Santiago to Mexico City by motorbike.
 

Hi all, I'm hoping for assistance, or as much info as can be provided regarding a dream planned for next June, July and August.
Ok, I'm from Melbourne, Australia, and at this point I can purchase a direct flight to Santiago, inc. return to Melbourne for AU$1095. YES, DIRECT FLIGHTS.
Cheap !!! Anyway, the flights will be payed in 24 hours.
Bless airline competition. :-)
Anyway, I wish to purchase a motorcycle in Santiago, and ride to Cartagena (Colombia), boat to Colon (Panama), and then through Central America and ultimately into Mex. City. This venture will see West to East, to take in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, north through Brasil to French Guyana, Guyana, and Suriname, south west to Ecuador, and back up through Colombia.
I have 3 months in which to achieve this, and end up in Mex. City.
I've read several posts dating back to 2010 which mention hell at border crossings, incomplete/invalid registrations etc.... Eeeeeek !!

Can anyone please inform me of any new laws, legalities that have been legislated within South America/Central America which allow open passage.
Is this itinerary as difficult as mentioned in the posts dating 2010??

Many thanks, Tony Hood.

Honestly, I think you need to put your Google Fu to work and start searching, both here and on various travel sites. You're talking about crossing borders between maybe 15 or 20 different countries, and each crossing will be different. I think you'll find the answers to many of your questions on this site - but not all wrapped up neatly in one thread.


I'd probably start with the threads on how to purchase a motorcycle in Santiago. Get that process mapped out, and then figure out the next step of crossing the border from Chile into whatever is the second country on your itinerary. Work your way from there.

Hi Tony.

From Mexico down to Peru, since January 2016, we had zero problems at all in all border crossings. We travel with a Greek registered camper van but also we did 3 crossings (from Nicaragua to Colombia) with a couple on 2 US registered motorbikes.

The laws are fairly clear and straightforward for similar cases. All you need is a valid passport, your vehicle's registration, your driving license and an insurance (you mostly shop at the borders, so dont worry about it).

A little detail is that the registration/ title & the license ideally must be under the same name.

Then, the border process is fairly easy. You stamp your passport at the Immigration & issue your TIP at the customs after a thorough -or maybe not- control of your paperwork & your vehicle. Only at Mexico & depending on the age of your motorbike, you will need to deposit from 200 to 400 USD (cash or credit card) in order to issue your TIP which you will take back as soon as you cancel your TIP.

Only thing is to make sure that your Chilean registered bike will be OK to be driven and cross borders with the owner (meaning you), to be a foreigner. Sometime ago, a new law was prohibiting foreigners who buy & register their vehicle in Chile to get out of the country but some relief was provided after. Just study thoroughly posts that were published here in HU or here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/panamtravelers/ or here: and try to contact with people who did it before.

In case you are interested, Bolivia or Peru are some alternatives for foreigners to buy and register a vehicle.

Safe travels

And if you take a closer look at that thread - Steps to buying a used bike in Santiago - especially post # 143 by danielmolloy1972 - you will see that its not possible to buy a bike as a foreigner in Santiago and take it through any borders at all....

Guys, thanks a million for the responses.
It seems flying to Buenos Aires from Chile is an easier option, and only AU$150. Will look to purchase a bike there. Payed for the flights to Santiago yesterday for June 1st to Sept 1st. Woo Hoo !!!
In all, it will be an adventure and my 6th trip to South America, this time to cover the places my feet have yet touched, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guyana and Suriname.
Will throw in Guatamala, Honduras and Belize to fill the list of Central American nations untouched, as well as Cuba and Dom. Rep.
I'll delve into the threads mentioned and google what else I can seek.

Stay safe, all.
bier

You're a gem ! Keep shining.
Really appreciate your input.
Thank you. Cheers.

Argentina is not a good option!

Choose Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru or Colombia to buy a bike

True that.. ! Chile used to be easy but now isn't , at all. Argentina was never an option either. If you look on this forum you'll find there's a guy in Peru offering help in buying and registering bikes there, with documents available in just a few days.

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Holy shit, things are getting interesting. Hate to be a pest, but could you point me in the right direction to find this guy from Peru; which thread?
Thanks for your input, and advice.
Cheers mate.
:scooter:

Hi mate, could you suggest a country preference to purchase, by chance? I've traveled all except Paraguay and wonder which Govt bureaucracy would be limited to exact a simple purchase procedure.
I personally found Bolivian's (Cops & Border control) to be utter numb skulls, so I'll cancel Bolivia off the list myself.
Cheers.

hey Toni,

you are probably right with bolivia.

bikes in brazil are quite expensive. contact motodelperu, i think it´s the guy Don recommended and check if he has a good quote for you.

If you buy it in colombia you will have to bring it back...it´s far up in the north but the process seems easy.

Thanks a million, Picky.
Been checking flights from Buenos Aires, and Asuncion to Lima this evening. The chance of a ride from Lima to Quito, across and up to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana via the Amazon is intruigeing, so Lima will be the place to purchase.
I'll contact MotoDelPeru and seek a website for available purchases and info.
Brilliant. Thank you.
Colombia is also paradise. Spent a year there with my former fiance (Colombiana, from Medellin). The traffic is crazy. Bus and truck drivers are totally nuts ! Love the place just the same.
Cheers.
beer

No idea if it's the same guy, I was talking about Toby , whose nickname here is "Charapashanperu" . I'm sure he'll be along here himself very soon.

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We personally met a couple from France who bought a brand new chinese bike in La Paz, drove around and sold it in Colombia (dont know if the sale was 100% legit though). They never complained about the bureaucracy in Bolivia plus it was the cheapest option. The purchase was fully legal with registration and insurance, all sorted!

I can put you in contact if you want to.

Peru seems to be very organised as well in terms of purchasing, selling, registering and so on but I think that you have to drive back and sell it (if you want to do it legally). Its also true that the country is full of scams and charlatans but I would deal with a HU member with closed eyes.

It seems that you have quite a lot of options since discarding the Chile plan.

Good luck any way.

You're correct, PinInt, Peru is is full of cons, and scams and all. Experienced it from Lima, to Cuzco, to Puno, to Ica in 2015. Fkn scammers, but they need to survive, too.
I've still to wait until June 1st before leaving Oz, yet willing to converse and read volumes before then.
I have a flight now to Lima, and wish to purchase a bike there.
I'll look up and make business with Motodelperu in the coming months.