hi
i am looking for information from people who have travelled or have information on travelling south america. i am going in september with two of my friends. we are arriving into rio de janierio and staying in a hotel for a few days.we are looking to buy a campervan/motorhome to travel down the continent and then back up the other side. i have looked in alot of place to see is there any second hand vechicles available but cant seem to find any for sale on any of these travel site.just wondering has any1 done this before and would be very grateful if ye can give me some info of your travels of anything that might be of use to me.thanks in advance everyone.
higgo007
1
esterosdelibera
Previous reports:
It is possible to buy a camper but complicated indeed. We brought our own camper from home. Shipping is easy and not complicated at all. You also know what you got. Said all that, it is possible to buy something in South America. There are always people trying to sell their camper they bought up North in the States or Canada. Problem there, you must go back with the camper if you are not from there or at least know somebody that can do the paperwork for you while being in South America. The car still has the USA or Canadian licence plate. Buying a local car is possible too but if you cannot speak Spanish or Portuguese in Brazil it is more or less impossible or expensive since somebody else has to do all the paperwork for you. As far as we heard all this work takes about a week. Driving around involves a lot of freedom but it can also be a burden too. There is a lot of stuff in a camper that can get stolen so special care is needed here, especially in cities. And they are complicated enough already without that. However, in the middle of nowhere life in a camper is as good as it can be. Camping at a lake with nobody around you except Guanacos says it all!.
It is neither easy nor cheap. Consider shipping your car from home to Buenos Aires, takes 18 days and is not that expensive at all. We met many travellers that bought a car in Argentina. Seems to be a not so easy task. The worst part seems to be, that as a foreigner we are not allowed to leave Argentina with that car. Many travellers we met could not go to Chile, Bolivia or even Uruguay. Some left the car behind and kept on going by bus. Others tried and tried, most had no luck. Some made it but it seems the people at the border did not know. Once the border in Bolivia told a couple that they were actually not allowed to leave Argentina. Since you are here already we will let you into Bolivia. But do not forget, that is an exception.Buying a car in Chile, Brazil or somerwhere else seems to be no problem.
Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.
2
myriam
Hi
Dont miss Colombia however her bad reputation. Lp advicer like one of the ten intersting destination. Its a country with a lot of surprises:Caribean Coast and Island (Cartagena...), Llanos and Leticia, The wonderful southern colombian (Popayan, San Agustin...) the little towns like Villa de Leyva near Bogotá, Barichara near Santander, Santa Fe de Antioquia near Medellin. The Safety? The conflit is in the areas where the tourists dont go. However, the sens commun is necesary, avoid some areas in the cities and in the country like Putumayo, Vichada, Caqueta, Guaviare, Sucre. Think the country is twice as big as France, three times Germany and 27 times Switzerland.
Good trip
Myriam
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