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South America (biking?) trip

2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  m789 
#1 ·
Dear Mtbr-ers,

with my gf we are planning a backpacking trip trough South America,
starting in Argentina in october, finish in Costa Rica in january
+Chile end of january 2015.
medium budget, coutch surfing + hostels, hotels.

The more we plan the trip the more i am getting the feeling, that it should be more biking oriented (or we ll regreat it afterwards...)
We re both big into MTB, mostly all mountain + dh.

As i am searching for riding possibilities i am always shocked by the price i see for the "package trip". I really hope that with your help, we can find a better option, that won t spend our monthly budget in 1 week ;)

rough initiary for now is:
1. Argentina (BA, Punta del este, mainland, Iguazu) = 20 days
2. Bolivia (SC, salt lakes, La paz) = 10 d
3. Peru (Lima, Cuzco DH) = 5 d
4. Equador = 10 d
5. Columbia (Bogota, Medelin, Cartagena) = 20 d
6. Costa Rica (already got some great info from motoadve) =22 days
7. Chile (la Serena, mainland, Santiago) = 10 d

The problem is that if we choose to rent (bikes+equipment+guide), we wont be able to afford more than one (or max 2) biking trips.

If we could get some local info, proposals, help, it will be greatly appriciated.

Looking forward for your replys, best regards, Miha & Nija
 
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#2 ·
Hey Miha and Nija,

I just got back from a trip to Ecuador. Some observations and considerations:

- If you bring your own bikes, how will you transport them? If your planning on using buses then definitely rent.
- Need to able to secure them every night
- Road biking is not advisable (due to mostly poor roads and south american driving style)
- Most (all) locals ride mountain bikes in the cities due to the cobblestone streets

Its great to have the familiarity of your own bike, but if your not riding every day, it'll be more of a hassle. We did hiking and mountaineering on Cotopaxi and Chimborazo mountains/volcanoes. The one ride I saw and wish I did was on Cotopaxi. A van topped with mountain bikes was dropping riders off on the back of the mountain at 14K feet. Looks like the trail took them back down into the valley.
 
#3 ·
ajzagel, i somehow missed your reply, thank you for your info, just looking at Cotopaxi...

we are mostly interested in all mountain riding, singletrails, as little road as possi

regarding our own bikes; the only doable way would be to pack them and send them to a known shop/mtbr-er, use them and sell them afterwards...after some research, it would be nearly impossible do make it happen, so i am leaving that option.
 
#4 ·
sooo, after almost abandoning my hopes of finding AM single trails trough beautifull countries with occasional technical DH, with some help from you and much research and g translate, we finally have some resoults;

most of guided tours are, lets say easy XC gravel type ones, with old HT bikes, which are not our cup of tea...
And the "proper" ones are usually managed by USA,CAN,EU companies, that sell adventure packages, costing AN ARM AND A LEG + you have to bring your own rig... don t want that either.

bbut all is not lost;
-booked 3 days AM in Ecuador (1st AM trails, 2nd day DH, 3rd FR)
-debating a 3 day AM in Bolivia
-found 2 bike parks in CR (thanks motoadve!)

...still searching possibilities for Peru and Chile
 
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