view of Puerto Chacabuco from the ship

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Puerto Chacabuco is a small town in the Patagonia region of southern Chile in the Aysén Province located at the head of Aysén Fjord. The town is named after a ship that explored the area in the 1870’s. Fish and shellfish processing are the main industries there. There were fish pens in the bay near the tender port.

docks in the port

Money in Chile is the Chilean peso. One US dollar was worth 978.76 Chilean pesos while we were there in January, but is now down to $968.19 since the US dollar has been declining in value compared to the currencies of other countries. Annually the temperature varies from 34°F to 63°F and rarely falls below 23°F or climbs above 74°F. Average rainfall is about 280 days a year with an accumulation of over 121 inches.

port building and Oosterdam at anchor

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile Cruise Port

Puerto Chacabuco is a tender port, which means that the ship anchors offshore and passengers are brought to shore in smaller boats called tenders. It’s a very small port. There’s a floating dock where the tender comes in.

tender at the dock

The tender drivers on Holland America Oosterdam were quite skilled at docking them, coming in very smoothly each time. Unlike the ones on the Noordam last year who had great difficulties docking tenders. There are a lot of tender ports on an Antarctic cruise so they get a lot of practice.

walkway into the port building

After docking there’s a ramp to walk up to shore and then an outside pathway leading into the port building. The building is mostly full of seating areas for people waiting for excursions or using the free Wi-Fi. There were restrooms both upstairs and downstairs as well as free coffee and snacks upstairs. The free Wi-Fi there was faster than the usual cruise ship port Wi-Fi which is kind of surprising considering how tiny the town is.

costumed locals

After walking through the building when we went out the other side there were 4 people in the area’s traditional clothing that people could take photos of or with.

port building

Outside of the building there’s a parking area where the excursion busses go. A dirt road up a little hill leads to the port exit. There were initially people just outside of the port offering last minute van tours. Later there was a girl with a sign for those tours just outside of the port building in the port. Taxis were also available just outside of the port. Ship cards were required to get back in after leaving the port area.

shopping booths in a canvas tent near the port

There’s not a lot to do right in the port area other than the van tours for anyone who didn’t book an excursion. There was a large canvas tent with local people selling mostly handmade items. Lots of wool hats and other knitted things. One booth had sandwiches and other edibles for sale.

Viña del Mar shipwreck

It’s an easy walk from the port to a shipwreck on a beach. It’s a large rusted hulk of a passenger ship built in 1911. You can also get great photos of the cruise ship from near the wreck or from just outside of the port building. The rusted hulk of a wrecked ship was the Viña del Mar, stranded there since 1963. It was on a routine voyage when a viscous storm with strong winds and rough seas caused the ship to run aground.

photo from near the shipwreck

There’s a bit of a town about half a mile from the port, but the whole region is sparsely populated so there’s not a lot there. Most things to do in the area are farther away so it’s a good idea to book something to do at this port before the cruise.

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