KTM 690 to Tierra Del Fuego. Trip technicalities.
 

I put this on ADVrider than modified it for here.

My bike (KTM 690 E) is sorted out, I have the money and passport. I'm thinking about some sort of life flight insurance. I'm concerned about the following:

Funds: can I get by with just a credit card? If so, is one of the US's recognized bank credit cards OK?

Cell service: will I be able to use my cell phone in most areas? iPhone thru Verizon stateside. I understand I need to contact Verizon regarding international service.

Internet: will I be able to connect at least once a day?

El Salvador: Because of security should I blast through, or stop and smell the roses?

Search & Rescue insurance?
Health insurance--Medicare is primary, Blue Cross / Blue Shield secondary; contact BC/BS to advise will be out of country?


More thoughts:
There our 3 of us going on this trip. A guy on a DR650 and a girl on a 800GS. At the end of the trip we have the option of selling our bikes, shipping the bikes home or storing the bikes there and returning the next year and riding the bikes home or to a convenient shipping point. I would be very reluctant to sell my well equipped KTM, shipping the bike back home might be incredibly expensive so I'm leaning option 3, returning and riding the bike back. If I had to do this over again I would have a DR650 for $2,500-$3,500 and just sell it after the trip.

Thanks so much!

Lots of questions ... all important. I can only suggest ideas on a few things:

Medical Evac: try HUBB sponsor Global Rescue, also Med-Jet Assist. I have not used either, but many travelers have, read the reports.

Credit Cards/Money: You will need at least 2. Also, 2 or 3 ATM cards. Use ones from different banks/networks to cover all the bases. Often your card WILL NOT WORK ... no reason, it just won't work. So try another card.

You can draw CASH from ATM's ... if the machine recognizes your card! Some businesses won't take credit cards so, get your cash from ATM and use that.

Try to use Credit Card with NO Foreign transaction fees. These are killer and add 2 to 3% onto every purchase. ATM's almost always have fees ... hard to avoid. I usually draw LARGE amounts of cash at one go. (usually about a $3 fee) Be sure to cash out before crossing borders.

Cell Service: I'm weak in this area, but I think you need an "UNLOCKED" phone and then you will need to buy a local SIM card for every country, then contract with a Verizon affiliate, OR ... buy a local, cheap cell phone in each country.
Everyone has a cell phone now.

Internet Access:
In towns big and small there is Wi-Fi available. In remote areas not so much but even this is in flux. More and more cell towers everywhere. Even in jungles and deserts. Even if you can't get WiFi your SPOT meter will show where you are.

El Salvador:
I hadn't heard of any recent problems in Salvador. But if you must ... you can easily ride through in a few hours. I lived in La Libertad (Surf Spot) many years ago. Lots more violence going on in Mexico these days. (Cartels vs. Army)

Search & Rescue: Spot (you need one!) Allows friends and family to track you and alerts when you set it off if you have a problem. Good reports on this service.

Medi-Care: Many countries have FREE health care ... even for foreigners. But far as I know Medi-Care does cover some of your out of country medical costs and your supplemental should too ... check with them to confirm.

I like your idea of storing bikes then returning to ride more. I would ship your KTM from Colombia to Florida. Quite a lot of cargo goes that route. Expensive but not crazy. Either air or sea.

Good planning! bier

This planning phase is stressing me out! Yes, I have a Spot. Your info is appreciated and the wife and I are reading it over and over. There is a guy on Facebook that I've been chatting to also, he's on a bike like mine and has been very helpful. He's using a Schwab card (never heard of it). He said to have my phone unlocked and buy SIM cards as there only $5 or so.

If you need help near Punta Arenas or decide to sell your bikes there, contact or PM me. Good luck, Salva

Funds - We had no issues with getting money out of ATMs in all Central/South America (2010-2011). We used a pre-paid travel card, Mastercard. We used our bank debit cards in BA as well at the end.

El Salvador - Stay on the coast, seems nice enough there. As Molly Dog said, La Libertad is a surf centre, only relaxed dudes there.

Phone - US ones may vary, but if there was a signal we could use it. However it can get expensive, so either get a local sim for that country or as there is a shed load of internet use Skype. (Get a Skype account and call/SMS worldwide for pennies).

Delorme SE is a far more versatile tracker than SPOT and works far more reliably way down south. A little more expensive but having two-way messaging to any mobile or email address in the world and SOS verification is worth it. Both can be integrated with Spotwalla to give permanent maps available to anyone you choose.

Big money to be saved by taking dollars into Argentina and changing them on the black market, "dolarblue'.

We've been into towns where all ATMs were down for the day, or where credit cards weren't accepted, so if we hadn't had cash to change into local currency so we could buy fuel and food, we would still be there

We mainly use a debit card to withdraw maximum amounts of cash (which is pretty low in some countries) at ATMs and use that for all payments, but have two different credit cards as backups. Plastic cannot be relied on so cash is still king. Bolivia for instance has ATMs everywhere, but petrol stations seemed to be cash only

Lots of opinions here, some of them backed buy direct experience. #5 and #6 give good advice above. I'll add:

El Salvador is great fun, and the mountains are gorgeous in addition to interesting in terms of recent history (i.e., US-funded wars wreaking havoc from which the country has yet to fully emerge). Keep your ear to the ground, but don't be intimidated by vague reports.

Most people don't worry about tracker/locator beacons and such. You may choose to carry one, but you certainly don't "need one."

Internet is available *almost* everywhere, although sometimes it's slow or uncomfortable. Wifi is not always available to travelers--this will depend on what sort of places you go or stay. Hell, even beds, shelter, electricity, food, cell service, and potable water aren't available everywhere. On the other hand, in some countries the wifi is far better and more widespread than in the USA.

Cheapest functional travelers insurance, including evacuation if needed, is available from DAN, a diver's membership organization. You don't need to be a diver to join. Look into it.

There are good reasons to carry emergency cash, stocking up in countries which use US dollars or Euros (Ecuador, El Salvador, Suriname, Panama). Not only are there countries with parallel (black) currency markets (Argentina, Venezuela) but there will be times when you can't access funds for a day, maybe two, for mysterious reasons. And you will definitely need to carry more than just one or more credit cards.

Most people planning to ride down and then back find that they run out of steam and end up shipping, selling or (rarely) storing their bikes. Just keep that in mind when making plans.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

As replied on the ADV it could be the opposite, and therefore by now could be incredibly cheap.


For instant if you take the advice regarding the Dolar Blue for Argentina would be even better, By now you can pay the shipment in Argentinean Pesos. Be alert that from 10th December (2015) will be a new government and some monetary situations could change substantially or not…

Check the Shipment database on here for actual information: Shipments by Travellers | Horizons Unlimited

And agreed with Mark most people shipped their bike back, not him who has steam for always another mile!!!

Saludos

I had to keep moving at a brisk pace to be fully prepared in the event that you and Sandra stop by for a visit. My door is still open, and my garage is stocked with a pair of KLRs for you to ride (needing only a few "minor" repairs first)!

abrazos,

Mark

And having thought a bit more, why sell ? The bike will be part of your history, you may find you are attached to it. You may want to use it again ?

I have spent far more shipping my bike around the world than it is worth.
2010
UK -> Canada
Panama -> Colombia
Argentina -> Madrid
Roscoff -> Plymouth :-)

2013
UK -> Canada (again)
Canada -> South Korea
South Korea -> Russia
Dover -> Calais :-)

What is it ? An Aprilia Pegaso 660, it cost me £2400 ($3700), and about $7000 for all that shipping.

Worth it ? Yes, I have just been to the Sahara and back on it. Even though it has done over 70000 miles.

Why have the hassle of selling, when you can ship it home (cheaper than a new bike) and use it again ?

At and t is the best get the international plan comes with data too free text ..Google maps it's awesome ..with a waterproof case mounted on the bars ..

Cash is best for Argentina big bills even better especially in places like Patagonia the atm cards won't work there even if you have a couple different ones ..unless your in ushia.

You could legally sell the bike in chile's free trade zones like Punta areanas there's also a Web site that's popular with Chileans ..kind of like Craigslist and bikes cost a lot in Chile ..

And did mention I'm in Argentina right now heading north after getting all the way to the bottom ..