austintoargentina.travellerspoint.comAUSTIN TO ARGENTINA

A Travellerspoint blog Start a travel blog Login ......THE ROAD TRIP OF A LIFE TIME..... Some advice if you are thinking of driving to South America: The following is a general information blog for those of you who are considering taking the plunge and driving from North America to South America. 21.10.2007 - 10.03.2008 View Austin Texas to Argentina on hayden111’s travel map. Check out www.haydencarlyonphotography.com for more photos from the trip. My friend and I recently drove from Austin Texas to Argentina. We were on the road from October 21st 2007 to March the 10th 2008, during which time we drove through most of the countries in Central and South America. General Thoughts: We were both really nervous before we left but we found that preparation and good information is the key to making the most of the trip and keeping yourself safe. There are loads of great websites on the internet, so do the research before you leave home and have a basic plan mapped out of the places you want to visit and the things you want to do. A good website to get you started is www.drivemeloco.com , it has a lot of detailed information for the drive through Mexico and Central America. Overall the trip was a lot easier than we imagined it would be. Obviously it is important that you like driving and that you don’t mind spending the whole day on the road if you have to. But ultimately it is your trip so you can create your own schedule and take as much time as you want. In general the roads are fine throughout Central and South America ( especially the primary/main roads), any regular car that is in good shape should have no problem making the trip. Obviously, the further you go off the beaten track the worse the roads get, so take that into consideration when choosing your car. Regular unleaded gasoline was readily available in all 15 countries that we drove through and there were also plenty of ATMs. We managed to get by without any problems relying solely on our ATM cards and we didn’t run out of gas once. Pacaya Volcano Guatemala Pros and cons of traveling by car: Pros: Freedom and comfort: You will be in the comfort of your own car and have the freedom to come and go as you please, to make your own schedule and have the flexibility to change your plans when ever and where ever you feel the need. If you want to stay where you are for another day, stay. Whether you choose to hit the road at 6am or 1pm it is entirely up to you. You can also fill your car with all the comforts of home, food, music, pillows, etc and be driving around in your own little oasis. Flexibility: You can pull over where ever you want, for a swim, take some photos, to buy food, use the bathroom or a bush if you have too. And if you don’t like the town that you are in, get in the car and drive to the next one. The experience: Apart from your license plates you will be just like a local and you will get to see and experience life as it is outside the cites and the main tourist spots. You can drive as fast or as slow as you want and take the time to really experience the country that you are in. Time: When you are traveling time is money. During the trip we saved at least 1-2 hours a day by not having to wait for buses, trains, taxis, planes etc. Over the space of the trip that’s literally hundreds of hours, and hundreds of dollars. Traveling by car is usually a lot faster than traveling by bus or train and you will be able to fit so much more into your day. Safety and convenience: The only time you will be carrying around your luggage will be when you are checking into your hotel. For the most part we either left our stuff in the trunk of the car or in our hotel, either way we almost never had any valuables with us when we were walking around. Cons: Responsibility: Your car is your life blood on the trip so you need to look after it and make sure it is running well, by checking the fluids etc almost on a daily basis. Also, you can’t park the car in the street, it needs to be locked in a private or public garage. Most hotels we stayed at had garages, if not there was always a private parking lot close by. Obstacles on the road : You will encounter everything on the road during the trip; dogs, cows, people, potholes, speed bumps, rocks, maniac drivers, corrupt police and every possible weather condition you can think of. You always need to be on alert when you are driving, so it can be quite tiring. Border crossings: At the border crossings in Central America you will be swimming in paperwork, forms and bureaucratic red tape. Always allow 2 hours to complete a border crossing. We usually spent the night near the border and crossed it early the next day. Also keep in mind that most borders close for 1 hour at lunch time and there are often time changes between countries. Although they seem complicated at first, there is almost a method to the madness. Once you get through your first border crossing it will get easier as they all seem to follow a similar procedure. The further south you go the easier the border crossings get. In South America most of the border crossings took less that 30min. A typical border crossing Road blocks and the police: There are usually check points or military road blocks a few miles after each border crossing but as long as your papers are in order you will be fine. We always kept our car permits and important documents in the same place so that they were easy to find when we needed them. If you get stopped by the police for no reason, it’s the same deal, just smile and show them your documents. As long as everything is in order they will usually let you go. If you see the police on the side of the road try to hide behind a truck if you can, so they cant see your license plates. Shipping the car across the Darien Gap: This is the only part of the trip that is a hassle. It is a logistical and paper work nightmare that will take at least a week to organize and a minimum of 1-2 days of filling out forms etc, and loading and unloading on either side. See the shipping section below for the details of our shipping experience. Before you leave: 1. Documents for the car: Make sure you have at least 10 photocopies of the title and the vehicle owner’s passport and driver’s license for the border crossings. We were never asked for the vehicle registration but take it just in case. I suggest you photocopy the car owner’s passport and driver’s license on one piece of paper and keep all the documents in a folder under the seat. Keep the original documents separate in a safe place e.g. in a money belt. 2. Make sure you have auto insurance. The only company we found that offered universal auto insurance for most of Central and South America was AIU but the policy must be purchased through Sanborn’s insurance, contact them at www.sanbornsinsurance.com . Print out the insurance document when you get it and always have a copy on hand. Also bare in mind that the AIU insurance policy takes at least 3 weeks to process. 3. We only got asked once for our international drivers licenses but to avoid hassle its worth taking one, they are $15 at any AAA. 4. Buy a map for Mexico, a general map for Central America and one for South America. You don’t need one for each country unless you plan on spending a lot of time there. Check out www.maps.com . 5. Get a head start on the shipping: It will take at least a couple of weeks to organize the shipping across the Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia, so give yourself a head start and make some calls etc before you leave. See below for more details on shipping across the Darien Gap. If you are shipping from Panama check out the following link for an up to date list of shipping agents. www.bulletinpa.com/index.php?topmenuitem=Business%20Directory 6. Have your car checked out by a mechanic. 7. Find out if you need a visa for any of the countries you are about to visit. Americans need a visa for Brazil. 8. Have a spare key made for the car and keep it in...