Drake Passage

The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces -Sea of "Hoces"- is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the Southern Ocean. The passage is named after the 16th century English privateer Sir Francis Drake and has the reputation for having some of the roughest sea weather on earth.

Across this stretch of ocean the climate changes from the cool, humid, subpolar type found at Tierra del Fuego to the frozen conditions of Antarctica. Ships in the passage are often good platforms for the sighting of whales, dolphins and plentiful seabirds including giant petrels, other petrels, albatrosses and penguins.

Things to see and do

* Whales
* Dolphins
* Sea birds
* Icebergs

Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
Currency - Euro (EUR)
Electricity - 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style
Time - GMT minus 3 hours
International Country Telephone Code - + 55

Transport Links - The Drake Passage can be accessed by boat from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.

Transport Links - There are daily Aerolineas Argentinas flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. LAN Chile (through its LAN Express services) flies a few times a week (currently three) from Santiago de Chile, stopping over in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas.