Bike Touring: Santa Marta, Colombia to Ushuaia, Argentina

Winter has not so arrived that you'll be in 3ft of snow by April, but certainly you may suffer some wintry showers and a light covering of snow from time to time. I expect that wherever you find yourself in high summer will also be unpleasantly hot. Also you will probably find you have missed the best of the highland dry season in Peru/Bolivia. So almost everywhere you will be there in a sub-ideal seaon. So all in all you'd do better to start 3 months earlier, or else wait roughly 6 months and do it S to N.

My second question is what is more worthwhile in your opinion, biking down the chile coast (Pacific ocean) or Argentina coast (Atlantic ocean)?

Neither is ideal. Most of the interesting routes keep closer to the Andes. But the Arg coast is particularly to be avoided. More northerly parts of Eastern Arg are flat and not very interesting for cycling. Once you get much further south than Bahia Blanca it starts to become intolerably windy. That intolerable wind, together with the featureless scenery, makes the more southerly parts of R3 some of the most mentally challenging cycling on the planet. I've met several people who got some way and then said "sod this for a lark" and took transport.

To the N of the latitude of Santiago/BsAs, I find the Arg side of the Andes rather more scenic, though plenty of people find the Chile side OK. From Santiago for about 600km south, it isn't terribly interesting on either side, so perhaps this is the bit where you might want to keep to the Chilean coast - places like Pichilemu are classic surfing resorts. Though there aren't many places where the road goes along the coast, more often you'll have to detour inland and make occasional side trips to the coast. Also, the Mendoza-Santiago road is the most practical crossing of the Andes, very scenic and worthwhile, and not a serious expedition like some of the crossings further north, so it combines well with riding through NW Arg.

Then by the time oyou get to the Lake District the sea is rather cold and there aren't many beaches. There isa good reason why most cyclists choose the Carretera Austral to continue southwards, it is much less windy than the Arg side of the Andes, and much more scenic. Though it does rain a lot in places. Then you'll be investigating the famous crossing from Villa O'Higgins to Chalten whne the road runs out in Chile. Best approach to Ushuaia for the cyclist is via Punta Arenas the the ferry to Porvenir.

Edited by: iviehoff

Hello, thank you very much for the input. I did not realize how windy the Argentina coast would be even with a North to south route. In regards to your recommendation to start in March/April from Colombia, that departure date is too soon in terms of $$$. Also waiting until March of 2015 to start our tour is a little too far out. The South to north route could be possible in Dec but we would prefer a North to South route. How about starting in Dec in Colombia? This would get us in Ushuaia in Oct if we tour for 9 months. Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it.

Starting Dec in Colombia would be worse than your original idea, because now you will be in more northerly parts of Patagonia in winter, which will be more unpleasant than anything else so far mentioned. Starting in Dec in Ushuaia would be perfect, you'll be in the good seasons nearly all the way. I don't know what you have against going S to N - it's true that the winds are more from the NW than from the SW in Patagonia, but they are sufficiently from the W that they are unpleasant whether you go N or S or W. And culturally there is a more natural progression from the more westernised cultures in the south to the more Andean cultures further north, so it gradually warms you up to get used to it rather than immediate culture shock.

Btw, you can't cycle down the Pacific coast in Colombia, there isn't any road - Pacific towns are all approached by long cross-jungle routes down from the mountains. Also the Pacific coast of Colombia is one of the very wettest regions of the whole planet. Cycling down the coast in Peru is just tedious, and busy roads too as you get closer to Lima. People do it, but just to eat miles. You'll probably have to do some coastal or near coastal cycling in northern Peru, so make sure you find about the places on the coast with reliable bandits in this part of Peru, they will reliably ruin your trip. There's plenty of info on the web about it.

Edited by: iviehoff