The preparations

We started thinking about Carnival 2014 in September 2013 and after some frustrations with buying tickets to Ushuaia on the TAM website, we ended up buying them on the Airlines. We researched the tours in December and decided to book the main ones with the two best companies in the region (Fun Channel and PiraTour) after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and Backpackers.com. I recommend booking in advance as well, as we read that tours sell out quickly during peak season.

Day 1 – Saturday (03/01/2014)

We left home around 11am for the 3:30pm Aerolineas Argentinas flight. When we arrived at the airport, we were informed that our flight had been changed to 7:30pm. We had received several emails about minor changes to all the flights involved (Rio – Buenos Aires – Ushuaia – Buenos Aires – Rio), but none of them mentioned this major change.

After a bit of a fight, we managed to get a place to stay at Hotel Linx (Eike Batistan's at the time) with lunch included. We went there with the hotel transfer, had lunch buffet style and then went to rest in our rooms. We returned to the airport on time to board, but we had another unpleasant surprise: our flight was delayed by almost 2 hours and when they started calling for boarding, we didn't even have time to finish ordering our snacks at a snack bar, because they said they would leave us there. It was one disappointment after another with this company.

We arrived in Buenos Aires really late, but at least it was at Aeroparque, a small airport that was very close to our hotel. Wilton. We exchanged some pesos at the airport using the government rate (US$1 -> 8 pesos) and went looking for a taxi. We got a great one, which even picked us up after 4 hours to take us to Ezeiza, since that was where our flight to Ushuaia was leaving from. At least the hotel was quiet and we were able to rest comfortably for 3 hours.

Day 2 – Sunday (02/03/2014)

We caught a very early flight to Ushuaia, fortunately without any problems this time. Our flight stopped in Calafate and we were able to see from above how beautiful this place is. I didn't get to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, but the lake and desert views are really cool. Since Celo, his brother and his mother had already gone to Calafate, it didn't make sense to stop there, but I saw a lot of people doing Calafate + Ushuaia in one trip.

We arrived in Ushuaia around 2pm and were surprised by the architecture of the airport, all modern with wooden details. It's a good feeling to arrive at a place with such a cozy airport, you know?

We took a taxi and went straight to our hotel, the Rose of the Winds. This hotel is actually in the center of Ushuaia, which is basically where San Martin Street is, but you have to climb a steep hill. The two rooms we got didn't have the view shown on the website, but that's okay. Life goes on.

We left our luggage in the rooms, got ready and went in search of a good restaurant, because we were hungry. We stopped at Fuegian Winery, which is a house on the main street, very cozy inside. We loved the service, the wine, the food (meat and squid) and the atmosphere. As we were worried about the few pesos we had, I asked the owner about exchanging dollars for us, and he agreed to give us a better rate than the Banco de La Nación (US$1 -> 10 pesos).

After the restaurant, we walked around the city a bit, went to the hotel to rest and then went out for dinner at Dear Sara. We ate delicious salads and took a taxi back to the hotel. It was a pain to find a taxi after 10pm there.

Day 3 – Monday (03/03/2014)

We woke up without rushing, had a nice breakfast and went for a walk around the city, because the day's tour would only start at 2:30 pm. We were a little late and ended up having a sandwich at the restaurant for lunch. Andean Gourmet. Cool restaurant, fair food, but I didn't feel like going back...lol.

We went to the starting point of the tour at the PiraTour company tent near the city port. We arrived close to the departure time of the tour and believe me, the bus left on time! We spent a long time on the road until we reached Harberton Resort, where the boat leaves for Penguin Island – Martillo Island. We were the first group to get on the boat to see the penguins because we were very excited about the idea of being up close to them! 🙂

Important: At the time we went, this tour could only be done with PiraTour, because according to a guide we got from the company Canal Fun, someone from the family of the owner of PiraTour married someone from the family of Estancia Harberton and signed an exclusivity contract. However, they have already separated and it seems that this exclusivity contract is about to expire. It is worth checking this carefully!

We took a closed boat, with protection from the wind and cold, and after a few minutes on it, we arrived at Penguin Island. Wow, this place is surreal!!! Lots of little animals resting with the greatest peace in the world. 🙂

We were lucky enough to see a pair of emperor penguins, and in addition to them, we found Magellanic penguins and Gentoo penguins. We walked around the island, being very careful not to touch the animals or the nests that are scattered all over the island. We heard every possible sound imaginable, which made the experience even more incredible. We spent about an hour walking around the island and I confess that I wanted to stay longer. Unfortunately, the boat broke down halfway through (lol) and we had to return earlier than expected.

After the island, we went to have coffee and hot chocolate at the resort. They have a chocolate called Submarino that is really good. It's worth ordering to warm up a bit. After the snack, we went to the Acatushun Museum, which is very complete and talks about the marine mammals and birds of the region. They explained that Ushuaia is located at a point that receives several sea currents and therefore, almost all the animals that die end up there. They have a lot of bones, it's kind of tragic.

The museum is cool, but nothing compared to being in contact with the penguins. We spent the same amount of time at the museum as the other group spent with the penguins, but it felt like an eternity compared to our time with them.

We took the bus back to the city and when we arrived, we were starving. We stopped at the hotel, got ready and went to dinner at the restaurant. Freddy's Fuegian Cantina, recommended by the receptionist at our hotel. It's a nice, traditional restaurant, but we didn't think the food was that good. We tried Merluza Negra and Centolla (King's Crab).

Day 4 – Tuesday (03/04/2014)

 4×4 tour day with Canal Fun!

We woke up, had the same breakfast as the day before and they picked us up a little late at the hotel to do the 4×4 tour of the region's lakes. We went back in the car (an old Land Rover), which wasn't very comfortable, but we enjoyed it a lot. We took the same road as the previous day until we reached Hidden Lake. We got out of the car and went on a trail with a really cool view.

We arrived at the lake and enjoyed the view for a while, which is just gorgeous! After a while, we got back in the car and started the adventure of driving into the lake, going over holes, avoiding rocks, and so on, it was a real adventure. I thought it was really cool!!!! Be careful with your head and have fun!

We continue to the Lake Fagnano, which is the largest in the region and has a very similar look to Lago Escondido. We hiked more trails, took pictures, sat down to enjoy the view and returned to the 4×4 roller coaster. After a while, it was time for lunch that the guys from Canal Fun prepared for us.

They set up a cabin in the middle of the forest, set up two tables with a variety of appetizers and drinks, and made us feel very comfortable for what was to come: ASADO, or rather, a WONDERFUL MEAT prepared by them outside the cabin, in the true Argentinean barbecue style. Very, very good! We drank local wine, ate all the delicacies, and then, to top it off, we were treated to a sensational brownie. This lunch was a perfect addition to the trip… it made it even more perfect.

We returned to the car very satisfied with our meal, which was a problem, given that the way back was steeper than the way there. Thank God no one got sick! lol

After a long time of trouble, we got back on the road and headed safely to the city. We arrived at the city center around 5 pm and went for a walk. We tried to go to the Tante Nina restaurant, highly recommended in the blogs we read, but the owner ignored us because the restaurant was full. We stopped for dinner at the pasta restaurant. 137 Pizza & Pasta, which was quite pleasant. Good food and fair price.

Day 5 – Wednesday (03/05/2014)

We woke up early, had breakfast and waited to be picked up for the tour around Tierra del Fuego National Park, also with the company Canal Fun. On the bus ride to pick up other people, we were able to visit an area of Ushuaia that is far from the center, with many luxury houses and hotels. It is impossible to stay there without renting a car.

After picking up all the passengers, Brazilians by the way (according to the guide, Brazilians make up 70% of tourism in the region), we went canoeing before hiking through the park. It was freezing cold, so they gave us waterproof clothing, boots and everything we needed to keep us from freezing. We carried our inflatable boats into the water, which was 5 degrees. I panicked just thinking about putting my toe in the water, let alone capsizing the boat.

Our group had to go on 2 boats and there was only one guide for the 2 boats. So, we decided that Celo's brother would be the captain of ours and would be responsible for steering and everything else. We did a little training and then we went into the water. How scary, guys...but, fortunately or not, this fear went away after we saw that this tour is not at all extreme. It's basically just being carried along by the current, avoiding some obstacles. This was great, because we were able to enjoy the view, but it was a little frustrating, because deep down, we always want adrenaline on the tours we take.

After more than an hour of boating, we stopped at a point that marks the end of Route 3, which connects Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. We took the opportunity to take some photos and then went to lunch, also prepared by them in the middle of the forest. This time, a very stuffed chicken, with all the starters and drinks we had the day before. Delicious!

After lunch, we felt a bit lazy, but we had to overcome it because the next activity was to walk through the National Park for a few hours. The trail went through the park's forest and along the banks of the lakes, so it was really nice because the views were never tiring.

An interesting fact about the forests there is that there are a lot of fallen trees and we end up thinking that there is a lot of deforestation. But don't be fooled: the trees stay fallen and don't decompose because the air is low in oxygen. It takes years and years for the forest to renew itself. We walked a lot, going up, down, around and around and we saw the trees in the region, the birds, horses lost in the park and that's it. That's right. No animals there, because of the climate. What I thought was great was that we didn't see a single insect... lol.

Halfway through the trail, we stopped for a delicious snack prepared by them as well. It was great to catch our breath! We returned to the trail and after almost 4 hours of walking, the tour was over. It was worth it, but we were exhausted.

We went back to the hotel, got ready and left early to try to have dinner at Tante Nina. We did it!! And what a delight, you know… the best thing about it all was the waiter, who got involved in all our orders and gave his opinion so we left there even happier. All the dishes were delicious (Black Hake, Centolla and others), as was the wine he recommended. We sat right by the restaurant window, which overlooks the city port. What a beautiful view! Even more so because it was 9 pm and it was still daylight. We caught a beautiful sunset =) From there, we stopped by Don Lito ice cream shop again and had some ice cream. Super Dulce de Milk, which is absurdly delicious. We continued walking along San Martin Street, until we decided to go to the city's casino.

We were approached by an Indian man who wanted to befriend us and let us play with his money. We found it all very strange and didn't accept anything he proposed. After we lost our US$$10 at roulette + blackjack, we decided to go back to the hotel. We asked the guys at the casino to order a taxi and it arrived shortly after. Don't even try to get a taxi after 11pm in Ushuaia...it's practically an impossible mission.

Day 6 – Thursday (03/06/2014)

We had breakfast and took a taxi to the Martial Hill, which lasted about 15 minutes. We bought the tickets from the cable car, but we saw some people hiking instead of sitting on the chairs. The view from the cable car is beautiful, but it was very, very cold.

We started the trail to the Glacier, which according to a not-so-encouraging sign, would take 1h30 and was considered difficult. We climbed, climbed, climbed and came across the first mound of snow, or rather, ice. We continued climbing, despite being tired and after almost 1 hour climbing, with great difficulty because some parts were slippery because of the ice, we reached the final point.

We reached the end of the trail, that is, the Glacier, and we were like pigs in the mud playing in the snow. When we got there, we saw that it started to snow and it was perfect. We relaxed, took pictures and enjoyed the view, while we gathered the courage to go down. The descent was easier, right? But it was still tiring.

When we arrived at our starting point, we decided to take the trail that leads to a viewpoint. A guy we met on the way said it was really worth it. We plucked up the courage to go, but after walking for a while, we thought it best to go back, because we had scheduled a tour for 3 pm and we still had to have lunch. (It must have been 1 pm)

We took the cable car and then a taxi to a restaurant on Pedro Godoy Street, whose name I don't remember. It's a very cozy place and has a lot of pasta. We ate a delicious quick pasta and then went to the Canal Fun store, since the tour would leave from there. At 3 pm, our bus arrived and off we went for the tour. Emerald Lagoon and the Search for Beavers. The bus went along the same road as the previous days and stopped at a place where we could start the trail. We walked for about 2 hours to get to the lake, passing through the forest and open fields. The trail is very muddy, so the company gave us galoshes to walk in.

The walk is well worth it, because just look at the view:

We enjoyed the place, had hot drinks and took lots of photos. After almost 20 minutes of rest, we took the trail back.

The idea was to stop on the way back to admire the beavers, which are animals that were introduced there to produce fur coats, as they do in Canada, for example. The problem is that the cold in Ushuaia is not even comparable to the cold in Canada, and therefore, the animals did not develop good enough fur. At the time, they brought 50 animals and it is estimated that today there are more than 150 thousand beavers in the region, as there are no predators and humans do not eat their meat. These animals make their homes along the rivers and build dams to keep the water calm... pure engineering! As they are very fast in the water, they are protected from predators, which make noise when they enter the water and therefore do not catch them by surprise.

After spending so much time in silence studying the beavers, we walked to a cabin in the middle of the forest, where they served us a divine dinner. They lit a fireplace, put out candles, had plenty of wine and a wonderful soup, which went down well with everyone. We chatted for a while and then took the bus back to the hotel.

Full day! =)

Day 7 – Friday (03/07/2014)

We woke up early to do the last scheduled tour in Ushuaia, the navigation through the Beagle Channel. Although the tour was scheduled for 9am, the boat left almost at 10am. We got on a large double-decker boat and were excited until we saw a tour group of 100 Chinese people arrive and take over every possible seat. Arrrrgh.

We started browsing and every angle we found interesting was impossible to record because we were crushed by them wanting to take 500 thousand photos with their super cameras.

But other than that, I thought the tour was really cool! The view of the city of Ushuaia with the mountains in the background is really beautiful, check it out:

During the tour, the boat passed by an island full of birds that look like penguins. There are so many birds!! Then we passed by an island with lots of sea lions. They are so cute, but they are really smelly. Then, to finish, we passed by the famous Canal Lighthouse, which like all lighthouses, is kind of boring, but very useful for navigation.

We returned to the city around 12pm and went to have lunch at the restaurant they recommended to us to eat the best pagatonic lamb in the city, The Ranch. You pay a fixed price and eat as much as you want. There’s salad, freshly prepared meats and side dishes. We had the best beer of the trip – Patagonia – and finished with a delicious dulce de leche.

We left there stuffed and ready to walk for a long time to digest our food. That's what we did that afternoon...we walked around the streets, going into every little shop we could find and buying what we wanted. We found things very cheap, especially warm clothes. There are stores there that sell The North Face and Columbia and the clothes are cheaper than in Brazil, but not cheap, if you know what I mean. We took the opportunity to buy local wines, which cost around 30 reais a bottle, and to finish off, we bought dulce de leche in a jar. We met a Brazilian waiter who recommended that we buy dulce de leche at the supermarket. It really was much cheaper and it was delicious!!

To end our stay in Ushuaia on a high note, we returned to the hotel and got ready for dinner at Kaupe, one of the most recommended restaurants in the city. It is very close to the hotel where we stayed and the chef is quite renowned. All the dishes we ordered were wonderful, as were the wines and the service. It was a perfect dinner! I highly recommend it.

Day 8 – Saturday (03/08/2014)

Day of departure from Ushuaia. 🙁

We woke up, had breakfast and took a taxi to the airport. Oh, and an important detail: with the crisis in Argentina, many establishments prefer to receive payments in dollars, so they give considerable discounts if you do so. Our hotel cost US$1,640 per room for 6 nights and they gave us a discount of over US$1,000 when they found out we could pay in dollars. Great for both parties, right?

We arrived at the airport at the last minute and found a considerable queue to do the check in. Also, we had trouble paying a boarding fee, but in the end, everything worked out.

Our flight was direct, so after 3 hours, we were already in Buenos Aires. We took a taxi from Aeroparque to our hotel, Wilton again, left our luggage and went out for lunch. We had decided to go see the Lilac Cabin, but when we asked the taxi driver to drop us off there, he intervened and suggested that we go to the Las Nazarenas restaurant, in the Retiro neighborhood.

We followed his suggestion and ate very well for a fairer price than Cabana las Lilas, according to him. The empanadas and meats were delicious and the service was good too. It really is a traditional restaurant, with few Brazilians, so we felt good when we realized that.

We left there walking and went to Puerto Madero to digest. I didn't know the neighborhood and I was very surprised by the atmosphere of the place.

Check out these articles about our trips to Buenos Aires: 5 days exploring Buenos Aires and Tigre and 8-day cruise to Punta del Este, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

I found it delightful to walk around there, with so many people rollerblading, going into trendy restaurants and enjoying the sunny day with mild temperatures.

After that, we went to the casino, which is located inside two boats very close by. I was expecting something much smaller and worse, but we loved it!!! It's a huge complex, with lots of entertainment options. We spent hours and hours there and spent almost all the pesos we had left.

We closed with a flourish!

Day 9 – Sunday (09/03/2014)

We woke up early to catch our flight back, which left from Aeroparque, thank God. We didn't have to wait in line and had time to go to Duty Free, which was also empty. I'm starting to think that it's a good idea to travel at dawn to avoid the chaos of the airport, huh?

If you are going to Ushuaia and want to book tours safely, be sure to check out our partner's options below: