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Here’s our report on what happened after we reached the end of the road – from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, shipping our motorcycles from South America to South Africa, a backpacking trip through Brazil and a quick flight home. This isn’t a full feature story, but a quick summary of what we got up to over the last few months…
This travel blog recounts our adventure from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, Brazil and a quick trip back home in 2025 as part of our round the world trip. To read more stories from our travels check out Our Adventures
Motorcycle Travel Blog Buenos Aires to Brazil
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad: Round the World Motorcycle Traveller
Back to Ushuaia
Our ship docked back in Ushuaia in early April after two unforgettable weeks in Antarctica — easily the most incredible experience we’ve ever had. But the moment we returned, we were greeted by snow-laced peaks and icy roads. We had to get moving, grab our bikes, and beat the cold.
The riding season for Ushuaia usually wraps up by February — March if you’re lucky. By April, it’s biting.
Thankfully, the wonderful Andrea and Fabian met us at the port. They’d been generously looking after our bikes and gear while we were away. They’re friends of Harm (remember him from our Patagonia blog — the one we stayed with in Santiago).
With everything packed, we set off toward a ride we’d been quietly dreading: 3,000 km up Argentina’s east coast via Ruta 3, stretching from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. Long, flat, monotonous asphalt. Not much to see, not much to do. And all of it on battle weary single-cylinder 300s.
But first, we had to wait for the Garibaldi Pass to reopen — it was closed that morning due to snow. We hung back until the afternoon, then finally made our escape.
The long ride
Our little bikes weren’t made for this kind of slog. They didn’t want to do it — and honestly, neither did we. But Buenos Aires is where we had to get to. It’s the port we chose to ship the bikes off the continent, and at this time of year, it offered the best rate. Ushuaia doesn’t have shipping options, and after weighing up Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Uruguay, BA came out cheapest. So that sealed it.
To make things worse, our tyres were wrecked, and Alissa’s chain was hanging on by a thread. We’d have to scrounge for cheap spares and part-worns en route if we had any hope of making it.
Out of the cold, truckers and a new chain
The first few days were brutal — bitter cold and bone-deep. But once we’d clawed our way out of Tierra del Fuego and clocked a few decent days, the sun showed up and the sting eased. Even the wind behaved itself… mostly. We tracked it using the Windy app, timing our ride to dodge the worst of it. Compared to the west coast, this felt easy peasy.
Still, the wind (we reckon) was messing with our fuel consumption. We usually squeeze out 450 km per tank, but today we sputtered out at 330.
Thankfully, a friendly Chilean trucker came to our rescue. He radioed his mate — another trucker — who rolled up not long after with a couple of spare bottles of fuel.
We also managed to find a cheap Chinese chain for Alissa’s bike. Her sprockets were knackered too, but we weren’t about to go hunting those down in the middle of nowhere. We fitted the chain and crossed our fingers that it’d hold out till Buenos Aires.
New rubber
About 2,000 km into the ride, my rear tyre — and my nerves — reached their limit. When you can see wire poking through the cracks, it’s time to stop tempting fate.
I scored a pretty ropey part-worn rear from a backstreet garage for £18 ($24 USD). It wasn’t pretty, but it’d work. The guys even threw in a free front tyre in case Alissa’s didn’t hold up.
We figured hers might just limp through the remaining 700 km, but to play it safe, we swapped bikes for the final stretch just in case it didn’t hold up.
New friends
The ride may have been long, flat, and mind-numbingly dull, but meeting Magui and her son Cesar made it all worth it. Both are motorcycle riders who love opening their home to fellow riders. We crashed at their place for the night, and they spoiled us with a home-cooked feast.
What started as a mellow evening quickly spiralled into chaos — wine, beer, juggling, fire, and laughter late into the night. This is the magic of travel.
Shipping
After seven long, flat days, we finally rolled into Buenos Aires. We checked into an Airbnb near the airport and hit pause for a week. Even though we’d just spent two surreal weeks in Antarctica, everything still felt like a whirlwind. We needed time to breathe, sort our gear, and prep for the next chapter.
Shipping out of Argentina isn’t exactly a casual affair. The rules on what you can send with your bike are strict — no food, no liquids, no batteries, no electronics, no soap. We unpacked and stripped everything down to the essentials.
At the airport, we met Javier and Sandra from Dakar Motos. If you’re in the motorcycle travel world, you’ve probably heard of them — they’re legends. With years of experience shipping bikes in and out of Argentina, they made the whole process seamless.
By day’s end, the bikes were pallet-packed, paperwork sorted, and sniffed by three different drug dogs. And that was that.
After 45,000 km and two years on the road, our ride through the Americas was complete. The bikes were bound for South Africa — and the beginning of our next big adventure.
READ MORE: How to Ship a Motorcycle to South Africa
Brazil
Turns out, we weren’t quite done with South America just yet. Our riding routes didn’t give us room for Brazil, and we weren’t about to leave without seeing it. So we booked a flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls and headed into Brazil for a three-week backpacking adventure — joined by two awesome friends from back home in the UK (who also flew out to join us in the Philippines).
Iguazu
First stop: the mighty Iguazu Falls. It’s the largest waterfall system on Earth — over 1.7 miles long and made up of more than 250 individual falls. Spanning the border between Brazil and Argentina, we saw it from both sides — and even from above in a helicopter, just to max out the experience. “Seriously impressive” doesn’t do it justice…
Amazon
We spent a week unwinding in the Amazon Rainforest — fishing for piranhas, chasing sunrises, knocking back beers, drifting on boats in search of wildlife, and hiking through dense jungle in search of tarantulas…
One close call jolted us out of the hammock haze: a Wandering Spider — Brazil’s deadliest — lunged at us after our guide casually swatted it off a branch with his machete. It skittered within millimetres of our feet, sending our group (guides included) running in every direction into the jungle…
Beaches
Sure, we missed our bikes — but after a few beers, a couple of cocktails, endless boat rides, and weeks on stunning Brazilian beaches with our friends… two-wheeled exploring was a distant memory.
Brazil took us by surprise. It’s bursting with energy, beauty, and more experiences than we could pack into three weeks. We’re not sure how it’d be on a motorcycle, but it’s a ride we’d love to take one day.
Heading home
Our time in South America is officially up. The bikes are being shipped to South Africa, and we need to fly out to meet them. But first… we’re going home.
It’s all gotten a bit much — mainly because we’ve run out of English tea bags. Our Canadian friends resupplied us in Ecuador, my brother brought some into Chile, and our mates brought more to Brazil. But now the stash is dry.
So while our motorcycles make their way across the ocean, we’re heading back to restock. It’s going to be like the toilet paper crisis during Covid..
Besides tea, it’s a chance to catch up on life: see friends and family, attend a wedding, prepare and swap out our bike gear, and recharge for Africa.
We’ll be in the UK for four weeks — and after that, our next post will be from South Africa.
See you there.
Read more on motorcycle travel in South America
Thanks for checking out our Motorcycle Travel Blog Brazil. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more related articles on riding in South America that we recommend you read next.
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If you enjoyed this Brazil motorcycle travel blog or have any questions, please post your comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
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Brazil is exciting for motorcycling! There’s a lot of small bikes on the road so plenty of mechanics, spares, tyres etc. I live there some of the year in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina and ride a Yamaha XTZ250 Tenere, a local bike. It’s a bit slow on the main roads but great on back roads and dirt. I’m planning more riding this year and contemplating Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. I want to ride through the Andes and possibly down to Patagonia.
Hi Beales, thanks for your message. Yeah, we would definitely love to get back and ride through Brazil. The off-roading looks insane!
Ah, yes, you should do that ride, it’s incredible.
You’ll find lots of info on this website on how to ride those countries. Hope it helps.
Cheers
Andy