We are looking at heading to Patagonia, arriving in December of 2018 from the East Coast of South America.

Time is somewhat limited in that we hope to start traversing the Pacific from late April of 2019, so we only have 4 months in the area. Sailing experience is solid, but not lifelong and both of us are wimps! However, we've always wanted to go to Patagonia, so we're on our way...

Question is: It appears to me that the southern tip is pretty barren and inhospitable - meaning anything south of the Magellan. The really dramatic scenery appears to be north of the Magellan - is that a fair statement? I get that the Beagle is all historic and such, but with a somewhat limited timeframe, we're thinking about not going quite so far south - will we be missing out? We're more into getting out and about and hiking, etc - not so much of the full on sailing junkies.

Appreciate any first hand experiences you might be able to share with me.

Thanks!
edited by bbalme on 3/9/2018

Bill Balme

Bill
I can only speak first hand of the Beagle Channel but can highly recommend it. The hiking around Puerto Williams and Ushuaia is excellent and the wildlife alone is worth the effort.
Simon

[quote=Bill Balme]Question is: It appears to me that the southern tip is pretty barren and inhospitable - meaning anything south of the Magellan. The really dramatic scenery appears to be north of the Magellan - is that a fair statement? I get that the Beagle is all historic and such, but with a somewhat limited timeframe, we're thinking about not going quite so far south - will we be missing out? We're more into getting out and about and hiking, etc - not so much of the full on sailing junkies.
[/quote]

I would say you will be missing out by not going south of the Strait of Magellan. As Simon mentioned, the Beagle Channel area is beautiful, and full of great hiking, and there are other beautiful places south of the Strait of Magellan (Caleta Brecknock is one that comes to mind) with awesome hiking as well. As to the far south being 'barren and inhospitable', well, yes, though I'd call it stunning and challenging :).

I've only been thru the western part of the Strait of Magellan, en route to the Beagle Channel (I went south thru Patagonia), so I don't know what the eastern part of the Strait of Magellan is like.

It doesn't seem much of a difference in distance to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Beagle Channel than to go thru the Strait of Magellan. But ultimately, you're going to be against the prevailing winds once you start going north in Chile, so it depends how you feel about going any extra distances to windward.

I might be inclined to decide whether to get to the Pacific via the Strait of Magellan or the Beagle Channel, when I was near the eastern entrance to the Strait of Magellan based on the weather forecast, and how on schedule I was.

Best wishes for an awesome trip.

Richard