What our travellers say
SouthAmeriCar 2016
In 2022, we’ll be setting off on the adventurous SouthAmeriCar trip once again. As a small group, we’ll be driving our own car along a four-week route from Lima in Peru to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil – from the Pacific to the Atlantic. We’ve already completed this route once before, in 2016. Participants Kees and Annelies share their unforgettable experience of this road trip below.
“ This trip was a unique adventure in the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ category ”
Annelies and Kees
Annelies and Kees took part in the SouthAmeriCar 2016
"In 2015, we received the Sapa Pana Travel newsletter, which featured a trip through South America in our own car. After a personal explanation from Johan van Rijswijck, we started to think seriously about it. The adventurous aspect appealed to us straight away, but we also needed to weigh up our concerns. Is South America the right continent to drive round in our own car? Would we spend a whole month just sitting in the car? We’d also be without our car for four months, and last but not least, could we afford it? In the summer of 2015, we took the plunge: we’re going to do it!
We handed over our car on 18 March 2016. It was shipped to Lima by boat. We flew to the capital of Peru on 3 May. At Lima airport, we were met by the Sapa Pana Travel team, led by Johan himself. We stayed here for three days so that we could collect our own cars on the final day. It was quite a task for the Sapa Pana Travel team to get them cleared through customs. After that, it was a huge challenge for all of us to drive our own cars from the port in Lima right through the city back to the hotel. Without sat-nav, as it doesn’t work there, but with directions from Sapa Pana Travel and the ‘Waze’ app. The whole endeavour took us an afternoon and was the first of many special experiences.
From Lima to Rio de Janeiro
This marked the start of an unforgettable month during which we drove 7,130 kilometres in our own Range Rover from Lima on the Pacific coast to Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro on the Atlantic coast. The longest journey was 828 kilometres and the shortest was 27.5 kilometres. We always travelled on good roads, sometimes unpaved, but never dangerous. We undertook this journey with 15 people, representing 3 nationalities, and 6 cars. We visited 5 countries, stayed in 17 different hotels and spent 16 days driving, interspersed with 11 days off.
On our road trip, we visited the world-famous cities of Lima, La Paz, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. We travelled across the Andes, the mysterious highlands of the Incas. In Bolivia, we drove a long way along Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. And in Chile, we drove right through the Atacama, the driest desert in the world. We crossed the world’s highest border, from Chile to Argentina, at 4,800 metres, and were welcomed by a herd of llamas. Over the past few weeks, we’ve visited several UNESCO World Heritage Sites and seen two of the Seven Wonders of the World, including Machu Picchu.
We didn’t have any problems at all throughout the entire trip. Apart from two participants suffering from altitude sickness for a day and the occasional bout of indigestion, nobody fell ill. We didn’t have any accidents and weren’t mugged. Nobody felt unsafe at any point. This trip was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Kees and Annelies
LatinAmeriCar - Is it your dream too to go on a road trip through Latin America in your own car? We have several unique and adventurous road trips planned for 2021 and 2022. Take a look at our road trips below.
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CentralAmeriCar 2021
- Only a few places left! -
A spectacular itinerary through eight Central American countries. From the sun-drenched streets of Panama City to the bustling neighbourhoods of Mexico City. This exclusive and adventurous itinerary takes you through a landscape of volcanoes and dense jungle, past picturesque bays and deserted beaches.
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SouthAmeriCar 2022
In four weeks, you’ll drive from the Peruvian capital, Lima, along a spectacular route to the famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. The journey takes you from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast. You’ll cover around 7,000 kilometres and travel through five countries. An adventure not to be missed.
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Rally de las Bodegas 2021
The Rally de las Bodegas is one of Argentina’s most popular car races and takes place during the grape harvest season. A few days on the road in a classic car, enjoying the famous wineries and the impressive landscapes. A real dream come true for lovers of wine and classic cars.
Get in touch
Do you have any questions about an exclusive road trip through Latin America, or would you like to join one of these road trips? Please feel free to get in touch with us. Send an email to info@sapapanatravel.nl or call us on +31 73 610 62 04. We’d be happy to help.