Drive from North America to South America?

I don’t know how relevant this is – moderators, please let me know.

I’ve always wondered if it’s possible to drive from North America to South America. Now I know it’s possible to drive from the lower 48 to Alaska via Canada, but what about from the USA to say, Peru? How would it work across the Panama Canal?

Thought I’d tap into the collective knowledge of this forum.

Try the Transamerican Highway. It runs from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

Try the Transamerican Highway. It runs from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.[/quote]

I believe Pacific West Coast Trail (Canada) is considered part of that route. It has some pretty amazing parts, some of which are in the intertidal zones. And then in CA, there is the 101 or the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway)

But why drive it when you can do it by bike?

the-road-south.com/index.php

Very interesting – but from the website:

The highway did continue after the [Panama] City but it dead-ended further east at the nearly-impenetrable jungle known as the Darien Gap. Beyond that lay another place I would sadly not visit, Columbia. For the first time on the trip I would be boarding an airplane and skipping a major piece of geography.

Anyone know whether you can drive through Panama?

BAH, you seem to be adventurous, I lived in Costa Rica during my teens and there’re so many areas that I’d not even consider driving through, besides Colombia.

Mexico - rippoff artists, trying to set you up with staged accidents, so common in Mexico that car rental companies in border states prohibit anyone driving their cars across border.

Nicaragua - civil unrest and banditry, unless you know the rope along the Nicaraguan section, you’re likely to encounter problems, same with Panamanian section to a lesser degree.

Sadly, within the last few years, Ecuador and Venezuela have deteriorated as far as stability and they may look like Colombia soon.

No problem at all in colombia as soon as you don’t drive during night time.

You may take a ferry boat from colon to barranquilla, or even directly from panama city to cartagena.

Have a nice trip !

I was just curious – I probably won’t really do it.

That should have been obvious to eveyone. If someone was really interested in doing the drive from N. America all the way down to the tip of S. American do you really think they would be asking for advice on a bulletin board that is mainly about working and living in Taiwan? There must be many, many web sites that are much more closely related to the question.

That said, it is an interesting idea to be able to drive your own vehicle on a several thousand mile road trip. Long distance driving is something we are not able to enjoy on this little island.

BAH, what is the longest road trip you have actually taken?

I thought so too.

It was driving from Southern California to Boston, partly through Canada. Took it easy and did it over a week, including camping in Yellowstone and heating corned beef hash over an open flame. Oh, and we tried to stop at all the casinos on the way. Surprisingly, there were many.

I thought so too.

It was driving from Southern California to Boston, partly through Canada. Took it easy and did it over a week, including camping in Yellowstone and heating corned beef hash over an open flame. Oh, and we tried to stop at all the casinos on the way. Surprisingly, there were many.[/quote]

Now why would you want to eat corned beef hash when, as everyone knows, casinos have all-you-can-eat buffets?
:wink:

PS, I’ll be back on the 20th. Looking forward to rejoining the fray.

Friends of mine drove from Toronto down to Costa Rica a few years back. Many sketchy episodes, and a few downright dangerous ones. They encountered the most difficulty in El Salvador, where they were shouted at and had things thrown at them for being white. Some strong anti-American sentiment there, for good reasons some would say.

(They sold the jeep in Costa Rica and flew back!)