Southern Tour: Feb 27-March 10 & March 17-28
Early booking special
Reserve your space on any of our Bahamas or Chile tours for 2013 before November 15th and save $250 per person.
Join Spirit of the West for a trip to incredible Coastal Patagonia! This tour allows you to experience Spirit of the West Adventures quality while exploring the beautiful outer islands of southern Chile. We will experience the best of what Chile has to offer in a mothership style sea kayaking tour: wine, whales, wildlife and wilderness paired with sea kayaking in one of the most stunning places on earth, all from the comfort and convenience of our personal expedition ship.
Guest reviews from Patagonia tours
Highlights Include:
- Small group travel (max of 8 guests/trip)
- Private chartered mothership allows for comfort, safety and the ability to cover great distances, no back-tracking, always exploring somewhere new
- Abundant untouched wilderness
- Rich wildlife including blue whales, dolphins, porpoise, penguins, sea lions, seals and so much more
- Paddling at San Rafael Glacier and amidst the icebergs (Southern Route)
- Visiting a working sheep estancia (ranch) in remote Patagonia
- Hot springs, all to ourselves!
- Chilean hospitality and wines
- Personalized attention and service from knowledgeable and experienced guides
- We take care of all the details from when you land until when you depart
- To help round out your South American experience, we would also be more than happy to help connect you with reputable local travel companies if there are any other activities you would like to add on to your sea kayaking experience.
Where We Travel
The coast of Chile stretches for over 4300 kilometers, providing endless opportunities for kayakers. The region we have chosen for our tours is considered Northern Patagonia and is part of the Aisen Region. Most people think that the southernmost portion of Chile (Southern Patagonia) is the most rugged and wild, but think again. We will take you into difficult to access areas with stunning landscapes, abundant wildlife, hot springs and glaciers dropping into the sea, all while enjoying the Spirit of the West safety and service you have come to expect.
We offer two different styles of trips in the Chonos Archipelago on the outer coast of Chile. The 'Blue Whales, Beaches and Bliss' tour takes us north into the archipelago exploring the islands by kayak and boat while we travel to the Golfo de Corcovado. This area was recently discovered to be a foraging and nursery ground for the world's largest animal, the blue whale. The 'Glaciers, Gauchos and Wilderness' tour takes us to the Southern reaches of the islands and to the world famous San Rafael Glacier. Here we will indulge in a toast to our journey with ice from the glacier in our glasses! This tour also takes us through the Guaitecas Archipelago, recently designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2008.
All tours start in Santiago and enjoy one day of touring and wine tasting's in Chile's fantastic and plentiful wine producing regions. On our second day we travel to Patagonia via a short regional flight arriving in Balmaceda. That night will be spent in Coyhaique were we get a chance to experience a true Patagonian frontier town. On day three of the tour we will meet our floating home, the 57-foot motor vessel called the Noctiluca.
When to Go
The perfect time to travel in the Southern Hemisphere and enjoy their summer and early fall weather is January through early April.
This conveniently is also the same time when the rain of the Pacific Northwest winter is at its peak and the deep freeze has taken hold of Central Canada and the American Mid-west. What a great way to extend your kayaking season!
More About Our Floating Home
While we schedule our tours to try to make the most of the Patagonian weather as well as good wildlife viewing times, you never know what kind of weather you will experience - it is very similar to the British Columbia coast this way. For this reason we have found that mothership kayaking is the perfect way to experience this wild and rugged area. The mothership also allows us to cover much greater distances each day and to explore areas that would take weeks to reach by sea kayak alone.
The Noctiluca was constructed using a unique Patagonian wood, cipres de las Guaitecas, used for centuries by the maritime Chiloe (a coastal region of Chile) seagoing culture. Blending the traditional artwork of experienced Chiloe boat builders with the latest technology in boat design, safety and interior finishing, the Noctiluca offers a cozy wooden interior and comfortable cabins as well as safety and reliability. The ship features two double guest cabins (lower double berth and upper single berth) and a front cabin with four single beds. All share two roomy heads (bathrooms) complete with hot water and showers. The yacht is handled by a skilled crew and captain with decades of experience in Patagonian waters.
Our Captain, Robin Westcott
Robin Westcott has over 37 years of experience in this area which he is proud to call home. Robin has spent many days exploring this region by sailboat, motor vessels, by horseback and by foot and is the perfect guide for our adventures. A highly experienced fly fisherman and boat captain, he is able to share the subtle nuances of every nook and cranny with us. The Westcott family also owns an expansive estancia (or ranch) in the Guaitecas Archipelago just six hours north of the San Rafael glacier - complete with horseback riding and world class fly fishing (which we visit on our "Glaciers, Gauchos and Wilderness" Southern Tour).
Things To Know About Chile
- 19 percent of Chile is preserved as national parks, monuments and nature reserves.
- Chile contains apx 10% of the world's active volcanoes.
- Spanning 16,800 sq km, the Hielo Continental Sur (Southern Ice Field) is the world's third biggest extension of continental ice after Greenland and Antarctica.
- The Lonely Planet Guide to Chile (2009) has this to say about sea kayaking opportunities in Patagonia:
- Michelle Bachelet Jeria was the President of Chile until 2010. She was South America´s second elected woman president.
- Chile has an unusual ribbon shape. It is 4300 km long and just 175 km wide (on average).
- Chile has an incredibly diverse climate, from the desert regions in the north all the way to the wind-swept glaciers and coastal regions of the south.
"…the southern fjords and bays of Southern Chile are a sea kayaker's paradise."
Call Breanne or John if you have any questions, or would simply like to get to know us better. Call 1 800 307 3982
Overseas 1 250 285 2121
