Patagonia, Chile, Travellers information

Flight to Argentina

Our bikes were shipped by sea freight to Buenos Aires. We followed 6 weeks later in a 14 hour economy flight, about US$ 800 (round trip).

Customs

For Argentina you get a custom's permit for up to 8 months. Every time you and your bike have left the country this permit will be renewed at re-entry. Similar solution applies for Chile. But I do not recall the terms. Anyway there is no way to sell the bike, neither in Argentina nor in Chile. Nobody will touch it since a heavy load of custom fees is waiting for the seller or the buyer (who will be caught first).

Petrol supply

Further south the network of petrol stations is becoming rather thin. With a range of 400 km we never had any difficulties (370 km was the longest passage to the next station). We were told that even if you were stuck, locals or passing drivers would be helpful. Luckily we never had to check this, but it's conceivable information which fits with the overall impression of a generally helpful character of Patagonians.

Cost of petrol is skyrocketing in the middle and northern parts of Argentina, US$ 1.10 / litre on average, up to US$ 1,38 per litre (unleaded 97 octane) close to San Martin de los Andes. South of a virtual line between Puerto Madryn and Bariloche the price is drastically reduced to about 50 % of the "official" price due to subsidies for the economically underdeveloped regions. In Chile the cost of petrol averages at 80 - 85 cents / litre.

Tires

Both bikes were equipped with Continental "Twinduro" tires. They performed excellently whether on paved or unpaved roads or on gravel tracks. Due to high average speed along the boring and windy east coast the tires were rather worn when we came to Ushuaia. But during the following 6000 km through the Andes we still stuck to the same tires, even on long passages with heavy gravel. Ending up in Buenos Aires there was not much left of the rear tires after more than 10.000 km. I'll take them again.

Repairs

Except replacing a leaking seal at one of the BMW's cylinders and two punctures we didn't have much technical trouble. Anyway in all major places we saw motorcycle dealers. Most of them are selling quads, the favourite vehicle for teens and twens? in these remote and otherwise boring places. So the coverage isn't bad, except the fact that the supply of spare parts will take time due to short stocks held by the dealers. We therefore prepared a help-line with our dealer in Switzerland (but never used it). Spare parts were to be sent by courier (FedEx, or others) to the nearest airport - if necessary. (And I never considered any trouble at customs. Cross that bridge when you come to it.)

Accommodation

For security reasons we were equipped with some camping gear incl. tents. But we preferred to choose hotels or similar accommodations whenever possible. It's more expensive, of course, but after a daily ride of 5 to 9 hours we choose the more comfortable solution (incl. shower, heating or a/c. Cost is varying in a wide range, US$ 10 - 60 p. person / night. More often than not we only found "simple accommodation" (bed and breakfast) at an average price of US$ 20. Do not hesitate to ask for discounts. Paying cash instead of plastic we got up to 50 % (without a receipt ;-).

Eating and drinking

Except in Buenos Aires, we only found a few really good restaurants. Mostly we found bad cooking at a relatively high price. Value for money can be considered less than in most Central European countries. But there is no alternative.

Money

Major credit cards are accepted. In Argentina the Peso is connected to the US $ (1 Peso = 1 US$). Be careful, dollar bills are frequently tested for falsifications. Especially watch for forged $100 bills.

Budget

Total cost of the trip sums up to about US$ 5.000 / person, incl. air and sea freight, not covering cost of preparing the bikes and the necessary depreciation (which biker ever considered depreciating his bike? It's fun, forget the money).

It's a fairly high budget, but our tight timetable did not allow us to really follow the economy trail. We simply wanted to enjoy the trip, outside some remote camping grounds, which might have helped us to save a few bucks.

For further questions don't hesitate to contact me:

Dieter Zerndt, e-mail: dzer...@aol.com

St. Gallen / Switzerland

website (in German)