We wanted to take a ferry from Punta Arenas to Puerto Williams (PW). The idea is great, however the trouble is, that the ferry leaves only once a week and is very busy. A lot of people from PW use it to buy anything they need in Punta Arenas, including fridges, TVs, clothes, tiles for bathroom, or any building material etc. The road ends somewhere near Punta Arenas and due to border disputes with Argentina, this is the only way the islanders can get supplies.
The ferry is booked out for the whole summer and there is a long waiting list. But we did not let that discourage us and went to ask around at the port.
This is what we found out:
- Yaghan ferry leaves from Punta Arenas once a week on Thursdays at 6pm
- It takes 30 hours to get to Puerto Williams, so it arrives at midnight the next day
- There are two types of tickets: lying down (cama), or those that recline a bit less (semi cama)
- Price for the foreigners: cama 143 000 CLP, semi cama 105 880 CLP (Food and drinks included in the price)
- The tickets are usually bought way in advance, not a day before like we did
- Waiting list: We were told that the next day is booked out, but they can put us on the waiting list and if someone does not pay up until the evening day before departure it can be bought on the spot on first-come first-serve basis
They informed us that there are 4 unpaid spots and if they are not paid by today, they can be ours on the day of departure. The waiting list does not apply anymore on the day of departure (last tickets are sold on first-come first-serve basis). Well it wasn’t much, but there was still the hope. 🙂
The next day we took a collectivo to port, bought those last 2 empty spots, grabbed the cruise itinerary and in the evening of 26-Jan-2017 set sail to Puerto Williams!
The ferry rides through deserted canals between little islands with hills and glaciers – National Park Alberto de Agostini. The only sign of civilisation are little lighthouses. From time to time a head of a sea lion pops up from water, but after a while he carries on with his own business. Near Puerto Williams a few glaciers end right at the sea level. Here the ferry was joined by a dolphin, so that we do not have too little things to observe. 🙂 We arrived to Puerto Williams late at night, but were picked up right at the ferry by a guy later known as “mustacher” who took us to his hostel.
Our adventure to the southern Patagonia is nearly over by reaching Puerto Williams. On foot, by bus, minibus, collective taxis or boat, the journey from Santiago de Chile to Puerto Williams reached 5,120 km. Superman could not have done it better!
