🇦🇷 Ushuaia, Argentina — Cruise Port Guide
Wedged between the jagged Martial range and the steel-grey Beagle Channel, Ushuaia is the world's southernmost city and the last stop before Antarctica. Its tin-roofed streets, old prison walls and end-of-the-road signage make it feel like the edge of the map, because it very nearly is.
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
Getting ashore
When to visit Ushuaia
The cruise season runs through the austral summer, roughly November to March, when daylight stretches past 10pm in December. Even at the peak, daytime highs sit around 9-15°C with sharp wind, sudden rain and the chance of snow on the peaks, so layers and a windproof shell matter more than warmth.
Getting back to the ship on time
Most worthwhile excursions here are half-day or longer and depend on a single mountain road or a boat, so an independent national park trip plus the train can eat 6 hours before any delay. Weather can also cut Beagle Channel sailings short or hold them at the dock, so leave a wide buffer before all-aboard.
All-aboard is ship's time — check it in the daily programme, and set your watch to it.
Things to do in Ushuaia
Tierra del Fuego National Park
About 12 km west of town, the park strings together Ensenada Bay, Laguna Verde, beaver dams and Bahía Lapataia, where the Pan-American Highway finally runs out.
Beagle Channel catamaran cruise
Small boats sail from the city pier past sea lion and cormorant colonies to the red-and-white Les Éclaireurs lighthouse.
End of the World Train
A narrow-gauge steam railway retracing the route convicts used to haul timber between 1910 and 1947, running into the national park.
Martial Glacier
A short drive above town, a trail climbs through lenga forest to the glacier cirque with sweeping views back over Ushuaia and the channel.
Museo Marítimo y del Presidio
The old prison's radiating cell blocks now house maritime, Antarctic and penal-history collections, with one wing left deliberately unrestored.
Avenida San Martín
The main street runs a block above the pier and is lined with chocolate shops, wool and leather stores, and Tierra del Fuego's duty-free electronics outlets.
Popular excursions
Martillo Island Penguin Walk
Small-group landing to stroll beside thousands of Magellanic penguins.
What to eat
- Centolla (southern king crab)
- Cordero fueguino
- Merluza negra
- Cholgas (Patagonian mussels)
- Calafate berry desserts
Weather by month
Best time to visit: Nov-Mar (austral summer)
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57° | 43° | 1.5" |
| Feb | 57° | 43° | 1.4" |
| Mar | 54° | 40° | 1.8" |
| Apr | 50° | 37° | 2" |
| May | 45° | 34° | 1.8" |
| Jun | 41° | 30° | 1.7" |
| Jul | 40° | 29° | 1.5" |
| Aug | 43° | 31° | 1.5" |
| Sep | 47° | 34° | 1.4" |
| Oct | 51° | 37° | 1.4" |
| Nov | 54° | 39° | 1.4" |
| Dec | 56° | 41° | 1.6" |
Local phrases
A little history
The name Ushuaia comes from the language of the Yámana (Yaghan) people, who lived along the Beagle Channel for thousands of years, and is usually translated as 'bay penetrating to the west'.
European navigators named the region Tierra del Fuego, 'Land of Fire', after the fires the Yámana kept burning in their bark canoes and on the shoreline.
Modern Ushuaia grew up around a national prison begun in 1902; convict labour built much of the early town and its railway, and the prison operated until 1947 before becoming today's Maritime and Prison Museum.
Roughly 90% of all Antarctic cruise voyages now depart from Ushuaia's port, making a town of tens of thousands the busiest gateway to the white continent.