San Francsico to Ushuia - Departing Sept 2017
 

I am seeking some advice from those "in the know" about a trip from San Francisco (SF) CA down to Ushuaia Argentina later on this (2017) year.


I live in the UK and have a planned SF to Prudhoe Bay trip. It’s already planned and booked, and I have my shipping arranged to get my bike over to the USA. The Alaska trip departs Santa Rosa July 14th and returning August 12th taking roughly 7-8000 miles. I would like to continue my trip to ride down South to Argentina and Ushuia to make it a bucket list trip as I am nearing 50 years of age.


Although I don’t have a locked route in place I would like to hear people’s thoughts on:

- What weather I am likely to face in Central/South America if I depart California in mid August?

- Preferred/best ways to bypass the Darian Gap?

- Roads/routes I really have to avoid?


I won’t be so foolish as to ask for a list of “must see” places on the way down, but I would like to hear people’s favourite points of interest as that may well change the shape of my trip.

Also, has anyone used the free Open Garmin maps at http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ for planning trips this big? and did you use Mapsource or Basecamp?


If the weather turns out to be a problem based on the time of the year, I will probably opt to leave the bike in the USA (Arizona as I have another bike there) and fly home to the UK and do some work. If the weather works, then I have the finances in place in order to do the trip.


Thanks in advance for any help.

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I have not been in central America, only in south, so here are some tips.

Regarding gps maps: I have used the open garmin maps for my 5 month trip in south America, back in 2012-2013. They were ok.
But I found other maps that had better, more accurate data.

• For Argentina & Chile I used Proyecto Mappear (Inicio | Proyecto Mapear)
• For Peru, most of the times the Perut maps Overview of the PeRut map project
• For Equador I used the open garmin
• For Colombia : Colrut

They were all public domain, free to download and use back then, I haven't kept up and don't know if they still are.
I used a Garmin Montana and that allowed me to have them all installed in a memory card and just switch between them from the device's menu.

Regarding routes to "really avoid":
apart from security reasons, for which I can't be of help, the reason to avoid or not a route is a matter of preference (what kind of roads you like to ride), riding skills (are you ok with sand for example?), and time of year. For example, some mountainous routes in Peru or Equador can become a nightmare to ride during raining season due to landslides and too much mud.

Raining season should not discourage you though to travel in south America. It's just that non-asphalt routes can become a pain.

If you can afford the $2K to $3K USD shipping then no worries. It's nice having your own bike, a bike you know, but most can't afford shipping so buy a bike here in USA, then re-sell at trips end. Shipping a bike R/T burns lots of travel money. Whatever. What year BMW GS are you on? :innocent:

When you return from AK you'll be in about the middle of Mexico/Cent. Am rainy season. Varies but begins in June, extends until late September, give or take a few weeks on either end.

The worst of the rain happens in late August /September. By November, weather is usually BEAUTIFUL for MC travel. Best month of the year in Cent. America, coolest temps.

Best take your time in AK or explore more area on your way South to kill some time. Baja is exempt from rainy season, so you could could also spend more time there until rain eases up in Mexico and Cent. America.

I'd see Montana, Idaho, maybe Canadian Yukon too. Few Brits ever go there.

Generally in Mexico/Cent. Am., highlands have less rain, lowlands and subtropical zones have most rain. Cooler temps up high.

Private boats are good option for crossing Darien ... a TON info on this here.
Also, air freight is option. ALL expensive.

Weather patterns in S. America vary relative to North /South location and altitude. Lowlands/Amazonas can have heavy rain almost any time of year. Alti Plano can be very cold.

In December, North most Argentina is blisteringly HOT, but perfect for Usuhaia.

If you're like most you'll do a whirlwind tour and see the whole lot in a few months ... I spent 7 years in the region, many trips back and forth. Lived in several countries, worked and traveled. All great memories.

To each his own ... but I'd advise taking some time to get to know some places, learn a bit of the language.
Safe travels bier

Hi - another British rider here who did something very similar. I flew into San Francisco and then rode south, but didn't go too far south Argentina due to the poor weather. My blog, charting my trip, is still online - the link is in my signature below.

I would recomend taking a boat between Panama and Colombia - I spent a few days sailing the San Blas islands and crossing the Caribean with my KLR650 strapped to the pontoon of a catamaran - it was a wonderful break from riding. It also cost the same as shipping the bike and flying myself, yet I got bed and board and a few days in paradise!

Biggest tip - find some great points to hit, but don't plan too much either. See what happens and who you meet along the way. I do regret not exploring Peru more - I had a wonderful time exploring the Andes around Huaraz - an incredible location to ride, but wish I'd explored more.

If you want to save money, if you can find a way to get the US title in your name, buy a bike in the USA and then sell it to an American in Argentina. I did precisely that and it helped manage my budget!

thanks for the replies people - keep them coming!

It wouldn't be a problem getting a bike in my name in the USA (I already have a 2008 Valkyrie Touring in Phoenix in my name) however i am already committed to bringing my own bike over - its a 2010 GSA1200 which I have had prepped for my trip, and besides, i got a cracking deal with Motofrieght to ship it. Here it is back when it had just been finished prepped - now it looks somewhat more "used" :)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...gsa1200-01.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...gsa1200-02.jpg

Regarding spending the time in Sth America - thats the plan. I want to see it before I depart this life. If I have to lay the bike up somewhere and fly home for whatever reason, I will do so and return to complete the trip as soon as possible.

The needs for gps mapping is only as a fail safe. I tend to derive a trip based on points of interests i want to see, and of course when you find out about something cool to check out, the route changes - but its always nice to know that you can press a button and find a route back to civilisation if needed.

And yes - roads/routes to avoid is from a safety point of view. I am reading that FARC (and similar) are still pretty active in the abduction/ransom arena and I dont want any of that.