Planning your trip

Quetzal in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Planning your trip

The idea of creating a road that could span North, Central, and South America was first proposed at the Pan American conference of 1889. Today, you can drive almost 25,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the tip of South America, except for the 54 mile (87 kilometer) Darien Gap in Panama.

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Traveling with Pets

When planning your trip, you don't necessarily have to leave beloved Fido behind.  Many people have done the drive along with their trusty pets (see Cam and Summer, Barb and Reinie, Robin and Raenelle, Brendan and Tina, and Jeff to name a few).  Read this article for tips on how to successfully Drive the Americas with your dog.  

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Travel Health

If you are going to be traveling for any period of time in Latin America, chances are you will get sick.   You'll be surprised - food poisoning horror stories are one of the many things road trippers like to swap tales about.  Usually it is just is the minor discomfort associated with mild food poisoning.   Find a nice place to relax for a couple of days and let it work its way out of your system the 'natural' way.   This article outlines the ways you can minimize your risk of getting sick and what diseases you may encounter along the road. 

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Border Crossing

Crossing borders may be one of the less enjoyable part of your journey, but can make some good stories. In general, border crossings involve two things:

  1. Getting your passport stamped by Immigration (Migracion in Spanish)
  2. Getting your vehicle cleared by Customs (Aduana in Spanish)
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