Board a minibus at your Ushuaia hotel and head toward the Lasiphashaj River to begin your full-day Patagonian excursion. Opt to take a guided boat trip down the river and along the Beagle Channel. Listen to a safety briefing and don the provided equipment (including a life jacket, waterproof pants, and rubber boots) before launching your inflatable two-person canoe, keeping an eye out for seabirds and sea lions basking on the rocks and small islands.
The boat trip is suitable even for novices; learn paddling techniques or choose to ride in a boat with a guide. Or, if you prefer not to adventure out in the boat, you're driven straight to historic Estancia Harberton, one of the first settlements in Tierra del Fuego. While touring the homestead and perusing the on-site museum, learn about the English missionary turned sheep farmer who settled there in 1886.
After paddling for 2 hours, the canoeing group reaches Estancia Harberton to explore the homestead for a half-hour before meeting up with the rest of the group and departing for Isla Martillo (Martillo Island).
This island is famous for its penguin rookery, where Magellanic penguins breed and raise their chicks. View from the boat the thousands of breeding pairs of penguins just a few meters away from you.
Then continue your boat ride and head for Gable Island, where a lunch of baked fish, potatoes and traditional Argentine picada — a sampler tray of cured meats (salami, pepperoni, ham), cheeses and olives — is served. Relax on the scenic shore of the island and enjoy wine, water, soft drinks, and coffee.
After lunch, take off on a guided 90-minute hike around the island. Along the way, encounter beaver dams, lush forest, and quiet coastal pathways. You'll meet your boat back at the Beagle Channel, then travel back to Harberton and board your bus for the trip back to Ushuaia. Your day trip ends with a drop-off at your hotel.
