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  #1  
Old 13 Jun 2007
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South America Trip - Advice Wanted
Hi All,

I'm planning a trip with a buddy and hope to get some feedback from you guys regarding the route, the timing and bike choice.

We want to do this trip in no more than 60 days from mid-January to mid-March and plan on taking the following route:

Lima (Peru) - La Paz (Bolivia) - Asuncion (Paraguay) - Curitiba (Brazil) - São Paulo (Brazil) - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

We'd like to do Carnival in Rio and then move on to:

Porto Alegre (Brazil) - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Santiago (Chile) - Lima (Peru)
  • Any advice on weather along the route this time of year?
  • Is the time OK for this trip, I think it's about 8000 miles in about 60 days with time for a few days in Rio, Buenos Aires, etc.
  • Would a KLR650 be a good bike for a trip like this? Or should we go for the BMWF650?
  • Any advice cool places to visit along the way? I have a list of the most obvious places from Lonely Planet, etc., but any advice is welcome.
Any comments and advice is welcome, thank you!

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  #2  
Old 13 Jun 2007
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Hello,
well as i calculate you plan to ride 130miles a day or even more since you are not going to ridse every day (so about 150miles a day).

I believe this might be a little too much. This might go as long as you never have any problems (with your bike, yourself, means health, with border crossing, road conditions, political situation....). However, we made the experiance that you should not pack too much in a given timeperiod.

Certainly it does not seem to be a huge daily distance but assuming that you could get into trouble in Bolivia for example because of its political problems or because of its poor road conditions, I would take more time for that ride or ride less far.

Since you will see most things nearby the road but not when riding, I suggest it is better to stay here or there in cities/villages and not riding just to Rio for the party.

That is my opinion, certainly there are others, but for me traveling consists in more than just riding miles after miles.

Anyway, it does not matter how you decide, I wish you a very nice trip anyway.

Burnout1
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  #3  
Old 13 Jun 2007
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Personally I think it´s a little rushed but I like to do it slow. I enjoy talking to the locals and frustrating time wasting setbacks happen. Rio will be a good party but you may need a week of small days afterwards to recover?!?

I think you´ll want to relax at a beach in the south of Brazil/Uruguay also.

happy travels
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  #4  
Old 14 Jun 2007
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Thanks, those are good points.

Looking at just travel-days and road conditions, which of the following legs would you be most concerned about (I will split up some of these in shorter legs later):
  • Lima (Peru) - La Paz (Bolivia) - 897 miles
  • La Paz (Bolivia) - Asuncion (Paraguay) - 1188 miles
  • Asuncion (Paraguay) - Curitiba (Brazil) - 609 miles
  • Curitiba (Brazil) - São Paulo (Brazil) - 243 miles
  • São Paulo (Brazil) - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - 261 miles
  • Curitiba (Brazil) - Porto Alegre (Brazil) - 403 miles
  • Porto Alegre (Brazil) - Montevideo (Uruguay) - 517 miles
  • Montevideo (Uruguay) - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 368 miles
  • Buenos Aires (Argentina) Santiago (Chile) - 824 miles
  • Santiago (Chile) - Lima (Peru) - 2105 miles
Looking at maps it looks like most (if not all) of this is paved. Is it crazy to think we could average 200-300 miles per day on travel days?

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  #5  
Old 16 Jun 2007
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Smile Travelling Isn't A Race
I took six months last year riding a Honda 125 from Veracruz, Mexico, to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. I met a couple of young men on BMWs in Mendoza who had ridden from Canada in two months. At that rate they couldn't have seen nor experienced much other than the road. Stopping at places for a few days, discovering how people live and how you fit in is worth more than an extra 1000 kilometres. Mind, aged 74, I don't have unlimited time so do hurry on occasion. I stored the bike in Ushuaia and collect it next month to ride north to the US. I crossed mountains and Alte Plano on the way south and ate meat. This journey I will keep to the coast and eat shrimp! And freeze at the beginning and end of the journey. But OLD MEN CAN'T WAIT.
Good luck and have fun...

blog at home
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  #6  
Old 16 Jun 2007
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Hmm, glad others have weighed in as it´s so personal. If you enjoy long days on the bike which I assume you must do I would suggest you plan a stretch to take your time/explore/get to know locals, culture, day off bike/allow for delays (Crossing Bolivia would seem to be the obvious choice) and arrange once you get to Rio to set the bike up for good roads, long days.

If running late you could cut out the crossing to Santiago?

good luck, the choice is yours. I think your gut feel when you get there will be your only true guide. Don´t hesitate to change plans if you feel your experience would be better along a different route.

Just to balance what I am saying about the travel experience, my fathers advice was not to underestimate the satisfaction of achieving what you have set out to do. You can modify what you are doing when you get there but I would also suggest you consider your main goal of travel, only you can answer that.
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Last edited by The Big J; 16 Jun 2007 at 22:23. Reason: Obi Wan Kenobi advice remedied
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  #7  
Old 17 Jun 2007
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I say if you can afford more time (& money) it would be better, however it's a personal choice and I would rather be rushed and see all rather than not do it at all.
In december I plan to ride from B.A to Ushuia and back North to Chicago in 2 months that's all the time I can afford But I will do it that way rather than not at all.
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