The best ride in Argentina

We've cycled a bit more than one year through South America. I'll try to put some informations together. If you need to know more, just write me a message.

The best country for me was Peru. It has a lot to see and distances in between sights are reasonably short. You could definitely do a lot of things even with a 4 year old - and he will like it! Following the Panamerican Highway includes a lot of traffic, though. And anyway, the coastal side is a lot of desert and the weather is generally gray. We enjoyed the Sierra a lot more. Getting water and food is never a problem, that makes travelling rather easy.

Bolivia is very interesting, too. The roads are getting quite rough, though, as soon as you leave the main highways. The region around the Titicaca lake is very beautiful! The rest of the altiplano is very deserted. Therefore the views may be spectacular but you have to take a lot of food and water with you. One of the salt lakes you should definitely do, it's a special experience! But make sure to avoid the rainy season (Decembre to April).

Colombia is great for the people! They are by far the nicest ones of all the countries we've visited in South America. And dispite the bad reputation, the country is pretty safe (with the exception of the big cities, as everywhere in the world). For the scenery the coffee region is very nice (around Armenia) and the desert of tatacoa. Cartagena as a city is nice and the lifestyle at the carribean beach is amazing - it gets extremly hot, though. To get from the North to Medellin or Bogota there is a horrible traffic. I'd recommend to take a bus, especially with a kid.

Ecuador would probably offer a lot of nice views. Just make sure you are not travelling during the rainy season (around February to April)! We had about 6 weeks of almost constant rain and always cloudy sky so that we couldn't see most of the vulcanos. Another difficulty offer the roads: if you do not follow the Panamerican highway (which has an awful traffic!), the roads are almost constantly up or downhill - both with a very steep inclination. It is demanding!

Of Chile we know only the Carretera Austral. This can be tough going! It is raining a lot and much. The road is constantly climbing or dropping (calculate with 1000-1200Hm+ per 60km). There is not a lot of villages, so you'd need to carry a lot of food with you. Spots for wild camping are mostly difficult to find because along the road there is barbwire everywhere. The country is safe - but very expensive.

Argentina I can not recommend - especially with a kid (I know Nick has a different opinion on that, but maybe he will change his mind when he gets to the more Northern countries ;-)). The distances between the interesting spots are just too huge. There is a lot of Pampa or desert do be crossed - and you'd need a lot of tricks to prevent your son from getting bored... Food and water need to be carried for several days. From what other people (including the Argentinians!) say, it is not too safe as a country, either (luckily we didn't have any bad experiences, though). If you still want to visit the country, make sure to bring US Dollars - else the country get very expensive!

I hope this helps your planning - else just contact me!