Has anyone ever gone on a road trip to South America from the US?
I want to plan a trip to Rio De Janeiro, but I know it would be pretty dangerous. How long would it help yourself to, are there any online resources, and is in attendance anywhere you can get directions online? Any personal experience you can share would be great assistance!
Answers: I have traveled as far as Panama from the USA, but from in attendance on things get difficult.
Not single is Columbia much more dangerous than any of the other countries, here is not regular ferry service from Panama to Columbia any more. The road is not connected within the Darien gap between the two countries.
The solitary way to procure a vehicle from Panama to Columbia is to ship it as freight in a container and that will probably run a couple thousand dollars, more or less the same as shipping it straight from the USA.
Getting as far as Panama take about 2 weeks from the US-Mexican border. It is not 100% not detrimental but I did not have any serious problems except vehicle repairs and minor theft. None of the other tourists I talked to on my trips south have any personal life threatening experiences any.
My experience is that one can drive about 400 miles a morning in Central america compared to more or less double that or more in the USA. I expect driving speeds within South America would be similar.
Expect a lot of road repairs, slow roads, police checkpoints etc. Driving after cloudy is a bad opinion due to the many road hazard. Generally road maintenance is particularly poor.
There is a book "Road Fever" by Tim Cahil that can give you an opinion on what to expect if you are both well funded and extraordinarily prepared. Realisticaly things have changed contained by the 16 years since they did the trip, but much is the same.
Although various may dream of doing such a trip, very few enjoy. Some of the border crossings in inside america are only crossed by a few dozen vehicle a day, mostly by locals. Further south it may even be more difficult and unusual. I go days without seing another gringo.
Its not "pretty dangerous" , it is suicidal to try to shift on a trip like that. Unless you are driving within a Humvee or something .
I suggest you rather fly.
If you don't correct your mind - Good luck.
You can not cross the darien gap. The trouble you will encounter is traffic accidents, unpaved jungle roads and unsafe mountain roads. Only surrounded by 2 places in Colombia would you hold problems. Mexico to Panam should be fine, then you entail to take the coastal road from Colombia after loading your vehicle on a boat in Panama and that road will sometimes own some security issues hard by Santa Marta, Parque Tayrona and probably the Venezuelan border. You should be fine driving during the daytime until Boa Vista in Brazil. After that within may be some serious unpaid roads to Manaus. You would have to move about on a boat to Santarem and drive down the Brazilian coast. You won't have an deposit issues until you actually get Rio city limits, at that point.
Or, you could run down the west coats which would take a great deal more time with much worse roads
That is extremely dicey. Almost every country has its section with problems, especially places going through a civil time of war. Plus, it's really far and will take days. You'll probably spend more on gas and lodging than you will on a plane ride, which will be inwardly a day. This not a erudite decision i enjoy lived in Bogota Colombia for 17 years after sold my coup¨¦ I have travelled by The Best Bus Service one is Berlin Line to several huge cities with effort best is daytime travel with stops surrounded by large cities or best by Air ,When you travel dont step by the milage or a straight line on a road map this will fool you for nearby Peaks and Valley,s buy a map that will show the ups and downs for example the,Guia de Rutas por Colombia this is the best guide .
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