Ushuaia: Tierra del Fuego Day Trip with Local Picnic

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/5

Duration4h 30m

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Walk Ushuaia’s wild trails, taste alfajores, reach the end of the world

You’ll start right at Ushuaia’s port and travel with a local guide through city streets most tourists miss before entering Tierra del Fuego’s wild corners. Expect mossy forests, Lapataia Bay’s legendary signpost, glassy Acigami Lake, and a peaceful picnic with local pastries and mate cocido — plus stories you won’t find in any brochure.

4h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Tierra del Fuego National Park

Travel from port to National Park
Visit Ensenada Zaratiegui and Post Office
See Isla Redonda and Sampaio Mountains
Visit Lapataia Bay and archaeological sites
Walk around Lake Acigami
Picnic at Cañadon del Toro with local pastries
Return to Ushuaia via alternate city route

The Experience

I never thought I’d stand at the literal end of the road — but there we were, Lapataia Bay in Tierra del Fuego. Our guide, Martín, grinned and pointed to the battered sign marking the end of the Pan-American Highway. The wind was sharp enough to sting my cheeks and I could smell wet earth and woodsmoke drifting from somewhere behind us. It felt like a place where stories begin or maybe finish. Hard to say.

We’d started right from the harbor in Ushuaia — you just walk off your ship and there’s Martín waving his thermos of mate. The drive through town was quick but weirdly intimate; we passed painted houses with laundry flapping and kids playing soccer in muddy fields. He told us about his grandmother coming here decades ago for work — “nobody plans to stay forever,” he laughed, “but somehow we all do.” I liked that.

The park itself is quieter than I expected. At Ensenada Zaratiegui, Martín tried (and failed) to get us into the End of the World Post Office — apparently it depends if the postman feels like opening up that day. Instead, we watched cormorants swoop over Isla Redonda and tried to pronounce “Acigami” without sounding ridiculous (I didn’t succeed). The lake was glassy and cold-looking, half in Argentina, half in Chile. We took a short walk along mossy trails where everything smelled green and damp — like rain on leaves.

Cañadon del Toro was my favorite part. No crowds, just our small group on a patch of grass with steaming mate cocido and these crumbly dulce de leche alfajores that stuck to my fingers. Someone asked about the Yámana people who once lived here; Martín told us how they used canoes made from bark and hunted sea lions. There was this moment when nobody spoke for a bit — just wind in the lenga trees and distant water lapping. I still think about that quiet.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup right at Ushuaia harbor, transport in an air-conditioned vehicle through both city streets and wild park roads, plus a picnic stop with alfajores de maicena filled with dulce de leche alongside your choice of coffee, tea, mate cocido or chocolate milk — all finished off with glacier water bottled locally before heading back to your ship or exploring town on your own.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Ushuaia Shore Excursion