Motorcycle trip

Chile

We do not run a Chile-only tour: our four tours ride into Chile from Argentina, so you see both sides of the Andes. For the Atacama desert, choose From Salta to Atacama, 13 days. For the lakes and volcanoes of the south, Volcanoes and Lakes of Patagonia, 14 days from Bariloche, a week of it in Chile. For Valparaíso, the Carretera Austral and Chilean Patagonia, the 46-day Transcontinental runs from Arequipa to Ushuaia or from Ushuaia to Arequipa.

£4,990 (€5,590) per rider for From Salta to Atacama and £5,490 (€5,990) for Volcanoes and Lakes of Patagonia, with the motorcycle, fuel, accommodation and meals included; a pillion pays £4,490 (€5,040) or £3,990 (€4,475). The 46-day Transcontinental costs £11,990 (€13,290) per rider and £5,490 (€6,190) per pillion, on a formula where meals and fuel are at your own expense. International flights are never included.

It depends on the region, and the seasons are the reverse of Europe’s. The Atacama is ridden in the southern spring and autumn, from mid-August to mid-December and from mid-February to mid-May; our departures there fall in April, October and November. The Lake District is ridden in summer, from December to February. The Transcontinental crosses Chile from late January to late February, or from late February to late March heading north. There are no departures in June and July, the southern winter.

Solid experience: all four tours that ride in Chile are rated Sustained and are for experienced riders at ease off the tarmac. Depending on the route, expect altitude (you enter Chile over a 4,200 m (13,780 ft) pass on the way to the Atacama), long stages, gravel or volcanic ash tracks and the Patagonian wind. Our one-day off-road training in France is a good way to prepare.

UK and EU passport holders do not need a visa for a tourist stay of less than three months in Chile; our help centre asks for a passport valid for more than six months after entry. An International Driving Permit is compulsory to ride across the border between Argentina and Chile: bring it with your motorcycle licence, which it does not replace. Other nationalities should check their entry requirements. Details in our help centre: Preparing your trip to Chile.

None of our tours starts in Chile: you fly to Argentina or Peru. From Salta to Atacama starts in Salta, Volcanoes and Lakes of Patagonia in Bariloche, and our team meets you at the airport on the first day and takes you back on the last. The Transcontinental links Arequipa and Ushuaia, with no transfer included. Expect at least one connection, often in Buenos Aires, sometimes in Santiago de Chile for Bariloche. You book your own flights.

In Chile, our tours follow routes our teams have ridden for years, from the Atacama to Patagonia. The main hazards are natural: altitude and freezing early mornings in the desert, rain in the Lake District, wind and remote tracks on the Carretera Austral, medical help far away. Every group rides with a tour leader, a mechanic and a support vehicle, and our emergency team answers 24/7. Before you go, read the FCDO travel advice for Chile, or your own government’s advice if you live elsewhere in Europe.

Every tour we run in Chile crosses it at least twice: at the Jama pass, 4,200 m (13,780 ft) up, for the Atacama, over Andean passes further south for the Lake District, and several times on the Transcontinental. The motorcycles are authorised to cross and your tour leader guides the group through the formalities; you show your passport and International Driving Permit. Chile checks food closely: carry no fresh fruit, meat or cheese. The wait at the border post can be long.