What to do in Ushuaia (Argentina) with kids? Travel with your kids to Ushuaia, the end of the world. We did this with two kids ages 0 and 3 and spent a week as a family in the southernmost city in the world: Ushuaia! A city which in a short time has grown enormously in population and is proud of its location. The prominent sign in the harbor makes this immediately apparent: Ushuaia Fin del mundo (Ushuaia, end of the world). In this blog, we list the best children’s activities in Ushuaia!
Best travel time Ushuaia with kids
In South America, people enjoy the summer vacations in January and February, and this creates more crowds in tourist spots. So as far as we are concerned, a good travel time would be in March or December. In doing so, you do not yet hit the extreme cold and avoid top crowds. We arrived in town in early April and were surprised with snow during our week.
Should you be looking for this (as winter sports are also possible here), we would recommend visiting the city around June. This is the winter season in Ushuaia.
Transportation to and in Ushuaia
Ushuaia is located in Patagonia in the extreme south of Argentina. Flights go to Ushaia from major Argentine cities. You can also take the bus to Ushuaia. Keep in mind that from the capital Buenos Aires this is two days of travel. Of course, you can also explore the country of Argentina by car.
You can rent a car at the Buenos Aires airport and explore the country this way. You can rent a car here through Sunny Cars. With Sunny Cars, most insurance and often the deductible are included in the price. For more information on renting a car in Argentina through Sunny Cars, take a look here.
The best way to explore the city of Ushuaia and the Ushuaia area with kids is by car. Of course, there is also the option of getting around by bus or cab. However, own transportation gives your freedom to plan your own day and not have to take into account bus schedules or arranging a cab.
Ushuaia’s city center is easy to visit on foot. This is one long street with stores on both sides and can be visited in an afternoon.
Children’s activities Ushuaia
#1 Tierra del Fuego national park
If you love hiking and also like to do it together with your kids, you are in the right destination in Ushuaia. There are beautiful hikes here where you as parents can put a fun spin on it for your kids. For example, we visited Tierra del Fuego national park and literally drove here “to the end of the world”!
This is because the so-called Route 3 stops here and from this point there are no more roads. Within this national park is the southernmost post office in the world. This is where we and our kids sent our previously written postcards to family and friends. We put in each envelope a poloraid photo we took at the yellow mailbox. Quite an activity when you ask an unknown person to take 25 poloraid photos of the family.
For this activity in Ushuaia with kids, it is advisable to visit the park with your own transportation. It is about a half-hour drive outside the city center, and from the park entrance you can visit the highlights very easily by car. Of course, you can also choose to do some great hiking.
These walking tours also take you past the post office and the end of Route 3. Park admission is 12 euros per adult (kids under 5 are free). As far as we are concerned, a bucket list activity when visiting Ushuaia with kids.
#2 Ushuaia Center and port
What always makes a city fun for us is visiting the city center with its restaurants and cafes, (tourist) stores and, of course, the playgrounds. Ushuaia did not disappoint us and we enjoyed good coffee, a fresh orange juice for our toddler and a delicious piece of cake.
With a full stomach, we went in search of a playground, because that always remains a highlight for kids on trips anyway. It can be found in the city center overlooking Ushuaia’s harbor. Sailing ships from all over the world dock here and to our surprise, we saw a sailing ship here with a Dutch guest flag on the mast.
There are many stores to visit in the main street of Ushuaia and there is also a post office here where you can get a stamp in your passport! This is obviously not an official stamp, but we, as parents of two small kids, thought this was a very nice memento of our visit as a family to Ushuaia.
So, by the way, this stamp can also be put in the southernmost post office in the world, found in Tierra del Fuego National Park.
#3 Laguna Esmeralda
A very nice hike in Ushuaia with kids is the trek to Laguna Esmeralda. The trail totals 10 kilometers and shows several beautiful landscapes. The last 2 kilometers of the hike are extremely muddy, so putting on good walking shoes is recommended.
Our toddler plodded through the mud with his booties and jumped from boulder to boulder. Once we arrived at “Laguna Esmeralda,” we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the azure lake. There is no admission charge and the start of the tour is about a 30-minute drive outside the city center.
Again, it is advisable to be able to drive to the start of the hike with your own transportation, although we also saw several cabs at the starting point ready to transport people back to downtown Ushuaia.
#4 Visit a spa with your kids
It may sound illogical to go to a spa with your kids, but here in Ushuaia, this is one of the options when visiting the “Los Cauqenes” resort. April is already very chilly and there is no indoor pool in town. What is a godsend is to visit this resort with spa and jacuzzi and spend an afternoon here (staying overnight is not required and you pay an entrance fee to visit spa and jacuzzi).
Relax and enjoy the beautiful views of the Beagle Channel. Adults here pay the entrance fee of around 20 euros per person and kids under 5 are free. The resort is about a 15-20 minute drive outside the city center. So a very relaxing children’s activity in Ushuaia!
#5 Glacial Martial
If you want to opt for a hike with your kids in Ushuaia that involves some climbing, choose to visit Glaciar Martial. About a 10-minute drive from the city center, you will find a large parking lot where you can leave your car. Navigate to “La Cabana Tea House” and you’ll see the entrance by itself!
There is also an option to travel from the city center toward this parking lot by bus or cab. Once at the start, an uphill climb of about 1.5 hours begins. Reach the top then you can enjoy a magnificent view of the Beagle Channel. To end the hike warmly, you can visit the teahouse. Here you will find an extensive menu regarding lunch, coffee, tea and cakes.
#6 Island of Martillo
You can also visit a penguin colony in Ushuaia with kids. The activity lasts about 7 hours and starts at the port of Ushuaia. By bus, you will travel in 1 hour and 45 minutes toward Martillo Island (via Route 3 and Route J). The last 15 minutes of the trip you will travel by boat. Once you arrive on the island, you may join an English-speaking guide for a one-hour walk with the penguins.
The organization that makes this possible is “Piratour” and they are also the only organization that has the power of attorney to actually dock on the island to do the walk. A tour is pricey though, amounting to 140 euros per person. Kids under 5 are free. The activity does not include food/drink. So it is recommended that you bring this yourself!
By the way, it is also possible to sail to this island Martillo and then watch the penguins from the boat. This organized tour is slightly cheaper and the duration of the tour is slightly shorter. This may be a better option with kids. For more information about this tour, take a look here.
Family-friendly restaurant Ushuaia
You can eat in Ushuaia with kids just fine, too. You have several nice family-friendly restaurants in Ushuaia. We list some of them.
Kuar Resto & Bar Ushuaia: This family-friendly restaurant is located at the beginning of town and has a fantastic sea view. An extensive menu features meat, fish, pasta and vegetarian dishes, and there is a special kids’ menu for kids.
Café Martinez: If you are looking for a good cup of coffee or a nice lunch, we recommend Café Martinez. It is a cozy cafe with a large couch full of pillows. For our toddler, the ultimate place to build a “hut” while we enjoyed a delicious lunch.
Family-friendly hotel Ushuaia
Cumbres del Martial: a feast for the family in Ushuaia, in our opinion, is a stay at Cumbres del Martial. Book one of the luxury accommodations here and enjoy a relaxing stay with kids in Ushuaia including breakfast and jacuzzi or sauna. The Jacuzzi is located in the living room and is a treat for the kids.
Breakfast in the morning takes place in the “tea house” and is vastly expanded by South American standards. For the kids, there is also a huge amount to feast on. This was really thought out! Finally, the “tea house” is very nicely decorated. We paid 153 euros per night for a luxury accommodation intended for up to 4 people.
Since we stayed here for several nights, we stayed here in two different accommodations, the first accommodation had a Jacuzzi and the second accommodation had a sauna. It is advisable to contact Cumbres del Martial directly, as it saves a lot in booking fees!
Of course, you can also book it through the major booking websites. For more information about Cumbres del Martial take a look here.
You can stay at several other accommodations in Ushuaia with kids. We list below some well-reviewed accommodations in Ushuaia. Click on the blue link for more information!
Budget hotel: Departamentos Ahnen
Mid-range hotel: Del Bosque Apart Hotel
Luxury hotel: Hotel Albatros
For a list of all family-friendly accommodations in Ushuaia, take a look here.
About the author: Titus, Mariëlle, Aron and Jinthe travel as a family to special places around the world. They prefer to do this as self-sufficiently as possible with their own transportation. It brings them to places that otherwise remained inaccessible.
