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  #1  
Old 6 Jan 2010
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Best Paper Maps for Central and South America
We are getting ready for our trip to the Americas and we would like to find the best paper maps to do some MC adventure around the area. We would like to visit every single country in Central and SA.

So far we have these maps on the list:
Mexico: Guia Roji
Argentina, Bolivia, Sur Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay: Atlas de Rutas
Belize:?????
Guatemala:?????
El Salvador:?????
Honduras:?????
Nicaragua:?????
Costa Rica:?????
Panama:??????
Colombia:?????
Venezuela:?????
Peru:????
Ecuador:?????
North Brazil:????

We know there is a bunch of maps in the market for every country, but we are looking for the best recommended maps for this kind of trip.

We are still looking around.

Thanks for your help
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  #2  
Old 6 Jan 2010
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Smile Itmb
I have used these for Mexico, Central, and South America several times and I think they are excellent especially in the smaller scales.

Maps, Travel Gifts, Globes, Travel Books, Topographic Maps

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  #3  
Old 7 Jan 2010
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We have been travelling for 5 months now through Central and Southern America and our maps were so inaccurate of the roads, which were paved and not. The best maps we have come across down here in Argentina are the Rutas y Distancias Maps......Orange cover and they say Mapa Turistico VIal on the bottom. NOt sure where you can get them out of SA though. Copec in Chile at the Gas Stations have maps which are pamphlet style so easy to handle page by page and are very uptodate also,with all the gas stops on as well.

But still not as uptodate as the www.chaltenoutdoor.com.ar
maps for Argentina South.

Cheers
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  #4  
Old 7 Jan 2010
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For the entire Central America region just get the ITMB fold up map for CA .It has just about all the roads.If you need any more detail it is not a big problem to find out by asking a few questions locally or just pointing the wheel down the road in question to explore- the fun part.
Maps are great , but you should not overemphasize their use for planning and getting yourself stuck into schedules for travel from A to B to C to... and not leaving yourself free.
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  #5  
Old 7 Jan 2010
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for venezuela, a very accurate map is ITMB
for Colombia, ITMB sucks, missing roads, missing villages, wrong names and orthography etc...
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  #6  
Old 7 Jan 2010
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Thumbs up CA and SA Best maps list
Thanks to all of you that have contributed with this info.

So according to MC adventures suggestions we have so far:
Mexico: Guia Roji
Belize:ITMB
Guatemala:ITMB
El Salvador:ITMB
Honduras:ITMB
Nicaragua:ITMB
Costa Rica:ITMB
Panama:ITMB
Colombia:?????
Venezuela:ITMB
Peru:????
Ecuador:?????
Bolivia:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
Chile:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
Argentina:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone), Rutas y Distancias
Paraguay:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
Uruguay:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
South Brazil:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
North Brazil:????
French Guyana:?????
Guyana:?????
Suriname:?????


NOTE:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone) has maps of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and South Brazil in one book.
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  #7  
Old 9 Jan 2010
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colombia
this book is pretty good for colombia, but cumbersome, and not easy to consult on the go, but for planning it is good, lots of information.
more on this here

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...colombia-44337
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  #8  
Old 10 Jan 2010
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Columbia Maps
In Columbia, the good local book stores sell a collection of road maps. 14 or 12 in total if I remember correctly, around $10 for the set. They are great. They include all routes I rode & elevation etc. Sorry cannot remember the name but bought them in a good book store. I saw them in most big cities. I gave mine to the next bike coming my way.

Cheers Mojo
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Old 10 Jan 2010
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I've been going through CA with only the ITMB CA map and it's just fine. Like was said before, just ask around to locals if you need more details. I purchased the ITMB SA atlas and will put it to good use over the next few months. I'm hoping it's sufficient as it's saved me lots of money over purchasing individual country maps. Have a great trip!

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  #10  
Old 16 Jan 2010
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GPS maps?
Thanks guys, Good info here. I am also planning a CA to SA trip and looks like the ITMB maps are the best for CA and Firestone are good for South America.
My question is whats a good GPS map to go along with the paper ones. Are the Garmin maps good enough or??????



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  #11  
Old 16 Jan 2010
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I always found decent maps for the South American countries in book stores. I found them to be accurate and adventurous. The only country I had a problem with was Ecuador, I was never able to find a decent map. Maybe someone can help on this topic???
Central American the fold up ITMB map was the best for all the countries.
Colombia and Peru have great maps in book stores.
I found all the stressing I did about maps was unnecessary. The roads are marked and maps are abundant. It always helps to ask questions along the roads too!
Good Luck!
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Old 17 Jan 2010
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Quote:
I always found decent maps for the South American countries in book stores. I found them to be accurate and adventurous. The only country I had a problem with was Ecuador, I was never able to find a decent map. Maybe someone can help on this topic???
Central American the fold up ITMB map was the best for all the countries.
Colombia and Peru have great maps in book stores.
I found all the stressing I did about maps was unnecessary. The roads are marked and maps are abundant. It always helps to ask questions along the roads too!
Good Luck!
Ok thanks, Is the ITMB map that covers all of central America good enough or should I get maps for each country? I'm not too worried about getting lost. Mostly using for route planning (I like to trace other riders routes on to the maps to see where they have gone) and general overview. Also what GPS map software are you using?
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  #13  
Old 17 Jan 2010
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All Brasil
Hi,

For all Brasil territory i sugest the Atlas Rodoviário 4 Rodas 2010...

Good ride!

Gerson kauer.
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  #14  
Old 17 Jan 2010
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Ill be looking for this CA ITMB map in Panama City tomorrow. Like many of the others i seem to find what i need on route, and never completely admitting to being lost helps as well.

While im not familiar with GPS i was doing some research as i was looking into justifying the purchase for North America. From what i remember they tend to use a world map for Central America or there are some private maps that exist. Check the GPS and map section on the main page.
Enjoy the ride,
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  #15  
Old 17 Feb 2010
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Paper Maps list Update
So according to MC adventures suggestions we have so far:
  • Mexico:Guia Roji
  • Belize:ITMB
  • Guatemala:ITMB
  • El Salvador:ITMB
  • Honduras:ITMB
  • Nicaragua:ITMB
  • Costa Rica:ITMB
  • Panama:ITMB
  • Colombia:Guia de Rutas por Colombia
  • Venezuela:ITMB
  • Peru:Rough Guide Maps
  • Ecuador:Rough Guide Maps
  • Bolivia:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone), Reise
  • Chile:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone), Rutas de Chile (AutoMapa)
  • Argentina:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone), Rutas y Distancias, Rutas de la Argentina (AutoMapa)
  • Paraguay:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone)
  • Uruguay:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone), Brasil y Uruguay (AutoMap)
  • Brazil: Atlas de Rutas (Firestone) for South Brazil, Atlas Rodoviário (Quatro Rodas of Brazil), Brasil y Uruguay (AutoMap)
  • French Guyana:ITMB
  • Guyana:ITMB
  • Suriname:ITMB
NOTE:Atlas de Rutas (Firestone) has maps of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and South Brazil in one book.
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Last edited by martinef; 17 Feb 2010 at 22:57. Reason: Better info
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