Bolivia/Argentina Border Crossing
 

Hey, just got to Bolivia on the way South from Costa Rica and wondering if any of you good folks can enlighten me on the best borders and roads for crossing into Argentina? Seems there are a few options, the most popular being Villazon and the apparently quieter Bermejo crossing.

Riding 2-up on a 2010 XT660Z Tenere has left us a little overloaded and I need to keep the dirt action to a minimum unfortunately.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Andy

Just remember to not cross on a sunday as you will have to let your bike at the border and arrange insurance beforehand.

My info is a little old, as I was there in 2006, but since you're not getting much response, I'll give it a try. The Salar de Uyuni was a major highlight of my trip. I would ride the gravel road frome Potosi to Uyuni without a second thought, some washboard, just keep the speed down to show a little mercy to your rear shock. The road to Villazon from Uyuni wasn't much worse, just longer. Conditions change, so ask around, and keep in mind that one person's nightmare road is another's superhighway.

I found the Villazon crossing to be straightforward, but fairly busy, it cost nothing for a tourist visa or bike permit. I was not required to have insurance, but they recommended I purchase "seguro obligatorio" in Salta, the first big city, which I did.

I crossed the Villazon/La Quiaca border in February 2010. Busy but you'll be through in no time. Road from Uyuni, Atocha, Tupiza and Villazon was mostly ripio. Gravel, small rocks and washboard in some areas but nothing a Tenere can't handle. If you're not traveling through during the rainy season, you'll be fine 2 up. Villazon to Salta, Argentina is smooth asphalt. Salta is a big enough city to eat some Carne, watch a Hollywood movie in English and work on the bike if necessary. Enjoy the ride whichever border you choose.

we didn`t do so well at the Villazon crossing...
 

Thanks for the info folks, really appreciate your time. We had a pretty awful run through this border so I thought I may as well answer my own question for the next poor sucker who finds this on Google looking for the same thing.

All in all it took us 4 hours and was our worse crossing yet. I hope this helps.

1. Get there early!
The import folks seem to take a long lunch from 12 - 3. Don`t forget to move your watch forward another hour in both Bolivia and again in Argentina.

2. You need insurance!
I had to exit from Bolivia and enter Argentina, walk into town and buy insurance ($23 US) before I could import my bike. Perhaps you can buy online prior to arriving at the border but I didn`t have any luck doing this with my terrible Spanish.

3. Prepare to wait!
When we arrived at the border, the Bolivian police escorted us to the front of the long line to get our exit stamps. Unfortunately you just have to line up with everyone else for your entry stamp into Argentina. There must have been over 100 people with only 1 customs officer processing passports. It took forever...

So....

1. Exit Bolivia
2. Enter Argentina (Passport stamp)
3. Get insurance in Argentina
3. Give Bolivian aduana your Bolivian bike import papers
4. Import bike into Argentina

We have loved our time here so far, it was all well worth the hassle.

Good luck and safe riding.....

Andy