johnnyinseattle
4/20/2022 02:12 EST
how tough is it to travel from the US to ecuador in a vehicle?
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EARLABS
4/20/2022 08:11 EST
Travel by Car to EC., From what is going on at most central American , Mexican and S. American borders with drug trafficing I would think it would be extremely dangerous. as well if you are thinking of moving to EC. importing cars is prohibited therefore another problem.
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ronterresa
4/20/2022 21:42 EST
You'll have to go through Farc country in Colombia. It will be very dangerous and nothing but rugged country
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FsoRso
4/21/2022 11:49 EST
One cannot drive from Panama through to Colombia because of the Darien Gap jungle/swamp area, thus the Pan Am Highway effectively ends in Panama. One would have to put a vehicle on a ship in Panama and ship it to a Pacific port in Colombia or Ecuador (which is what I did many years ago).
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cccmedia
4/24/2022 22:50 EST
Travel by car between Colombia and Ecuador has been difficult during The Situation.
The preferred border crossing in the past was Rumichaca, near Ipiales, Colombia.
Traveling in my car, I was rejected twice in late 2021 when I wanted to cross there. Some vehicles have been getting in lately, especially trucks carrying important goods.
Due to the restrictive situation, many people were crossing "informally" at unofficial crossings on private farmlands. Landowners' reps were collecting fees .. and TrĂ¡nsito let it all happen with a wink.
Such extralegal crossings are not recommended.
Best to fly to Ecuador .. and get around by taxis, buses and shoe leather as needed.
cccmedia in Quito
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user001
4/25/2022 15:59 EST
Going by the other replies, seems like no one in this thread has done it. All the above information, basically discard (except the current Colombia / Ecuador border situation.
But it's fine, I've done it twice, once as the driver (US to Ecuador) once as a passenger (technically from Nicaragua down to Ecuador).
Borders are easy, all fair efficient, no corruption from officials (the people hanging around offering "to help" is another matter but you don't need them. Speaking Spanish will help,, but usually we were done in about an hour at every border.
Colombia is safe, no worries driving that, stick to the main roads and you won't be going near Farc territory, even then if you do go to more remote areas, you'll be fine.
Mexico was / is potentially more dangerous, but obvious rules, don't drive at night, stick to main roads, check with locals if there are problems currently going on.
Your vehicle will be stamped into the country the same as you on your passport, you will *NOT* be able to keep your vehicle in Ecuador if that was your plan.
Due to no road Panama to Ecuador, you can ship from Panama city to Cartagena, check overland forums / groups and you can share a container to get the costs down. This is a headache and expensive (as you'll need to fly) then the Colombian side can be a hassle (paperwork /; formatlities / delays). But, that's how it it is
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Nogrokgringo
5/6/2022 11:28 EST
This is true. There is NO way to drive from north america to south america. The road doesn't exist. There are a bunch of excuses for this, but the nations on either side simply don't want the additional traffic/hassle of millions of trucks. Add to that the total control of the cartels of that specific strip of land just above Columbia. Even if there were a dirt road through there, no one in their right mind would take on a guaranteed life-ending drive through there.
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gyuris
5/6/2022 14:37 EST
johnnyinseattle:
Don't let people who have never taken the road less traveled scare you, as they have never done the road trip themselves and they are only transferring their fear and ignorance to others. I drove my motorcycle from California to Ecuador. The details: In Panama the paved road ends in a little town called Yaviza. That's as far south that you can go in a vehicle in Central America. After that it's the famously terrible jungle of the Darien Gap. Besides the danger, that 80 mile stretch of jungle is pretty much impassable by vehicle. So forget that. The way I did it is to put my motorcycle on an a cargo airplane in Panama Tocumen airport, and fly it to Bogota El Dorado airport, then continued my road trip all over through Colombia and on to Quito, Ecuador. Of course, with a motorcycle you can do this crossing via air cargo. But a four wheeled vehicle you can't. So what can you do? You can ship it via a freight container ship. These ships sail from the port of Colon on the Caribbean side of Panama, and arrive into the port of Cartagena in Colombia. From there you can drive all the way down the Pacific side to the southernmost tip of South America to a city called Ushuaia in Patagonia (Argentina) then back. up on the Atlantic side. In other words t is a counterclockwise circle of almost all the countries in South America. I never had any trouble in any country. Some unforeseen mechanical delays and nature caused delays, yes, but personal trouble, no. It is the adventure trip of a lifetime!
As far as the personal dangers, there are none if you don't look for trouble. The FARC and the ELN in Colombia are no problem to travelers, they don't cause problems to tourists if you stick to the roads and don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. (For me, the only country currently on the no-go list is Venezuela. Hopefully that will change in the future., as Venezuela is a beautiful country and it is so unfortunate to have to miss it.)
The rest of the South American countries are quite safe for road travelers. The only thing is to be careful of petty thievery of property when you are not looking.
Cheers,
A.T. +++++++++
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