Canada to Argentina advice
 

We are planning to take a year to travel on 2 motorcycles in 2017. We are still not decided on a route however are considering Canada to Argentina (otherwise UK to Russia and Mongolia and back to Europe). We went to a really inspiring, motivating and informative talk by Lois Pryce and Austin Vince yesterday at the adventure travel show and now want to get planning! :)

Would I be right in saying that there are no Carne requirements in the Americas still?

Also better to buy the bikes there or ship to Alaska? Thinking of smaller bikes such as CRF230's so we can also go off-road. As we have a year we won't be trying to rush through everywhere. :) Any opinions or advice welcome.

Also anyone going to HUBBUK 2016 who has done this trip, it would be great to have a chat or any other trips people have done! :)


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Hi.

You are correct. There are no carnet requirements in any of the Americas.

Visas are usually very simple too. It's one of the reasons that it's such a popular travel destination.

Asia is a different story. Lot's of visas, lots of expensive, lots of planning.


If you're off-road enthusiasts and plan to do a lot of off-road, the small CRF might suit you well. If you do the Americas trip, I'd suggest something bigger though. Those small enduro bikes are SLOW, vibey and generally uncomfortable. You can go all the way from Alaska to Ushuaia without ever going off road if you want to.

If you settle on the Central Asia trip, then off-road capability will be necessary. Some places there are no roads.

Both would be spectacular trips. The Americas one would be more fun though and a lot simpler than Asia.

Thanks for your helpful tips Ted. :) Will have a good think about route before decide on a bike.


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Spot on !!


Work out your route and pick the tool for the job accordingly.

If I were you, I'd do the Americas trip. And learn some Spanish as a priority. It will make such a big difference to how much you can enjoy the south.

I'm asuming you are english? and because of your name...female..the 250 is fine if you are not a large person, ..sheepskin on the seat,
If not, as per Ted, a 650 bought in the USA, say Florida may be the cheapest. KLRs or DR 650, have an idea that KLRs are more comon in SA, eg Bolivian police use them...
Brits only need visas for Suriname?? (check that please)

Thanks Churchill.
Yes English woman but going with my English male partner. We want 2 bikes the same and with ability to go off-road.

Also deliberating (once bike and route decided on) about buying bikes there or shipping over to Alaska area. I do have family in Michigan but don't know if that helps with buying bikes.

My issue is if I have a bigger bike I would be more anxious about going off road and don't want to restrict myself to road only riding....lots to mull over!

Any advice on buying in USA/shipping would be great!


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From what I have read a visa is needed for Suriname and prices vary dependent upon length and if multiple entry. Only thing I can't quite work out is if it needs to be purchased in advance (which I am inclined to think it is) or if it can be sorted at the border.

Thanks for the advice so far and I think for our trip we will go with the Americas option rather than Russia/Mongolia/Europe option, although will do that at some point. :)


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Most people go down the west coast. It's quite a diversion going to Suriname. Brazil is fantastic though. It was a highlight for me. Bit I missed out peru and Ecuador which I'm eager to see

Yeah I've seen a few routes people have previously plotted on the Internet and all seem to be straight down through west side. As we have time i would be keen to see as much as possible and really make the most of it, but not sure if there's anywhere that's not advisable to go?

Think I need to buy some nice big maps I can stare at and squiggle on. Can't wait! :)


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"I do have family in Michigan but don't know if that helps with buying bikes. "

this helps as you have an address for registration purposes...

Venezuela is the big question mark.

apparently Brasil's devaluation makes it a bargain, and the people r great!

Hi Suzie,

Welcome to the HUBB :)

If its your first big trip then as Ted says, the Americas are fairly easy, stick with the ethos that Lois and Austin just gave you and buy the smaller bikes, then plan to ride them on secondary roads and do as much off road trails as you can. Its actually the CRF250L and its a great little bike, very reliable and fuel efficient, not the lightest 250, but it has a fairly low seat height and can be lowered further if needed:

2016 CRF250L Overview - Honda Powersports

Here's a Dutch couple riding CRF250L's RTW:

Amsterdam to anywhere – Wereldreis op de motor – Motorcycle trip around the world

Andy and Ellen took their time in South America, a good reference for routes and great places to see, keeping off the tourist trail:

Two Moto Kiwis

Ed and Rachel prove you don't need a big expensive bike to do a big trip:

TAT Day 56-77 | Wander On A Honda

https://www.facebook.com/pages/C90-A...79000328897692

As you only have a year, I would recommend spending as much time in Central/ South America as possible - there is so much to see and do, North America can be done any time. You could also fly your bikes to Colombia and ride a big loop either way round South America.


Having an address in the USA is a huge help to register the bikes, also having a place to stay and tinker with the bikes before the trip and do all of the paperwork is handy :)

Thanks Gripper, will have a good read. :)


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Another question….
 

I know you are allowed a 90 day VISA without having to apply for one, however what if you enter USA, stay 3 months then spend 6 months in South America and then come back into USA for 2-3 months? Are you able to get another 90 day tourist VISA? Also can you arrive from Canada (i.e. fly to Toronto and enter via Michigan?)

Also, we would have to come back through Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico...will they allow transit through the country if you have already had a visa earlier in the year?


Thanks,

Suzie :mchappy:

Welcome to South América
 

Can I help you? My English is very poor. Do you want learn Spanish?? well, we can combine us.
To buy a bike in Florida is very easy and cheap. In 2012, I bought a Goldwing 1100 for 1400 dollar, all the paperwork took me 2 hours, and rode 12500 millas without one problem.
For South America, on my Honda Nighthawk 250 cc I hited every country except Uruguay and was nice. It´s best a medium bike for this zone, not very speedy ours routes. Ask me your questions...Greetings

Hi Rauleloy,

Yes I plan to learn Spanish over the next year.

Thanks, we are deciding between flying our CRF230's over as I would love to be able to go off road confidently, or getting something like a DR650 each.

At the moment I am a little in the dark about VISA's for USA and Canada as lots of information and a lot of different opinions. We are considering a circular route from Toronto to Alaska, down west coast USA and south coast S America and back up east coast S America and up east coast USA back to Toronto over the course of a year. Therefor we need to be able to get into Canada at the beginning and end of the year and also access to USA and S America per the year. It's all still very much in planning stage with nothing booked as yet.

Where are you from?

Thanks,

Suzie :)


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