Pan American Highway
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Contents
Overland summary
Driving The Pan American Highway from Alaska to Argentina is probably the most popular Overland route in the world, and as such, is very, very achievable for the average person. No paperwork is required in advance and many countries are relatively cheap to travel through. People from almost all countries in the world can gain entry to each country for free for 90 days.
Since late 2014 a vehicle ferry has been operating from Panama to Colombia across the Darien Gap, making it much easier to complete the drive.
Books
| A guide for overlanding in Mexico and Central America. This book provides detailed information by country. It also includes 11 chapters of information for planning and preparing your trip and 9 chapters on what to expect while driving through Mexico and Central America. Completed by the authors of Life Remotely. |
Countries
(alphabetical)
Distance
The straight-line, minimum deviation distance from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina is 30,000kms (18,000 miles).
Time Required
Due to the extreme winters, it's advisable to avoid winter at the extreme North and South ends of the journey. That naturally means the journey is often completed in approximately one and a half years.
People that love riding their motorbike every single day will complete the trip in six months.
Obviously, you can go as fast or slow as you please and some Overlanders have taken many years to complete the trip.
Cost
This will depend on many variable factors such as the time you take for the trip and how often you camp and cook your own food. Many of the countries in Central and South America are relatively cheap, so expenses need not be high. Crossing the Darien Gap is the only expensive logistical challenge.
Some information from other Overlanders:
- Brad from Drive Nacho Drive has posted his budget for driving around the entire world, which includes the Pan American Highway. The blog post is The Cost of Driving Around The World.
- Dan from The Road Chose Me completed the journey solo in a 4x4 in 22 months from mid 2009 - mid 2011 for $27,300.00 USD.[1]
- Jessica, Jared & Kobus from Life Remotely completed the journey between Oct 2011-May 2013 for a total of $88,000.00 USD Budget breakdowns per country | Life Remotely
Logistical challenges
You do not need a Carnet de Passage for any country in North, Central or South America. Some websites say you do, that is outdated information.
There are two logistical challenges to driving the Pan American Highway:
- Crossing the Darien Gap from Panama to Colombia now has a vehicle ferry and is covered below.
- People driving Right Hand Drive (RHD) vehicles will have to apply for a permit to drive through El Salvador. Alternatively, they can choose to bypass El Salvador entirely. See the El Salvador page for more details. Also it's technically illegal to enter Nicaragua with a RHD vehicle, though it seems many overlanders have paid a small bribe to get around this. As recently as 2014 some overlanders have been denied entry to Chile with RHD vehicles, specifically at southern land border crossings and when shipping into Chile.
Border crossings
Arrive at borders early in the morning to avoid long line-ups.
Most borders are closed overnight, and it's not advisable to wait at the border when darkness falls due to safety concerns.
Safety in No Man's Land
Often when crossing borders you will be officially stamped out of one country, pass through a populated area that seemingly has no jurisdiction, then enter the second country. These "No Man's land" areas are not a good place to spend time, it's advised you move through them directly to the next official station.
Helpers
You are certain to encounter locals offering to help you with paperwork to get across borders in Central America. They will usually have Identification (home made) and can be quite pushy, demanding and rude. Depending on the border and time of day, you may be surrounded by ten or more people yelling and trying to take your paperwork. These "helpers" will insist the process is so difficult you can not cross the border without their help, which is completely untrue.
Their help is really not needed, and so do not give them your documents. They will ask for outrageous amounts of money to give it back, after helping you very little. Often they will pretend to be officials to get you to hand over your documents. Only give your documents and seek advice from people inside official offices, or a uniformed Police officer with a badge.
Crossing The Darien Gap
The Darien Gap is a 160km strip of swampland that separates Panama from Colombia. You can read all about it at the wikipedia page Darién Gap. Only a handful of extremely well outfitted 4x4 expeditions have managed to drive through the gap. It's extreme 4x4ing and not without serious risks.
99.9999% of all people crossing the Daren Gap ship their vehicle in one way or another.
Since late 2014 a vehicle ferry has been operating making this process vastly easier and cheaper.
Ferry Xpress vehicle ferry across the Darien Gap
For detailed instructions and price for crossing the Darien Gap from Panama to Colombia using the Ferry Xpress vehicle ferry, see the Panama to colombia car ferry xpress page.
Finishing the trip
At the end of the trip, some people choose to sell their vehicle and fly home, while others choose to ship their vehicle home.
Sell
Selling cars registered outside South American countries is tricky at best, and often illegal. See the details in the Chile and Argentina pages for more details.
Ship vehicle home
- In early 2014 Lost World Expedition shared a 40 ft. shipping container from Buenos Aires to Miami, Florida for a total price (inc. all fees on both ends) of $2,000.00 USD per vehicle.
References
External Links
Overlanding Mexico and Central America Contains advice for planning and preparing for an overlanding trip based on the hundreds of hours of research LifeRemotely did before leaving home in October 2011.
Information for Americana Tour Site with information and links about driving the Pan American Highway (available in English and German)
Ruined Adventures: Fellow Travelers A list of Overlanders traveling the Pan American highway as of 2012. Also lists recently completed expeditions.
