For me, this isnt going to happen in at least 1 1/2 years, because I´ve just finished a trip from Europe to Australia, so I wont have a budget for this in a long time...

But someone at work today asked: "What is your next trip?" and the thought of the Americas instantly came to my mind.

Is it true that you can actually do it all the way from Alaska to Ushuaia WITHOUT carnet, provided you are willing to go around a couple of countries maybe?

As a Finnish citizen, is there anything regarding paperwork, that might stop me flying to the U.S., and buying a suitable bike there, which I would then prepare for the trip, and start off?

Considering the euro/dollar exchange rate, that would probably make a lot of sense, at least right now. Used bikes in the U.S. seem to cost less than half of what they cost here. And I would probably buy something thats easy to get spare parts everywhere, and not too old anyway. Africa Twin seems to be hard to find in the US... how about a Suzuki Vstrom 650?

Heard lots of stories about the big cities of South America like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo... they really that bad, or you always hear only the bad ones, never the good? I´d probably take my girlfriend with me (she was with me, we rode 2-up to Australia) so her security is something I always worry about. Previously I´ve come along fine in Johannesburg and some other places guidebooks rate as dodgy, but I understood that if there are even more dangerous cities in the world, they are probably in S.America.

We didnt carry a tent through Asia, but might do that in the U.S., to keep the costs down a bit. Can you compare accommodation options in South and Central America to Asia (where there was cheap options available almost everywhere)?

How about the northern and southern ends of the journey, about what time of the year do they normally get too cold to ride? Im from a cold country, so Im used to riding at +5 Celsius, but when it gets to zero, I probably wouldnt plan on doing long days of riding. Any high mountain passes in the colder regions, that might get snowed in?

I know that budget on such a long trip largely depends on your spending habits, but those who have ridden this route, may I ask how much you estimated per day for different regions, and did you manage to keep to this budget?

If you had 6 months, what would be the best time to start from the north (I would guess it would be around April) ?

A tour operator from Finland is doing this with a group at the end of August.. and they only have like 72 days to complete it. Hopefully Im able to do this sometime, and with a bit more time to spend.

I've been to Prudhoe Bay and to Ushuaia. You will have a great trip. I can't answer the question about the carnet. I am from the US and I didn't need one. I just used a Passport and moto title all the way down with no problem. I don't know if it is any different for someone from another country or not. I couldn't go into Brazil without a Visa so I didn't, but I didn't have enough time anyway. June is the most dry month of the year in Alaska so that would be recommended. I was in Ushuaia in January and it was great. So Dec/Jan is a good time to be south.

I rode a BMW 1200 GSA, but a 650 to 850 would be a nice size. I really enjoyed my fuel range of 300 miles, but it is not necessary.

I had good luck as far as safety goes in all the towns/cities. I prefer smaller towns but stayed in larger towns such as Santiago/Buenas Aires as well.

I can't compare hotels to the other countries such as Asia, but there are plenty of choices as you go south. I have attached a spreadsheet to my webpage to give a variety of costs. I could have done it cheaper, but I was traveling very quick and didn't take the time to do it.

The temps at the top in June were around 40 degrees (US) and about 50 degrees at the bottom. That would be the best times as far as temps go.

I had budgeted $10,000 for my trip from Texas south, but only used $8,300. And, $3000 of that was for my flight home from Buenas Aires (per my spreadsheet).

I would like to do the trip again with more time and money. Good luck on your journey.


South America 2006

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Bo Griffin
www.bogriffinrides.com

A V-Strom DL650 is a good choice, IMHO. I rode mine from Colorado to TDF and loved it. I know that it is possible to get parts in Guatemala, Panama City, Bogota, Quito and Santiago. Only problem is that stock tire sizes are hard to come by and when found EXPENSIVE and take 3 weeks to get! This was solved easily by going with the next size smaller, Pirelli MT60 tires that are available in nearly every decent sized city. Bike did very well with the smaller tires. The Strom is inexpensive, tough and very underrated. Me and my Strom had no problem keeping up with a guy on a Africa twin through Bolivia, Chile and Routa 40. Plus, I got better gas mileage. I purchased a 0 mile left over from the year before and saved over $1000. $6000 in cash and I rode it out the door...not bad! BMW's are really nice and I would love to have one, but I figured I wanted use the money I saved from not buying a BMW and apply that towards the trip itself. Plus, I "hurts" less if something happened to a $6000 than a $9000+ bike.

Check out this thread if you want more input on the DL650 as a round the world bike. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...check-in-24476

If you want to get to Ushuaia, get there no later than mid-feb if you want to get a boat to Antarctica. December and Jan. r the best months over all for TDF. I left Keystone at the end of Sept. and didn't get to Ushuaia until April 15th. Had to deal with black ice and snow over the last pass into Ushuaia. Not fun and bloody cold. The best part was Ushuaia had virtually no tour-ons(tourist/morons) but fewer bikers to celebrate the arrival at the end of the world.

Camping in the USA and Canada is cheap and easy. Central America, forget it. South America is easier as you move south.

I would guess I spent a max of $50 a day.

Carnet's are not necessary for any nationality. Central America, you will need multiple copies of all important papers to give to the customs officers. SA they could care less about copies.

Accommodations in CA and SA are more expensive than Asia. Atleast the ones that will have a place to park your bike(lobby, courtyard or garage). Take this with a grain of salt as I have only backpacked through Asia, meaning I didn't have to worry about finding a guesthouse with parking. Thus it was easy as pie to find a cheap room without a bike.

Have fun on the trip. I excrete jealous from my every pore. That is until I get back on the bike and head south again.

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it, as this site´s great information in general.

Yeah, I know the DL650´s a perfect long distance bike, as I just I did the trip to Australia with one. It never missed a beat! Having done a bit of research, what they cost second-hand in the U.S. (not much, compared to here!!), I think its highly likely the DL is going to be my bike of choice again. Doing some modifications to the crashbars will allow you to carry spare tyres mounted on them, a big plus if you´re riding 2-up.

Wouldnt want to send my own bike over, but I dont know yet, how it will be possible for me to register something I buy over there on my own name, if I do not have residence in the U.S. I will have to do more research on that.

From the last trip I know its very hard to find any comprehensive insurance for the bike to go on such a trip, so would hurt a lot less to be able to buy a cheap one, if you end up losing it, or it is destroyed.

My K7 was worth some 8-9000 euros (with all the rip-off taxes in our country) when we left, and later I met some Aussies, who had bought two old Transalps from the UK, costing some 1000-1500 euros, and they´d done basically the same trip as us.

I think their ´risk-management´ regarding the bikes was much better than ours, and I´d like to do something similar next time. Would probably make my feeling on the trip better, when I know the bike is not worth that much (but of course I need to keep in mind, that I shouldnt look for the absolute cheapest, I still have to find one thats likely to work reliably!)

Its true what you said about guesthouses in Asia, sometimes a pain to find one with a secure parking, but you could normally talk with the owners and they´d let you put it in their yard or something like that. The same thing will often forbid you using the very cheapest options available. My experience from Costa Rica was that its somewhat more expensive than in Asia, but still a whole lot cheaper than in Europe.

Then what about getting the bike from Panama to Colombia... you need to actually freight it (crate it, etc.), or can you find just some small boats going over, that are willing to take your bike along?

Its very early days, but I think Im slowly getting the same kind of nice ´tickle´ that I had, when I developed the idea to go to Australia... makes me want to work even harder to really make this happen one day!

Pecha,

Once you hit Ecuador, take some inland routes. The PANA is a desert, has corrupt cops and border issues, and is boooooring! Add a bit of time to your calculations and visit Banos in Ecuador, Chachapoyas, Huaraz, and Cuzco in Peru, and Potosi and Santa Cruz in Bolivia.

As far as hostel costs (with parking), I've found prices under $15/night everywhere in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (some as low as $6). Argentina is a tad more, and Brazil is in the $25 to $35 range. Get the "South America on a Shoestring". It is not the Bible, but it is a good starting place and is most useful for places to stay.

Prices in Bolivia are INSANELY CHEAP on everything, even bike parts. The center for motorcycle stuff in Ecuador is Cuenca. In Peru it is Pucallpa. In Bolivia it is Santa Cruz. In Brazil it is Manaus, Cuiaba, and Brasilia.

Hope that helps with planning. My specialty is PERU, have lived there for 30 years...

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http://www.aroundtheblockmotoadventures.com/
'We build the bike (in Peru) for your Epic Ride of South America.'

First, have you checked the shipping section on the left side of this site? You can enter the country you are shipping from and to and get a list of tips from people that have done it.

Most common way getting from Panama to Colombia is flying via Girag Cargo. They ship lots of motorcycles and thus have experience. All you have to do is show up, remove mirrors and windshield. They will strap it down to a pallet, wrap it in plastic with cardboard as a buffer. All you have to do is head to Bogota to pick it up. Cost me $550 for shipping the bike and $262 for me on Copa Air.

I really wanted to catch a sailboat from Colon to Cartagena. This is difficult though. Not many captains want a bike on their decks and they are not certified to carry cargo any way so it has to be done a little under the radar of the customs officers(i.e. You must unload very early in the morning and give a name of an actual cargo vessel that is in the harbor) Last I heard from those in the know, the cost is $275 for bike and $250 per person. To find info on sailboats, check out the hostels and lower end hotels in Panama City. They have bulletin boards choked with flyers of boats going between Panama and Colombia. Look for Stihleratt(sp?), a 130 foot schooner that has plenty of space on deck and told me they would take my bike. They just kept putting of departure due to their customs chartering from private groups.

I highly recommend not catching an actual cargo vessel. They seems to be more trouble and risk than its worth. Lots of smuggling goes on between panama and colombia and theres been a few reports of people being dumped on some unscheduled island and left to find an alternative way to Cartagena. Apparently the boat was smuggling and the captain deemed it to dangerous for them to go to Cartagena.

There are a couple of options. Small boats or flying. If you decide to fly it over, here is a thread I did in December 2006 on the process. There is also some boating info in that thread if you look around. It was about $500 then and going up steadly. Can't imagine what it might be now. Very simple process and painless. Don't miss Colombia. It was a beautiful ride thru.
How about a trade for some of your Australia info? :=) I am leaving on Aug 28th for a 4 month tour around Oz. Renting a DR 650 from Bike Round Oz folks for the tour vice shipping my DL650 (sold the KLR in Buenos Aires). :=( Do you have any gps tracks or any other info I could put to good use? If you decide to start in Los Angeles, let me know. I have a place for you to stay.
Rick McDermed
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/rickmd

Forgot the thread!!!!!!

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ta-quito-24053

I'm a Brit in the USA and am about to undertake the ride to Ushaia. On the carnet...good news.

I was talking with the Canadian contact for carnets (covers the whole of the USA too-contact in paperwork section) and they are moving over to the UK Insurance rather than bond method any day now. If you buy a bike in the US and have it registered as a US bike, then you should be able to apply for the carnet (check if you need a US Driver's license too, or whether an International license will do).

So while a carnet might not be required, it may also smooth things through at crossings and be worth the price of a policy.

On bike prices...what a bargain they are over here, pound to dollar, 10 grand UK Sterling bike= $10k, so on a 2 dollars to pound exchange, half price. And despite all the grumbling here about fuel prices doubling, they are still a fraction of the European costs

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www.unchainedworld.com

www.roughguidesintouch.com/lamble

http://ttt.unchainedworld.com

On my trip, a Carnet was never needed at any of the border crossings. They're all much the same, passport stamps for you and temp import cert for the bike so don't bother with a Carnet.

However, I just read on here that if you fly into Equador rather than taking the boat to Cartagena, you do need a Carnet. I took the boat though, why fly when you can cruise across the Carribean!

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Hi Mike,

What boat did you take to Cartagena? When? How much $ (you and the bike) and time etc. Any problems?

At $900 for the air freight, taking a boat sounds more and more attractive alternative - if safe and secure?

How do you make the connection with boat and "get er done"?

Tom

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"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tzu

So I'm gearing up (literally and figuratively) for my Latin America Ride in Dec. One of the things I'm curious about is the route. Initially, like many perhaps, I thought of the PanAmerican or the InterAmerican route. I'm curious though if a ride down and back, via the coastal roads, wouldn't be nicer? I've no real bearing one way or the other but would be entering around about Laredo, TX. Debate? Thoughts? Ideas? (4-5week trip)

Thanks!

I think you'll need a tourist Visa to the states because if you get the visa waiver you can only use it at either alaska or usa because it's canceled when you leave either

A little more info would help, please. Where are you going, what are you riding, preferences, whatever.

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Andy Tiegs
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...lsouth-america

If any of you are coming to Mexico we can always put you up and show you around Mex City. Mike S spent a couple of days here on his trip and he seemed to like it. Mex City has great museums, parks, zoos etc and the pyramids are close by. My email is garrydymond @ prodigy.net.mx I normally meet people just outside the city and guide them in. Mike was a real traveller and was somehow able to arrive at my place of work.