Expert: Juan Carlos Valencia - 7/29/2008

Question
Juan Carlos,

i read a recent Q&A posted about boat transportation for someone's car from Panama to Colombia, my question is somewhat similar. i am planning an overland journey from the US-Mexican border to Brasil and have found two points especially difficult on the research end: 1) finding transportation (other than air) from Panama into South America, and 2) ground transportation through South America to Brasil. on the note of Panama to South America transportation, i would like to head into Colombia but i am willing to head to whatever country is the most feasible and safest, relatively speaking. what options are there for traveling from Panama into South America, other than by air if there are any? as well, once in South America what options are there for ground transportation through South America to Brasil (bus companies, trains, etc)? it has proven especially difficult to find this sort of info on the internet. i am in the planning stages of an extensive trip from California to Brasil. do you have any other advice/info for such a trek? thanks a bunch.

ben
Norther California

Answer
Dear Ben,

this is a very frequent question here, one that Iīve answered many times, so for further details, please browse my past answers on the allexperts web site.

In short, from Panama to Colombia, other than by air, you can travel by sailboat across the caribbean. There are a few boats doing these from time to time. Itīs not a permanent service. Check the billboards of the hostels in Panama city. The arrival port in Colombia could be Cartagena. Do not attempt to do this trip by land. The border between Colombia and Panama is a thick rainforest. The area is still dangerous because of illegal group activities. Why take an unnecessary risk ?

To make it to Brazil, most travelers take a long detour. They go south, to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. And then finally head to Brazil through Paraguay or Uruguay. Why? The journey is fantastic and by doing it they skip the huge amazon jungles that cover most of the central areas of south america. You may do this long trip by bus. It will be very long but fairly cheap. Trains are not very popular in the region.

You may also fly from Bogota, Colombia to the border town of Leticia, on the shores of the amazon river and at the border of Brazil. There's no way to get there safely than by plane. And then you may take a river boat through the amazon to Manaus. But from there, again, you will have to fly to Sao Paolo or Rio.  You will be crossing a huge area, the amazon rainforest, full of mosquitoes and as beautiful as tough. Is this the kind of trip you want to make?

It's great that you are researching a bit. You need to learn more about the geography of the places that you want to criss-cross. Otherwise you could make the wrong choices. Check your maps, get a Lonely Planet South American guidebook and then do not hesitate to ask further questions.

Cheers

JC