come to Punta Arenas at all.