South America Guide for European Overlanders

Last update: May 2024

Contents overview

• Shipping your vehicle
• Temporary Vehicle Import (TIP)
• Vehicle Insurance
• Groceries and shopping in Canada
• Cooking with propane — What options exist
• Water
• Communications: Mobile phone, Internet, Starlink
• Vehicle choice & maintenance
• Camping

Shipping your vehicle

Instead of renting (which can get expensive) or buying a vehicle there, you can ship your own vehicle to South America. This is particularly attractive if:

• You already own a reliable vehicle in Europe.
• Your trip is long enough (2 months or longer)

The most popular arrival hubs are:

• Cartagena, Colombia
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Buenos Aires, Argentina

There are two ways of shipping:

• In a shipping container — the vehicle is limited to certain dimensions. This option can be more affordable and secure compared to RoRo in case the container is shared with someone else. For larger vehicles that don’t fit inside a container using a flat rack is also an option.
• RoRo (Roll-on/roll-off) — This is typically the most affordable option but not the safest. Vehicle breakings while rare did happen in the past. Talk to your shipping agent about recent experiences. RoRo means that you typically drop your vehicle at a port and pick it up at your destination port. This is similar to a ferry, with the exception that the handling of the vehicles on the ship is done by the shipping company and not yourself.

Temporary Vehicle Import (TIP)

For your vehicle to be legally in any country in South America, it needs a Temporary Vehicle Import (TIP). Your vehicle must get a TIP before being released from the port of arrival.

Carnet de Passages is NOT required for South America.

The TIP is issued at every land border when entering the country. You need to cancel the TIP when exiting the country. It is mandatory to cancel the TIP, regardless if you plan to come back.

Vehicle Insurance

For all countries in South America, you need vehicle insurance (called liability insurance).

When picking up the vehicle in the port, you already need to get either SOAT or MERCOSUR insurance, otherwise the TIP will not be issues.

If you are looking for worldwide comprehensive insurance (which does not include mandatory liability insurance), we have booked one through a German brokerage company called FIDARSI.

Cooking with propane — What options exist

Disclaimer

The information provided in this blog post is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice. The reader is warned to exercise caution and use appropriate safety measures.

The author and publisher of this blog post will not be held responsible for any injury, loss, damage, or inconvenience caused, directly or indirectly, by the use or misuse of the information provided herein. It is the reader’s responsibility to understand and adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations and safety protocols when working with gas tanks. If you are unsure about anything mentioned in this blog post, please consult with a qualified professional in the field. Remember, safety first.

Coleman stove & cylinders

One of the most popular solutions in North America for outdoor cooking while camping is the Coleman stove and the single-use 1 lb propane cylinders.

We had this system in our past travels but were horrified by the amount of waste this system generates. Apart from this, in South America, Coleman propane cylinders are hard to find. So using this approach would be risky.

Bringing a propane bottle from Europe

Since during shipping, all propane cylinders need to be empty, the first TODO when arriving is filling them up. With the right adaptor, it is possible to refill European propane cylinders.

For a German-style system, the adaptor looks as in the image below:

This adaptor is not always easy to find, but you may want to try it here:

• gasprofi.de — Article #6963 (make sure to select US-POL)

Buying a cylinder in South America

There is no single gas standard in South America. So your best options are to use a US-style gas bottle or a European one. Buying locally will pose difficulties connecting the bottle to your existing gas system.

You can use the iOverlander app to find places that refill foreign gas bottles. Most comments will indicate if they managed to fill a US-style or German-style gas bottle. While it is not as easy as in North & Central America, it is certainly possible. It just requires a bit of planning.

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Campingaz

In Europe, Campingaz provides butane-based cylinders, and R907 is one of the most commonly used cylinders, particularly in small campervans. You can’t refill or exchange R907 in South America!

If the storage space for the cylinder is custom-made to fit only R907, you need to know that there is no equivalent size cylinder in South America.

You can find propane-based cylinders in Europe that are the same size as R907. The company GARDINGER in Germany is known to produce such cylinders.

Water

Not all cities or campgrounds have drinking water. Especially free campgrounds or cheaper or more remote campgrounds may only have water wells that require boiling before drinking.

The experience has shown that not all water sources are very clean. We used a white coffee cup to check for color, impurities, and smell.

For filling up your water tank you need a hose. We have used the Gardena system with a Gardena metal tap connector. We use a filter before filling up the tank. Our water filter got clogged much faster compared to Europe or North America (USA & Canada).

Also you need a wide range of adaptors and there is no single size being used (like in North America).

Communications: Mobile phone, Internet & Starlink

Buying a local SIM card

Buying a local SIM card is typically the cheapest way to get a good deal. But it does require a bit of time, as typically a SIM card needs to be activated and you need to show an ID.

eSIMs

If your phone supports eSIMs, you may also want to consider using a service such as Airalo. With Airalo you can get an eSIM for each individual country or for all Latin America.

Please note that if you run off of data, you need internet from a different source to top up (not very smart, I know).

While more convenient, eSIMs are more expensive.

Starlink

If you need a stable Internet connection even in remote places, consider the Starlink system. It works everywhere in South America. You can register/transfer your own Starlink hardware or buy locally.

Garmin inReach

Since mobile phone service coverage is extremely limited in some parts, some overlanders choose to purchase an inReach device from Garmin.

The primary use case for inReach is to issue an SOS message in an emergency situation.

Apart from the device, you also need to have an active plan, which does not come cheap. However, this small device will allow you to send text messages to your contacts from literally anywhere in the world. On top of this, you can activate tracking, allowing your friends and family to follow your journey in almost real-time.

Vehicle choice & maintenance

Do I need a 4x4 vehicle?

While the quality of the roads varies greatly, you don’t need a 4x4 to explore this South American continent. While it is definitely nice to have, and there are plenty of off-road opportunities, you will still do just fine.

The most common issue I have observed while traveling around has been flat tires. There are many miles of gravel roads with some sharp stones.

Regular highway tires are simply not the best choice for such roads. While still in Europe, consider upgrading to all-terrain tires. The most popular choice among overlanders is BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2.

Also, check that the tire size and model that you currently have is also available in South America. Plan for the situation that you will need to replace some or all of your tires.

Maintainance

With a few exceptions, whatever you are shipping from Europe to South America will be considered exotic and parts are rare.

Get familiar with the type of oil you need, how much oil you need, which part numbers you need, and so on.

Talk to a mechanic who knows your vehicle history and get advice on which parts it make sense to carry for your case.

Make sure you carry at least the parts you need to do an oil change. Additionally, check that the oil type you need is available and buy it when you need it. High-quality synthetic oil can be expensive!

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Camping

The South American continent offers ample and mostly free camping opportunities but not everywhere. The only app that you need is iOverlander.

For safety reasons, it is best to stay at a paid campground unless you are truly in a remote place.

Books & travel information

Guidebooks

We found guidebooks like Lonely Planet to be superficial and only useful for getting an overview.

Conclusion

I hope this tutorial helped you get started with planning your next South American adventure. Leave a comment in the section below if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you!

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