Cycling in Central and South America

I'm looking to travel around central and south America at the beginning of next year and was just wondering if anyone knows much about the possibilities of cycling in this part of the world, eg. cost, ease etc.

Thank you,
Adam

Well there are a lot of possibilities. Long distance cyclists tend to stick to the western side of the continent, following the Andes down to Patagonia (the Carretera Austral in Chile being a cycling classic or northwest Argentina) or up to the high plains (antiplano) in Bolivia and on to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. C.America also offers great cycling, the highland regions being particularly enjoyable but the urban areas can be a grittier experience (although there are great cities too like Leon and Granada in Nicaragua). Mexico has a myriad of great options too. Like anywhere else, costs can be kept low if you're camping most of the time. Cost of living varies between countries like Chile, probably the highest in S.America, to very low in Bolivia.

Did you have anywhere specific in mind? Or what kind of trip are thinking of and what you're interested in?

I did this several years ago. Food and hotels are inexpensive. But the roads may be bad. Paved roads can have a lot of traffic and dirt ones are not good for riding. Depends on where you are going.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.