Overlanding Tips for Latin America

[Hourless Life]

Overlanding advice for those considering doing Latin America.

Someone who was considering a journey like the one we are currently on asked me this awhile ago, and I thought my response to them might be helpful to others. Here are some thoughts:

Notes: There are various factors that are going to impact how valuable my tips are. Without knowing more about specific plans, number and ages of travelers, size of vehicle, types of activity enjoyed, duration of journey, number of borders intended to cross, etc it is difficult to give direct insight. But here are some general tips that should apply:

1. Stuff is a sad substitute for experience. Don't go out and buy a bunch of stuff until you know from experience what type of overlanding you enjoy. Make sure you have water, food, shelter, warmth, and sleep covered and you can go anywhere in the world. Everything else is just "nice to have." The problem is that many people go out and buy stuff first and then later realize that it isn't as helpful as they thought it would be. I'm guilty of this when I first started. Bottom line get out there and figure out what type of overlanding you actually enjoy and then build your kit around that.

2. Don't be "that guy." Not saying you are, but the people who come to Latin America and have expectations that are unrealistic. The people who don't even try and learn a few key phrases like, "I don't speak Spanish can you help me?" "No hablo Español me puedes ayudar?" The people who get upset because their taxi driver doesn't speak English. Etc. Yeah, that guy. Don't be him.

3. Know that often the unplanned things that happen, even the things that go wrong can be some of the most memorable portions of the journey. So expect the unexpected and roll with it. Be flexible in your plans after all that is much of what the overlanding lifestyle is about.

4. Be kind to yourself. Overlanding is not off-roading, car camping, or even a road trip. It can, and often does, involve all of those things, but none of those define overlanding. It is about memories, experiences, the journey, the people, the different micro cultures, and the adventure itself. But when you are on a LONG journey like one through Latin America, have no shame in getting a hotel or airbnb for a nice long hot shower, some laundry and internet. It is a marathon not a sprint. I know folks who have made massive international overland journeys in what essentially was a hooptie that didn't even have 4x4 capability. Yet armchair quarterbacks or keyboard warriors who have never undertaken such an overlanding adventure will blast them on social. The reality is that these folks have done more true overlanding than most. It isn't about impressing anyone. It is about making the journey yours, and more importantly just making the journey. Do it your way, make it yours.

5. Don't carry debt on your journey. Your money is better spent on the adventure than on gadgets and that vehicle you can't really afford that you think you need. Trust me you don't need it.

6. Ignore the fearmongers and talk to people who have actually made the journey. Preferably the ones who have recently been where you'd like to go. There are MANY online areas to discuss this including reddit, Expedition Portal, Overland Bound, Facebook Groups specific to countries and regions, etc. This is a hard journey. Don't be shy to follow someone, dm them on the social media of your choice. Ask the hard and real questions. You'll find that most overlanders will take the time to share what they've learned.

7. Make multiple copies of ALL of your documents and have them accessible.

8. Never pay a bribe or extortion. When you do you make it more difficult for everyone behind you. Be patient. Be kind. Wait them out. If you actually broke the law then they will give you a proper ticket and you can pay it. If they are just telling you that you broke the law but are not giving you a ticket they are looking for a payoff. Ask them to take you to the police station and that you'll pay it there. They won't. They'll let you go on your way for an easier mark.

9. Never, under any circumstances except emergency, drive at night.

10. Be at wherever you are going to camp for the night by 3pm. This allows you several hours before sundown to find a different spot if the spot you found feels off or isn't what you were hoping for.

Hope these are helpful. I know not everyone will agree with all of my thoughts on this and I'm ok with that. This person asked me for my personal advice and this is what I sent them. Hopefully it is of help to others considering this type of journey.

~ Eric Highland
Hourless Life (on social media)
Love. Explore. Study. Share.
Current Location as of this writing: Granada, Nicaragua 6/16/2022

 

[rtexpeditions]

Excellent ideas Eric. I think a lot of this is common sense anywhere in the world, not just in Latin America.

 

[John and Mandi]

11. Never let your visa/tourist permit or vehicle Temporary Import Permit (TIP) run out of time. Always plan to cross a couple days before expiration. Some countries calculate by the exact time and not just by date. We know of more than one vehicle that was seized because the TIP had expired a couple hours prior to their attempt to leave the country.

12. Get as close as possible to the border the night before and arrive early in the morning. If you encounter any problems you should have plenty of time to cross without breaking items 9 and/or 10. (Essential for C.A., wasn’t as important for S.A. but still a good practice)

13. Rich is relative. An iphone costs the same as a budget motorcycle. Use it but don’t flaunt it, same for cameras, laptops, etc

14. Switch from thinking “what they need to do is…” to “what I can learn from them is…”

15. Accept kindness. Probably the hardest thing to do but we are all better people when we can.

 

[Hourless Life]

11. Never let your visa/tourist permit or vehicle Temporary Import Permit (TIP) run out of time. Always plan to cross a couple days before expiration. Some countries calculate by the exact time and not just by date. We know of more than one vehicle that was seized because the TIP had expired a couple hours prior to their attempt to leave the country.

12. Get as close as possible to the border the night before and arrive early in the morning. If you encounter any problems you should have plenty of time to cross without breaking items 9 and/or 10. (Essential for C.A., wasn’t as important for S.A. but still a good practice)

13. Rich is relative. An iphone costs the same as a budget motorcycle. Use it but don’t flaunt it, same for cameras, laptops, etc

14. Switch from thinking “what they need to do is…” to “what I can learn from them is…”

15. Accept kindness. Probably the hardest thing to do but we are all better people when we can.

So stealing those John and Mandi. Wise words friends. Wise words. ~ E

 

[JeepingMike]

Thank you for sharing your tips, lessons learned, advice. I may never make an epic trip like yours, but so much to learn from! And much of it is still applicable/adaptable in the USA.

 

[John and Mandi]

So stealing those John and Mandi. Wise words friends. Wise words. ~ E

Steal away. I'm sure if we ruminated over it for a while we could come up with several more.

 

[Lou Skannon]

Some wise words of wisdom there. Well said.
We went South of the border for the third time last Winter and after two trips with the Overland Expedition Truck; this time we went by motorcycle and stayed in Airbnbs.
So much cheaper and so much less stressful plus we saw so much more.

 

[Hourless Life]

Some wise words of wisdom there. Well said.
We went South of the border for the third time last Winter and after two trips with the Overland Expedition Truck; this time we went by motorcycle and stayed in Airbnbs.
So much cheaper and so much less stressful plus we saw so much more.View attachment 233357View attachment 233358View attachment 233357View attachment 233358

Would love a post from you comparing and contrasting the two trips in detail. Benefits and drawbacks of what you personally experienced. Pros and Cons type of thing. Awesome adventures!

 

[Lou Skannon]

Would love a post from you comparing and contrasting the two trips in detail. Benefits and drawbacks of what you personally experienced. Pros and Cons type of thing. Awesome adventures!

Cost of fuel was the most noticeable difference. $200 a day for the truck as opposed to $20 for the bike.
Journey times were halved with the bike with topes slowing the truck to a standstill. The truck is great for extended stays in one place, BLM etc. But for real exploring trips the bike was so much more suitable.

 

[Ragman]

Some very good tips, thanks for taking the time to share them with us!

 

[Jazzie_L]

What a great write up! Not everyone will share the same opinions, but you did a great job of expressing yours.

I particularly loved #2 and #8. I’m a Nicaraguan dual citizen. They are both crucial points.

 

[grubworm]

Though it has been over 35 years since I've "Ovarlanded" in Central America (last time was in Costa Rica by Mt. bike), I have continued to adventure in Latin America until Covid struck. Hopefully next year We'll get down to Baja again. Though your list was very thorough and I wholeheartedly agree with both your and John & Mandi's advice, I'd like to add a few items...

Build a "bomb proof" hidden lock up box in your rig!!! Make sure that it would take a skilled thief more than a hour to break into it.

Store all your documents, cash, valuables in it at all times!

Always carry photocopies of your travel documents on your body except for border crossings and "official" business. In a lot of cases the copies will be "good enough" to book a hotel room, etc.

When in big cities... Park in a lock up car park with a 24 hour guard! Trust me this may be the best money you have ever spent!

Make sure that you have wired a hidden "kill switch" in your vehicle. With more modern vehicles, you may have to hire a service mechanic to do it because it could play havoc with the ECU. Older diesels are super simple... just wire up the injection pump kill solenoid and the electric boost pump.

This on is especially important for vehicles F250 size and larger... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TRACTOR FUND!!! This is a WAD of cash on hand for when you get stuck! Like above the axles in a "dry" lake bed stuck ( or stuck on the beach at low tide... With the tide coming in)! Sure some of you "gnarly" big 4x4 guys think you have it "handled". Hate to break it to you... But you are wrong! Chances are there will be nothing to winch off of and none of the locals have rigs big enough to pull your ass out of trouble ( This even happened to a buddy of mine with a U500 Unimog). So your only means of retrieving your truck will be your...TRACTOR FUND (like go find someone with a big tractor)!!! For my F700 4x4, I carry about $3K.

If you can, travel with a dog or two.

When planning to go exploring "mi compo", stop and ask the locals before driving in!!! There are a lot of places in Latin America that the cartels are growing weed or poppy's... If the locals say stay out, then don't be a dumb ass AND STAY OUT!

Beyond all that... Go have fun, there is so much fun fantastic adventure out there waiting for you!

i did a lot of work overseas and you definitely know the game. youre spot on on everything you said...

 

[John and Mandi]

Though it has been over 35 years since I've "Ovarlanded" in Central America (last time was in Costa Rica by Mt. bike), I have continued to adventure in Latin America until Covid struck. Hopefully next year We'll get down to Baja again. Though your list was very thorough and I wholeheartedly agree with both your and John & Mandi's advice, I'd like to add a few items...

Build a "bomb proof" hidden lock up box in your rig!!! Make sure that it would take a skilled thief more than a hour to break into it.

Store all your documents, cash, valuables in it at all times!

Always carry photocopies of your travel documents on your body except for border crossings and "official" business. In a lot of cases the copies will be "good enough" to book a hotel room, etc.

When in big cities... Park in a lock up car park with a 24 hour guard! Trust me this may be the best money you have ever spent!

Make sure that you have wired a hidden "kill switch" in your vehicle. With more modern vehicles, you may have to hire a service mechanic to do it because it could play havoc with the ECU. Older diesels are super simple... just wire up the injection pump kill solenoid and the electric boost pump.

This on is especially important for vehicles F250 size and larger... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TRACTOR FUND!!! This is a WAD of cash on hand for when you get stuck! Like above the axles in a "dry" lake bed stuck ( or stuck on the beach at low tide... With the tide coming in)! Sure some of you "gnarly" big 4x4 guys think you have it "handled". Hate to break it to you... But you are wrong! Chances are there will be nothing to winch off of and none of the locals have rigs big enough to pull your ass out of trouble ( This even happened to a buddy of mine with a U500 Unimog). So your only means of retrieving your truck will be your...TRACTOR FUND (like go find someone with a big tractor)!!! For my F700 4x4, I carry about $3K.

If you can, travel with a dog or two.

When planning to go exploring "mi compo", stop and ask the locals before driving in!!! There are a lot of places in Latin America that the cartels are growing weed or poppy's... If the locals say stay out, then don't be a dumb ass AND STAY OUT!

Beyond all that... Go have fun, there is so much fun fantastic adventure out there waiting for you!

Yup to all of this and to add...

Everyone should have a stash of cash in their vehicle, overlanding or not. Obviously, when out of the country you should have more and make sure to have some crisp 100s too. Latin America is mostly a cash based system. It's smart to plan out your budget for the country and take out extra when you first enter to add local currency to your stash...but please hide it in a different location.

Popped vehicle locks was the number one "break-in" we saw, Jimmi Jammers are a fantastic addition.

Keep your doors locked at all times, city people already should be doing this but many places in the US are so safe people don't even lock their homes. Peeps rolling up on motorcycles will open a car door and jam a knife/gun in your face for your iPhone etc. Also, at parking areas or if you "suddenly experienced a flat" thieves will open the opposite door of your vehicle and steal items while you are busy pumping gas, loading groceries, or dealing with that mysteriously case cutter punctured tire.

Always, walk around your vehicle every time you return to it. Take your time and pay close attention to tires or objects placed under them. I always walked around our van when we parked to have a fresh baseline to compare it to when I returned. If you feel like you don't have the time, approach the vehicle in the direction you will be leaving. As an example, if we are parked where we will be leaving by driving forward we would approach the vehicle from the front (slightly adjacent to one side). When we part around it we both check the sides and the tires before getting in. If you are solo in that situation, approach it on the passenger side to check it and walk around the front to check the other side before getting in.

Don't keep your tools in an easy to access space. If you go through the trouble to install a lock box etc do not provide a plethora of tools for a thief to attempt to breech your lock box. Ours is pretty robust, difficult to break into, and very expensive. Most go with off the shelf console or under seat lock boxes. Even if they don't break into it, imagine coming back to a drilled out lock because you left your drill in an easy to access spot. You'll still have your stuff but you too won't be able to access it.

Keep it tidy or the appearance of disgusting. We put everything away and out of sight when leaving the vehicle. An iPhone cable tells a would be thief you have an iPhone, they may not pop your lock but rather wait for you to return to rob you. We have a friend that put desirable items/accessories away then dumped a bag full of fast food wrappers and crumpled papers etc all over. Their cab looked a mess, that even put off police at check stops.

Keep the outside of your rig clean enough to appear as though you use it but not clean to the point of having a servant or dirty to the point of having so much money you don't care about it.

Learn situational awareness.

The most important tool is your head. Trust your instincts and that of everyone you are traveling with. If one person isn't feeling it you leave, no questions asked. Seriously, no convincing or questioning. If there was a golden rule that would be it.

 

[Alanymarce]

To build on the "walkaround" we have checks we run every day and every driver change (normally every 2 hours). Among other things, a tyre pressure check every morning and at driver change. This has saved us driving off on a flat or low tyre and allowed us to repair rather than replace a tyre.