Take a catamaran ride to the southernmost tip of South America on an excursion to see the flightless birds at Penguin Island. Cruise through the islets, archipelagos, and bays of Beagle Channel to tour an operating estancia, a traditional Argentine ranch, at the historic Harberton settlement.

After being picked up from your hotel, board your catamaran at the pier in city centre Ushuaia and set sail, cruising out of the harbour at Ushuaia Bay into the Beagle Channel. Watch for imperial cormorants swooping and diving in the subantarctic waters, black-browed albatross, skua seabirds, and steamer ducks paddling across the waves as you weave along the coast of the Isla de los Pajaros.

At Isla Les Eclaireurs, observe 2 different species of sea lions basking and at play, and see the iconic Faro Les Eclaireurs—this 74-foot (22-m) tall lighthouse, the final beacon for sailors heading into the unknown of Antarctica, is called “the lighthouse at the end of the world.”

Cruise by Almanza Port in Argentina and Williams Port on the Chilean side of the Tierra del Fuego on your way to Martillo Island. Here, you can watch a colony of black and white Magellanic penguins and orange-beaked Gentoo penguins waddle, dive, and huddle on the rocks.

Continue on to Harberton, one of the oldest settlements in this southern land of fire and ice. Take a tour of the historic estancia’s grounds, museum, and gardens and opt to enjoy an authentic Argentine barbecue lunch.