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Mare Australis Patagonia 5 Days from $1499 **SPECIAL**,***(Package Info Click Here)
- 4 Nights Cruise
- Cabin B
- 7 cabins located on the first deck, each with two twin beds, large window, and private facilities.
- We invite you to live this unforgettable adventure A CRUISE MARE AUSTRALIS: AN ADVENTURE AT THE END OF THE EARTH Mare Australis is an Expedition Cruise ship sailing through the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel, and explores one of the wildest and most beautiful regions of the world: Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, at the southernmost tip of the South American continent. Mare Australis sets sail every Saturday from the Chilean city of Punta Arenas. The journey will begin by sailing along channels, bays, fjords, passing glaciers, snow-capped mountains, islands and unexplored forests of incomparable beauty. We will be accompanied by nice penguins, elephant seals and sea-lions. The imposing Serrano, d'Agostini, Cóndor, Pía, Garibaldi and other glaciers will oversea our journey, and their majesty will remain engraved in our memory forever. We will bring back to our mind exciting adventures until we reach Cape Horn, the last promontory before crossing to the Antarctica and the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet through the Drake Passage.
- We will enjoy daily excursions to a land where our guides will teach us about the regional flora and fauna, as well as about the history of its first inhabitants. In fact, this will be one of the most pleasant and unforgettable experiences, because Patagonia explored from the Mare Australis will leave no one unimpressed.
- MARE AUSTRALIS: INLAND EXCURSIONS During the cruise, there will be daily tours inland (organized and directed by the Mare Australis Expedition Group and with an average duration of two hours). They consist of walking through trails in the native forest, visits to glaciers and to Cape Horn National Park, including talks on the flora and fauna of the area. A delicious whiskey on the millenary ice, or a cup of hot chocolate will be offered at the end of the excursion.
- MARE AUSTRALIS: LECTURES During the cruise, we will learn about the flora, fauna, history, geography, glaciology and ethnography of this legendary region through interesting lectures given by the Mare Australis Expedition Group, which will take place on board (with audio-visual support) as well as on land.
- HISTORICAL FACTS
- STRAIT OF MAGELLAN It owes its name to the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan (1470-1521) who, being at the service of the Spanish crown, found a new route to the East Indies. After a very hard year at sea, on October 21st, 1520, the vessel "Trinidad" reached the strait, which Magellan called "Todos los Santos" (All Saints), as it was on that day of the Christian calendar that he discovered the sea passage which many years later would bear his name.
- TIERRA DEL FUEGO Called "the Land of Fire" by the sailors of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, who saw from their boats the bonfires made by the Ona Indians. It is the main island in the southern region.
- CAPE HORN (CABO DE HORNOS) It is one of the most famous sea folds and at the same time the most dreaded by the sailors for its waves and the weather prevailing in the area. The origin of its name is due to the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten who doubled the Cape for the first time in 1616 and called it "Hoorn", after his native Dutch town. Then, it came to be called "Hornos".
- BEAGLE CHANNEL It owes its name to the expedition lasting 8 years, under the command of captain Philip Parker King, an expert hydrographic, whose fleet was made up of the corvette "Adventure" and the brig "Beagle", and set sail on May 1826 from the English port of Plymouth. It entered the strait on December 19 of the same year with the purpose of exploring overseas lands and drawing up new maps of the World. The naturalist Charles Darwin was traveling on board the Beagle.
- DARWIN RANGE OF MOUNTAINS It was named after the English scientist Charles Darwin. Such mountain range is the end of the Andes Mountain Range(,) which in this region melts with the sea, thus finishing its long distance travel through the American continent from the border between Venezuela and Panama.
- ACTIVITIES ON BOARD
- MEALS The expedition program includes welcome and farewell cocktails, breakfast, lunch and dinner, open bar during the whole journey and cafeteria service. You will be able to enjoy the exquisite food and the most famous Chilean wines. The menu includes international food and typical local dishes, alternating a la carte menus and buffet. Passengers requiring a special diet may request it in advance.
- ACTIVITIES Our expedition team is constantly doing its best to make your cruise pleasant, amusing and interesting. They will be in charge of organizing activities on board in a joyful and family atmosphere. You will be able to participate in parties at night, bingo, nautical knot-tying lessons, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting, karaoke, parlor games, a visit to the engine room and many other entertainments. In addition, you will find a small library with books and magazines about the region.
- PRACTICAL GUIDE
- CLIMATE During the season, between October and April, the temperature ranges between 5º C and 15º C.
- CLOTHES We suggest sportswear and something more formal, if you wish, for the Cruise farewell dinner. For the excursions we recommend sweaters, parkas, a cap, gloves, sun-block, sunglasses and trekking shoes or boots.
- ELECTRIC POWER Cabins are equipped with 220 volt plugs. In bathrooms, there are plugs for both 220 volts and for 110 volts.
- LANGUAGES Official languages on board are Spanish and English(.) However, guides speaking French, German and Italian will be available.
- SAFE DEPOSIT BOX There is a safe deposit box in each cabin for your valuables.
- TIPS At the end of the cruise you will find and envelope in your cabin in which each passenger will decide how much to leave as tip. We suggest US$ 8 to 10 daily per person, which will be distributed among the personnel that waited on you.
- CURRENCY AND PAYMENT ON BOARD Personal consumption such as souvenirs, videos, sportswear and others can be paid with MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners credit cards, travelers' checks, US dollars, Euros or Chilean pesos.
- TRAVEL INSURANCE Cruceros Australis' liability for loss or damage is limited to the terms of the fare contract.
- VISA AND PASSPORT Visa/Passport requirements vary according the passenger's country of origin, so that this shall be verified at the time of making the reservation. Each passenger is responsible for carrying the necessary documents to enter Argentinean and Chilean territory. Minors not traveling with both parents must carry an authorization of the absent parent signed before a notary public.
- DOCTOR If you require medical attention, this service is available on board, though we hope you will not need it.
- HAIR DRYER You may ask for it at Reception.
- SHOP ON BOARD There is a shop on board where you will find exclusive designs for Mare Australis in sportswear, souvenirs, gifts and items for personal use.
- LAUNDRY As there is no laundry on board, we hire this service at a laundry in Ushuaia. Prices will be shown in your cabin and the service will be charged to your current account.
- NOTE: The excursions/day trips described in the itineraries below/above can normally be, and are frequently, carried out. Without prejudice to the aforesaid, Transports Marítimos Terra Australis S.A. y Transports Marítimos Via Australis S.A. reserve the right to reschedule shorten or alter all or part of itineraries and/or excursions without previous notice, in order to safeguard the well being and safety of passengers, preserve the environment or due to the extraordinary circumstances, acts of god or force majored. In view of the same reasons, the hours of departure or arrival of the vessels may be subject to change.
- $1499 Included taxes,per person
Days 1
Check in at Magallanes 990, Punta Arenas, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cruise ship boarding at 6:00 p.m. The Captain and crew give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Immediately afterward, the ship departs for “the uttermost part of the earth”. Our excursion will take us through the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel to explore one of the most breathtaking wilderness regions in the world: Southern Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. We have just embarked on a Great Adventure!
Days 2
At dawn, we continue navigating through Almirantazgo Sound until finally arriving near Marinelli Glacier in Ainsworth Bay, where we enjoy a walk to discover a beaver dam in the midst of a marvelous Magellanic forest. On the beach we observe a colony of elephant seals. Later we visit Tucker Islet, where we view colonies of Magellanic Penguins and Cormorants from the Zodiac boats. The islet’s penguins migrate in April; as a replacement we visit Brookes Bay, for a short walk to see a glacier.
Days 3
We navigate through the main part of Beagle Channel to reach Pia Bay, where we disembark near Pia Glacier. We take a short hike to a lookout point with a spectacular view of the entire glacier tongue, stretching from high in the mountains all the way to the sea. After this unforgettable experience, we sail again along the northwest arm of Beagle Channel through majestic “Glacier Alley”: Spain, Romanche, Germany, Italy, France and Holland glaciers.
Days 4
We sail through Beagle and Murray channels to reach and disembark in Cape Horn National Park (weather permitting). Cape Horn, on Hornos Island, is a sheer, 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory. This mythical place is known as the “End of the Earth”; a visit is a singular privilege. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2005. In the afternoon, we go ashore in historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of one of the region’s largest aboriginal settlements. This area is also renowned for the mesmerizing beauty of its vegetation and geography. We walk through a Magellanic forest of Lengas, Coigües, Canelos, ferns and other native vegetation to reach a lookout point.
Days 5
Arrival to Ushuaia, Argentina’s most important city on Tierra de Fuego, and the southernmost city in the world. We disembark at 8:00 a.m., enabling you to get an early start on visiting the city and national parks, and on continuing your trip through Patagonia.
