Comments on The Darien Plan: The Ultimate Vehicle for Central and South America...

Hello! everyone This is great trip, I will be taki...

2010-03-20T13:37:21.714-07:00

Hello! everyone
This is great trip, I will be taking this trip sometime this summer 2010.
From Austin, Texas to Caracas, Venezuela
here is my website I created.
www.myonewayhome.com
thanks and good luck
Ossie

Hi Brian, Nice to meet you. I have a couple of r...

2010-01-27T10:28:06.254-08:00

Hi Brian,

Nice to meet you. I have a couple of recommendations for you. First, check out our other website at Drive the Americas. On this website we compiled comprehensive information on cars, borders, shipping, scams, gas and road conditions, hotels and camping - in essence everything we wish we had known about when we started this trip. We have a forum for roadtrippers on this website as well, and I know there are several cars for sale in Buenos Aires listed on this forum.

Second, you may want to consider purchasing the car in the US. We met several Europeans who flew to San Diego, purchased a car, and went on their way. We only met one couple who tried to buy the car in Mexico and it sounded like it was a very difficult process.

And you're right, you need to prove ownership of the car when you're crossing borders. Also check the your vehicle page of the Drive the Americas website for more information on purchasing vehicles, insurance, and vehicle modifications you might want to consider.

Best of luck, and be sure to contact us when you do start your trip - we'd love to profile you in our roadtripper profile section of our Drive the Americas website.

Hi, I’d like to do a Pan-American road trip this ...

2010-01-27T10:17:07.463-08:00

Hi,

I’d like to do a Pan-American road trip this summer and need to buy a vehicle. My plan initially was to fly to Mexico City, buy an SUV, drive to Buenos Aires, and sell it there or ship it home. If someone doing the trip now would like to sell me their vehicle in South America, I’d be happy to agree to sell it back to them in the U.S. I can’t lease or rent it though because I believe ownership is an issue when crossing borders. Presumably a 3k+ mile trip through pot hole ridden Central America would depreciate the vehicle so we could discuss before hand simply selling it back for less than I bought it or paying for repairs or both.

Thanks,

Brian
510/435-6113

Actually there is no road between Panama and Colom...

2009-11-12T02:18:33.444-08:00

Actually there is no road between Panama and Colombia, so we shipped out car from Colon Panama to Cartagena Colombia. If you want information on the shipping process, see our Drive the Americas Website.

what road will you take from Panama into Columbia?...

2009-11-11T19:36:13.842-08:00

what road will you take from Panama into Columbia?

Oops, that link didn't work, try: http://torl...

2009-10-04T04:58:48.261-07:00

Oops, that link didn't work, try:

http://torlasco.tripod.com

Cris

Hi; VW campers remain among the best options for ...

2009-10-04T04:55:10.151-07:00

Hi;

VW campers remain among the best options for this kind of travelling, and they don't necessarily break down if you know what you are doing. Check out our pan-american experience in a 1982 diesel Westfalia: http://www.torlasco.tripod.com.

Planning another run in 2010, with a Westfalia of course. Regards, Cris

this is exactly why we bought the E... I wanted an...

2009-03-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

this is exactly why we bought the E... I wanted another VW bus but needed something that wouldn't break down on trips to the coast. It's like a grown up version!

Hi Ingrid and Henry,

Sorry to be so long in...

2008-09-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Ingrid and Henry,

Sorry to be so long in responding. We will be leaving for Mexico tomorrow (Sept 3) hope to hit Argentina by February. That said, we may will be playing it by ear, and if that seems too fast (or too slow) we will change our plans accordingly. We'll be driving South along the Pacific side as well.

It seems that shipping the car around the Darien Gap will be probably the most difficult and frustrating aspect of this trip. There are numerous other blogs where people describe how they have accomplished this feat - I've included a couple below. Hope they're helpful. I think patience and money will both be needed in significant quantities, but it will definitely be worth it.

Shipped from Costa Rica to Equador:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thymeoff/thyme_off/1086732900/tpod.html

Shipping from Panama to Colombia:
http://vwvagabonds.com/VehicleShipping.html

Shipping from Panama to Ecuador:
http://vwvagabonds.com/VehicleShippingPanamatoEcuadorRORO.html

We plan to go in november,anyone going around that...

2008-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

We plan to go in november,anyone going around that time.?
We plan to take a 4 Runner and are going only as far as Paraguay.
Janzen_henry@yahoo.ca
We like to go along the Pacific,Brazil will have lots of rain starting in november.Where is the best place to take a cargo ship?
Any info. would be helpful.
Thanks

We have wondered if we'll start seeing cars we rec...

2008-05-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

We have wondered if we'll start seeing cars we recognize on the road - seems like there are a number of people contemplating similar plans. You know what our car looks like - wave hello if you see us!

Hi,
I'm driving to brazil from los angeles at t...

2008-05-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I'm driving to brazil from los angeles at the beginning of july.
When are you all leaving? Do I hear a caravan...?

ciaochaz@bonadiman.com

Charlie

Anyone interested in a journey of a life time?
...

2008-05-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in a journey of a life time?
Only if you’re truly serious about a journey south within the next 45 days should you contact me about coming along.
Cash: at least $5,000-$10,000us
You must have a calm & composed personality under pressure and not under pressure.
Must have good to excellent abilities with 4 or more of the 8 listed below:
1. Bi-lingual English & Spanish
2. Mechanical (auto)
3. Good to Excellent Cooking skills
4. Navigation GPS & map reading
5. First Aid Basics
6. Excellent driving skills
7. Sing (kidding)
8. Good sense of adventure

I’m an easy going Texan, more details about me once we have determined that you meet the above requirements. Reason for needing someone to come along is simple, to absorb some of the costs of traveling south. After 3 years of planning I’ll be departing Texas driving south to Costa Rica then onto Peru. This will take place on or near June 30th 2008. I’ll be driving an SUV which has been modified extensively for such a trip. My original plan was to go solo so I look forward to hearing from soon! getgoinsouth@yahoo.com

We won't be leaving for another couple of months, ...

2008-03-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

We won't be leaving for another couple of months, but we plan to continue posting info as we plan more and actually leave on the trip. We're very excited...

I just returned from 2 1/2 months in south america...

2008-03-08T05:47:00.000-08:00

I just returned from 2 1/2 months in south america and was wondering about the possibility of driving down there from Portland for the adventure and learning experience of it. So i googled and idea and found you. This is very cool. i will keep checking back and seeing what you're up to. Good Luck!!!
Jillian