South America – Destination Guide

Including Cape Horn, the most popular South American cruise itinerary also gives the unusual opportunity to experience all four seasons in just two weeks.

From the warmth of Buenos Aires or Rio and the initial ports of call in Uruguay and Argentina, cruise to the autumn cool of the Falkland Islands and cold blast of Tierra del Fuego and Chile's Punta Arenas before more spring-like weather along the Chilean fjords. You then return to steamy summer weather in the Chilean capital Santiago's port of Valparaiso where you fly home - this itinerary is also available in reverse. Remember to pack layers of clothing for Round the Horn cruises as you will be sunbathing in some places and having to wrap up warm in others.

A number of cruise companies with smaller ships navigate the Amazon, Fred Olsen ships navigate the river while P&O Cruises’ Artemis cruises down the Amazon.

Cruise itineraries can cover more than 1,000 miles of the Amazon but that is still only a quarter of the river's length. The scale of the Amazon Basin is remarkable - 17 of its tributaries are more than 1,000 miles long; about a fifth of the world's oxygen is produced by its rain forest and it carries a fifth of the world's fresh water.

Shore excursions on South American cruise itineraries include a trip from Punta Arenas to a teeming Penguin reserve on the Chilean coastline, Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands and Buenos Aires, one of the most cosmopolitan capitals in the world.

When is the best time to go?

The main cruising season runs during the British winter months.