Australis Cruises

South of Punta Arenas the map breaks into a maze of islands, channels and fjords that no road reaches. Australis, a Chilean company, has sailed these waters for decades, running purpose-built expedition ships between Punta Arenas and Ushuaia through the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel.

The voyages are short and full. Zodiacs take guests ashore twice a day to walk through sub-Antarctic forest, stand in front of tidewater glaciers and, when the wind and swell permit, land on Cape Horn itself. Guides give talks on the region's wildlife, glaciology and the history of its Indigenous peoples and early navigators. The ships are comfortable rather than grand, with large cabin windows and a lounge that looks straight onto the ice.