I am planning a 6 month trip in S. America and am overwhelmed by all the information available on this and other websites. I'm finding it challenging just sorting through all the information to find what I need so I decided to create a post and ask for help from those of you with experience. So far, this is where I am:

My plan is to start in Santiago in October or November (flexible) because I have spent a lot of time there, know the city and have several friends there who can help me get launched. I am thinking of traveling through Chile, Argentina, maybe southern Brazil and Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru.

I have been told it is best to ship a bike down there because it will be cheaper and easier than buying one there and I can set it up here and know what I will be on. Do you concur?

I have yet to find a shipper who can do better than $2500 by sea from LA to Valparaiso. This is for a 20' container with just my bike. Anyone want to share or do you know a cheaper way to go? Has anyone shipped a bike from the US to Santiago/Valparaiso? Who did you use? Air or Sea? What costs can I expect in getting it through Customs in Chile?

I had previously been told a KLR 650 is the bike to have but one of my friends in Santiago says they are rare there which surprised me. In looking at a website for bikes for sale there are definitely more BMW 650 GSs on the market and the price of those is not much higher than in the states while the KLRs seem to be dramatically higher than US. I have found a great deal on both a 650 GS and an 800 GS here in the US so am leaning in that direction now. Any other inputs on this?

So far, bike selection and shipping are the big issues I'm initially dealing with. I have a huge list of other topics I need to address later in my planning but if you have any other suggestions for me to consider right now beyond the bike and shipping please chime in.

If anyone else planning to be down there and wants to join up for a while, let me know. My itinerary is pretty flexible.

Lots of options!

Least expensive way to ship would be shared container out of L.A. Find people shipping car(s) where there is extra room for a bike or two in their container. If they are honest, then should be reasonable. (I've seen offers of about $500) More bikes means cheaper for everyone.

You could also ship air or sea from either Galveston, TX or Miami, FLA to Colombia. It's a short hop. Cheaper than going Chile. Break down your bike, crate it up SMALL to save money on Air shipping.

From Colombia you could ride South, see countries you want, then leave bike there, fly home, return in a year or whatever, continue travel. ?
Just a thought.

You could buy a bike locally in Chile. Best buy travelers bike, if it's a California bike, you transfer ownership to your name so you can traverse borders. There are threads on here and riders who've done this RECENTLY.
IT CAN BE DONE but not always strictly legal.

Lots and lots of KLR's posted here for sale in S. America, mostly US registered bikes ridden down by travelers. Some good deals for set up bikes. This could be your best bet.

You could also go through the paperwork and buy a local bike in Chile. This is a bit complex and takes TIME. If you have friends who can work ahead of your arrival, might be OK.

In Chile, anything Japanese or EURO is overpriced and often BEAT. Chinese 250's are affordable but not very good travel bikes IMO.

I'm not a fan of the old F650 BMW's. Lots of issues that can easily RUIN your trip. Research.
Do consider the Suzuki DR650. Simpler, easier to work on, stronger and lighter. If buying a used on is USA, very good deals to be had on new-ish, low miles bikes. Craig's list.

At present I'm waiting to hear from a guy who is trying to fly he and his buddies bikes out of Galveston to Colombia. Will let you know the rate when I hear, as I'm thinking of doing this exact thing. (Galveston or Miami)

Good planning!

Cleland and Mollydog, I appreciate your insights. I like the idea of finding someone shipping a car to Santiago and sharing the container. I just wonder how to find that person. Do you think the shipping companies would hook me up with someone? I'll ask them.

I am 5'7" 165lbs and expect to be on a combination of asphalt, gravel and dirt roads exploring Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, part of Brazil and perhaps Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador. I plan to leave the bike with a friend in Santiago and return the following summer for more.

That will need to be the first item on your list of things to research. Chile issues TIPs valid for three months or 90 days and you may not just be able to leave your bike and come back a year later and pick up where you left off. If it is registered in Chile then no problems but otherwise might be big problems.

Other things to check up on, especially if you are from the US, Canada and Australia, is several countries require Reciprocity payments before you arrive at the border, Some at the border, some require visas to be obtained before the border and others require payments to be made in specific currencies at the border.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

There is another shipping method, crate your bike up and use a freight forwarding service. Your crate will be combined in a container with other cargo. Go with an established service, one that has offices in Chile and the port where your cargo is loaded. This saves a bit of money and insures that your cargo is well tracked. There is a fair amount of paperwork, so at some point an agent is key to getting your bike out of customs. Perhaps the agent will work for the freight forwarder. I work in the sea container industry but am not familiar with all of the details, sorry.

Shipping by air is fast, but generally more expensive. Sea cargo is far older, paperwork intensive and as Grant Johnson will tell you, they have a charge for everything. Don't be surprised to see "dangerous goods" on your manifest or bill of lading. All kinds of cargo falls under that category and remember the bike has lots of flammable components. Even brand new bikes are considered dangerous goods...

Working out the timing is key. If you ship too far in advance, then you will pay storage fee (demurrage.) Shipping lines typically give some days of free storage. Ship too late and you'll be waiting for the boat to arrive on the other end.

On the other hand, buying a bike in Chile (which I don't recommend, as I like to ride a familiar bike and hate the idea of buying a major item that is key to my adventure with challenges to the process built in... ) is well documented here on the HUBB.

Final thought. In a few weeks you can ride from the US to Panama, then another couple of weeks ride from Colombia to Chile...if you don't stop and hang out too much. Just sayin' Ah, but if you are on a budget, then ship your bike direct or have your friends buy one for you.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Thanks for the information. Originally, I had planned to ride all the way down but with all the shit going on in various places along the way and listening to the opinions of others, I decided to ship a bike down. Have you read the book "Terror On Two Wheels" about the guy from California who rode down to S. America and was kidnapped and held hostage for 5 weeks in Columbia by rebel terrorists? No thanks! I'm a desert rat and not real fond of tropical rain forests either... I am a retired American Airlines pilot with pass privileges and a flexible itinerary so don't mind shipping by sea.

If you're put off your plans by that particular book (or others like it, or opinions which are widely and loudly expressed by people who for the most part have never done what they're so opinionated about), you're going to miss much of what's worthwhile no matter where you go. There are scores, maybe hundreds, on this site and ADVrider.com who've made similar trips mostly quite free of drama. Go to Colombia yourself and you'll see. Or at least think about using Chris Scott's book as a guide (disclosure: I contributed, but have nothing to gain from continued sales).

None of which should be taken to mean I think you necessarily need to ride down or follow any particular program or path. I'm just saying you sound somewhat over-anxious about "all the shit going on" in general and about Glen's book in particular. I've done the trip once in each direction and haven't found it difficult or any other sort of big deal in any way.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

No two people do the same trip, or a trip for the same reasons, so it's hard to give you specific advice. However, I would urge you to think about why you're doing such a trip and what you want to get out of it first - as you've already seen there are 1001 ways to get to being on the back of a bike in Santiago - which is the right way for you will depend on the reasons why you're doing the trip and what you want out of it.

With all that in mind, I would say the following specifics:
- I air freighted a bike from London to Buenos Aires for a bit less than $2,500 so I'm sure that price can be improved on.

- On the road, time and money are interchangeable. Yes, sea freight has a lower sticker price but believe me when I tell you estimating when you can get to your bike from the ship better than +/- 1 week is impossible - when you compare the cost of life for that week vs. the saving over airfreight (which is a lot more certain timing wise) the seafreight saving is less obvious.

- Given you're doing this as a retirement thing, I'd imagine you're not as strapped for cash as a 21 y/o. Like some others have said, I think spending money on a bike you know that you're comfortable, that you can equip it the way you want it is a good way to gain comfort with the trip (I personally found this invaluable). Plus for a 6 month trip, the fixed cost of shipping starts to pale into insignificance vs. cost of living.

- When selecting a bike, the key thing is how comfortable are you with off-road and how much off-road you want to do. I personally wasn't (at all) comfortable with it and chose a Suzuki V-Strom 650 (and spent $$ replacing every consumable pre-trip). For me it was the perfect bike - it's by no means sexy/beautiful or exciting, and it is a heavy dog off road. But my trip was less than 10% off road and the Strom fitted that exquisitely. It worked flawlessly like a swiss watch (which made local support for it irrelevant) for 12,500 miles and the 90% + of those that were on roads were a hassle free joy. I would choose that bike 1000 times for a similar trip.

- If you decide that minimising hassle is your thing (it was for me), take a look at Dakar Motos in Buenos Aires. If you manage to airfreight your bike to Buenos, Dakar will get it out of customs for you for a small fee and about 1.5h total hassle. If your Spanish is not that good, that may be a better route to go than Santiago.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

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http://sginsa.wordpress.com

Lots of great feedback guys, much appreciated. I just bought a Suzuki DR650. I think it will work well. I also just got a tip from someone that Air Canada ships motorcycles for cheap so I checked into it and it is true. You can ship a bike from Toronto or Montreal to Santiago or BA for only $1250 CAD which is just under $1000 USD at today's exchange rate. What a deal! If you buy a passenger ticket on Air Canada the price is $300 cheaper too. It would be nice if I could ship it directly out of Vancouver because that would be a much more fun trip to ride the bike to from New Mexico but I believe it is $650 extra to ship from there to Toronto or Montreal then down south so that is an option too.

If I were going in a group I think I would consider riding down through Central America but don't particularly want to do it solo. I have the time. I've been to Costa Rica and Panama before (not on a bike) and know how much it rains there so not sure I want to ride in it. Perhaps once I'm more experienced. Maybe I'll come back that way if I can't leave my bike in Chile.

HI TaosTraveler,
I'm planning a trip around the time you are.
My bike (Az registered) is in San Diego and I have been looking to ship it to Chile in late October or early November and then ride south to Ushuaia and back up to BA.
I plan to be away for 3 months and leave the bike somewhere for a year and return to head further north. The only time specific thing I would like to achieve this trip is to see some of the 2016 Dakar.
PM me if you want to discuss things further.

Matt

There are a lot of ways make your trip happen. Some choices will work for you and others not so much...

Fear is something your have to manage. There are concerns, but keep it real. Scary accounts in books and news reports bubble to the top because they are unique, not the norm. Yes, there are places in every country that are not particularly safe.

Here are a few simple steps to staying safe.

• Store your motorcycle in a secure location every night (hotels always have a solution, which might a garage or yard be down the street, a night guard or you roll your bike into the lobby.) In cities and large towns, during the day use attended parking. Consider carrying a thick cable and lock (I did.) I would venture to guess that more motorcycles are stolen when not attended than at gun point.
• Plan on stopping a few hours before sunset to find lodging or set-up camp. Looking for a hotel and trying to negotiate a good rate after dark is more of a challenge.
• Wandering on unfamiliar streets, alone, after drinking is a recipe for getting mugged, anywhere.
• Watch your health, drink bottled water, wine, soda, , whenever possible avoid tap water.
• Think twice if you feel you are being steered by someone on the street to a destination away from the main flow of foot traffic.

Colombia earn a bad reputation, but the situation has improved in recent years. When traveling through southern Colombia I rode some local riders and stuck to the main roads. I met some of them in Quito, Ecuador at a BMW dealership, but left ahead of them. The next day while stopping to take a photo, we connected again and rode north. They were on a schedule and so was I. One day I will to return to Colombia and explore off the beaten track. Its a beautiful country, the people are friendly and the economy is better than many of the South American countries.

Recently I joined friends on a commercial motorcycle tour in Peru. We rode a lot of one lane dirt roads with steep drop offs and no guard rails. Its a bit unnerving riding constantly next to the edge, until you change your focus. "Focus on where you want to go and the bike will follow. Don't focus on where you don't want to go..." Words to live by.

Shipping. I was going to tell you about the cheap rates by Air Canada, but you already found out. Call a few freight forwarders and tell them what you are want to ship. You'll need to provide the weight of your motorcycle and an estimate to the crate weight. Press them for details on all charges, including what it will cost to extract your motorcycle on the other end. Many travelers that ship hire a broker to guide them through the customs process. If you are prepared to crate your bike yourself, then you'll save money. The founders of Horizons Unlimited, Grant & Susan, built crates many times. I think it was mostly Grant, but Susan certainly provided moral support. Shipping by sea is cheaper, but takes more time. Its hard to beat the prices Air Canada is offering.

PS: I have never air lifted or shipped a motorcycle by sea container. I rode from NJ to Panama, sailed with the Stalratte to Colombia, then later sailed with the same from Colombia, Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico.

Buying a motorcycle outside of your home country raises the question, what are you going to do with it at the end of your trip? (assuming you ride it home.) If you ride it home, then you have to pay importation taxes. If you buy a bike in Chile, it won't be set-up for you beforehand, accessories are harder to find and potentially more expensive, you will be able to leave the bike in Chile without issues (leaving a foreign bike in Chile can be problematic, you can run over your temporary vehicle importation permit (TVIP) period, face fines, lose your bike, or pay storage fee in between countries or in a customs/bonded warehouse...its messy if you ask me.) Finally, some people have reported navigating their way through the legal process to buy a motorcycle and properly document same, within a reasonable amount of time. Assistance can be found to do this. Others ran into problems and encountered problems entering Peru (but not Argentina and other countries...) Getting all the correct paperwork which allows you to cross a border into another country is reported to be possible, but takes effort, time and money. Too many unknowns for me to consider. That said, if I was going to one large and fun country, where I didn't have to worry about crossing into another country, then buying a local bike would be on my radar.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride