1

Take a flight. Ushuaia is a good place to do all kind of outdoors, good scenery, good wildlife and some interesting museums and history. 5 days fro going from santiago to Punta Arenas, stopping along the way is a short time

2

It is 2400 kilometers from Santiago to Ushuaia! Why spend all your time on a bus when you could fly down.

Why not get a flight to Punta Arenas and spend a day there- you'll find a city of 120,000 sitting on the Straits of Magellan with some pretty interesting architecture from its heyday before the opening of the Panama Canal killed it. To get your bus ride you could always bus it to Ushuaia from PA- or you might be able to arrange a boat ride. It is about 250 kilometers by road and a bit less by water. A couple of days in PA should do the trick- maybe go to the penguin colony on one of them. Then a day to get to Ushuaia. And then a couple of days to explore Ushuaia and environs- you'll find some great walks.

Here is some info on buses from PA to Ushuaia- http://www.visiting-chile.com/buses-from-punta-arenas-to-ushuaia

And here is a map of the neighbourhood- http://goo.gl/maps/aW36t

3

Everybody basically has the same deals available on last minute tickets. You can email or phone ahead to Alicia Petiet (Google her or use https://www.facebook.com/antarcticatravels) and make arrangements to suit before you get to Ushuaia. Then your only worry will be getting there on time to catch whatever boat you book--maybe you fly directly there, or maybe you take a week in Torres del Paine on the way.

She's reliable, speaks good English, and takes credit cards. Say hello for me.

Mark