Navimag Ferry through the Patagonian Fjords

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
4
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
3
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
62 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
262nd/456
Top 60%
continent
South America
country
Chile
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$240 (typically $110 - $380)
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Ferry Fjords Isolation
All Tags
Bird spotting Cliffs Glaciers Islands Mountains Wildlife - Albatross
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐

Summary

There is so little development in this part of the world that one of the only ways to see the stunning Patagonian Fjords is through the industrial-style Navimag Ferry that makes its 3 night / 4 day route between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt from October to March.

I personally enjoyed the experience of the journey in such an isolated part of the world, watching the albatross and whales popping along to say hello, and being in amongst the interesting people you get chatting to onboard, so I’m glad I did it.

But there are a few things to be aware of:

1. It is heavily weather dependant (we were not very lucky).

2. The ferry is not a cruise ship so is far from luxury (think less Royal Caribbean and more Dover-Calais).

3. You are stuck on the ferry for minimum 3 full days with no stops, no wifi and no alcohol.

4. You must give yourself at least 24 hours leeway in timings as it seems to always run late and bear in mind the ferry usually only leaves once a week.

5. Driving The Carretera Austral looks to be a very good alternative.

Highlights

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#1 Watching the Patagonian Fjords go by, getting hit by the ferocious wind and feeling the sheer isolation of this part of the world as you pass only one village on the 4 days trip

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#2 Completely chilling out with no wifi or TV and enjoying talking with your fellow passengers

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#3 Watching in awe as the majestic Albatross follow the ferry for hours on end while expertly navigating their way within inches of the tall waves

Itinerary

  • Depart either Puerto Montt or Puerto Natales at varying times depending on how late the ferry is arriving
  • 3 /4 days on the water
  • Arrive at either Puerto Montt or Puerto Natales, likely 24 hours late 🙂

Travel Tips

Bring some books and Netflix etc downloads.  Yes the views are beautiful, yes you can enjoy the isolation and watch the fjords go by, yes there are some games provided and some mild entertainment put on, but it is also 4 days on a fairly basic ferry with no wifi and no TV.

Alcohol is not sold and not allowed on the boat.  However, no one searches you and it looked to be that you could have a drink as long as you weren’t open about it.  They do have alcohol free beers though!

Bring some seasickness remedies.  I was fine but others looked to be suffering as there is a final part before you reach Puerto Montt that is in open ocean so can get bumpy (have a look at two of the videos to get a feel).

There are two broad chill out areas (other than on the outside deck).  One is the canteen and the other the kind of lounge area.  Take the opportunity to meet some of your fellow travellers to share tips on the next stages of your journey – what else are you going to do for 4 days!?

We took a BB cabin and it was fine.  The booking site can be very misleading as to what you actually get – for us it was a cabin that could sleep 4, had a window and used the public bathrooms.  It was very tight for space, but you’ll only really be sleeping there.

The food is buffet / school dinner style.  Its not actually too bad and the staff are super friendly, but I’d suggest bring some snacks should you be a picky eater.

Make sure you give yourself a MINIMUM of 24 hours leeway for connecting flights etc.  Ours arrived a day late and, from what I’ve heard, this is a regular occurrence.

Wrap up!  It should go without saying in this part of the world, but even in summer wrap up warmly – the wind on the deck was FREEZING!

Experiences nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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