Falkland Islands

 photo: West Falkland by headlessmonk

Falkland Islands

A mecca for bird watchers, nature lovers, astronomers and photographers, this rather famous British outpost is well worth a longer visit if you have the time. For those who were involved in the Falklands War it maybe a place they must visit for more emotional reasons, and for those of us who remember the daily news reports from the war, the place names seem very familiar.

Photographers, Artists and Astronomers

The Falklands sit on the same latitude as the Southern tip of New Zealand and Cape Horn is not much further South so it is windy, but the clarity of the light is great for artists and photographers and the night skies unpolluted by artificial light for star gazers.There are elephant seals, penguins, sea lions, fur seals and beuautiful wild beaches 

Battlefield tours & Maritime History

The fiercest fighting in the 1980s Falklands War was on the hills around Port Stanley so you can walk at your own pace around Longdon, Mount Harriet or Tumbledown - or arrange a local guide. There are ship wrecks in the Falklands Sound and the Falkland Island Museum is worth a visit.

Accommodation on the Falklands

The best way to understand an island community is to stay in a locals home and there are planty of homestays, farms and B & B accommodation on the Falklands. Again the Falkland Islands Tourist website has the best accommodation listings with photos and e mail / phone contacts.  http://www.falklandislands.com/sections/stay-here

Getting There

Europa specialises in some of themost tricky joining ports out of the whole Classic Sailing Fleet so you do need to think a bit laterally as there are quite a few ways to get to and from South America, but the options to get out to the Falklands in time for your voyage are more limited.

The excellent Falklands tourism website www.falklandislands.com has a summary of all the possible routes into the Falklands from UK, Brize Norton; Buenos Aires,Argentina; Santiago or Punta Arenas in Chile, Los Angeles, Rio de Janerio, Sydney, Aukland, Miami, Toronto with return flight estimates (updated Jan 2011)....but basically all these flights will connect to the once a week Saturday LAN Chile flight from Santiago, via Punta Arenas.  (There is one flight a month which does stop in Rio Gallegos, Argentina.)

The RAF flight from UK takes 20 hrs via Ascension Island and is the most expensive option, especially as the voyage ends in Argentina and you still have to get back home.