From North America, Mexico, and Central America

Overland travel from North America or elsewhere is problematic because Panama’s Darien Gap to Colombia is impassable for motor vehicles. It is time-consuming, difficult, and potentially dangerous even for those on foot, as it passes through areas controlled by drug smugglers, guerrillas, and/or brutal Colombian paramilitaries.

Those visiting other parts of the continent and remaining for an extended period may want to consider shipping a vehicle. To locate a shipper, check the Yellow Pages of your local phone directory under Automobile Transporters, who are normally freight consolidators rather than the company that owns the ship, which will charge higher container rates. One reliable U.S. consolidator is McClary, Swift & Co. (360 Swift Ave., South San Francisco, CA 94080, tel. 650/872-2121, www.mcclaryswift.com), which has affiliates at many U.S. ports.

Argentine bureaucracy has improved in recent years, and clearing customs with a vehicle is simpler than it used to be. Vehicles arrive at the Estación Marítima Buenos Aires (Dársena B, Avenida Ramón Castillo y Avenida Maipú, Retiro, tel. 011/4311-0692 or 011/4317-0675 or 011/4312-8677); here it is necessary to present your passport, vehicle title, and the original conocimiento de embarque (bill of lading), and to fill out a customs application. You will then obtain an appointment with a customs inspector to retrieve the vehicle, which will cost about US$300 for port costs and another US$200 for the shipper; if the vehicle has been in port longer than five days, there will be additional charges. The vehicle can remain in Argentina legally for eight months, with an eight-month extension possible; any visit to a neighboring country restarts the clock. In event of any difficulty, consult a private despachante de aduana (customs broker), such as José Angel Vidal Labra (tel. 011/4345-7887, vidla [at] sinectis [dot] com [dot] ar).

Another possibility is {node:6 link Chile], whose ports are less bureaucratic and safer for the vehicle than Argentine ports. The most probable ports of entry are San Antonio, southwest of Santiago, and Valparaíso, northwest of the capital. It does pay to be there within a couple of days of the vehicle’s arrival, or storage charges can mount up. Leave the gas tank as nearly empty as possible (for safety’s sake) and leave no valuables, including tools, inside.

To arrange a shipment from San Antonio or Valparaíso, contact the Santiago consolidator Ultramar (Avenida Bosque Norte 500, 18th floor, Las Condes, tel. 2/630-1000, www.ultramar.cl). For a trustworthy customs agent to handle the paperwork, contact the office of Juan Alarcón Rojas (Fidel Oteíza 1921, 12th floor, Providencia, Santiago, tel. 02/328-5100, fax 02/328-5140, www.alarcon.cl); Chile’s country code is 56.

Bicycles, of course, can be partially dismantled, packaged, and shipped aboard airplanes, sometimes for no additional charge. Except that there is rarely any additional paperwork for bringing a bike into the country, many of the same cautions apply as to any other overland travel.

From Neighboring South American Countries

Argentina has numerous border crossings with Chile, a few with Bolivia and Paraguay, many with Brazil, and a few with Uruguay. Relatively few Chilean crossings have scheduled public transportation, nor do those with Bolivia, but the Paraguayan, Brazilian, and Uruguayan borders are heavily transited.

International bus service is available from the neighboring republics, and also from more-distant destinations such as Perú, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Both international and domestic bus services normally have comfortable reclining seats (with every passenger guaranteed a seat), clean toilets, air-conditioning, and meals and refreshments served on board, at least on the longest trips. If not, they make regular meal stops. Between Santiago (Chile) and Mendoza, there are minibuses and taxi colectivos, shared taxis that are slightly more expensive but faster than full-size buses.

In northern Patagonia, there are buses from Temuco to Neuquén over the 1,884-meter Paso de Pino Hachado via Curacautín and Lonquimay; the alternative 1,298-meter Paso de Icalma is slightly to the south. There is also bus service from Temuco to San Martín de los Andes via the Paso de Mamuil Malal (Paso Tromen to Argentines); a bus-ferry combination from Panguipulli to San Martín de los Andes via the 659-meter Paso Huahum and Lago Pirehueico; a paved highway from Osorno to Bariloche via the Paso de Cardenal Samoré that is the second-busiest crossing between the two countries; and the scenic bus-boat shuttle from Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas to Bariloche.

There are many southern Patagonian crossings, but the roads are often bad and only a few have public transportation. Those served by scheduled transport include the mostly gravel road from Futaleufú, Chile, to Esquel (local buses only); Coyhaique to Comodoro Rivadavia on a mostly paved road via Río Mayo on comfortable coaches; Chile Chico to Los Antiguos (shuttles with onward connections); Puerto Natales to El Calafate via Río Turbio on a route that should soon be entirely paved; Punta Arenas to Río Gallegos via a paved highway; and Punta Arenas to Ushuaia and Río Grande.

One of the continent’s most important border zones is the controversial Triple Frontera at the confluence of the Paraná and Iguazú Rivers, where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay converge in northernmost Misiones Province. A bridge connects Argentina’s Puerto Iguazú with Brazil’s Foz do Iguaçu.

In addition to several minor river crossings, there are two major bridges over the Río Uruguay in Corrientes Province: between Santo Tomé and the Brazilian town of São Borja, and between Paso de los Libres and the larger Brazilian city of Uruguaiana.

From Uruguay, there are three highway bridges over the Río Uruguay into Entre Ríos Province: between Gualeguaychú and the Uruguayan town of Fray Bentos, between Colón and the Uruguayan city of Paysandú, and between Concordia and the Uruguayan city of Salto.

© Wayne Bernhardson from Moon Argentina, 3rd edition