South America Cruise Guide: Cape Horn, Amazon and the Coasts

Overview

South America is the most varied cruise region covered on this site, and its three routes have almost nothing in common. A Cape Horn rounding is a cold-water, high-latitude voyage through Patagonian fjords with a genuine chance of rough weather. An Amazon sailing takes an ocean-going ship 900 miles up a river into the rainforest. A Pacific coast itinerary runs the Atacama Desert and the Peruvian coast.

The southern routes follow the southern summer, October to April, with December through February the peak. The Amazon runs from roughly December to April, when the river is at its highest and navigable furthest upstream.

The distances involved mean these are long cruises. A meaningful South America itinerary is fourteen nights minimum and frequently twenty-one, which is the main reason the region attracts an experienced cruising demographic.

Cape Horn and Patagonia itineraries typically run fourteen to eighteen nights between Buenos Aires and Santiago, calling at Montevideo, the Falkland Islands, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and the Chilean fjords, with a Cape Horn rounding if conditions allow.

Cape Horn deserves a specific note. It is where the Atlantic and Pacific meet with no landmass between them and the Antarctic Peninsula, and it produces genuinely severe conditions. Ships round it when weather allows and divert when it does not. An itinerary that lists Cape Horn is listing an intention.

Amazon itineraries sail from Barbados or Miami across to the river mouth and then upstream, sometimes as far as Manaus, 900 miles inland. Ocean cruise ships genuinely do this; the Amazon is deep enough. Calls include Santarem, Parintins, Boca da Valeria and Alter do Chao.

Pacific coast itineraries run between Valparaiso and Callao for Lima, calling at the Atacama Desert ports, Arica and Coquimbo. They are often combined with Cape Horn on longer circumnavigations.

• Cape Horn rounding is weather-dependent and frequently diverted.
• Amazon sailings take ocean ships 900 miles upriver to Manaus.
• Most itineraries are fourteen nights or longer.
• Many are one-way, requiring two separate flights.

The best time to go

For Patagonia and Cape Horn, December to February gives the mildest conditions and the longest days, with January the most reliable. October and April are cheaper with more weather risk.

For the Amazon, December to April is the high-water season when ships reach furthest upstream. Outside that window, itineraries turn back earlier.

The ports, honestly assessed

South American ports range from major capitals to river villages with a wooden jetty. The variety is the appeal.

• Buenos AiresArgentina

  A major embarkation port. Recoleta, San Telmo and a tango show are the essentials. Arrive three days early.

• MontevideoUruguay

  The port is in the old city. Ciudad Vieja is walkable and the Mercado del Puerto is the best lunch in the region.

• UshuaiaArgentina

  The southernmost city in the world and the gateway to Antarctica. Tierra del Fuego National Park is 20 minutes.

• Punta ArenasChile

  Magellan Strait port. Penguin colonies at Isla Magdalena and Seno Otway are the excursions.

• Cape HornChile

  Scenic cruising rather than a port. Rounding is weather-dependent and frequently diverted.

• Chilean fjordsChile

  Days of scenic cruising through Amalia Glacier and the Sarmiento Channel. The best part of a Patagonian itinerary.

• Falkland IslandsFalkland Islands

  A tender port at Stanley. Penguin colonies and the 1982 conflict sites. Cancelled for weather roughly one call in three.

• ValparaisoChile

  Santiago's port, 90 minutes from the capital. The painted hillside neighbourhoods are a UNESCO site and worth staying for.

• Callao for LimaPeru

  A 45-minute transfer to Lima. Miraflores, Barranco and the Larco Museum are the highlights.

• ManausBrazil

  900 miles up the Amazon. The Teatro Amazonas opera house and the Meeting of the Waters are the essentials.

• SantaremBrazil

  Amazon river port. Alter do Chao's freshwater beaches are 30 minutes and are genuinely lovely.

• Rio de JaneiroBrazil

  On Atlantic coast itineraries. The pier is central; Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer both need half a day.

Weather, month by month

South America spans from the tropics to sub-Antarctic latitudes, so figures vary enormously by route. The table below covers Patagonia, which is the most weather-sensitive of the three.

What it actually costs

South American fares are moderate per night but the itineraries are long, so totals are high. A fourteen-night balcony sailing runs $2,450 to $4,480 before flights.

Flights are the complication. Most itineraries are one-way between Buenos Aires and Santiago, requiring two separate tickets, and South American airfares from North America run $900 to $1,800 each way in the southern summer.

Popular itineraries

South American itineraries come in five shapes, and the route matters far more than the ship.

• Cape Horn, Buenos Aires to Santiago

  from $2,450 per person

  14 nights from Buenos Aires

  Calls: Montevideo, Falkland Islands, Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Punta Arenas, Chilean fjords

  Best for: The classic Patagonian itinerary

• Amazon river, Barbados to Manaus

  from $2,560 per person

  16 nights from Barbados or Miami

  Calls: Devil's Island, Santarem, Boca da Valeria, Manaus, Parintins

  Best for: The most unusual itinerary in cruising

• South America circumnavigation

  from $5,040 per person

  28 nights from Buenos Aires or Santiago

  Calls: Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Valparaiso, Lima

  Best for: The whole continent by sea

• Chile and Peru Pacific coast

  from $2,160 per person

  12 nights from Santiago

  Calls: Coquimbo, Arica, Callao for Lima, Salaverry

  Best for: The Atacama and Peruvian coast

• Antarctica and Patagonia combined

  from $4,620 per person

  21 nights from Buenos Aires

  Calls: Falkland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula scenic, Ushuaia, Chilean fjords

  Best for: Adding Antarctic scenic cruising to Patagonia

Travel tips from our sailings

• 1

  Arrive in Buenos Aires or Santiago three days early. Long-haul flights plus a same-day embarkation is a bad combination on a fourteen-night trip.

• 2

  Understand that Cape Horn rounding is an intention, not a guarantee. Weather diverts ships regularly and no line compensates for it.

• 3

  Falkland Islands calls are cancelled for weather roughly one time in three. Do not build the trip around Stanley.

• 4

  The Chilean fjords days are the best part of a Patagonian itinerary and cost nothing extra. Book a balcony.

• 5

  For the Amazon, sail December to April when high water lets ships reach Manaus.

• 6

  Check visa and reciprocity fee requirements for Argentina, Chile and Brazil well before departure. Requirements change and Brazil in particular has shifted policy repeatedly.

• 7

  Valparaiso is worth a night in its own right rather than transiting straight to Santiago.

• 8

  Bring binoculars for Patagonian wildlife and Amazon riverbank birdlife; both reward them heavily.

South America packing essentials

• For Patagonia: a waterproof windproof shell, thermal layers and a warm hat. Patagonian wind is the defining weather feature.
• For the Amazon: lightweight long sleeves and trousers, plus strong insect repellent containing DEET.
• Yellow fever vaccination documentation for Amazon itineraries, which some ports require.
• Binoculars, which are essential for both Patagonian wildlife and Amazon birdwatching.
• Waterproof walking shoes for Ushuaia and Punta Arenas excursions.
• A Type C or I adapter depending on country; South America is inconsistent, so bring a universal one.
• Malaria prophylaxis advice from a travel clinic for Amazon sailings.

The full list, including the banned-items rules, is in our cruise packing guide.