Route Query: US south to Bahia, Brazil (east or west coast of SA?)

[Peregrine40]

Hello friends,

In several weeks I depart from the US to Brazil. Destination near Porto Seguro; Bahia. My first bike trip to the area. A dream come true.

Seeking input from experienced riders concerning routing when i reach South America. I'll boat it from Panama to Columbia. From there either, a; head SW towards Ecuador and come into Brazil from either Peru or Bolivia, or b; head east through Venezuela, down to Manaus and boat it to Belem, then down the coast of Brazil.

For the former route questions include the road conditions across the Amazon on RT 364 out of Peru from March to May, relative timing, safety and relative ease of travel. I will not be continuing anymore southward than Brazil on this trip, so continuing down on the Pan-American is not in the cards.

For the latter route particular questions include relative ease of travel and safety through Venezuela down to Manaus, timing/costs and logistics of boat to Belem, and timing of the entire route . . .. from March to May.

Any experiences or input would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,

P40

[crashmaster]

I would take the western route through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia to Northern Argentina, then Iguazu, over and up to Bahia. It adds a few extra days of riding going to Iguazu then to Bahia, but there is more interesting stuff to see along the western route IMO.

On the other hand, the fast route would be Colombia, Venezuela, Manaus, boat to Belem and the coast to Porto Seguro, but you might be sick of jungles and beaches by the time you get there. The western route would be far more interesting IMO.

[Peregrine40]

Thanks. Great route. However I need to arrive at my destination sooner than it looks like this route will allow for. Perhaps do this few months after I land in Bahia, as a separate trip. I'll stick around there for some time. Given this, any opinion on route 'a,' or 'b?'

[crashmaster]

In that case, I would do route A if you will be spending enough time in Bahia that you can do short trips up and down the coast whenever you like. However, I dont know about conditions on 364, at all. But if its dry in May, you could be fine wrt to mud. IIRC, igorshen did that route a few months back. I think. I dont know if he is on the HUBB but he is on ADV. Maybe shoot him a message.

I'm currently headed north in Central Brasil up to the Guyanas, then into Venezuela, trying to beat the wet season up in northern SA. I will have more details about that route in the coming weeks after I have ridden it.

[Peregrine40]

Are you riding along the coast (porto seguro way) or inland?

[crashmaster]

I went up through Volta Redonda, Minas Gerais, then Brasilia, Belem. Brasilia - Belem is not exactly the scenic route to say the least, but its fast.

Pressed for time now so I took the short route. The dirt roads in the mountains of Bahia are supposed to be excellent. The riding around Volta Redonda was great as well, and Minas Gerias (Estrada Real) is scenic and has quite a bit of history from colonial times. But, Brasil is so big I can only get a little taste of it with the time I have left.

Boa sorte!

[deanosky]

im currently in cabo san lucas baja! travelling with a klr 650.
im looking to do the exact same route as you mentioned,(venezulea throgh to manaus). Im trying to get to Rio de janeiro.

I hope we can meet up along the road some where I am taking it pretty slow at the moment.
Let me know when you get on the road.
Dean!

[Gionatill]

hello there i have a quiestion myself!!!
is it possible to cross from columbia to venezuela?? or do they not like each other at all anymore???
also does anyone know if its difficult to get the bike on one of those amazon boats to get from ecuador or peru to brazil?? any expiriance???

thank you!!!

[bkm_br]

It's possible, but is very dangerous. The border area between Venezuela and Colombia is the territory of FARC, and kidnappings are a real possibility, specially foreigners.
To enter in Brazil using Venezuela is quite complicated, because you will need to ride at BR 174 and then BR-230 (Trans-Amazonian highway) to get to Bahia, and this evolves some hard off road experiences and maybe weeks to be able to ride about 600 kms.
Those are some photos of the trip made by a bunch of guys in a internet forum I'm member at the Trans-Amazonian highway.





And this is the kind of road you can expect at BR-174

If you really want to do this, avoid the winter months because the winter is the rain seasson and the road gets even worst. I would follow the route suggested by crashmaster.

[Gionatill]

woow that looks like some serious offroading!!!
that that is the only posibility?
how about those amazon boats from ecuador, peru or bolivia!!!
what im trying, is to do a complete round of south america!!! any ideas???

thank you all for the answers so far!!!

[markharf]

Maybe some clarification. There are several main, paved, crowded crossings between Colombia and Venezuela. You'll find them on any map. There is also a lot of jungle, perhaps inhabited by FARC. You don't need to go there to get from one country to the other.

There is a route from Venezuela to Brazil--also obvious on the map--which is fully-paved and leads directly to Manaus. I'm not contradicting what was posted above; only stating that there are alternative roads. There are also the riverboats, which are the main means of all kinds of transport in the Amazon.

I've heard that the route from Porto Velho to Manaus is almost completely rebuilt now, including most bridges. I don't know that firsthand, but I'd try not to get too weirded-out by any older photos, and try also to remember that what might be a fast, dusty ride during the elusive dry season can deteriorate into something resembling the photos above during the wet.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[bkm_br]

Originally Posted by Gionatill

woow that looks like some serious offroading!!!
that that is the only posibility?
how about those amazon boats from ecuador, peru or bolivia!!!
what im trying, is to do a complete round of south america!!! any ideas???

thank you all for the answers so far!!!

I believe there are some boats between Panama City and Buenaventura, in Colombia so you can use to avoid the Darien Gap, and you can ride south across Equador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. This route is far more secure than crossing Colombia, Venezuela and northern Brazil. An other option is to enter Brazil using the new Interoceanic Highway in Peru and Bolivia.
Riding across the Amazon Jungle can be quite complicated, not only because of the road conditions FARC rebels in Colombia, but in Brazil the indigenous people sometimes can be very aggressive (many roads in this area drives through indigenous reservations and kidnappings and illegal tolls are usually common in this area). I don't remember any international boat line between Colombia and Manaus, but this kind of travel usually involves days, sometimes weeks, inside a crowded boat, and many of those boats can't transport a big bike inside it.

[bkm_br]

Originally Posted by markharf

Maybe some clarification. There are several main, paved, crowded crossings between Colombia and Venezuela. You'll find them on any map. There is also a lot of jungle, perhaps inhabited by FARC. You don't need to go there to get from one country to the other.

There is a route from Venezuela to Brazil--also obvious on the map--which is fully-paved and leads directly to Manaus. I'm not contradicting what was posted above; only stating that there are alternative roads. There are also the riverboats, which are the main means of all kinds of transport in the Amazon.

I've heard that the route from Porto Velho to Manaus is almost completely rebuilt now, including most bridges. I don't know that firsthand, but I'd try not to get too weirded-out by any older photos, and try also to remember that what might be a fast, dusty ride during the elusive dry season can deteriorate into something resembling the photos above during the wet.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Mark, I'm from Brazil and I can ensure to you, most of the propaganda of the road condition between Porto Velho and Manaus is misleading. The road between Porto Velho and Manaus and between Manaus and Boa Vista is the BR-174 (a national highway), and just a few parts of it have been rebuilded, most of them in areas near the citys, but the highways itself still in terrible condition. If you search for br 174 in youtube you can find many videos and tv shows showing the real condition of the road now a days. Even in the dry season is a very complicated route because in Brazil most of the time you have a wet season (summer) and a very wet season (winter).
If you plan to ride from Venezuela to Brazil, the riverboats are an option only if you arrive in Manaus.

[Peregrine40]

Originally Posted by deanosky

im currently in cabo san lucas baja! travelling with a klr 650.
im looking to do the exact same route as you mentioned,(venezulea throgh to manaus). Im trying to get to Rio de janeiro.

I hope we can meet up along the road some where I am taking it pretty slow at the moment.
Let me know when you get on the road.
Dean!

Dean, Just rolled into Majahua near Zihuatanejo. Will hang here for 6 days then to Cuernevaca for a few days. Be happy to meet up if you're in the 'hood.

I'm on a tank-of-a-Buell Ulysses, with mtn bike attached on back.

When are you planning to make the crossing to SA?

[Peregrine40]

My understanding from recent posts and traveling logs is that it is completely possible to quite easily 1; cross by road from Columbia (Cartegenas) into Venezuela and 2; to continue from Venezuela to Manaus in Brazil. (I hope to hell it is because that's what I anticipate on doing in a month or so.)
From Manaus I'll boat it down to Belem and get back to civilization and reasonable roads.
Any input there?