Can you drive from the US to Patagonia?

Google Maps isn't having fun when i ask it to give me driving directions from my house to Brazil or Patagonia.

I know you have to cross the Darien Gap to get into South America, which is basically clearing a road through thick jungle with machetes and chainsaws, and then driving your truck through.

there's an area about 50 miles wide in Panama that is deep swamp that is impassable, I kept waiting for TopGear to do a special on such a trip that involved getting through Darien Gap, but it never happened

Hrm. That sucks. Any ferry or anything to go around that?

Was just gonna say that I think the most sporting alternative is to take a car-ferry around it

Here's a page on this very topic:

http://www.drivetheamericas.com/wiki/vehicle-shipping-across-darien-gap

ferries are child's play, use a cartel submarine to transport your car

GameboyRMH wrote: Was just gonna say that I think the most sporting alternative is to take a car-ferry around it Here's a page on this very topic: http://www.drivetheamericas.com/wiki/vehicle-shipping-across-darien-gap

Holy WHAT?

HOW MUCH and how many DAYS to ship a car 30 friggin miles?!?!? Boy that's a buzzkill.

Here is your answer

This guy started in Maine and is as far as Ecuador right now. On a freakin' WR250R. Warning, addictive ADVRider.com content.

You can read his story, look at pics and post questions to your heart's content. It's a fantastic read.

A guy my brother caddies with has a Samuri that he drives every fall from Chicago to Belize and back in the spring. It has a snorkel, some big mudder tires, and is generally badass.

He says that he'll have enough to retire in about 3 more seasons of caddying.

mtn wrote: A guy my brother caddies with has a Samuri that he drives every fall from Chicago to Belize and back in the spring. It has a snorkel, some big mudder tires, and is generally badass. He says that he'll have enough to retire in about 3 more seasons of caddying.

This gentleman needs to join this forum ASAP. I wish to know him.

I knew when I read the question, the answer would be on ADV. I intentionally avoid that site because I can loose entire weekends just reading it.

Tom_Spangler wrote:

mtn wrote: A guy my brother caddies with has a Samuri that he drives every fall from Chicago to Belize and back in the spring. It has a snorkel, some big mudder tires, and is generally badass. He says that he'll have enough to retire in about 3 more seasons of caddying.

This gentleman needs to join this forum ASAP. I wish to know him.

That sounds totally badass but I'm pretty sure you could make the trip in a lowered sports car (although it would be truly badass to make the trip avoiding pavement wherever possible). Still would like to meet the guy. I bet the Samurai has a different powertrain to make it highway-tolerable, and there is great offroading to be had in Belize.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote:

mtn wrote: A guy my brother caddies with has a Samuri that he drives every fall from Chicago to Belize and back in the spring. It has a snorkel, some big mudder tires, and is generally badass. He says that he'll have enough to retire in about 3 more seasons of caddying.

This gentleman needs to join this forum ASAP. I wish to know him.

That sounds totally badass but I'm pretty sure you could make the trip in a lowered sports car (although it would be truly badass to make the trip avoiding pavement wherever possible). Still would like to meet the guy. I bet the Samurai has a different powertrain to make it highway-tolerable, and there is great offroading to be had in Belize.

From what my brother said, (I've never met the guy, although I have seen the vehicle) the mods are needed mostly for the last 50 miles--there are a few spots that are supposedly washed out and normal car would not cut it.

Ferry or Airplane around the Darien Gap.

The Pan-American Highway stretches from Cape Horn, Chile to Alaska with one 90 km break: The Darien Gap.

This area is a forbidding mountainous jungle on the Panama side; full of swamps, guerrillas, drug traffikers and kidnappers on the Colombian side, making travel through the area not just a struggle against a hostile environment but also a maze of bribing the right people for passage and ducking bullets.

In case you missed the dangers we just enumerated, here is an easy list to remember: - tough nasty jungle with plenty of disagreeable wildlife. - impenetrable swamps - crazed drug traffikers - pissed-off guerrillas - greedy kidnappers (all of the guys mentioned above) - paranoid government police - no marked trails Read more at http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/darien-gap-most-dangerous-absence-of.html#HjcayOcIYQrqMICH.99

You guys need to check out adv rider for stuff like this. Such a kickass forum.

Four Strokes of Luck.

I watched the movie on Amazon Prime.

Basically, it sounds cheaper and easier to head up into NW Canada for an epic fly and drive for some old Japanese tin, right?

captdownshift wrote: ferries are child's play, use a cartel submarine to transport your car

They would probably agree to haul your rig, if you could find where to meet up, any professional transport operation hates hauling empty.

I'd be much more interested to see if you drive from Patagonia to Cape Town over the top of the globe.