Things to do in Ushuaia on a rainy day
Imagine traveling all the way to the end of the world, or as the locals call it: Fin del Mundo. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and from there, you can’t get that much further down south, at least not by car. The weather here can be impetuous. When it’s a good day, you are in one of the most inspiring places of South America. When it’s not a good day, well, it’s pretty depressing to be honest. Welcome to the end of the world, welcome to Ushuaia!
You have to be lucky to get good weather in Ushuaia. It rains about 146 days a year and it’s always windy. Well, almost always. It’s a long journey from home for the most of us so when you get all the way down there and it’s poor weather, you’ll still want to do something. To help you out a bit and still encourage you to go to this special place, we made a list of things to do in Ushuaia on a rainy day.
1. Visit a museum
There’s a couple of museums in Ushuaia, the Museo del Fin del Mundo is the most well known one. The one we chose to visit however was the Museo Marítimo, located in the former prison that housed the most dangerous criminals of Argentina. Nowadays it’s located on Ushuaia’s naval base just off the main street. You can wander through the cell blocks and learn all about the navigational history of Patagonia and Antarctica. During our visit, there even was a contemporary exhibition of penguins and penguin art. Even though we are not that much into museums, we thought this one was well worth visiting.
2. Take a boat tour of the Beagle Channel
Be honest, you didn’t come here to just stay inside town. Although we can imagine Tierra del Fuego is not very impressive when it’s foggy and wet (the reason we didn’t go there this time) you can’t leave without having sailed on the famous Beagle Channel. There is a (short) boat tour so you can still see albatrosses and sea lions, as well as the famous Les Eclaireurs lighthouse.
3. Go shopping for stupid souvenirs
Everything in and around Ushuaia is called “Fin del Mundo.” They make good use of the fact that they are the southernmost city in the world. You can buy Fin del Mundo t-shirts, hats, postcards, lighters, toys, books, mugs, chocolates, beer, jackets, magnets and more. There are plenty of souvenir stores that sell the most useless stuff. We bought a penguin teapot and carried it all the way home. And no, it didn’t break during the flights…
4. Have cake and tea at Tante Sara
We were here already in 2009 and had some lunch. Recently we were back and happy to find out Tante Sara is still there. They make awesome cakes and the atmosphere is great. We hung out here for quite a while, sipping from our tea and reading our books. Not without a huge piece of cake, ofcourse…
5. Take silly Fin del Mundo pictures
As I said before, Ushuaia makes good use of being at the end of the world. Not only can you buy and endless chain of (useless) Fin del Mundo goods but it’s also indicated pretty much everywhere. Even the penguins at the end of the world seem to go to the gym. Ushuaia just breathes the words Fin del Mundo, they must be really proud of it…
Do we ever want to come back to Ushuaia? Yes, but only if the weather is good. One day full of rain was enough (we were there for 24 hours only) and we did not do any of the things we had planned (going back to Tierra del Fuego and hike up to Glaciar Martial). We went to Tierra del Fuego in 2009 so we can’t complain but still it was a little disappointing. We know how pretty the town and surroundings can be.
We hope we still inspired you to go all the way down south with our list of things to do in Ushuaia on a rainy day. If your journey brings you all the way down here, we will keep our fingers crossed you will have nothing but good weather!
More readings on our trip to Argentina:
– 5 Places to see in Argentina
– Circuito Chico: on a rainy day in Bariloche
– The we12travel Patagonia alphabet
Psst: sharing is caring!
33 Comments
Bianca @itsallbee
This place sounds like to could be a contender with Scotland when it comes to the rain. I must say I had never heard of Usushaia until now.
SHLOMI | A SANCTUARY OVERLOOKING LEBANESE MOUNTAINS
anto
When we were in Scotland we had one week of solid rain and one week good … so yeah, it would be a good competition, however both places are gorgeous!
Christina
Love your picture of the lazy sea albatross. My aunt and uncle were in Ushuaia and I thought before I read your article: Hmm, where is it? Heard of it before. Now I remember and even if it´s raining a lot it looks like you can have an interesting day there.
anto
Yeah we did – there’s quite a few things to do luckily!
Calli
So sorry that the weather didn’t pan out for you – We had a similar experience visiting Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. I’d waited so long to get here and the day of our visit it poured. The rain was so severe I couldn’t take pictures without soaking my camera lens. However in the end we still managed to have fun. Maybe one day we can even make it back there. Although cake would have definitely made everything better – I like how you think. Some really great tips on what to do in Ushuaia.
anto
Hi Calli – Sorry to hear you had bad weather at the Giant’s Causeway. I know it’s bad when something like that happens but you just can’t do anything about it. However it’s a good reason to come back one day 😀 cake does make it better, esp. the ones at Tante Sara, they are to die for…
Margherita @The Crowded Planet
We loved Ushuaia, but just like when you went the weather was terrible. One day it even snowed, and we were there in January! We visited Estancia Harberton one day which was wonderful. I would love to go back and check out Tante Sara!
anto
We’ve not been to Estancia Haberton but would love to in the future. Somehow I got a feeling it hasn’t been our last time in Ushuaia, who knows…
Emily
I’ll be in Argentina in a week or two, but I don’t think I’ll be making it this far south – which is a shame, Ushuaia looks pretty cool! Great post 🙂
anto
Thanks Emily, let us know if you need any Argentina travel advice, happy to be of help!
Michael Huxley
I would love to go here, I think the Tierra del Fuego must be such an impressive place to see evenin bad weather. Perhaps more so IN bad weather! You have definitely inspired me to head to Ushuaia.
anto
Glad to hear we inspired you. Tierra del Fuego is gorgeous and you’re right, rain would make it even more mysterious. If you have the chance, definitely go!
Dave Cole
I’d definitely try out the Maritime Museum – I think it’s great when a building is re-purposed for the public good. With the sea lions and some cake at Tante Sara, a rainy day shouldn’t be too bad in Ushuaia.
anto
Yeah, the museum is really interesting, also that they had some contemporary exhibitions. No need to get bored in Ushuaia on a rainy day, maybe after three, or four … 🙂
Elena (http://gonewiththebackpack.blogspot.com/ )
I was lucky with the weather when I was in Ushuaya and managed to do some pretty good hikes and walks and I really loved the city, it´s so easy to get everywhere without taking any tours and organized shit…I fell in love with it (even though all the penguins were gone :(( )
anto
Oh sorry to hear Elena that you didn’t get to see the penguins, however good weather is great – it’s a really easy town and area to get around indeed and if we are ever going to head back, we definitely want to see more of the are again!
Brianna
I’m sure even with the rain the mountains of Ushuaia are spectacular, I know Alaska is similar when rainy. Also I have to know, what berries are gracing the top of that cake?
anto
Not sure, it was a mixed berry pie, somehow in Tierra del Fuego they have all kinds of pies I had never heard of before and they were delicious!
Laura
Wow that looks excellent! We’re planning to go to Argentina in the next couple of years, but we hadn’t heard of the Ushuaia. That cake looks excellent!
anto
Great – you will love it! Let us know if you need any help planning or any travel advice for Argentina!
Rashad Pharaon
I think I’d be stuck in Tante Santra for quite a while, looks wonderful. I think that rain also adds a certain character to a place, so that you see it in a different light. I know it’s not ideal, but I wouldn’t mind seeing during rain and sun 🙂
anto
True – it’s a great place, both in sun and rain. I guess we were just a bit biased because last time we had gorgeous weather and now just rain … I’m sure there’ll be a next time for us as we still want to head out to Antarctica one day!
Jan
Actually always be prepared for rainy days in Ushuaia, so you can still explore. Even in the middle of summer it can snow like I experienced myself (and according to one of the posts of Margherita, she experienced this as well). Besides all the highlights of the region I also like to recommend the Cerro Roy hike (with great views over the channel, if on a clear day of course) and visits to Lago Escondido & Fagnano.
anto
Thanks for the tips Jan! We’re sure we’ll be back there one day as we still want to make it all the way over to Antarctica. Then we’ll spend some more time here on discovering the area and doing some more hiking, last time we just did several in Tierra del Fuego. We planned on hiking up to the Martial Glacier this time but since visibility was zero, we decided to just stay in town …
Jason
Love the post and really love the picture of the seals! Great tips for a rainy day in many cities.
anto
thanks Jason!
Karen Warren
You certainly managed to make the most of a wet day. And I was intrigued by the idea of penguin art!
Bob R
I really enjoyed Ushuaia and can vouch for the weather. ‘Unpredictable’ barely begins describing it. I also made a couple day trips to Tierra del Fuego National Park, well worth it.
Ashley and Alex
I would love to make it to the end of the world, it looks like a fascinating place despite the rain! At least you were able to find fun and interesting things to do. That cake looks delicious!
Samantha
I’m pretty sure my next big trip next year will be Argentina and I hope to make it down to Ushuaia. Always wanted to go to the end of the world and back. 🙂
Jules
That cake looks so delicious! I’m hungry just looking at it! I’d never heard of this place before, but it definitely looks you guys have made the most of the rainy weather there.
Mia
The weather sounds perfect to me. I googled “gloomiest places on earth”, because there’s nothing that makes me happier than a cloudy and rainy day, and bright and sunny days are so loud and annoying that depress me, so wanted to know which places I could move to in a future and Ushuaia popped up. I’ve never been to Ushuaia even though I’m from Argentina, but I still wanted to visit because I knew it was a place that’s cold year round and I hate summer too (especially summers in Buenos Aires, they’re like being in hell), but I didn’t know it was a very cloudy and rainy place. So now I know where to move, and I love the fact that is still a place at home.
anto
Well, I’m sure you will absolutely love Ushuaia then. If you are from Argentina, it’s quite easy to get to as there are plenty of flights with Aerolineas. I can see why you don’t like BA (not a fan of it either) and Ushuaia offers lots of rain and indeed gloomy days. It’s pretty cold year round, at least those times I’ve been there it was Argentinean summer yet it still was cold. So as a lover of rain and clouds, I’m sure you’ll love it there!