Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Regional Forums > SOUTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA Topics specific to South America only.
Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
is the one
you never begin

Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 20 Mar 2004
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: New York ,NY, USA
Posts: 33
Which countries allow you to fly out without the motorcycle

I am currenlty riding south and am in Acapulco, Mexico right now.

I will need to fly back to NYC for work, for 1-2 weeks, every couple of months while on my trip.

Which countries will allow you to fly out of the country without the motorcycle that you drove in? In particular countries that don't require you to put the motorcycle into a bonded customs warehouse or the like.

Please reply with any countries that you know it would be possible to fly out of while leaving the motorcycle in the country for a week or two. Any countries in Central and South America.

Thanks,

--Terry
__________________
--Terry
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 20 Mar 2004
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Taupo, New Zealand
Posts: 194
Chile - you need a local to take custody of it while you're gone. It costs nothing and only takes one quick visit to the aduana before you leave and one more when you get back. I did this in 2003. Really easy.

Colombia - visit a customs service (DIAN) office, write a petition explaining what you want to do - i.e. leave the bike there - and they will give an extension ('prorroga') of the bike permission. You can then leave the bike in Colombia for as long as it has permission. I left my bike there without any problem. Easy and costs nothing but does take a couple of morning visits for the paperwork.

Elsewhere???

James

[This message has been edited by JamesCo (edited 20 March 2004).]

[This message has been edited by JamesCo (edited 27 March 2004).]
__________________
James Courtier
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 1 Jun 2004
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: New York ,NY, USA
Posts: 33
Replying to my own post. Adding three more countries.

Mexico: doesn't stamp your passport with the motorcycle, so you can leave and return, as long as you are within the time period that the TVIP is valid.

Costa Rica: doesn't stamp your passport. As long as you leave and return while your temporary import is still valid, you should be fine.

Belize: You have to leave the motorycycle at the airport, and have customs officer sign you out.


Not such a good chance of getting in and out easily:
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama. They all stamp your passport (or should) and will not allow you to leave without having the stamp cancelled.



[This message has been edited by TerryMoto (edited 31 May 2004).]
__________________
--Terry
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 3 Jun 2004
Jerome's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Surrey
Posts: 187
If the bike has entered on a carnet you can fly in and out at will because there is no mention of the bike in your passport.

------------------
Jerome

http://www.fowb.co.uk
__________________
Jerome

fowb.co.uk
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 5 Jun 2004
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: germany
Posts: 104
hello out there,

we've been doing that sort of thing in bolivia, argentina and venezuela. we stayed away for ABOUT A YEAR each time so the custom paper for the bikes was far out of validity time.
we found different ways to avoid trouble according to this situation:
1) leave the bike in one of the tax-free-border-twin-towns that occur occasionally in south america. for example: corumba/puerto suarez (brazil/bolivia), cucuta/san antonio (colombia/venezuela), foz do iguacu/ciudad del este (brazil/paraguay). it's easy to get your bike officially stamped out there (without leaving the country) and to leave the bike in town forever - if you find someone to take care of it...
2) forget the customs paper and leave the country via a custom-free border post! for example uyuni/ bolivia. a) go to the immigration, stamp yourself out (don't talk about riding a bike). b) leave the country via one of the desert borders west to chile (for ex.: hita cajones / southwest corner).
another option in bolivia: puerto acosta, east edge of lake titicaca to peru, same procedure.
3) leave the bike anywhere in the country (but preferably close to a border) and see what happens if the people there see your expired customs paper. we did this one time in argentina and - surprise - the custom guys did'nt recognize the dates at all...
( this option is probably a bad choice in countries like honduras, as long as you don't want to find yourself paying a 1000$ "fine" ;-) )

if you only stay away for two weeks, your customs paper will be valid anyway after your return and you are very unlikely to have problems anywhere in south america.

good luck to everyone
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 5 Jun 2004
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: germany
Posts: 104
one thing that could cause trouble is the object i'm treating right now: the computer.

a "worst case scenario":
you leave your bike somewhere in a computer-friendly country. but the bike is typed into a computer file and your person too and this files are connected! so what happens is, you arrive at the airport just in time and try to get yourself stamped out. but this guy - as he types data in his machine - finds out that there is a custom remark and he checks it out. he sees that you entered the country on a bike which is not taken out of the country! so this official rejects your wish to leave the country and says: "first take the bike out, amigo..."

i don't know if this ever happened, but to me it seems to be a possible "danger" in the near future.

more luck
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 5 Jun 2004
chris's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: GOC
Posts: 3,326
IMHO desertsoul's advice is excellent. however, i seriously doubt that any latin american bureaucracy will every get a fully integrated IT NETWORK. in your "worst case scenario" you're also assuming that immigration (dealing with you) and aduana (dealing with your bike) cooperate with each other. not likely.
cheers
ChrisB
PS. if you want to avoid aduana entering honduras: enter from el salvador via san francisco de gotera. only doable if you know how to ride big mud (or are a couple of you to help pushing your fat bmw through it) and have 'offroad' (tkc80/mt21 or similar) tyres.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 14 Jun 2004
Gold Member
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Auckland & Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 66
Watch it - things are changing fast.

Argentina's network, i recall, seemd pretty efficient. as did Chile's and Peru.
Leaving Peru (1 day late) I got caught by their computer system. Strangely enough they had to call the border where originally entered to confirm everything.

Chile would often have me and my bike's information already in their system from last time. Even Bolivia had somethining of the sort - though Uyuni was offline.

Overall, with the continual advent of cheap computers and networking, and the efficiency that it gives to aduanas (trucks that go back and forth generate tons of paper), I'd remain careful about where you try to break the rules.
__________________
http://www.elevatorfactoids.com
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 6 Jul 2004
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Germany
Posts: 6
Hi Terry
I do so since several years in Brasil, where my Bike remains until I will be back.
I am not sure it is legal or not, but nobody ever complaint. I am riding with my german licence plate, and the insurance is already expired since 3 years. (They would not have covered any accident anyway.)
I have a internl. drivers licence and all document with lots of stamps and all have some kind of reference numbers you will find at the bike..
e.e. frame number, Licence plate etc.
As long as they see, that documentation is in sync with your bike, they do not bother and are generally quite friendly..
Rgds
Rainer

__________________
RSP
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12 Jul 2004
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Posts: 35
I put the Argentinian system to the test about a year ago. I sold my bike in Viedma, and flew out of Buenos Aires without dealing with customs at all. I was a bit concerned at the airport when my passport details were being entered into the computer but they just said have a nice flight and waved me through.
-Arne
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 14 Jul 2004
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Guildford, UK
Posts: 269
The Colombian situation is maybe not as simple as others have recently experienced. Have had a frustrating day today visiting the various Dian customs offices in Bogota and with no satisfactory outcome.

My situation is as follows. I entered the country in Cartegena and received only a 30 day visa rather than the normal 60 at Bogota airport. The validity of the temporary importation permit for the bike is for the same amount of time as the visa and I was informed today that without a visa you cannot have the import permit.

No problem! Get a visa extension and then another importation permit. "Not so fast" said the immigration people. Sadly the visa extension is only available in multiples of 30 days and this would expire while I was out of the country leaving me with an illegally imported bike. The only solutions I have been offered are to return to Cartegena and try an extension there or to go to Venezuala for a day and come back. Neither of these are convenient or feasible.

Hope this helps someone else! Maybe somebody else can help me. Only got 2 more days in Bogota.


[This message has been edited by mattpope (edited 14 July 2004).]
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 15 Jul 2004
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Taupo, New Zealand
Posts: 194
Quote:
Originally posted by mattpope:
My situation is as follows. I entered the country in Cartegena and received only a 30 day visa rather than the normal 60 at Bogota airport. The validity of the temporary importation permit for the bike is for the same amount of time as the visa and I was informed today that without a visa you cannot have the import permit.

No problem! Get a visa extension and then another importation permit. "Not so fast" said the immigration people. Sadly the visa extension is only available in multiples of 30 days and this would expire while I was out of the country leaving me with an illegally imported bike. Maybe somebody else can help me. Only got 2 more days in Bogota.


[This message has been edited by mattpope (edited 14 July 2004).]
Hola Matt,

My advice: get down to Cali ASAP. Go to the DAS office (8-12, 2-4pm) and fill out the form for a 30 day extension - it'll take a couple of days for approval, but get the process started and you will be fine. They might ask you for a flight ticket out, but explain that you have a bike. The law is that you get your extension first, then the bike's. They KNOW this, having dealt with me three times. I gave them a copy of the law so insist on your extension. DON'T overstay your permit - endless hassles if you do!

Then go to the DIAN office in the morning and fill out the paperwork for a 'prorroga' for your bike - last time I got 90 days, no problem, explaining that I was flying out of Colombia then returning. The lady who does this (can't remember her name) is in the glassed-in office to the right on the mezzanine floor - don't wait around at the entrance, just go straight to her. She's helpful and knows the drill. By the way, you have to write a simple letter in Spanish requesting the extension and will need photocopies of the usual; all this is actually submitted at the reception around the corner, but see this chica first. You'll then have to show them the bike the next morning and be all set.

Another biker (from California) left his KLR at the hostel in Cali for something like nine months...

Suerte amigo,
James
__________________
James Courtier
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 28 Jul 2004
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: longmont, co, USA
Posts: 117
I left my bike in Ecuador and returned past the import time with no problems- just had to do some paperwork (it helped I had a note from Ricardo Rocco).
My bike is currently in Buenos Aires and I am in USA. I will go back in a year+, and plan to "sneak" out thru Brazil. Vamos a ver...

------------------
Back on the road again.

sopgear.com
__________________
Stuck at home...

sopgear.com
velocity-research.com
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 3 Aug 2004
BklynDakar's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: NY, USA
Posts: 356
Is there no provision for a true emergency such as a death in the family?
__________________
Prevously known as JSherm
My blog: http://www.motorcycleramblings.com/
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/sherman/ I will up date this soon, really Grant, I will....
"This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do." J Kerouac
"Who's more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him" OW Kenobi
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 5 Aug 2004
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 58
.and where do you guys all leave your bikes that is so safe for that time ?

Dave
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

HU Event and other updates on the HUBB Forum "Traveller's Advisories" thread.
ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

HUBBUK: info

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 14:18.