Darien Gap Panama to Columbia

**Michael Madill** · #1 19 May 2009

I'm planning a trip to South America from calgary Canada on a 2009 DR 650
yesterday I met a guy who said a friend of his drove a jeep throught the
Darien gap has anyone else done this and how hard a safe is this route.?
I would prefer to ride it than put my bike on a plane if possible.

Thanks for any info.
Freedom Rider

**MikeS** · #2 19 May 2009

There aren't any roads so not sure how they did that. Your best bet is the yachts that ply this route. Plenty of threads about it.

**Sjoerd Bakker** · #3 19 May 2009

Your Jeep driving acquaintance is telling tales.There is no ROAD driveable for regular folks in jeeps across trhe Darien gap. If that were the case it would have been proclaimed here on the HUBB long ago and a regular stream of motorcyclists would be sending back reports. I too have had such tales spilled out to me, one couple with an old car and trailer claimed they could drive across to South America twenty years ago - by putting their rig on pontoons.And that was before the highway east of Panama city was paved. Likely story.
There are the hard cases who insist on fighting the land and seeing how close they can come to killing themselves by carrying their bike or 4WD through the jungle and bogs and mountains - if you can believe them- but you cannot RIDE through the DARIEN GAP .There is also the technicality of the army restricting travel beyond Yavisa where the Panamerican Highway ends. I don't think they have managed to build the highway to Colombia since late March this year when I checked out the highway INTO the Darien and back out again the same way.See my earlier post on this .
Mike is right, most travellers use either some form of sea transport or fly their bike from Panama to somewhere in South America.
For starters check out Hostel Wunderbar in Puerto Lindo on the north coast east of the canal . The German couple Guido and Sylvia operating this hotel have many contacts in the sailing community and regularly arrange the transport of motorcycles to Colombia. See Backpacker Hostel Wunderbar - Home
PS : for a recent report by some travellers who used the services of Guido and Sylvia check out the report by sidecar travelling couple Andy and Maya at www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/andymaya/

**Michael Madill** · #4 19 May 2009

Thanks for the feed back.

Freedom Rider

**AtlasRider** · #5 19 May 2009

Here is a recent post about a cheap way to get from Columbia to Panama. Whether it works the other way around, I'm not sure. $230 is so cheap enough for me to check it out

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ly-230-a-42769

**locopostie** · #6 4 Sep 2009

Here are a few reports about the Darien Gap. When I start thinking that life is tough, I just pull out a picture of the darien gap...or hell (same thing), and it really puts things back into focus.
Trans Darien Expedition
Darien Gap 4x4
Travel Notes on Darien Gap

Have a great trip