Embark on an unforgettable motorbike journey to the southernmost place on Earth that you can reach by motorbike. Patagonia, renowned for its breathtaking and diverse landscapes, awaits your exploration.
We spend more than two weeks travelling through the beautiful dark green rainforest, along the mostly remote pampas fields. We ride along the magnificent 'Carretera Austral' in South Chile and the endless 'Ruta 40' in Argentina. Along countless azure blue lakes and the mighty snow-covered mountain peaks of the Andes, which run like a red thread through this journey. We take a day trip to the Torres del Paine National Park and see the impressive 'Perito Moreno' glacier up close. We reach Ushuaia on the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost city in the world: the end of the world. We explore Tierra del Fuego and end the tour in Puerto Natales.
Everything you need to know about this tour. Do you have any further questions? Please contact us!
The first tour in January goes from North to south and the tour in February goes in reverse order from south to north.
Arrival in Temuco in Chile and after a transfer of 80 km to Villarrica we reach the starting point of our motorcycle trip. Villarrica is a beautiful town located on a lake, close to two national parks. In the afternoon you’ll get acquainted with your motorbike and receive some necessary information about the coming guided motorcycle tour in Patagonia and about riding your bike.
The start of your motorcycle trip leads us over the Andes mountains and over a beautiful, partly unpaved route as we leave Chile for the first time to make our way into Argentina. First we follow the ancient way of the Melipueco River and come across some picturesque little villages. The Andes Mountain range basically forms a natural border between Chile and Argentina. Throughout the history of the shaping of earth, this has resulted in enormous stretches of no man’s land. We continue our ride on a magnificent historic pass high through the Andes. This mountain pass played a key role in human and animal migration throughout history and takes us to the Argentinian part of the border. The area around the border is characterized by the many indigenous monkey puzzle trees which can grow up to 40 meters high. In Argentina we follow the scenic road that runs parallel to the Rio Malleo river. We get our first taste of Patagonia. We ride on to Junin de los Andes to spend the night there.
On world famous Ruta 40 (5224 km long!) we follow the Andes southwards. We feast our eyes and senses on the purity and fantastic views of these majestic, huge mountains. Our guided motorcycletrip then takes us through the tourist village of Villa La Angostura. Dutch Queen Maxima owns two parcels of land in this gorgeous area. Her brother has a restaurant here. We then reach our destination San Carlos, about 60 km further down south. This city on the shores of Lake Nahue Huapi, lies in the heart of the Nahuel Huapi National Park. Picturesque San Carlos de Bariloche is often referred to as the little Switzerland of Argentina because of its dramatic backdrop.
Today, the morning route of our motorcycle vacation in Patagonia will almost continuously have one or more Argentinian lakes to view for us. We follow Route 258, and after about 130 km of unspoilt, natural scenery, El Boston is the first location we come to. This town is well-known for its regularly reported UFO sightings. People here are very environmentally conscious and you find many vegetarian and organic eateries here. This place with a Bohemian feel is our lunch stop today. Later on we leave the main road behind us and ride our bikes over an unpaved road into the huge Los Alerces National Park. It feels as if we ride from one postcard into another, as there are many stunning lakes here, in contrast with the green larch forest and high mountain peaks towering overus. The last 30 km of today we ride to Esquel on paved roads.
Today we get up early and make our way to the Chilean border. On our way we pass through the town of Trevelin (population +- 8000), established in 1885 by a Welsh community. Everywhere you look, you see the red dragon as well as the green-white colours of the Welsh flag. From here on, we will ride less travelled unpaved roads and that will remain so for a while. Via another beautiful route we reach the border post of Chile. This border post consists of one small house and a caravan. A bit further on, the Chilean border post is a lot bigger. We will take a break in Futaleufu to prepare ourselves for the amazing ride coming afternoon. Because the rest of the day, we will ride the Carretera Austral and the breathtaking, beautiful natural scenery is stunning. Around every bend in the road the landscape offers amazing views of lakes, streams, a waterfall or river. On top of all this,the continuous vistas of the white mountain tops on our left. You may be overcome with the feeling you never want to leave this area. The only fellow travelers on this part of the motorcycle holiday in Patagonia you may come across here are shepherds on horseback, followed by giant herds of cows or sheep. After this amazing afternoon we spend the night in Puyuhuapi. Many Germans settled in this area in the past. We spend the night in this settlement in German atmosphere.
Today’s scenery may possibly outshine our impressions of yesterday. This is the second part of the impressive Carretera Austral road. We fill our lungs with fresh, clean oxygen as we pass through beautiful dark green rainforest with numerous lakes and rocky rivers. This is stunning northern Patagonia on a motorcycle at its best. We make our way through 2 national parks: Queulat National Park and Lago Las Torres. Because of the many scenic photo opportunities today, we take it a bit easier and slow down, not to miss anything about this beautiful environment and enjoy our Patagonia group motorbike trip to the fullest.
We carry on our way southwards riding the unpaved Highway 7 to arrive in the isolated province of Carrera. This is an empty, desolate province of magical wasteland that only has one road. Aside from the unpaved road, the landscape here hasn’t changed for thousands of years. We may feel as if we are the only people on earth! We ride past the shores of the breathtaking azure blue lake Lagos Buenos Aires. Half of this lake belongs to Argentina. From the southernmost point of this lake it is a short ride to the tiny village (population about 500) Puerto Guadal in Chile, where we will spend the night.
Today you can relax in preparation for a long ride tomorrow. Get your rest and get to know the inhabitants of Puerto Guadal, who live mainly from agriculture and tourism income. There are several attractions in the vicinity of the village, which are easily accessible due to its location on the Carretera Austral. Interesting sites include an abandoned copper mine, a waterfall and marble caves.We stay in a nice hotel by the lake.
We have arrived on the other side of the Andes in the Argentine part of Patagonia. The effect of theAndes on the weather causes the west side to be much more arid than the Chilean side. Suddenly we find ourselves in a seemingly completely different world along the amazing General Carrera Lake. The first place we visit is Perito Moreno. Here, we fill up our gas tanks and buy some necessities as this is the last opportunity to stock up for a while... It’s a long day’s ride today, through a desolate remote area. This part of our Patagonia motorbike tour is the most isolated stretch of the Ruta 40. It is often seen as the Argentine version of Route 66 and runs all the way from the Bolivian border way upnorth, to Tierra del Fuego way down south. The vast majority of this 4600 km road is still unpaved. That is also the case for our 400 km long ride on the prairie today. The only signs of life in this vast stretch of wasteland is when we come across the rheas (a South American ostrich) and the guanaco(a feral type of llama). We are surrounded by immense fields of low growing dry yellow grasslands, which completes the ‘prairie feel’. We spend the night in Gobernador Gregores.
"The tour guide Lars is a fine guy and a guide after my taste, not long babble, but motorcycle riding. He set a good pace for my gusto and gave us our freedoms. The trip was absolutely successful."
We pass through desolate stretches of seemingly never ending country roads. At first we follow the somewhat narrow Ruta 29 before re-joining the famous Ruta 40. This will take us through a possibly even more remote area of no man’s land than yesterday. We stop in the village Tres Lagos at the petrol station. This village was featured in BBC’s series Top Gear where the hosts search for boltcutters after finding a locked fence. Tres Lagos is also featured briefly in the British TVseries Long Way Up. We carry on down the Ruta 40. We follow the east side of Lago Viedma and pass the largest lake of Argentina: Lago Argentino. The last 30 km stretch of road on the way to the touristy town of El Calafate is a good quality road. Our Patagonia motorcycle tour ends in El Calafate today, where we have a wide choice of restaurants and souvenir shops. Tourists come here from allover the world to visit the glaciers.
The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the only two glaciers on earth that are actually ‘on the move’. The gigantic ice-mass is 30 km long, 170 meters deep and a couple kilometers wide. This ice masspushes itself 2 meters further into the ocean every day. And you will notice that this is an extreme and noisy event! Even when approaching from a distance we can hear the mighty crunch of millions of kilos of ice violently getting dumped into the ocean. The sound echoes and reverberates back from the mountains. You will be able to experience these gigantic glaciers and the forces of nature from nearby. Enormous chunks of ice weighing several hundreds of kilos crash into the water. Because of the immense forces at play here, chunks of ice shoot every which way. That is why we are only allowed to admire nature’s spectacle from the safe distance of at least one kilometer. This is anunforgettable experience.
Let’s go even further south to Tierra del Fuego! And be careful: It can be windy here. You will notice the landscape and the temperature are gradually changing. Slowly but surely, more and more groups of trees have formed between the yellow grass clumps. We have a windy ride over the paved Ruta 5 further to the southern most border post with Chile. We make it to the ferry crossing to get to the island of Tierra del Fuego. After that, we continue our trip on an unpaved road for another 40 kilometers to Cerro Sombrero, a tiny village located in the beautiful surroundings formed by the power of extreme natural conditions.
Interestingly, half of the island of Tierra del Fuego is actually Chilean, and that is where we are now. Since the southern part of Chile can only be reached via Argentinian roads, the Argentinian part ofTierra del Fuego can only be reached via Chilean roads. We are almost at our destination, the southernmost city on earth, the end of the world. But we still have about another four hundred kilometers to go. We pass the beautiful Lago Fagnano and we have to weather the ever-present winds this side of the island. Trees grow only to one side and the bare branches of each tree all pointin the same direction, forced by the wind. Ushuaia’s backdrop is dramatic and pristine, as it is beautifully situated between the snow-covered peaks of Tierra del Fuego. You have arrived in the only accessible by road southernmost city in the world, located at the 55th latitude! As the crow flies you have arrived at only 3800 kilometers away from Antarctica.
You can use today to relax and go on a tour of discovery round the charming village. Enough time to photograph the colourful houses and meet the friendly inhabitants. There’s also an option to take a boat to Puerto Williams in Chile. This village lies even further south than Ushuaia and there is no way to get any more south than Puerto Williams. On your way there you can see penguins and sea lions.
A long day of riding awaits us today. We leave on time to return along Lago Fagnano. Again we will experience strong winds. Today we cross the border back into Chile. Porvernir is the largest village on the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. The landscape is rough and rugged with lakes, rivers, spectacular glaciers and white icy mountains. Here, the rivers are full of trout and salmon and maybe we’ll spot a beaver here and there. Penguins and sea lions can also be seen on the white rugged rocky cliffs.
We continue our way back up north today. After about 40 km riding on dirt roads we get to the ferry leaving Tierra del Fuego behind us, to conclude this section of our motorbike vacation in Patagonia. As soon as we cross, the rugged wet landscape changes once more. We mostly see bare trees with huge amounts of leafless branches changing into immense fields yellow dry grass stretching to the horizon.
Similar to Park Los Glaciers, National Park Torres del Paine truly shows the impressive greatness of nature. Early in the morning we ride to the national park and we have the option to take a short hike there. If you are interested, it is also possible to take a tour through the park. In any case, this is a wonderful conclusion to this impressive, magnificent journey through unforgettable and powerful nature.
You will receive a transfer to the airport of Punta Arenas. From there, we fly to Santiago de Chile for our connecting flight back home. If you wish, you can extend your trip by staying a few nights in Santiago de Chile. Flights are not included in this trip.
We use a Honda CB500 x or equivalent for the Patagonia motor tour. Liability insurance for the motorcycles is 300 € per trip and is included in the price. Damages to the motorcycle are insured, but with an out of pocket of 1200 €. This insurance is valid in Chile as well as in Argentina. A motorcycle upgrade is possible with an extra charge. Possible upgrades: CF 800MT: 500,- € BMW F750 GS: 650,- € Yamaha T7 700: 650,- € BMW F 850 GS: 650,- € Honda CRF 1000 Africa Twin: 650,- € BMW R 1250 GS 1400 €.
There are three main factors at play for this trip. The combination of these three factors can make this trip pretty tough. First, the distances travelled daily are longer than those on our other tours (in total 4650 km/2890 m). Secondly, about 20% of this route is over different types of unpaved roads (almost 1000 km/620 m). And finally, in the far and extreme south, there are strong side-winds to deal with. These three factors make this trip only suitable for those who are proficient riders, proven to be able to cope with (and not fear) long distance gravel roads. It would be a shame to find out en route that you don’t like riding long distances on unpaved roads. All factors combined make riding a motorcycle in Patagonia physically demanding, and therefore a good physical condition is essential.
About 20% of the motorbike holiday Patagonia tour we ride on unpaved roads. Overall, these roads are mostly well-packed gravel roads. However, be careful in curves and avoid changing tracks across the center of the road, since gravel is less packed in sections in the middle of the road and in curves. A training in basics for off road riding prior to taking this trip is recommended. This is a way to experience if offroading is something you like. Because if you don’t like it, this trip may be disappointing to you. Also, the endless roads with many miles of road in plain sight ahead, present some riders with the temptation of riding too fast. Obviously, this is dangerous and will not be allowed by our tour leaders. Some days the distances travelled are just very long and you need a long and good attention span, as well as a good physique. Especially Argentina is a vast and desolate country where places to stay overnight are few and far between.
Since we are covering a huge distance, we ride through two climate zones. The rainy maritime climate along the Carretera Austral in Chile makes for the lush green nature. Here you travel through areas of sub-tropical rainforest, so there’s always a good chance of rain. On the other side of the Andes range lie the vast, arid and dry pampas fields. Over there, it hardly ever rains. Tierra del Fuego can be extremely cold since after all we’re only 3800 km away from the South Pole! Also, this is a plateau on the highland and therefore it gets extra cold at night. Be well prepared for diverse weather conditions.
A good, warm, waterproof motorbike suit is definitely recommended. Mandatory items are a helmet,a warm armoured motorcycle jacket, warm gloves, good quality motorcycle trousers with armour, and high, sturdy (mountain) boots. With the big differences in temperature in mind, we advise to wear a motorcycle jacket with removable lining. When necessary during cold parts of the trip you can wear thermal clothing underneath your jacket. Make sure you have quality winter gloves, no summer gloves. Also very useful is a good pair of sunglasses and a helmet with visor to protect against dust. If your current motorbike gear is not waterproof, bring separate waterproofs with you.
Fortunately, there are still places on earth where no one lives. During this trip we pass through exactly these areas. This has consequences for the availability of hotels. Room availability is limited in two places during this trip. If you have booked a single room, you need to take this into account in advance. Depending on the size of the group, there is a possibility that you may not get a single room for these 2 nights.
For this trip, you pay 500,- € (or USD) cash to your local tour guide on site. This will cover the cost for gasoline,lunches and entree fees for Nationale Parks Torres del Paine, Glaciares and Fin del Mundo park. The travel fund will be held by the tour guide and is replenished as needed during the trip (PAT2301 total 750,- Euro).
Your passport needs to be valid for a minimum of 6 months. People from most nationalities do not need to arrange a visa beforehand to enter Chile or Argentina. Please check beforehand if this also counts for your nationality and apply on time for necessary visa if need be. Upon arrival at the Chilean border you will be handed a Tourist Card.
Price rider from: €7250,-.
Price pillion from: €4750,-.
Single room supplement: €950,-.
Single sometimes not available for 2 nights
Pocket money: € 1200,-**
Pocket money: This amount is an indication of how much money you will need for this trip. It includes food, drink, souvenirs, optional excursions and petrol.
Minimum number of participants: 6
Maximum number of participants: 8**
Maximum number of passengers: 2
Visa (Exclusive): Please check beforehand
This tour is available on these dates:
.svg)
.svg)
