Peru, Chile, Argentina Trip
 

Hello, my fiancé and I (still doesn’t sound right!), are planning a 2 month honeymoon in South America next year travelling through Peru, Chile, and Argentina. We are looking at all the option and I’m really struggling to come to a conclusion, it seems like there are issues any way we wish to do it.

• Option 1 - Flight the bike (1200 GS) to Peru and ride to Chile, then Argentina and then ship it back via sea. This seem massively expensive, in the £1000’s, plus our flight might mean that it’s not going to happen.
• Option 2 - Hire a bike. This doesn’t seem like an option as we would have to do a circular trip to drop the bike off.
• Option 3 - Buy a bike in Peru and sell it in Argentina (or ship it home if we can’t sell it in time). These seems to be a issue getting a Peruvian bike over the border with a foreign owner.

Any input on this is massively welcomed, we are really struggling getting a clear picture on the best (cheapest) option to fulfil our dreams. Also is 2 months long enough?

By the way, it's my job to arrange the honeymoon and Sonya's to do the wedding, at the moment it feels like I've drawn the short straw!

Sonya and Chris

if you only have 2 month that does not leave you much time at each end to buy / sell a bike at least not for a good price. If i were just looking for a once in a lifetime type trip i think i would just fly the bike and enjoy the honeymoon

Buying and selling the bike will likely be stressful, and the selling stress seems to start building long before the end of the trip (according to my observations of other riders). On a short trip, this might absorb a lot of your energy and time. Is that what you want for your honeymoon? Didn't think so.

I don't understand the economics and practicalities of giant BMW touring bikes in the first place (nudge, nudge), so I can't really compare the economics of renting vs. shipping. But I will say there's nothing wrong with a circular trip; wherever you first land will probably have places in all directions you'd like to visit, so hitting some of them on the way out and some on the way back isn't necessarily a bad thing.

And of course two months isn't long enough, but no amount of time is long enough....depending on everything, including how you like to travel, what you like to see, and how much time you'll be spending locked away enjoying each other's intimate attentions. Or not.

The other scheduling problem is that once you're in Peru, why not Bolivia or Ecuador? Once in Argentina, haven't you always wanted to see Brazil? If in Patagonia, a trip to Antarctica would be the perfect once-in-a-lifetime finale. Et cetera. You won't have time to do it all, no matter what.

Hope this is helpful.

Mark

(from Puerto Varas, Chile, where an attempt to go easy on myself by hiring tire swaps and an oilchange ended up costing me a day and a fair bit of aggravation....where are all the cheap moto mechanics who line the highways throughout the rest of South America?)

Mark's right..there's never going to be "enough" time.


I am currently traveling solo in Central and South America, southbound.

I am riding a wonderful bike (DR650) and I am sponsored by Twisted Throttle, who has outfitted me with all the best travel accessories. That said...

FWIW, if I were to do this trip over again, "just" coming to SA, I would buy a bike off a fellow traveler. I'd follow their RR and see how the bike performs, etc. and just ride. Ride the heck out of it. Then I'd take my lumps selling it or gift it to someone. I am a budget traveler. And the extra costs in shipping I personally have to equate to less days on the road.

That said, I agree with other points of view too: this is your HONEYMOON! make it the trip of a lifetime. If your wife-to-be is willing to sit on the back of your bike for two months and have this adventure with you, you are truly blessed. Ship your big ass bike over here, keep her comfy, keep the bike running great, and have an awesome time. You want her to ride with you well after this trip is over. Heck, buy her the best backrest, an aftermarket seat, and the most comfortable gear you can find her.

Enjoy!

Hi there,

I'm selling my Suzuki DR650 in about three weeks... it would be perfect for your journey...

This is the link to the sale advertisement I posted a while back http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...09-model-49343