longest road trip in north america

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The Pan American Highway: The Longest Road In The World

At its fullest extent the Pan-American Highway is a network of roads stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, a distance of around 48,000 kilometres (30,000 miles).

According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world’s longest “motorable road” . However it is not readily possible to drive all the way since the route is interrupted by the 160 kilometre-wide (100 mile) Darién Gap between Central and South America.

The Highway consists of both official and unofficial elements. The official section, which is referred to in Spanish variously as the Autopista / Carretera / Ruta Panamericana, runs from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on the U.S. Border to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.

However, as shown on the map there are extensive unofficial sections to both the north and south of this.

The route shown on the map runs through 14 countries:

• The United States
• El Salvador

It also has links to a number of other countries. In the process it passes through all the major climate zones and many varied landscapes including arctic tundra, boreal forest, mountains, prairies, arid deserts and tropical jungles.

Moving from north to south, the route starts at Deadhorse, Alaska near the Prudhoe Bay oilfields and for the first 662 kilometres (414 miles) follows the Dalton Highway to Fairbanks.

The Dalton Highway was constructed in 1974 as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. It is a challenging drive, with no services of any kind on one 384 kilometre (240 mile) stretch, and was the first road to be featured in the BBC’s World’s Most Dangerous Roads .

From Fairbanks there is a 155 kilometre (96 mile) link to Delta Junction at the northern end of the Alaska Highway, the next part of the route.

The Alaska Highway was constructed in 1942 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, as a wartime project using around 10,000 troops . Its purpose was to link Alaska with the 48 contiguous states through Canada to help defend against a possible Japanese attack.

It was originally around 2,700 kilometres long but as of 2012 had been shortened to 2,232 kilometres (1,387 miles) and is now paved over its entire length.

The Alaska Highway terminates at Dawson Creek, B.C. from where the route shown continues to Edmonton, Alberta. After Edmonton the map identifies two possible routes.

The first goes through Minneapolis after which it follows the Interstate 35 through Dallas/Fort-Worth to the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas.

The second route runs through Calgary, Alberta and Billings, Montana and then connects with the Interstate 25 through Denver, Colorado to Las Cruces, New Mexico and from there on the Interstate 10 to San Antonio, Texas, where it joins the first route.

In practice, given the unofficial status of the routes through Canada and the United States, many other alternatives are possible.

The Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, just across the border from Laredo marks the start of the official section of the Pan-American Highway.

From there it runs to Mexico City along Mexican Federal Highway 45 and on to the border with Guatemala along Mexican Federal Highway 190.

It then proceeds through Central America, passing through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the exception of Honduras, its route takes it through the capital cities of each of these countries, namely:

• Guatemala City (Guatemala)
• San Salvador (El Salvador)
• Managua (Nicaragua)
• San José (Costa Rica)
• Panama City (Panama)

One of the most challenging sections of the route lies in Costa Rica, where it rises to 3,335 metres (10,942 feet) at the ominously named Summit of Death (Cerro de la Muerte).

This summit marks the highest elevation on the Pan-American Highway in Central America. Indeed, following the completion of the Christ the Redeemer Tunnel between Chile and Argentina (see below), it may well be the highest elevation along the entire route.

The route through Central America terminates abruptly at Yaviza, at the edge of the Darién Gap and resumes on the other side at Turbo, Colombia in South America.

All but the most intrepid circumvent the Gap by taking one of the ferries that go from Panama to Colombia or Ecuador, from where they can reconnect with the Pan-American Highway.

In Colombia the route runs through Medellin and Cali before crossing the border into Ecuador at Tulcán.

In Ecuador the highway goes through the capital, Quito. At 2,850 metres (9,350 feet) Quito is the world’s second highest capital city , exceeded in elevation only by La Paz, Bolivia. From there the route heads south to Peru, where it follows Peru Highway 1, which runs the length of the country and connects all major cities in the coastal area, including the capital, Lima.

On crossing from Peru into Chile the highway enters the Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar location in the world . The highway then follows Chile Route 5 through Antofagasta to Valparaiso.

As shown on the map, there is an unofficial branch of the highway that continues on down the Chilean coast on Route 5 terminating in Quellón on Chiloé Island.

At Valparaiso the official route heads east following Chile Route 60 across the Andes Mountains to Argentina, where it becomes Argentina National Route 7 and crosses the Pampas to Buenos Aires.

Before 1980, the border used to be at the Upsallata Pass, which at 3,832 metres (12, 572 feet) made it the highest point on the Pan-American Highway. However, 1980 saw the opening of the Christ the Redeemer Tunnel (Túnel Cristo Redentor) at 3,200 metres (10,499 feet), which became the new crossing point.

The final (unofficial) leg of the Pan-American Highway runs for 3,045 kilometres (1,892 miles) from Buenos Aires on Argentina National Route 3 to Ushuaia passing through Bahía Blanca and Comodoro Rivadavia.

Near its southern end the route goes back into Chile and crosses the Straits of Magellan via a short ferry ride before going back into Argentina and on to Ushuaia, which is located on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the largest island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Argentina claims Ushuaia as the world’s most southerly city , a fact that is disputed by Chile which claims Puerto Williams for this distinction. While the Chilean town of Puerto Williams is indeed farther south , Ushuaia has a much larger population (71,000 vs. 3,000) , so take your pick.

The record for the fastest trip by car from Ushuaia to Prudhoe Bay (mostly on the Pan-American Highway) is credited to Tim Cahill and Garry Sowerby in the astonishing time of twenty-three days, twenty-two hours, and forty-three minutes .

Tim wrote about his experience in his book Road Fever . In 2003 Kevin Sanders broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest traversal of the highway by motorcycle , taking 34 days.

No account of the Pan-American Highway would be complete without a discussion of its missing link, the Darién Gap .

This area of undeveloped swampland, forest and mountain straddles the border between Panama and Colombia. Thus far, plans to build a road through the Gap have come to nothing .

There are a number of reasons for this including:

• The sheer difficulty and cost of building a road through such difficult terrain.
• Pressure to protect the rainforest environment
• Concerns by indigenous groups, such as the Embera-Wounaan and Kuna that a road would pose a threat to their traditional cultures.
• And concerns that a road would make it easier for foot and mouth disease to enter North America.

Over the years, the enormous challenge of traversing the Gap has attracted a number of diehard souls.

The first vehicular crossing of the Gap was by the Land Rover La Cucaracha Cariñosa (The Affectionate Cockroach) and a Jeep of the international Trans-Darién Expedition of 1959–60, which took 136 days!

The first crossing by a standard two wheel drive passenger car took place in 1961 with three Chevrolet Corvairs, only two of which made it out of the jungle.

Up to this point, the expeditions had used river boats for some sections. The first fully overland wheeled crossing of the Gap was that of British cyclist Ian Hibell, who rode from Cape Horn to Alaska between 1971 and 1973.

The first motorcycle crossing was by Robert L. Webb in March 1975.

The first all-land auto crossing was in 1985–87 by Loren Upton and Patty Mercier in a Jeep, taking an incredible 741 days to travel 201 kilometres (125 miles).

Ed Culberson was the first to follow the entire Pan-American Highway including the Darién Gap on a motorcycle.

There have also been a number of crossings on foot, including that of George Meegan in 1981, who walked the entire distance from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska over a period of 2,425 days !

The most unusual walker was evangelist Arthur Blessitt who traversed the Gap in 1979 while carrying a 12-foot wooden cross as part of what Guinness World Records recognized as “the longest round the world pilgrimage”.

Principal References:

• Pan-American Highway
• Dalton Highway
• Alaska Highway
• Pan-American Highway (South America)
• Atacama Desert
• National Route 3 (Argentina)
• The southernmost settlements in the world

Tim Cahill, Road Fever (1991) Ed Culberson, Obsessions Die Hard: Motorcycling the Pan-American Highway’s Jungle Gap (1966) George Meegan, The Longest Walk (1988) Russell Braddon, The Hundred Days of Darien (1974) John Blashford-Snell, Something Lost Behind the Ranges (1994) Ian Hibell, Into the Remote Places (1984) Mark A Smith, Driven by a Dream (2004) Wade Davis, The Rucksack Man (1976) Arthur Blessitt, The Cross (2009) Joseph R. Yogerst, Long Road South: The Pan American Highway (1999) Raymond and Audrey Pritchard, Driving the Pan-American Highway to Mexico and Central America (1998) Brad and Sheena Van Orden, Drive Nacho Drive: A Journey from the American Dream to the End of the World (2013) Ben Cunningham, The Longest Road: An Irish Pan-American Cycling Adventure (2009)

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Nicolás Valencia says

May 20, 2016 at 7:57 pm

I would like to clarify a point related to Chile. In our country it’s known as Route 5, but instead of arriving to Valparaiso, it goes to Santiago. In fact, in a short section, Route 5 is crossed by Route 60 (Valparaiso – Buenos Aires), before arriving Santiago, capital of Chile.

Route 5 cross Santiago as a north-south axis (well-known as “La Norte-Sur”), then continues on down to Puerto Montt. Then, you have to sail the Chacao Channel from Puerto Montt to Quellon, the southernmost city on Chiloe Island.

GeoNie says

November 2, 2021 at 10:14 pm

It’s on the internet dude!! Geez

November 2, 2021 at 10:18 pm

Hey NicolásValencia. Chile looks so beautiful in its beach front glory to that big wall separating Argentina. I envy you guys and will land in Santiago soon

Veronica Philips says

July 9, 2017 at 8:47 pm

Image what can happen on a family road trip, when your son asks the innocent question, “What’s the longest road in the world?” This was a great read, and I’m thinking it needs to be a bucket list item..

Tom Swinburn says

August 13, 2018 at 7:53 am

Meegan traversed 12 miles a day for YEARS to make his journey. Almost seven years in fact. So there were no sick days, no breaks of any kind? I guess I’m going to have to buy his book. The 12 miles a day was the average, but some days he could have walked much further, other days, like in the Darien gap a mile a day would have been tough. And the elevation changes! The feat seems almost superhuman.

August 10, 2019 at 10:06 pm

Without modern technology, navigating, writing and Reading about this would not be possible. Someday like the Jetsons someone will just be able to fly their own personal vehicle the whole way !!

Ian Sarad says

September 27, 2019 at 5:00 pm

I just did a little research and discovered that it’s actually 30,000 km (not miles).

Muhammad Naeem Khalid says

October 28, 2019 at 6:01 pm

Pan American Highway is 30000 KM or 30000 Miles please clarify

Bill Emerson says

February 23, 2020 at 9:57 pm

In 1998 I drove from my home in Kansas City to Panama…..It was a great trip! To return I put my car on a ship to Florida, and then drove back home. Even though I do not speak Spanish, I did not find language to be a problem. In fact, I had virtually no problems. I have always wanted to do another trip thru South America to southern Chile. Is there anything more that I should know?

Regards, Bill Emerson

Andrus says

September 11, 2020 at 3:51 pm

For a trip to south america, Route 40 in Argentina is far more interesting than the pan-american highway. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Route_40_(Argentina)

September 12, 2020 at 10:21 pm

In Argentina, the 5000 km of Route 40 are much more scenic that panamerica highway.

wayne winzer says

April 7, 2023 at 4:00 am

follow transmigratoty route. easier now than then. I drive Wichita to Guatemala every year

Jane Carpenter says

June 16, 2020 at 9:10 pm

Muhammad I think you’ll find your answer here in this article. Although you may not – it’s still slightly confusing! 🙂 https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/4638-pan-american-highway.html

joana galarza johnson says

April 4, 2020 at 1:51 pm

What an interesting article, thank you. I would like to offer one more reason why the Darian Gap’s closure has come to nothing. Colombian drug lords. Colombia’s notorious Pablo Escobar and countless other drug cartel leaders, hid (and had drug distillation industries) at the northernmost tip of South America. In the rainforests.

Also, there is a new book, To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins (2019) about traversing the Pan American Highway on bicycle, from Oregon south to Patagonia. Lovely book.

Stefan White says

April 5, 2020 at 7:01 am

My stepfather was the mechanic of an Inter-American Expedition in 1953 that drove a Sunbeam Alpine non-stop from Fairbanks, Alaska to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, using rafts to cross the Gap and sleeping with headhunters in Central America. That would be preceding the claim made here.

June 13, 2020 at 2:43 am

I just came up with about 22,000 kilometers on Google Maps, depending on the specific routes chosen. Clearly, 30,000 kilometers, or miles, is incorrect, since the straight line pole-to-pole distance is only 20,000 kilometers, as measured on Google Earth.

stephen morrow says

March 7, 2021 at 12:59 am

Mileage stated here is way off…19,000 miles is more like it.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Highway

V CLEVE WALSTROM says

August 9, 2021 at 8:38 pm

Danny Liska of Niobrara, Nebraska rode a BWM motor cycle the length of the Pan American Highway (he hiked the Darien Gap) in the early 1960’s . His book Two Wheels to Adventure is a classic that out shines all.

Cleve Walstrom

Waithumbi says

October 3, 2021 at 1:34 pm

It’s a Wonderful article to read, like now when the migrants from Haiti are WALKING through the Darien Gap Jungle.

Gerard Deveau says

February 6, 2023 at 6:15 pm

Great article and comments as well! A Bucket List Adventure for sure God willing.

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The Ultimate Guide To Driving The Pan-American Highway

The scenic Pan-American Highway is the longest road in the world stretching around 15,000 miles from Alaska in North America all the way down to Argentina in South America.

When we finally ditched our comfortable lives in LA and set out on a journey of a lifetime to travel across the Pan-American Highway for 15 months, we had no idea what to expect.

We learned so much along the way about things that can help make this trip easy ( and things that can go horribly wrong ).

Our Pan American Highway guide is here to help you plan an epic road trip and answer any questions you may have – from our personal experience!

If you are thinking about driving the famous Pan-American Highway, here are some tips and things that you should know before heading out on the Pan-American road trip:

Pan-American Route & Map

How long does it take, how much does it cost, crossing the darien gap, best vehicle for pan-american, do you need a 4×4, highlights of the trip, pan-american dangers, what to bring, car insurance, currency & credit cards, must-have phone apps, cell service, traveling with pets, other pan american highway tips.

The Pan-American route is a network of roads that start in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and from there travel south through both North America and South America until its ending point in Ushuaia, Argentina. It’s known as the longest road in the world because it connects two continents north to south.

The Pan-American Highway is approximately 15,000 miles long and passes through 14 countries along the way.

In North America, the Pan-American Highway passes through : the US , Canada , Mexico , Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , and Panama .

In South America, the Pan-American Highway passes through: Colombia , Ecuador , Peru , Chile, and Argentina .

Although the actual Pan-American route mapped out is around 15,000 miles long, nobody does the exact route without venturing into many detours and side roads. On average, most people end up driving around 30,000 miles during their Pan-American road trip.

In fact, during our trip across the Americas, we spent very little time driving the actual Pan-American Highway because most of the time we were crisscrossing into various attractions along the way. Some of those side destinations often include Belize in Central America and Bolivia in South America.

While some people try to start off their Pan-American road trip in Alaska, it’s so remote and far out of the way that most people start their trip in Canada or the US .

When we set out to venture down the Pan-American highway, we started off in California. We had already spent considerable time exploring Canada and US and we wanted to venture into some new countries starting with Mexico.

A trip across the Pan-American highway can really take as long as you have time ( or money ) for it. Most people that we met traveling along the Pan-American highway do it anywhere from 9 months to 2 years. We ended up spending 15 months on the road traveling from California to Southern Argentina.

If you are short on time , it’s best to plan the route ahead of time and focus on seeing the main highlights. On the other hand, if you have all the time in the world, you’ll probably find yourself venturing into lesser-known areas and going more “off the beaten path”.

We tried to take it slow and see everything under the sun during the first 9 months of our trip but traveling in this style started wearing on us after a while . We felt like we spent more time “living” in these countries and trying to stretch every last penny than seeing all of the best highlights and enjoying the destinations like we would have if we were on a vacation.

When we got to South America, we switched up our approach and only traveled to the main highlights. It worked better for us since we spent less time exhausting ourselves driving to random little towns and we spent more time exploring the top locations.

Again, this just depends on your travel style . We just wanted to see all the top highlights and sooner than later return back home to our old lives in the US.

The cost of driving the Pan-American Highway is highly dependent on your comfort level while traveling. While we try to travel pretty cheaply, we always leave a little room and budget to splurge on things that we love ( like cheese and wine ).

On average, we spent around $2200 in travel expenses per month between the both of us. The biggest expense for us is typically food followed closely by gas.

We cook most of the meals in our campervan and seldom splurge on restaurants but we also don’t eat ramen noodles like college kids. Eating healthy and yummy food to us is a priority but that often comes with a steep price.

Since we travel in a van we rarely pay for campsites or hotels , only on special occasions when we feel like taking a break from van life or when our families come to visit.

The biggest one-off expense of the Pan-American highway for us was shipping our van across the Darien Gap which cost us $1100.

The most expensive single activity of this entire trip was visiting Machu Picchu in Peru. The cost to visit the Machu Picchu ruins is around $250 per person covering a train ticket, a bus ticket, and an entry ticket to get into the ruins. The good news is that we found a cheap workaround from a back entrance that can save you a lot of money. To read more on that check out our Machu Picchu Travel Guide here .

Read Next: VAN LIFE – How Much Does It Really Cost?

Although the Pan-American highway is known as the longest road in the world, there is a section between Panama and Colombia that is not drivable . This section is called The Darien Gap .

For environmental and political reasons, visitors are not allowed to travel into this section. The only way to get your car across the Darien Gap is on a ship. This ship typically takes a few days to get your car across from Panama into Colombia ( or vice versa ) and costs anywhere from $1000 to a few thousand depending on your car size.

There are a few ways to ship a car across the Darien Gap: RORO (roll on/roll off), container, and LOLO (lift on/lift off).

We chose to go with a container because it’s the most secure way to ship. We heard a lot of theft happens during the RORO shipping since you have to give your keys to the port staff and the cars are left unattended.

When you choose container shipping, you drive your own car into a container that gets sealed before getting loaded on a ship. You get to keep the keys and the car is completely locked up until you go to pick it up on the arriving side.

If you decide to ship in a container, first you will need to find a shipping partner to share a container with in order to split the cost in half. We used the Pan-American Travelers Association Facebook group and Container Buddies to see if anyone was shipping at the same time as us. We ended up shipping in a 40 ft High Cube container with another car and paid around $1100 each.

Once you find a shipping partner you will need to arrange a shipping agent who will coordinate everything for you . We shipped our van from Panama City to Cartagena and the two main agents for this route are Boris Jaramillo and Tea Kalalback.

We had originally contacted Tea and everything seemed ready to go when last minute she emailed us saying that we did NOT have a spot on the ship and we ended up losing the non-refundable flights that we had booked from Panama to Colombia.

We then contacted Boris with Ever Logistics and he was super helpful and got us a spot on the next outgoing boat a few days later. His contact email is [email protected].

Passengers are not allowed on this ship so you will need to arrange a flight into Colombia and a hotel while your car ships across. Once your car arrives in Cartagena, you will need to go down to the dock in Cartagena and get it out. This requires 2 days of running around Cartagena to pay various fees and get paperwork signed. 

You don’t need an agent on the Colombia side, just a lot of patience while you run around the city getting paperwork done.

You May Also Like: 50 Van Life Tips For Living On The Road

During our trip along the Pan-American Highway, we met people traveling in all types of vehicles – small sedans, SUVs, motorcycles, vans, trucks with pop-up tents, huge motorhomes, bikes, Unimogs, old and new, you name it . There really is no best vehicle and it really just depends on your travel style and personal comfort level .

We had originally planned to do this trip in our Honda Element SUV. We even converted our Honda Element by adding a bed, solar shower, fan, and fridge. But after a trial month of traveling through the US and Canada, we realized that it was just too tight and crammed for us to enjoy a long-term trip.

Instead, we got a Promaster van and spent 3 months converting it into a campervan . It has made our traveling so much more comfortable and we rarely splurge on hostels or Airbnb’s, saving us a ton of money.

Having a midsize van on this trip also helps us stealth camp just about anywhere. It’s especially helpful in cities where the cops are a little stricter about camping on the streets. Most people just think we’re a working van.

Many people choose to go with smaller vehicles that may be more nimble or get better fuel mileage, but you’re likely to end up spending just as much in monthly expenses since you will need to pay for campsites, hostels, hotels, and Airbnb’s more often.

If you’re worried about having car issues and not finding parts, you might want to look for cars that are sold throughout Latin America . These would include any car or SUV sold by Kia or Hyundai, Ford Explorer, Mercedes Sprinter, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota 4Runner, or Jeep Wrangler.

There are many others sold in North America that are also sold in Latin America, like Toyota Land Cruiser, Ram Promaster (Fiat Ducato/Citroen Relay/Peugeot Boxer/Renault Master), Land Rover Discovery, and Mitsubishi Montero, to name a few, but all of these are sold in North America with gasoline engines whereas in Latin America they are only sold with diesel engines. If something goes wrong and you have to find parts for the engine/tranny of these cars, you’re probably going to have to ship the parts in from another country ( speaking from our personal experience ).

If you have a right-hand drive vehicle, note that you may have some difficulty traveling through Central America, especially in Costa Rica. It is illegal to drive RHD vehicles in Costa Rica so many people end up shipping their vans from Guatemala into Colombia, skipping most of Central America for this reason.

A lot of people think that you need a 4×4 van to do this trip. Although there are roads along the Pan-American highway where having a 4×4 is helpful, it is not a necessity .

Our Promaster van is a front-wheel drive. We have driven across some of the most rugged roads in Guatemala and through the sketchiest mountain passes in Peru with no issues.

We did get stuck in a swamp once and had to get pulled out… but that was 100% our own fault .

Instead, what’s really essential in choosing the right vehicle for the Pan-American Highway is getting one that has high clearance, weighs as little as possible, has a good set of all-terrain tires, and isn’t oversized . This combination will get you to 90-95% of the places you want to go.

We’ve seen some really cool 4x4s that can’t go off the paved roads because they’re so overloaded and top-heavy. We’ve also seen many Unimogs that can’t go off the main highways because they don’t fit in any of the side roads or campgrounds, so having a 4×4 doesn’t always help.

Personally, we find it almost impossible to provide one single answer when someone asks us what our favorite country or place has been on this trip. However, there certainly are some places that stand out more than others. Here are some of our top highlights from 15 months of traveling along the Pan-American highway .

We started our trip in Mexico and our plan was to spend 2 months there, at the most. After realizing how much cool stuff there is to see and do, we threw that plan out the window and we ended up spending 5 months traveling through all of Mexico.

We swam in turquoise waterfalls in La Huasteca Potosina , snorkeled in underground cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula , and drove through remote mountain roads to get to some unreal hillside thermal pools , all for only a few bucks each at the most. Thinking of countries that left a lasting impression on us, Mexico is definitely on top of that list.

Central America

After leaving Mexico we ventured into Belize which offers some of the best snorkeling in the world. Although Belize technically is not part of the Pan-American Highway, we just had to visit it.   

Our main mission in Belize was to find the top snorkeling sites. While Caye Caulker is the “go to” fun party island that offers tours to some really amazing snorkeling sites ( and unlimited rum after ), our personal favorite was Silk Caye, a tiny island off the southern coast in Belize. Here we swam with sharks, eagle rays, octopus, and other incredible sea creatures for half the price and half the crowds.

We continued along into Guatemala , one of Joel’s favorite locations. Guatemala is one of the least developed countries in Central America which means rugged jungle adventures, erupting volcanoes, and remote pyramids along with some of the friendliest people we’ve met on this journey. Guatemala is also known for beautiful markets filled with colorful textiles.   We have 5 blankets to prove it.

Another one of our favorites was Costa Rica . Costa Rica is known for its beaches, surfing and some unreal wildlife that looks like a scene from The Jungle Book come alive. While we certainly enjoyed searching for waterfalls in the jungle, our favorite part was seeing all the monkeys, sloths, and macaw birds along the trails.

Overall we loved Central America , but at the same time, the heat and humidity were making sleeping and cooking in our van almost impossible. In our opinion, this is a region that’s best explored in short traditional vacations while going on adventures during the day and recharging at a hotel pool or room at night.  

South America

After crossing into South America, we didn’t really know what to expect of Colombia (it probably didn’t help that we just finished watching Narcos).

Colombia turned out to be one of the most diverse South American destinations with colorful colonial towns, lots of history, culture, amazing coffee, and unique adventures. After spending 2 months traveling through Colombia, here are 15 of our top Colombia destinations that we highly recommend for Overlanding .

One of my personal favorites of our time in South America was Peru ( okay, so maybe I DO have a favorite after all ). Besides visiting the world-famous Machu Picchu ruins , Peru is home to one of the tallest waterfalls in the world, incredible mountain hikes, and a cool oasis city Huacachina hidden between giant sand dunes in the Peruvian desert.

Last ( but not least ) there is the Carretera Austral Highway in Chile , the southern region of the continent. Known for turquoise blue lakes, unique caves, and endless glaciers I couldn’t think of a better way to finish up a trip through the Americas .

We could really go on forever sharing all about our favorite Pan-American destinations, but if you want to read more about our trip highlights, check out our Destinations page here .

This is one of the topics that we get asked about the most and something that our friends and family were really concerned about when we started the trip.

And I’m not gonna lie… we were pretty nervous too .

While I can’t speak for everyone because sometimes unfortunate things happen, during our 15 months of traveling the Pan-American highway we had no major issues and we felt relatively safe.

One of the worst things that happened to us was getting my backpack stolen in Colombia at a Starbucks ( from all places ) while I was working on my laptop and not paying attention.

There are some areas, however, that are known to be more prone to crime along the Pan-American highway and travelers should use more caution while driving through:

• Chiapas, Mexico . We always hear about the crime issues in Mexico due to the drug cartels, but neither we nor any of the hundreds of people we know who went through Mexico ever encountered an issue with cartel violence. Instead, it’s Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico, where people have the most issues. This region has long been anti-government, anti-establishment, very poor, and many of the villages thrive on violently extorting money from anybody who passes through. We were held up by angry mobs demanding money for driving on the roads and asked for a “security payment” by an armed “neighborhood watch”. Our friends had their tires slashed and chased by locals demanding money at the threat of violence, and another overlander was attacked with wooden boards with nails. And the saddest of all, two European bikers were found dead with their belongings missing while passing through this region. The cops and military don’t really go into this area so it’s sort of the Wild West down there.
• Peru Coast . We heard there are a lot of car break-ins, armed robberies, and well-organized scams along the Peruvian coast. It’s also one of the poorest areas that we saw along this trip so people are a bit more desperate. While traveling along the Peruvian coast we watched for any warnings left on the iOverlander app and we never left the van completely unattended. We personally had no issues but unfortunately, our friends were not so lucky and had a break into their van and had all of their electronics stolen.
• Costa Rica . This one was really surprising since Costa Rica is basically the 51 st state of the US these days, but Costa Rica is currently a hot spot for thieves and car break-ins. There are thousands of American tourists around every corner, and locals know that tourists carry nice, often expensive things in their cars as they move around the country. Many of the people we know had their cars broken into in Costa Rica, but they weren’t always necessarily only after nice things – our friend’s well-used swimming shorts were stolen right off his side mirror as he made dinner just a few feet away.
• Northern South America . From Colombia through the northern metros of Argentina and Chile, pickpocketing and petty theft are very common in cities. This is why you’ll see many people walking with their backpacks worn on their chest, and sitting at coffee shops with their bags held under their arms. While traveling in this area, just try not to walk on empty streets at night and never put anything into pockets that can’t be zipped or closed somehow. Since we spent very little time in the cities of South America and opted instead for the mountains and more remote areas, we mostly avoided these issues.

Most people who start the Pan-American road trip will pack their cars to the max with emergency and “just in case” items but in reality, you don’t need that much .

Personally, we don’t have a whole lot of stuff to begin with and we also like to keep our living space uncluttered. We decided to only bring the bare necessities which helped us keep the van light for better gas mileage.

Along with everyday necessities like clothing and kitchen utensils, here are some things that you should bring along on the Pan-American road trip :

• Two water tanks . We keep one water tank for filtered drinking water and one for everything else like doing dishes and brushing our teeth that we fill up at gas stations. You could use filtered water for everything but it would be quite costly.
• One spare tire . We actually didn’t even use our spare tire once during our 15 months of driving down the PanAm road so you don’t need more than one.
• Basic tools . Flat/Phillips screwdrivers , an adjustable wrench , duct tape , a flashlight , and pliers – the bare minimum in case you break down in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, mechanics are everywhere and other overlanders usually carry a ton of tools in case you need to borrow one.
• Fire extinguisher . If you have a stove in your vehicle, you’ll be cooking in small quarters or outside and things can easily tip over and catch on fire. Our friends’ stove actually caught on fire but they were able to safely toss it out and put the fire out before it did any damage. Better to be prepared and keep a small fire extinguisher at hand reach.
• Tow strap . In case you push the limits of your car like we constantly do and need someone to pull you out. They’re super cheap and don’t take up much room.
• Headlamp . 95% of the time, we’re sleeping in places that don’t have much light. Look for one that is dimmable and preferably one that has a red light setting, which helps keep your night vision and doesn’t travel as far so you can be more incognito.

Read More: 85 Van Life Essentials That You Should Be Packing

There are a few countries along the Pan-American highway that require vehicle insurance for international drivers.

In North America, the countries requiring car insurance are: Canada, the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama .

US and Canada have reciprocal car insurance laws so if you have insurance in either country, you can use it in the other as well.

In South America, the countries requiring car insurance are: Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina .

In the US, Mexico, and Chile we purchased our vehicle insurance online, but most of the time you can purchase car insurance right at the border. Peru was the only country where we had to cross the border and drive into the next town to purchase it.

Related Post: DIY Promaster Campervan Conversion Guide

Most of the small businesses in Central and South America operate on a cash basis so for this trip, it’s very important to have a good debit card that won’t charge you crazy ATM fees . We love the Schwab Debit Card because it is free, charges no overseas withdrawal fees, and refunds any ATM fees that we were charged by other banks at the end of the month.

The Schwab Debit card comes with the Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account – you can read more about it on the Schwab website.

At some ATMs we have been charged up to a $10 fee to take out the money in a single transaction. Getting this money back at the end of the month has been pretty sweet.

For this trip, you will also need a VISA credit card. Most businesses in Central & South America only accept VISA or Mastercard , but some countries like Peru only accept VISA (when they accept credit cards at all).

We really couldn’t have done this trip without our favorite phone app iOverlander . For us, this app was a total lifesaver.

The iOverlander app was created by other Pan-American overlanders as a place to note all the best campsites, attractions, gas stations, laundry spots, and other useful places while traveling. Over the years it has grown extremely popular and is based solely on reviews left by other travelers. iOverlander is our go-to source to find cheap (or free) camping spots and anything else we may need along the way.

There are also a couple of map apps that can make life on the road so much easier. Google Maps is great because the roads are pretty up-to-date, it gives you accurate driving time estimates, and you can download the map sections ahead of time to use when you’re offline. We also like using the Maps. me app which is amazing for finding hiking trails and figuring out their distance and elevation but is not so great for driving because it likes to give extremely optimistic time estimates and can sometimes lead you down dirt roads that shouldn’t even be on the map.

We also recently found out about the app WiFi Map . WiFi Map lists tons of open WiFi networks in the surrounding areas and for someone like me who works a lot online, this app is super helpful.

A few years ago I signed up for Google’s Project Fi cell phone service and it has been a total game changer for traveling. Instead of purchasing local cell phone chips in each new country, Google Fi automatically connects your cell phone to the local cell providers so you never lose reception while traveling, all at full LTE when available.

We pay around $80 per month for Google Fi service that includes “unlimited” data up to 15 GB for the two of us. The data is still unlimited after 15 GB but it’s much slower.

We use just about all of 15 GB of available data every month. But we also work online, stream shows and slightly obsess over Instagram so most people tend to use a lot less than that. It actually says on their website that less than 1% of users use all 15 GB of the available data so THAT makes me sort of question my life choices.

If you have a pet, you may be wondering if it’s possible to do this trip with your furry little friend.

During our trip along the Pan-American highway, we brought along our indoor cat Minka. We made some special arrangements for her in the van but overall we found that traveling with a pet through Central and South America is very easy .

It took her a couple of months to get used to being in new environments every day but now she absolutely loves it. As soon as we stop she hops out of the van, runs around a bit, eats some grass, and looks at the farm animals from the distance but mostly just naps. She has traveled through 15 countries in our van and every new place is like a new adventure for her.

Many of the people we’ve met during our Pan-American road trip travel with pets – mostly dogs, some cats, and even a couple of guinea pigs – and everyone manages just fine. There are some restrictions on dogs in many of the national parks of South America so it does limit you a tiny bit, but overall it’s not that difficult.

While most countries don’t really care that we have a cat at the border crossings, some countries are tougher than others. The hardest countries for crossing with pets are Belize, Panama, Colombia, and Chile, where they want some kind of paperwork to be done before entering and/or charge a fee for entering with a pet.

Before crossing any borders check iOverlander for any requirements. All of the information in iOverlander gets constantly updated by other travelers so this has been our best resource for border crossings with pets.

I also joined a Facebook group called Animal Travelers specifically created for people who travel with pets. It’s a great place to ask questions about traveling with pets, especially for flying and specific border crossings.

Read Next: 10 Tips & Tricks To Get Ready For Van Life With A Cat

Here are a few tips that we learned ( sometimes the hard way ) that can really help make life easier on this trip:

• Make copies of car registration, passports, driver’s licenses , and any other important documents before tucking them away somewhere safe. Also, make sure to scan and keep a backup online like on Google Drive.
• Apply for an extra license before leaving . This was a big one for us that we easily overlooked. After my wallet was stolen in Colombia and Joel lost his wallet in Ecuador, we were stuck without driver’s licenses which we needed to drive, pay for groceries, and cross borders. We didn’t have any extras so we ended up making laminated copies out of the scans that we had backed up. Thankfully they’ve worked so far at every border and checkpoint!
• Join the Pan-American Travelers Association Facebook Group . This is a public group with thousands of members who are traveling the Pan-American highway, have done it in the past, or plan to do it. If we have any concerns or questions that we can’t find answers to anywhere else, a lot of times we find them by searching this group or by posting a question in it.

The idea of traveling in a car through 14+ foreign countries can seem pretty intimidating ( at least it did for us ), but during our trip, we met so many amazing travelers and overlanders who helped us out with questions and tips along the way.

We hope this guide can do the same for you but if we didn’t cover something fully or if you still have any questions on traveling the Pan-American highway, don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments below!  

Looking for more van life inspiration? Here are a few other helpful resources and blog posts that you may like:

• 16 Best Sprinter Conversions For Van Life
• 30 Must-Have Campervan Accessories For Van Life
• 10 Amazing Ford Transit Conversions For Inspiration
• How To Make Money While Living In A Van
• The Ultimate Solo Female Van Life Guide

This post is written by Laura Sausina. Hi, I’m the founder of the Fun Life Crisis travel blog and I’ve been traveling full-time for the past 7 years. Here I share my experiences and tips to help 100,000 people a month plan their adventures around the world! Read more about me here .

Some of the links used in this blog may be affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, I may earn a small commission when you book through these links which helps support this blog! Thank you!

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134 thoughts on “The Ultimate Guide To Driving The Pan-American Highway”

Very helpful, thank you. I’m a 58 year old (spiritually about 28!) Brit going to do the journey. No mention of buying US 3rd party insurance here though, any ideas? Thanks Andy

Personally, we have not used travel insurance and have gotten pretty lucky with never having any issues on our travels so far. But it is something that I am looking info for future travels and I have heard that the World Nomad insurance is a pretty popular choice. Here is a link to their UK website: https://www.worldnomads.co.uk/

Cheers, Laura & Joel

3rd party insurance is compulsory in US and most South American countries, I believe, isn’t it ?

Hey Andy, sorry I misread your comment. I thought you were asking about travel health insurance.

In US it’s easy to get car insurance as long as the car is registered in the US. There are tons of companies offering car insurance online such as Geiko, AAA, Progressive, State Farm, All State, Liberty Mutual etc.

In North America, the countries requiring car insurance are: Canada, US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. In South America, the countries requiring car insurance are: Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

In the US, Mexico, and Chile we purchased our vehicle insurance online, but most of the time you can purchase the car insurance right at the border. Peru was the only country where we had to cross the border and drive into the next town to purchase it.

Hope this helps clarify things.

Hello! First of all, thanks a lot for this great info! It’s truly appreciated and useful. I’m a 30-year-old Argentine national but have lived in Florida for 19 years. I’m planning to tackle this road next year. I have the following questions, any info would be greatly appreciated!

1. Do you think is doable in 3-4 months starting from Florida? I have time constraints due to work/studies.

2. How much did it cost to ship the car from Ushuaia back home? (or perhaps from Buenos Aires or Valparaiso?)

3. Approximately how much did you spend in gas? food? paperwork/documentation?

4. How was your experience during border crossings? Was it expensive?

Thanks a lot in advance! I truly appreciate it.

1. I really don’t think you can do it in that short of time. In 3-4 months you could do the US through Panama, or part of South America, but I don’t think shipping the car to South America and back would be worth the hassle for that short of a trip. There are many overlanders selling their cars in South America for cheap after they finish their trip, maybe buying one of those and doing a few months in SA would be a good idea. 2. It all depends on the size, but from Valparaiso or BA/Montevideo to the US/Mexico, you’re looking at $2k-5k and takes a few weeks to coordinate. There are no shipping options south of that. 3. Our costs were about $1200 (Mexico) to $2500 (South America) per month for two people. This is highly dependent on where you stay, what you eat, and your fuel efficiency. We very rarely paid for places to sleep, cooked 95% of our own meals, and drove a van that got 16 mpg on average. 4. Border crossings are all over the place but usually not bad. Nicaragua was the worst by far because they were so slow, unorganized, and inspected everything, but the other ones were quick and we rarely got inspected or questioned. Usually, borders take 1-2 hours but some were as quick as 20 minutes. Having pets is probably the biggest hurdle because sometimes they want extra paperwork. Entering Mexico is the most expensive at around $100, the rest are usually free or a couple of dollars.

Hope that helps!

Nicolas have you considered shipping to Ushuania and driving back? I am from the UK and looking at riding a vespa scooter the whole route from south to north in early 2022.

There is no place to ship a vehicle south of Santiago, Chile or Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hi! Is shipping your van back to the states from Argentina best or is it easy to sell your van at the end of the trip? Thanks!!

It really depends on the vehicle, timing, and a bit of luck. For us, we tried to sell the van at a huge discount down in Argentina but couldn’t find the right buyer since it’s all about timing. I’ve heard of some people that sell their vehicles for next to nothing to avoid the shipping costs, and have known some people that paid a huge premium to get an expedition ready vehicle that was at the right place at the right time. In general, I noticed that vans were in high demand but only on the very low end of pricing, like under $5k.

Thanks for your response! Thought – what if we started in Patagonia/Argentina and tried to find a van down there to drive back north? Might be luck/timing but maybe could find someone selling in advance…? Not sure how popular the van life culture is down there / enough supply and demand. Mil gracias!

It’s pretty rare for people to sell their vehicles in Patagonia since it’s so far south and there’s so little transportation from down there. Most people sell around Santiago, Chile or Buenos Aires, Argentina since that’s where most international flights land and leave from. Buying a local vehicle with Chile or Argentina plates is super expensive because of their crazy import tax laws, so the best bet is to find another overlander who’s done with their trip.

This is what Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman did for Long Way Up. You should be able to ship a scooter or motorcycle (motorbike) in the cargo hold of an airplane.

Awee , I lived in Florida , was going through the whole process of traveling on the pan America highway , We shipped our Toyota truck in our country in Guyana and we went through Guyana interior , throughout to lethem into Brazil, , into Venezuela Columbia Ecuador Peru Chile Argentina and Brazil back into my country Guyana,Took us three months of nonstop driving, except in the night, We slept in a our truck. every night it was just me and my husband, that’for me was a life time adventure I will never forgot , the sceneries was breathtaking, there is so much to see, but we had to come back because we had four kids so so a good vehicle , know language,, and I have all your documents insurance and everything passport everything in order before traveling,,you would love the trip enjoy , it cost us around 12thousand dollars , and the year 1996 , the road driving is unbelievable ?????

Found your site and have enjoyed our reading so far. We are leaving after next year for 12-15 months like you to go to South America. Our big thing is we will have our two dogs (lab & husky) and the gap is our biggest concern right now. Can we go on any boat with our van? Flying with dogs is not an option (unless emergency). It does not have to be comfortable and we would pay extra for this want but seek beta from those who potentially have made the journey. Thoughts? Thanks for sharing

The only way to ship the car is on a cargo ship but they don’t allow passengers since they’re only for cargo. To get across the Darien Gap, you can either fly or take a sail boat that goes through the San Blas islands. We’ve heard numerous people go on those sail boats with animals, you just have to find the right captain that allows pets. What most people with pets do is get an ESA letter and fly with your pets onboard instead of in a kennel in the storage area. That’s what we did and it was really easy, you just need any ESA letter, a vet letter, and a pet document from Panama – the details of how to get that document is on iOverlander.

great article. I plan to make the drive from Costa Rica to the states. I have a vw wagon which I converted into a camper…I am not into outdoor life, however, I would like to do some sightseeing and take my time…I am retired and time is on my side. I was wondering if I can sleep in my wagon and relax….

That sounds like a very relaxing trip! We spent quite a bit of time in Central America and there is just so much to see and do. Hope you have a great time on your trip!

Always dreamed of driving through the Pan American Highway (Mexico to Argentina and then circle back from Brazil to French Guiana (Circle around the entire continent of South America). I now live in Europe, so I’m not sure when I’d be able to do it. Though I’ve already been to Peru, many other countries all over Latin America have intrigued me (Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil). Hopefully, I’ll be able to fulfill the dream soon, but I prefer to see countries by seeing them one at a time.

hi, am looking to start this journey soon…will be travelling south to north (peru to canada/alaska) any links for insurance please?

Insurance is usually bought on-site at or near the borders at every border you’ll be crossing. The only exception is Mexico through Canada where it’s done online. For Mexico, try Baja Bound insurance. I don’t know about US & CA insurance since we’re from the US and never had to deal with that part

What kind of insurance is he talking about? Car insurance? Health insurance? I never considered insurance…

Car insurance is mandatory in many countries, most can be bought at the borders but some you need to buy online. In some countries they won’t give you a car permit at the border without it, and in some they set up police checkpoints where they check your insurance. It sounds more complicated than it is, you figure it out pretty quickly once you hit the road get a few border crossings under your belt.

Your blog is great! My boyfriend and I are saving to drive from Canada to Argentina, your posts are so helpful! Thanks

Hi Marsha Do share your experience; I am in Toronto and planning to do an Arctic to Argentina trip myself. Thanks,,, Max

Thank you so much for the information. We are saving money for this trip and we want to go when we have enough money. But because of the wet season we don’t know when it is the best time to go. How did you plan that part?

We just went whenever our van was ready. Mexico is nice in October-March, central is good in December-July, the northern part of SA is good in May-September, and the southern part of SA is good in November-March. So it depends on how long you want to go but if you want to do it in about 15 months you could start in Mexico in the fall and hit every place in their ideal time. As for the rainy season, we kept hearing about the rain in Central America but we thought it was blown way out of proportion. CA did not have a bad rainy season since it’s always hot and humid anyway. The rainy season you should really watch out for is in the northern part of SA (Colombia-Peru) where you really can’t do anything between October-April. Many roads are impassable and most hikes are closed or impossible to do.

Hi there. We have been traveling back and forth from Mexico to Canada and have made three trips. We have a 29′ RV (I want to downsize) something missing in your posts was getting an import permit for any foreign vehicles traveling into Mexico. With the RV we could get a 6 month or a 10 year permit. If you are caught without a permit they will impound your vehicle. We paid around 450 pesos for a 10 year permit. The Permits are available at most border crossings in a separate building than Customs. We are enjoying the information you have shared here. Thank you and take care.

Thank you for this bit of info but I wonder if you could clarify what a foreign vehicle really means: one registered in another country (US/CAD) I presume? Also, wouldn’t customs inform people of this import permit? From what you say, it sounds as though it’s not nearly as obvious as it should be. True?

What Peter is trying to say is that Mexico’s border is pretty relaxed and for the most part, they just let you in without really stopping you. They do this because so many people cross the border daily that they can’t stop everybody and check for vehicle permits, it’s up to the driver to stop and get the appropriate vehicle permit to drive in the country. Also, you’re allowed to drive a foreign vehicle without a permit as long as you stay within 26 km of the border. If you just cross without stopping to get the permit, then later on you’ll get to a checkpoint where they’ll ask for your vehicle permit and you’ll have to drive back to the border to get the permit. This is very different from any country south of Mexico where they don’t have these agreements in place to let people roam freely, and in those borders they make you get all the appropriate permits before crossing.

I want to travel via sub or truck from Texas to Costa Rica. Any advice is cc’d welcome and appreciated.

Do you have to go both ways, can you sell your vehicle at the south end of the trip and fly back? If people are selling their vehicle at the south end, is it possible to buy it and drive back north? thanks

Hey Cornelius,

Most people go one way and either ship or sell their vehicles at the end of the trip. We drove from the US to Chile and shipped our van back to the US when we reached the end of the Pan-American Highway.

A lot of people do end up selling their vehicles at the south end because shipping them back costs around $3000-$5000. For that you can check out the PanAmerican Travelers Association Facebook group . A lot of people post their cars for sale on there.

Cheers, Laura

I have a house in Panama and I’m planning on driving down this time what does it cost and what kind of paperwork do you need to cross ryukahr does it need to be translated in Spanish

Hey Steven,

Are you referring to the Darien Gap? It costs around $1000 to ship a van across the Darien Gap. You will need the vehicle title to arrange shipping through an agent on the Panama side.

I’ve seen a lot of mention shipping one’s vehicle FROM Darien Gap but what about in reverse? Is it the same process? And is it possible to catch a sailboat with one’s dogs (flying isn’t an option) to get back to Panama? Also, no one’s mentioned how people get around once their vehicle’s been freighted. Is it easy to rent a car for a day or so?

Yes, plenty of people do it in reverse and it’s the same process. I’ve heard of people going on sailboats with their dogs to do the Panama-Colombia crossing which would be cool since they go through the San Blas islands. We originally wanted to do this but it takes a lot of planning to coordinate the crossings just right. We did the ESA thing for our cat, nobody hassled us and pets fly free in the cabin if they’re an ESA. Cartagena is really easy to get around in a taxis, Panama is a little more difficult because things are more spread out so a rental car would help there.

How much do you have to pay at each countries border crossing to get your car across and does the paperwork needs to be translated from English to Spanish notarized

Usually, you don’t have to pay for border crossings. When you do, it’s only a couple of dollars. You can check the iOverlander app where people leave notes for each border crossing.

The paperwork can be in English, it doesn’t have to be translated into Spanish.

This is Harold and Eva 66 and 67. If we ever would travel S.America, we would like to do this with some other party with similar interests. Anyone out there ?? Greetings, Harold

Yes. We are interested Brian & Shelly [email protected]

Great post. Love the fact you stated all the important details. Thanks

Your trip struck me as “the trip of a lifetime.” Hey, I get lost in my backyard, would my car navigation work out there in the towns and main highways. You guys are fantastic inspirations. Rick

Take a look at Itchyboots’ YouTube channel. She uses a nav system everywhere (South America, Africa, the Middle East) on her motorcycle. Very inspirational!

This post is so inspiring and informative!! Thank you so much!! I’m looking forward to taking more road trips after the pandemic and would love to convert a van.

That is very good.

Thanks for your post. My wife and I are considering driving from Florida to Panama City in a 4X4 pickup with my motorcycle in the bed. Looking to be expats moving to Panama. Will we incur any problems with this? Luggage will be minimal.

In some countries you’re only allowed one vehicle per person so make sure you have the vehicles titled to both names, that way if they say anything you can just do the paperwork under the other person’s name.

Advice: If you’re traveling on a right hand drive vehicle, note that in 2018 Guatemala passed a law that made right hand drive vehicles illegal (as in Costa Rica). Should you get caught driving on the right you could get fined and your car can even be consigned by law enforcment so don’t take that chance.

I’m putting together my 1949 F1 ,with a 2003 Lincoln avaitor drivetrain, what kind of documentation is needed for the vehicle to ship to Colombia, I’m in the US right now.

You just need the car title and registration along with a driver’s license and passport. They’ll ask for Colombian car insurance but you can easily get it in Cartagena if that’s where you’re shipping to.

Hi Laura and Joel I enjoyed reading about your trans-American Highway adventure. It is so informative and current. Thank you very much. I am planning to do this big driving trip. As I am not handy with car repairs, could I ask if the car does break down esp. in SA, are there mechanics available to help with repairs? Once again, thanks Peter

There are plenty of mechanics everywhere but the big problems with breakdowns are finding parts and getting towed anywhere. Unless you drive one of the few vehicles that are sold unchanged throughout the world, you’ll likely have to ship in parts if something goes wrong. Also, our overlanding rigs are usually too big to get towed since they’re used to dealing with much smaller cars in Latin America. Lastly, if you’re in a small town or in the middle of nowhere, there’s pretty much 0% chance you’ll find either of those two things without getting to a major city first. Best thing I can say is if you’re not very familiar with your vehicle and know how to fix things, buy the newest car you can afford for the trip since that’ll give you the best chance of making it without a breakdown

I saw a reference to RHD vehicles in both the article as well as the comments. Am I missing something?

Many people drive Delicas and other cool imported 4x4s that are perfect for a trip like this and are mostly found as RHD. Many people who do the trip also come from RHD countries.

Did you carry much cash or use it in transactions. How is the gas quality?

We hid some cash in our van’s walls in case we needed it but never did. Other than that, we carried very little cash on hand and used our Schwab account to take out money from ATMs anywhere for free. We never had issues with gas quality but we have a gasoline engine, those with modern diesel engines could have issues since they don’t sell ULSD between Mexico and Chile.

2 Questions… Did your van get searched at border crossings and can you carry a weapon for protection?

Our van got searched a few times (maybe 5) but usually not very thoroughly. We did not have weapons other than knives and wouldn’t risk bringing a firearm along as it’s illegal to cross borders with them and they’re illegal in many countries.

Great story and comments! Very intrigued by the prospect of doing this trip as we’re approaching retirement and would like to do it before we’re too old. I noticed that you made no comment as to currency types used. Was the US Dollar good everywhere? Or were you making currency changes in each country you passed through. Thanks in advance for the info and safe travels in the future!

We used our credit card almost everywhere since CCs actually give you pretty good conversion rates. We just made sure to use CCs that don’t have foreign transaction fees. When we needed cash, we took out local currency from the ATMs using our Schwab account which gives us free ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world and refunds us any fees the ATM charges. We never used USD except for El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador where the dollar is used as their national currency.

I love this! It’s a perfect starting point to plan a trip

I’m hoping to start a big South American road trip in about a year if covid has finally settled down

Any advice on buying a car when you get to SA rather than shipping one? I’m trying to decide between buying a car in the Southern US and shipping it across the Darién gap when I get there or just backpacking Mexico/Central America and then buying a car in Colombia to drive South with.

I speak Spanish reasonably well and have a few close Colombian friends in Bogota and Medellin which should help with the paper work I think.

Buying a car in South America is a great way to do it because most people finish their trip down there and don’t want to deal with the expense or hassle of shipping their vehicle back home. The problem is you have to be pretty flexible as far as timing and what kind of vehicle you buy, but if you’re flexible, you can get some great deals. For instance, we were willing to sell our van for $10k less when it was down there but we didn’t find the right buyer at the right time. There are a few facebook groups dedicated to buying/selling overland vehicles in South America, check those out as they’re the best resources. The best place to find American titled vehicles is around Santiago and Buenos Aires as most people end their trips there and there are people that will title your car in Washington without being there.

I had heard that you can’t have any liens on your vehicle before entering mexico. ie fully own it with no payments.

Is that true?

I’m not sure about Mexico, plenty of people take new cars down there and I doubt they all own their vehicles outright. I know a lot of people take their cars to Mexico with just a registration so I don’t think Mexico cares about ownership. Once you keep going south, many of the other countries ask for the title but let’s just say they don’t know what a US car title looks like or have any way of verifying whether it’s real

Hello, I am Brazilian and I am currently in the USA, I want to drive from Las Vegas to Brazil, my question is regarding the documents to cross the borders, I have a car, insurance and driver license here from the USA all in my name, but my passport is from Brazil. do you believe this is a problem?

No, won’t be a problem anywhere except for maybe in Brazil. A lot of people drive cars titled in countries other than where they’re from.

Do you have to have a drivers license in all of the countries you travel through?

For clarification, I am an US citizen. I have a Utah drivers license. Will I need to get a new license in Mexico, Peru, etc. to drive in those countries?

No, any license will work

If you’re driving then yes you’ll need a license in case you get pulled over and to get the car permit at the borders

Do you have any interest in selling your van to us for the trip?

Hey Matthew,

Yes, we are looking to sell it soon. You can email us at [email protected] to chat more.

I just wanted to thank you for sharing your grand adventure, and all the most valuable information on traveling “do’s and don’ts”.

Thank you, Mike! We’re glad that our post was helpful : )

Hi , thanks for taking all the time to share your fantastic experiences. I’m from Australia. I would start the journey in the US. can I buy a car in the US as a tourist – or do I need a residential address in my name? I encountered this in Holland : There-was-no-way I could register a car in my name unless I was properly registered in a town’s citizens register, for which I needed proof of registered house ownership or … proof of registered house rental for which the waiting lists are so long one just as well books a burial lot.

You need some kind of address to write on the registration papers and get the registration and title sent to, but don’t necessarily have to prove residency. It also depends on the state, I know many foreigners go to the state of Washington since their rules are much more relaxed whereas in Oregon they wanted me to have an Oregon driver’s license to register a car. There are people who offer a service on the panamerican travel association group on facebook where for a small fee they’ll take care of everything and you don’t even have to be there. Otherwise, you can rent a virtual mailbox in a state to use as your home address and register the vehicle there then cancel the service once you get the registration and title delivered.

I’m really interested in knowing how you handled the problem in Chiapas and the right-hand drive issue at the Costa Rica border. Thanks

Chiapas has a deep history of anti-government activities and issues, and as a result it can be kind of lawless at times. Looking back at it now, the best outcome would be to approach that area with caution, stay and park only in secure areas, and be prepared to pay the locals when they violently demand money for no reason. Travel in groups when possible and don’t let your guard down. As for Costa Rica, we don’t have right-hand drive but the common things people do to get through if you do have right-hand drive is to either 1) stop in Nicaragua and head back to ship south from Guatemala or Mexico, or 2) cross the border at night, hide the wheel with stuff, and create a dummy steering wheel on the left side, or 3) pay someone a lot of money to tow your vehicle through the entire country. In my opinion, option 1 is best because once you’ve seen the jungles of southern Mexico through Nicaragua, there’s not much else to see in Costa Rica and Panama and you’ll save yourself from the torture of the never ending heat of Central America.

Holà, looking at driving home to Canada from Costa Rica, the winds seems favourable. This plan is in its early stages so I might add that I am not rushed at all, and that I’m very much looking into networking, forums, and tips that could help over the next months. I am planning the purchase of the vehicle in Costa Rica but so far my biggest barrier in preliminary research is the Insurance situation from Mexico-North…Tips, forum links, experienced persons would be hugely appreciated. Another import question I have is: tent & bnbs, or camper? Is camping more liberating than a well planned route with safe campsites/bnbs?

(i’ve emailed you as well btw)just in case

The best forum for information and questions is the Facebook group “Panamerican Travelers Association”. Most people who are traveling the panam are part of that group so it’s a great place to get updates on traveling conditions or to just connect with others who are also on the trip. The sleeping situation is probably one of the most varied in everyone’s approach. It’s hard to reliably find places to tent camp so that would be hard to do. It’s also hard to consistently find good hotels/hostels/whatever. The more set up your are to sleep in your own vehicle comfortably with some amenities, the easier the journey without having a need to constantly plan ahead or spend half the day looking for a hotel or campsite every time you move.

Hi there, Enjoyed everything you guys posted. One thing nobody bothered to ask was since your trip was going over 12 months how did you get your renewal tags for the following year since you were out of the country? Did you have a friend with access to your mailbox which then mailed them to your current location?

Thank you for your response!

We have permanent plates from Oregon but if we didn’t then I probably would have registered the vehicle as non-operational during the entire trip. That way you don’t have to keep paying for US insurance and the DMV won’t ask for smog checks. As far as the actual paperwork and mail, we had that delivered to our parents while we were gone. And as far as tags go, nobody outside the US knows what kind of tags your plates are supposed to have so nobody will ever notice or care that your tags are expired.

Hi Joel, Thanks for responding. Is there a difference between Oregon and California (This is where my car is registered) when it comes to plate assignment? So none of the countries you guys drove in bothered you guys at all if the car was current or not on its registration? And what I mean by that when you guys crossed the border, if you were pulled over or not by the police, or especially, when you shipped you van from Panama to Colombia? Because that’s kind of risky. I know for a fact in Chile and Argentina they will expect your car to be up to date on its registration year because that comes up when you need to obtain an car insurance policy in either of those counties. If you guys made it all the way down there without a hiccup you guys were incredibly lucky. But then again you guys had backup because your tags were mailed to your parents house so in the event that something were to happen they can easily fed-ex it to you guys.

Once you venture below the US you realize that for the most part, laws are at most a guideline that very few follow. Nobody ever bothered to look closely at any documents, even Chile and Argentina. In Chile their main concern at the border is pets and food, and Argentina didn’t really care about anything including so called mandatory insurance which most overlanders buy from some guy through Whatsapp and is probably fake. The brand Ram and the vehicle Promaster don’t exist south of the US and not a single country cared, they just marked us down as a Dodge Ram pickup truck which is close enough. It’s intimidating at first when planning ahead but once you hit the road and cross a few borders it all becomes much easier.

Hi there, Three of us are thinking of taking our Sprinter Vans along the Pan-American Hwy with our motorcycles on the back to get to those out of the way places our vans won’t go. Do you know if it is impossible to ‘import’ the 2nd vehicle (motorcycle) into some countries as they only allow one vehicle per person?

Like you said, some countries only allow one vehicle per person so it would probably be doable if there were two people per van and each person had their name on at least one of the titles. The other thing would be that you’ll have to do all the paperwork twice, get double the insurances, and in some countries pay fees for each (although it’s never much). What I would probably do is take something that doesn’t fit their bill of what a “vehicle” is and it wouldn’t trigger a need for an import permit. I’m thinking moped, electric bike, pocket bike, maybe even a Honda Ruckus with the plates removed… anything that doesn’t fit their idea of what a motorcycle should look like.

Hi there. Thanks for the info. I am wondering if there are people who want to make the trip south but don’t really want to turn around and do the trip north. Is there any group…. where I might be able to find a vehicle that wants to come back north?

I’ve never heard of anyone that has done the trip both ways. Most people start at the north, head south to the end, then travel back up to Buenos Aires or Santiago and ship their car back home from there. Europeans do it in reverse order quite often, shipping to Buenos Aires, heading south, then north to Canada before shipping back to Europe. Many people decide to sell their vehicles after doing the trip one way and is a great way to get into a vehicle that’s been prepared for overlanding but are typically in immediate need of maintenance.

Don’t you need a permit to take your car into each country? For example, I know when driving to Mexico you pay a fee and then it’s refunded (partially refunded) once you return. Any insight on this? I don’t plan on returning to the US though; I’m moving to Ecaudor.

Yes, you get a permit in each country as you enter, usually called a TIP. Mexico is the only one that actually charges you, the rest are free except for some spare change to make photocopies of documents. When you leave each country, the TIP is cancelled.

How did you get the van back from Argentina!!

We shipped our van from Buenos Aires to Houston via RORO ship (roll-on, roll-off)

can make this trip with a motorhome? (Buss). because of the roads

Absolutely, lots of people do the trip in Class A RVs, converted school busses, and Unimogs. The bigger the vehicle the more restricted you are in cities and remote locations but your comfort level increases drastically. We found that a van was probably the sweet spot between between comfort and access, with anything too much bigger or smaller requiring a lot more planning ahead for sleeping arrangements or road access.

me and my girlfriend were looking to drive the South America portion of the trip with our two cats. What did you guys do with your cat if you wanted to go off for the day exploring? Did you do any hiking in Patagonia?

we’re trying to be as realistic as possible.

The cat was perfectly fine throughout the trip, in fact she actually liked it more than being at a home. At home she just hides all the time, during the trip we was always trying to explore outside the van every time we stopped and wasn’t scared at all. We always made sure we left the exhaust fan on and a window cracked if we left her. We did a lot of hiking in Patagonia and would leave her in the van with extra food and water, she was always fine. Central America was actually the toughest region for her (and us) because it’s so hot and wet so there’s little you can do to cool the car down. All of South America, outside of the northern coast, had pretty cool weather so it was easy to leave her in the car.

Hey Joel, Laura Thank you for this blog! It is very well written and touches all the necessary aspects of Pan American travel. I am thinking of making this trip from Canada to Argentina solo in a 2-DR Jeep Wrangler. Good idea? Bad Idea? How long will it take (3-6 months?) and how much will it cost in total (USD 20,000?) I was wondering if I can may be get in touch with you at a regular basis for some guidance? Max

You can do it in any vehicle including the 2-door Jeep Wrangler but it’ll be a little harder with that car because you can’t sleep in it. It’s a decent choice, it’ll just take a little more planning because every day you’ll have to plan on where you’ll pitch a tent or rent a room to sleep in. If you can afford a roof top tent and have a way of putting it on, that would be a pretty ideal setup. The fastest we heard of people doing it and still having time to see things was about 8-9 months, anything less and you’re really having to skip too many things and spending most of your days driving. If you get a roof top tent, you should be able to do it quickly and cheaply since you can go faster without spending too much time trying to find the right sleeping place and you’ll rarely have to pay for campgrounds so it would very quickly pay for itself. Email us anytime for more

Hi, one of my fantasies has been doing this trip from US all the way until Chile. Every once in a while I do a search on how to do so and today I found your article and got me exited about trying to make it happen. One question, and of course safety is one of my biggest fears for doing the trip, but how you handled Chiapas people trying to bribe you?

Safety’s a big concern for everybody on the trip but once you get going you learn how to stay alert and avoid bad situations, for the most part. Out of all the people we met, we rarely heard of anybody getting into big trouble other than the occasional small theft. As for Chiapas, it’s pretty well known that certain areas are unstable and should be avoided so most people take a different route to avoid that bad area. When we couldn’t avoid it, it sucked paying an angry mob demanding money but there’s little we could do so we just bargained for the three vans we were traveling with and paid.

Hi, I’m curious how you paid the angry mobs when they demanded money. You mentioned you had cash hidden in the van’s walls, but that you never needed to use it. How then did you pay the angry mobs and how much did they demand vs. how much you actually had to pay? Thanks!

They usually had roadblocks set up and you couldn’t get through unless you paid. Every roadblock was different, some wanted $5, others $20. Sometimes we passed through multiple ones on the same day. I don’t know if the situation is still the same there.

Thanks for the info. We are planning Colombia to Argentina in Jan. Just a small point – in some of these countries you legally have to carry a kit in the car, for example in Colombia you must carry a fire extinguisher that is in date, and various tools.

Did you obtain visiting visa for each country you entered prior to your trip or the visas were obtained on arrival at the borders? (Not sure, to enter some of the latin American countries you don’t visas if you have USA passport).

If you are American, you don’t need a visa to enter most countries in Central and South America. The only country that might require a visa is Brazil (or at least they used to, not sure about it now) which is why we skipped it.

I am starting our trip very soon and I live in Colombia. I am a teacher and also plan on continuing teaching on the road through online classes. How reliable is the internet signal with the Google Fi service in countries like Peru and Bolivia?

Having Google Fi service was definitely the easiest option vs buying a SIM card in every new country like many of our friends did. Internet in bigger cities is pretty decent and you can also find a lot of coffee shops and cafes that offer internet. In smaller towns, it’s a bit more challenging so it just depends where you’re planning on traveling to.

Can you bring weapons for just incase purposes?

We personally did not. Every country has different rules and your van gets searched a lot, especially at the borders, so we didn’t risk it by bringing any weapons.

Did the national parks offer cabins as well as campsites?

It depends on each country and National Park. We visited several on our trip and some offered rustic accommodations, others campsites. Which park are you interested in?

Hi guys! I’ve been reading this article over an over. I’m hoping to do it soon. So, here is my thing. I’m living in the US, and anytime soon i want to go back home in Argentina. I have a dog, and a car so I thought driving back would be a great experience. I’m just interested in going back, so if we don’t do anything just driving and sleeping (on what would cost money), and some food and water, how much would you think it gonna cost? Do you pay a fee in every border you cross or some? I have an Argentinian passport so latin america should be easy to navigate. I have a regular suv car, so not like a ban or big car, will it cost about 1000$ to ship it to colombia? (From panama) -approximately- What expenses did you face only from easy food, gas and some campsites to sleep? Thank you!

How much you spend really depends on you. Our average was $2200 per month for two people but it’s hard to say what you would spend. Some quick math: Assuming you drive straight there without too many side trips, it’s about 20,000 miles. Most SUV’s get around 15 miles per gallon, so that would be 1,333 gallons of fuel, and at $5USD per gallon, that’s $6,700USD on fuel total. You could do that trip as fast as 3 months if you didn’t stop much, so $10 a day on food/water/basic necessities would be $900USD. Add in $2000 to ship your car plus flights, plus an extra $1000 for random expenses or emergencies. Add it all together and with minimal stops, driving fairly straight, not accounting for any entertainment or restaurant meals, and assuming you sleep in your car at free spots every night (easy to do 95% of the time), you’re looking at $10,600.

Do you have route coordinates you could share or a resource to pop into mapping software like GAIAGPS?

100% awesome usual information. Gracias! I’m planning to travel in my electric vehicle. I’ve done a lot of research and have discovered that there are more chargers than people might think. But I’ll also carry a range of adapter so I can plug into anything from a regular outlet (SLOW charging) to dryer, welder, and other outlets. Let me know if you know of any resources about EV traveling on the Pan American.

Thanks for your post and the pictures look incredible. Just added this to my bucket list. I do have some questions: 1. Did you have any issues with fuel? I have had issues using mexican gas back in the ’90’s. 2. Could a car be rented at each country to avoid all wear and tear on personal vehicles? 3. Can this be extended by driving back up on the east side of south america?

1. No issues with fuel since we used a gasoline engine, modern diesel engines that use DEF need some modifications to work with the dirty diesel 2. Probably not, the borders aren’t always by big cities so not sure how you’d get into a rental after crossing and how you would turn it in before crossing unless you took a taxi from the nearest city 3. Most people stick to the west side on the way down. You have to go back north because there aren’t any ports to ship from down south, so some people go on the east side on the way up. We did this to save time but the east was very boring, just long stretches on grasslands with very little to see. The northeastern countries are a bit tough to travel though, both physically and politically, so most people stop in Buenos Aires on the East.

How was the gas situation? Were there areas were it was difficult to find fuel?

We brought a 5-gallon gas can and didn’t use it once along our entire trip. It’s good to have as an emergency but the reality is that there’s gas everywhere. I’ve heard sometimes certain places like Patagonia’s route 40 will run out of fuel but we never experienced this. It could also be that we did the trip in a vehicle that can go 350+ miles on a single tank so maybe if you were going to do it in an older vehicle that doesn’t have a good range, then maybe you’d actually put the 5-gallon jerry can to use.

Wow, alot of great information. I’m retiring and hitting the road to live the nomad life.

I have considered travel outside if the states and the Pan American by highway trip interests me. Googling the trip your site came up. I am so glad to find it. Your article lets me I’m know that its not only possible but doable.

Hi, that’s really an amazing article and your effort and time to write it and post it is much appreciated. My wife and I are planning to do half of the trip. Would love to know your thoughts bout it. Planing to ship a 4×4 or a van from Florida to Columbia Cartagena and drive all the way down to Ushuaia Argentina and then Buenos Aries and ship it back (passing by Peru Chile etc.). or we can ship it to Uruguay, then go Buenos Aries, Ushuaia, and then all the way to Columbia and then ship it back to Florida. which one would you recommend? Second, how much would you think it takes to do the trip starting from Columbia or Argentina, the Southern part only and what would be the best time to do it? Countries we are planning to visit ( Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and maybe Uruguay to Sao Paolo) Thanks again and happy new year .

Hi Sam, the order you do it in is more dependent on when you do the trip. Ideally, you’d like to time it so you end up in Patagonia in their summer (December-February) and northern South America during the dry season (May-September). North Americans tend to go Colombia>Patagonia>BA since they come from the north, whereas many Europeans go BA>Patagonia>Colombia since they ship to BA. We know people that did all of South America in 3 months and others that took a year or more, it just depends on how many stops you make and how much you want to drive each day. I would plan for at least 6 months if you have the time and no faster than 3 months if you stick to only the highlights.

Thank You Joel & Laura Is it possible to make the trip without being fluent in spanish?

Hi Michael,

While Joel does speak fluent Spanish and it did help us a lot during the trip, there are plenty of people traveling the Pan-American Highway that don’t speak Spanish. I do recommend learning a few basics so you can purchase food at markets, buy entrance tickets and arrange campsites along the way. There are a lot of great free apps like Duolingo that make learning Spanish fun and easy! Cheers, Laura

Hi there I’m looking for a partner to make this adventure trip, by Chrisler Pacifica or eventually by motorcycle, Super Tenere 1250. [email protected]

This post is so helpful! Thank you! Not sure if you are still monitoring comments – but I just wondered what month you left in? We are trying to plan when to leave for a 12-14 Month trip and will be starting in Vancouver driving straight to Mexico (so leaving out alaska part and quickly through US)

Its hard trying to work a time so that we get to avoid rainy season in Central, but still get the Salt Flats drive in Bolivia – and Patagonia in Summer!

Hey Melissa! We started our trip in Mexico in December where we spent 6 months. Then we crossed into Central America for 4 months and then spent 5 months in South America. If I remember correctly, we finished the trip in March around 15 months later.

HI! First of all thanks for publishing this article. I’m an american living in Argentina looking to make the trip between Ushuaia and Alaska through December 2024 and Febuary 2025. My friends and I will be 21 during this timeframe and are concerned with the cost of insurance due to our age. Do you have any suggestions regarding this issue? Furthermore, we will drive one way and fly back the other, where would you recommend we start? Lastly, is there any page where we could contact other Overlanders looking to sell an American vehicle in Argentina or sell an argentine vehicle in the US or Canada? Kind regards, Dante

Hi Dante, if you’re talking about car insurance, it depends on each country but overall it was really cheap. We didn’t get medical insurance but that’s a bit of a gamble and completely up to you. Most people start in Canada or US but it’s cheaper to start in South America because a lot of people make it down there and sell their overlanding vehicles cheap which are already prepared for the drive. There is a facebook group called Overlanding Buy & Sell – Americas which will be your best bet for buying something, while the group Panamerican Travelers Association is a great place to get info and connect with others doing the drive. Good luck!

Thank you for this article! I’m in a corporate job i’m sick of & would like to quit and do some traveling before my next chapter in life.

1. I’m wondering how much money did you guys have saved up before leaving on this adventure? I have about $25k USD saved right now but not sure how long I can realistically make it. I live in Colorado & think I would go up to Canada first and adventure around there to get used to life on the road and avoid some culture shock as it would just be me.

2. Did you come across very many people doing this solo?

3. Ideally it would be great to document my trip on the various social media platforms and gain a following. I followed your IG and saw you have a pretty large following. Did you guys have that before your trip?

I may have more questions but that’s all i can think of for now. Just concerned doing it solo & how much i need to be able to do this.

1. We had saved up a good amount before traveling the PanAmerican Highway. We averaged $2200 in monthly costs for two people over the course of 15 months. This came out to around $33K for the entire trip. Canada is very expensive for traveling, but Mexico and south of US is much cheaper. 2. We came across solo travelers, couples, people with kids, retired people…it’s really a mix. There are people traveling the PanAmerican solo although they do it in much shorter trips. 3. We had a social media following before the trip but my blog is where I spend my focus on. If you want to grow an IG following for income reasons, making money on the road with brands through IG is nearly impossible as there is nowhere to send products to. Many people start YouTube channels documenting their trips and growing a following on there to make money from video ads.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Hi, I am wondering if I would need a title for my vehicle to do all the border crossings. I am financing my van so I don’t have it. Is it possible to do a trip like yours without a title?

Hey Dustin! We replied to your email as well. In case anyone has a similar question, legally you’re supposed to have the title to your name or a title that’s not in your name with something called a “poder” which is a notarized letter from the owner saying that they grant you permission to travel with the vehicle outside the country. I don’t think a bank will want to give you this so it’s tough to do the trip with a financed car if you’re doing it the “right” way. I would advise you to get a cheaper vehicle that you can travel with than a nicer vehicle you can’t legally travel with.

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The Longest Highway in the US

Your Guide to the Longest Road in the U.S.

Traversing the diverse landscapes of the United States by road has been a popular pastime since the early 20th century and driving vacations continue to capture the passions of Americans today. In fact, a 2019 Ford study conducted by OnePoll found that 73 percent of Americans would rather drive to their holiday destination than fly. So, why not take on the nation's longest road?

Most people know about the classic road trips— Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)—but the northern half of the U.S., especially the Midwestern states, often falls off the radar. Route 20 (US-20) runs right through this region, bookended by Newport, Oregon , and Boston, Massachusetts . The route is 3,365 miles long (Route 66 is 2,448 and the PCH is 665) and passes through 12 states. Most people allocate at least a week to traverse Route 20, which takes 52 to 60 hours just to drive.

South Beach State Park: Lincoln County, Oregon

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If you plan to cross the country from west to east, then you'll begin your journey at Oregon ’s South Beach State Park on the Pacific Coast. South Beach offers plenty of camping (including electrical hookups, hot showers, restrooms, picnic areas, and an RV dump station), so you can stay over the night before and get an early start. This Lincoln County patch of coast also features miles of hiking and biking trails, a playground, disc golf , kayak tours, and more. If the weather is terrible (as it often is on the Oregon coast), you can visit nearby Hatfield Marine Science Center or the Oregon Coast Aquarium . 

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks: Montana/Wyoming

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Though two separate parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are often included in the same itinerary for their close proximity (about an hour's drive). Yellowstone, located at the corners of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, is America’s oldest national park. It's packed with hiking trails, geologic features like geysers and pools, rolling meadows filled with wildflowers, and wildlife (grizzlies, wolves, and bison) you're unlikely to see anywhere else. You could while away weeks in Yellowstone, but at least dedicate a day to this pit stop on your Route 20 tour. After you're done, head toward the jagged peaks of Grand Teton National Park, a mountainous region of Wyoming. For camping, Fishing Bridge RV Park in Yellowstone offers electrical hookups, but it can't accommodate large RVs. Many road trippers camp in a nearby privately-owned park like Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park instead.

Boise River Greenbelt: Boise, Idaho

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Boise is an outdoor lover's paradise. It is home to the Bogus Basin ski resort, the Idaho Botanical Garden, hiking trails at Table Rock, and a portion of the ever-famous Oregon Trail. Perhaps its most stunning natural feature, however, is the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25 mile-long waterway that the Boise Parks and Recreation Department has worked laboriously for years to make as scenic as possible. What was once a runoff river is now lined with lush trees, walking and cycling paths, wildlife viewing areas, and wetlands. Walk or cycle (there are nearby rental kiosks) as little or as much as you want along the Greenway; it's the perfect way to stretch your legs after a long stint of driving.

Fort Robinson State Park: Dawes County, Nebraska

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Fort Robinson State Park is home to the Fort Robinson Museum and History Center, but there’s much more to this 22,000-acre space than Old West history. Here, you can hop on a Jeep or horse-drawn tour of the historic preservation site, play golf, go swimming in the indoor, Olympic-size Lindeken Pool, dine at the Fort Robinson Restaurant, go for a picnic, or go exploring by way of kayak or canoe. The on-site Post Playhouse puts on eight theatre shows per week (rotating between several musicals), which makes for great evening entertainment before turning in for the night in this small, often-overlooked Nebraska town.

Carhenge: Alliance, Nebraska

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Route 66 has the colorful cars of Cadillac Ranch, but US-20 offers another bizarre twist on "car art" with Alliance's Carhenge. As the name implies, Carhenge is a quirky roadside attraction where several cars have been painted and stacked to resemble England’s famous Stonehenge . The monument to motoring was built in 1987 by Jim Reinders to honor his late father. Reinders studied Stonehenge while traveling in England to replicate the structure with 38 vehicles forming an almost 100-foot circle. There is a secondary exhibit at Carhenge where stoppers-by can paint their mark on the vehicles.

Millennium Park: Chicago, Illinois

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Get your picture taken in front of Chicago's famous Cloud Gate (i.e. "The Bean") and take a break from the car in the Windy City. Millennium Park , operated by Chicago ’s Department of Cultural Affairs, plays the dual role of park and museum, featuring interactive exhibits throughout the 24.5-square-mile urban sanctuary. You'll find prominent artworks and features like Lurie Garden and Crown Fountain, and because Millennium Park sits on top of a parking structure, it’s actually considered the world’s largest rooftop garden. If you're traveling in a camper, park on the outskirts and take the "L" (the rapid transit system) into town.

RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame: Elkhart, Indiana

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Many who attempt this 3,300-mile road trip do it in a recreational vehicle. So, what better way than to honor your ride than by visiting the RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana ? This Midwestern town is, in fact, where many American campers are built. Its 100,000-square-foot museum illustrates the history of traveling by RV and reflects on early industry giants like Airstream and Winnebago . Here, you'll see the oldest Winnebago, the smallest Airstream, and some of the more bizarre RVs to ever hit the market.

Cedar Point: Sandusky, Ohio

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The U.S. is filled with amusement parks, but few can hold a candle to Cedar Point . This park offers entertainment for all ages, from easy rides to some of the world’s most adrenaline-pumping roller coasters. Cedar Point bills itself as the "Rollercoaster Capital of the World," and considering it has six different coasters surpassing the 200-feet-high mark, it would be tough to refute that claim. The Sandusky, Ohio, park encompasses 350 acres of thrill rides (17 coasters in total), water parks, dining and shopping complexes, and more. However, the park is only open between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Cleveland, Ohio

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About an hour from Cedar Point is the bustling city of Cleveland , whose crown jewel attraction is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Officially opened in 1985, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame showcases the history of the musical genre across seven levels of exhibits. You can stand just a few inches from some of the most iconic items in rock history, including instruments and memorabilia that once belonged to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley. You can even learn about what it takes to record a hit song. On the other hand, it may be best to avoid a trip to the Hall if the Cleveland Browns are playing a home game. The massive NFL crowds like to frequent this attraction, too, which could compromise the experience. 

Erie Zoo and Botanical Gardens: Erie, Pennsylvania

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You don’t have to choose between visiting gardens or the zoo when you visit Erie, seeing as this Pennsylvania town has rolled both into one highly-rated venue. At the Erie Zoo and Botanic Gardens , you can marvel at equally exotic flora and fauna. Exhibits include a children’s zoo, the Michele Ridge Rose Garden, a tropical greenhouse, African lions, river otters, and alligators. Between the exhibits, you can set the kids loose on the many carnival rides scattered around the park. You can also pack in a picnic lunch and eat it at Glenwood Park.

Baseball Hall of Fame: Cooperstown, New York

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No drive through upstate New York would be complete without a visit to the museum that honors America’s favorite pastime. Stand in the shoes of baseball’s greatest sluggers and view items that are forever etched into Americana, such as the gloves Ricky Henderson wore when he swiped his 939th base or a baseball that was smacked more than 500 feet by Babe Ruth. The Hall is filled with exhibitions like Baseball at the Movies, which reflects on baseball’s role on the silver screen, and the Sandlot Kids Clubhouse, where your little ones can blow off some steam. Cooperstown, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located, is right next to Otsego Lake, which offers kayaking, boat tours, and fishing.

Freedom Trail: Boston, Massachusetts

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The long journey ends in Boston , on the city’s famous Freedom Trail . First established in 1630, Boston is filled with history on America's founding fathers. The Freedom Trail directs you through downtown Boston on a 16-stop, 2.5-mile historical walk that passes by Park Street Church, the site of the Boston Massacre, the Paul Revere House, and Old North Church, Boston's oldest surviving church. Stop by the National Park Service-operated visitor center in Faneuil Hall to grab a map of the trail or start a guided tour.

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Take A Stunning Cross-Country Trip On The Longest Road In America

The longest road in America isn't an interstate highway, though it does cross a dozen states. U.S. Route 20 stretches 3,365 miles from coast to coast, starting in Boston, Massachusetts, and ending in Newport, Oregon (or vice versa, depending on which way you're driving). If you're in Kenmore Square in Boston, where the eastern part of the road begins, you'll even see a street sign showing the mileage all the way to Newport. It would take you over two days to drive U.S. Route 20 straight, though a better plan might be to break it up as a week-long road trip across the country.

Like other roads, U.S. Route 20 loses its numbering when it passes through a national park — in this case, Yellowstone National Park . However, it regains its numbering on the other side of the park, so it's already somewhat naturally broken up into an East Section and a West Section, per the Federal Highway Administration.

In a sense, all roads lead to Boston, since America's longest interstate highway, I-90, also runs there from Seattle. It spans 13 states but is 280 miles shorter than U.S. Route 20, which often parallels it. In addition to Massachusetts and Oregon, U.S. Route 20 will take you through parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho. Along the way, you'll have the chance to stop off in major cities like Cleveland and Chicago and visit other landmarks like the Craters of the Moon National Monument.

U.S. Route 20 from Boston to Chicago

If you pick up U.S. Route 20 near Boston's famous Citgo sign, you can turn your road trip into an exploration of history, going west like the early (non-Citgo) pioneers. The city has several notable attractions that can put a visitor in touch with American history, such as the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and the Freedom Trail, a walking tour of 16 historic sites, including the country's oldest public park, Boston Common, and its oldest commissioned warship, the USS Constitution. Fenway Park is near Kenmore Square, so if it's baseball season, you might take in a Red Sox game before hitting the road.

Outside Boston, one of the first major cities you'll hit on U.S. Route 20 is another state capital, Albany, New York. This isn't the last Albany you'll encounter, since the trip is bookended with a potential stop in Albany, Oregon, right before you hit Newport. However, in Albany, New York, you can visit sites like the New York State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark. From there, you'll have a chance to stop off in other cities like Buffalo, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania, while driving along Lake Erie to Cleveland.

No Cleveland trip would be complete without a visit to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. If you're a music lover, when you reach Chicago, its Department of Cultural Affairs also offers a map of 50 sites important to local music history, like bluesman Muddy Waters' house.

Pioneer trails, Yellowstone, and Craters of the Moon

From Chicago to Yellowstone National Park, there's a stretch of over 1,300 miles, much of it wide-open landscape. When you hit Sioux City, Nebraska, U.S. Route 20 intersects with the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail. At the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, you can learn about the titular explorers and how their famous expedition moved up the Missouri River and through the Sioux City area, taking a more northwest route to Oregon.

In Casper, Wyoming, there's another interpretive center where you can learn about how the wagon trains in four more pioneer trails (the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Pony Express Trail, and Mormon Pioneer Trail) all converged on what is now the state's second-biggest city. If you've come prepared with a tent in your car, then after another 267 miles, you can cross Yellowstone off your camping bucket list . Or you can just check out sights like the geyser Old Faithful and see the buffalo roam in Yellowstone before heading onto Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.

Craters of the Moon takes its name from the almost lunar appearance of the many open lava tubes and caves that have formed across a volcanic field the size of Rhode Island. It's a sight to behold, just as the Pacific Ocean and the Yaquina Bay Bridge and Lighthouse will be once you finally arrive in Newport, Oregon.

Here's Why Your Next Road Trip Should Be On America's Longest Highway

Massachusetts native. Freelance writer and strawberry eater.

More by this Author

The next time you’re thinking about taking a vacation, consider packing a few sandwiches, rolling down the windows, and heading off down historic U.S. Route 20 for an epic road trip. It’s America’s longest highway and packed with beautiful sights and interesting attractions. Here are a few reasons why you should hop on Route 20 as soon as possible.

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Click here to find out more about traveling Route 20. For another incredible American road trip, check out this journey through middle America that will wow you.

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Travel Tips

The longest road trip roads in the world.

If you dream of epic adventures you should definitely consider traveling down one of the longest road trip roads in the world. Whether you’re in search of some good ol’ American fun, or looking to experience other countries, or even entire continents, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most unique and longest highways systems on earth.

At nearly 3200 miles (5200km) U.S. Route 6 is the second longest road trip road in the United States

Also known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, U.S. Route 6 is a main route of the United States Highway system. Battling U.S. Route 20 for the title of the longest “continuous” transcontinental highway in America, this road will take drivers through fourteen different states starting in California and ending in Massachusetts.

At over 3300 miles (5400km) U.S. Route 20 is the longest road trip road in the United States

U.S. Route 20 covers 3,365 miles, from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon. In 1926, it officially became a U.S. Highway, and during its early years, terminated at Yellow Stone National Park. Now U.S. Route 20 is the longest highway in the country, it crosses through twelve states of America’s beautiful landscape.

The Golden Quadrilateral Highway is the longest road trip road in India at 3600 miles (6000km)

The Golden Quadrilateral Highway in India is a network of highways connecting India’s four top metropolitan cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, forming a quadrilateral. Launched in 2001 as part of India’s National Highways Development Project, it is the largest highway project in India. Overall the quadrilateral consists of four, six lane express highways.

The Trans-Canada Highway is the longest road trip roads in North America

Crossing through six time zones, this once-in-a-life time road trip starts at one end of Canada and ends at the other. Commenced in 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway takes you through ten Canadian provinces and crosses the Pacific Ocean on the west and to the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

The Trans-Siberian Highway runs the entire length of Russia and is the third longest road trip roads in the world

Spanning from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, the Trans-Siberian Highway is a network of federal highways. As one of the more dangerous roads on this list, it has some of the toughest environments and uneasy terrain, from the Baltic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the Japan Sea of the Pacific Ocean.

Highway 1 in Australia, also known as the “Big Lap,” is the second longest road trip roads in the world

As the second largest road in the world, it joins all the mainland capitals of Australia. Constructed almost half a century ago, the first section of the route was signposted between Brisbane and Adelaide in 1955. At the time is was Australia’s only true national highway. Now there are more direct routes that crisscross throughout the country, none of them are more scenic than Australia’s Highway One.

At nearly 30,000 miles, The Pan American Highway is by far and away the longest road trip roads in the world

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Pan American Highway is the longest designated road in the world. At its fullest extent it links most of the nations of North and South America. Stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, but briefly interrupted by the 100-mile Darien Gap between Central and South America.

You’ll notice that two of the world’s longest highways are located in the United States, however there are many other scenic and unique systems in other parts of the world. When you’re considering your next family vacation or solo adventure, consider road tripping down one of the longest road trip roads in the world.

If you’re looking to travel one of these longest road trip roads and need a vehicle, check out Car Rentals for a great deal.

What's the farthest distance you can drive in North America?

The Pan American Highway, almost 30,000 miles away, is by far the longest win streak trip in the world. Also, Pan American Highway is the longest designated highway throughout the globe, and as per the Guinness Book of World Records. This unites almost all of the nations of North and South America to its greatest extent.

What are the best US road trip routes?

While planning a great American road trip, you must wonder the best of bests road trips in the USA. The list of incredible USA road trips includes Route 66, Pan American Highway, Great River Road, Pacific Coast Highway, Overseas Highway, Hill Country and many more.

What are the longest road trip roads in the world?

The United States boasts of some of the world's longest highways. The Pan-American Highway is the world's longest 'motorable road,' according to Guinness Book of World Records. At over 3300 miles (5400km) U.S. Route 20 is the longest road trip road in the United States of America.

Mike Shubic

Tags: longest road trip roads , Longest road trip roads in the world , longest road trips , longest road trips in the world , What are the longest road trip roads in the world

17 Comments

Bill and I travelled Hwy 6 and 20 in our travels.

Hi Jan…is that right? Did you do the entire length?

I would love to do the longest road trip in the world, but I just don’t like the countries it goes though.

It would be epic indeed.

Hey, Mike! I noticed on the Pan Am Highway, coming south from Alaska, it veers into two sections in Canada. When one fork enters the U.S., is it I-35? Thanks a lot, I enjoyed your blog!

Hi Mike…thanks for stopping by. That’s a good question, I’m not sure. Alaska is actually the only state I have not yet road tripped around. Are you thinking of driving this Pan Am Highway soon? Cheers, Mike

I am looking for travel companions to go anywhere. In some languages I am fluent, in some not, but even I do not speak Spanish I travel every winter in Mexico without any problems so far. From Maharaj to Germany I can communicate with locals, and many of them speak English as well.

Regardless of what the Guinness book of records states, the Darian gap separates the road, pretending otherwise is ridiculous.

Thank you for your thoughts.

The farthest you can drive in Alaska is Prudhoe Bay, which is a full 5335 miles from Miami, FL.

Thank you for sharing, and, for stopping by. Cheers, Mike

Wow, can you imagine road tripping one of these. Very interesting.

Epic indeed.

Such an interesting post. Your blog is amazing!

Glad you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

I would like to thank you for the efforts, this is a great post.

My pleasure. Thank you.

Comments are closed.

Novel: Lines, Signs & Forks

Featured road trips, roadside attractions, travel experiences, most road tripped man in the world, latest posts.

The 60-Mile Darién Gap Leaves the Pan-American Highway Forever Incomplete

By Ken Jennings

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The Guinness Book of World Records has called the Pan-American Highway the world's "longest motorable road," but it's not really one single road. It's a network of different national highways that extend all the way from the Arctic Ocean to Tierra del Fuego, a distance of almost 14,000 miles. But a fun trek from pole to pole on the Panamericana remains agonizingly out of reach, thanks to a dense tropical forest on the Panama-Colombia border.

The "Panamericana" is the ultimate road trip. Since Alaska's Dalton Highway opened in 1974, the Pan-American Highway has stretched all the way north to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska . Its southernmost terminus, meanwhile, is a gravel parking lot in Tierra del Fuego National Park, at the southern tip of Argentina . There a signboard helpfully notes, "Alaska: 17,848 km" for ambitious travelers heading north.

You can't get there from here. But the Pan-American Highway doesn't quite cross all of those 17,848 kilometers (11,090 miles). In its span, it successfully passes plenty of obstacles: a ferry across the Strait of Magellan, a two-mile tunnel through the Andes on the Chile-Argentina border, a bridge over the Panama Canal , and the unforgiving tundra of the Yukon . But one obstruction has proved impassable: the Darién Gap where Central America meets South America.

Mind the Gap! The Darién Gap is a remarkable study in contrasts, from the vast Atrato Swamp of the Colombian side to the mile-high peaks of the Panamanian side. The terrain does, however, have one striking commonality: It's very difficult to build roads through. The region is also dominated by an environmentally sensitive rainforest, home to several indigenous cultures, and provides a useful barrier in hindering drug trafficking and the spread of diseases like foot-and-mouth into North America. For this reason, multiple attempts to complete the Pan-American Highway through Darién have petered out.

Darién is the road less traveled—for good reason. Today, most intercontinental travelers bypass the sixty-mile gap by boat or plane. But some adventurous souls still try the trek overland. A 1959 expedition crossed the gap in Jeeps and Land Rovers, and George Meegan's 1988 book The Longest Walk describes his seven-year stroll from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, including his transit of Darién on foot. Today, the gap is even more dangerous than it was on Meegan's trip—a lawless wilderness where, even with a guide, it's not easy to steer clear of drug traffickers, bandits, and corrupt cops. Yaviza, Panama may look tantalizingly close to Turbo, Colombia on the map, but the last remaining 60 miles of the world's longest highway aren't getting completed any time soon.

Explore the world's oddities every week with Ken Jennings, and check out his book Maphead for more geography trivia.

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The top things to do on a U.S. Route 20 road trip

Known as the "Big Daddy," the longest road in the U.S. stretches from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon

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• Classic American road trips

Created by Roadtrippers - December 30th 2020

R oute 66 might be known as America's Mother Road, but U.S. Route 20 is called "Big Daddy" for good reason. It's the longest road in the U.S., stretching from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. A mega road trip along this epic route will take you through 12 states and across 3,365 miles.

Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site

Start off by admiring the singular beauty of the Pacific Coast at Newport's Yaquina Bay. Oregon's wild beaches, with their seastacks and tidepools, are unlike anything anywhere else in the country. Then, bid adieu to the shore—for now—and prepare yourself to drive right through the beating heart of the U.S.

Salt Creek Falls

Oakridge, OR

Looking to enjoy one of Oregon's tallest waterfalls? Since the location is about 75 miles off the highway once you exit US-20, it is a bit of a drive. However, Salt Creek Falls is worth the trek to gaze at the awe-inspiring beauty.

1 Deschutes Brewery and Public House

After hours of driving, a pint at Deschutes Brewery and Public House will be well deserved. This brewpub in Bend also serves mouthwatering, sophisticated grub. On tap you'll find Deschutes staples like the Black Butte Porter and the Nitro Obsidian Stout, alongside limited releases brewed in house.

2 Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

As you make your way through Idaho, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is one great place to see how the rocky landscape hides ancient remains. The fossil bed has been an important archaeological site since the 1920s, and it still produces thousands of fossils and shards a year. Learn about intriguing animals like massive ground sloths, saber-tooth cats, and mastodons, which are now extinct but once called Idaho home. The visitor center has great information on the site's history and finds.

3 Idaho Potato Museum & Gifts

You can't drive through Idaho without paying tribute to the state's most famous product. At the Idaho Potato Museum, you'll learn everything you never knew about the root veggie, including its history and various potato-related anecdotes. See a collection of potato peelers and antique farming equipment, as you learn about the potato's role in Idaho's culture. Don't miss a photo with the giant potato statue out front. Grab some fries and the "free taters for out-of-staters" before you head back to the highway.

4 Yellowstone National Park

US-20 passes through West Yellowstone in Montana. You can't miss the chance to stop by the U.S.'s first—and, arguably, most fascinating—national park. Yellowstone is a hotbed of geothermal activity, with geysers, colorful hot springs, bubbling mudpots, and more. If you don't have time to wait for Old Faithful to blow or to hike around the Grand Prismatic Spring, take a scenic drive to spot bison and make a stop at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which features a massive waterfall.

5 National Historic Trails Interpretive Center

Wyoming is also known for its pioneer past. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is a fascinating look back at life on the prairie in the late 1800s. Hands-on, interactive exhibits keep kids engaged while adults browse the collection of artifacts. The story of Western Expansion is also told through performance and videos. You won't just learn about what life was like in a wagon or on a homestead, you'll get insight into wildlife, native cultures, and natural history, as well.

Stop to appreciate the unique roadside kitsch known as Carhenge. In addition to the collection of weird car art —think graffiti cars and a station wagon made to look like a Conestoga wagon—the crown jewel of the place is the Stonehenge homage made entirely of cars. Set in the rough Badlands scenery, there's actually a lot to see here, making it well worth the stop.

7 Ashfall State Historical Park

Imagine what the landscape of what is now Nebraska looked like millions of years ago—12 million years, to be precise. Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park features a fascinating array of ancient remains. The bones of various prehistoric creatures can be seen here. Walk through the fossil beds, learn about paleontology, and see a dig in action. The site is quite scenic as well, so you may spend an hour or two exploring here.

8 Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Sioux City provides a free, in-depth look at the story of Lewis and Clark, following their trials and tribulations as they became the first Westerners to cross the continent. After your tour, you'll be thankful that your cross-country road trip is a bit easier than theirs.

9 Field of Dreams Movie Site

Once you reach Iowa, you'll see a lot of cornfields, but there's one in particular to visit: The one with the baseball diamond from the 1989 film Field of Dreams . Tour the farmhouse, or watch a game.

10 Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio

As you make your way through the ever-changing landscapes, pay tribute to the man who was so inspired by them that he changed architecture forever: Frank Lloyd Wright. His Oak Park Home and Studio is a great way to learn about his formative years and to get a peek into how he worked. This "architectural laboratory" is where he and his team designed over 100 buildings, including some of his most famous works, like the Robie House and the Unity Temple.

11 Michael Jackson's House

The home of another American icon is not too far away. The house where pop star Michael Jackson and his siblings were raised is in the tiny town of Gary, Indiana. The house is fenced off, but you can admire the tributes and memorials placed around it from afar.

12 RV & Motorhome Hall of Fame

Continuing through Indiana, you can make a stop at the RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame in Elkhart. Even if you've never stepped foot in an RV before, the retro vehicles are absolutely fascinating.

13 Cedar Point Amusement Park

Spare a day of travel to spend some time at Cedar Point Amusement Park, which is considered one of the best parks in the U.S. for roller coaster fans. The sheer number of rides and attractions here will keep kids and adults of all ages enthralled for hours. It can be somewhat pricey, between the tickets and the cost of food, but you can save money by packing a picnic and buying tickets online in advance.

14 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

US-20 makes its way through Cleveland, where you can jam out at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The collection of artifacts is absolutely legendary, including items like Lady Gaga's meat dress, Elvis's car, Michael Jackson's famous glove, and Joey Ramone's leather jacket. The list of iconic objects on display is almost endless. Even if you're not a rock fan, the amount of history here is venerable and well displayed.

15 Johnson Estate Winery

As you make your way into western New York, you'll be in prime wine country. Johnson Estate Winery is a quiet slice of heaven, with rolling green hills and a cozy tasting room, where six samples of wine will only set you back a few dollars. The winery offers a huge variety, from pinot noirs and merlots to rieslings and chardonnays to ice wines, ports, and sherries. For a real taste of the region, try one of the light blush wines.

16 Jell-O Gallery Museum

If you're into attractions that are as interesting as they are quirky, the Jell-O Gallery Museum is a must-visit. Old recipes, Jell-O molds, ads, and more tell the surprising history of this retro snack. Don't forget to grab a box of Jell-O in the gift shop.

17 Harriet Tubman Home

Learn about the incredible history of the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad with a visit to Harriet Tubman's home. Pay tribute to Tubman, who, as an escaped slave, risked her life going back to rescue other slaves. The site has four buildings across 25 bucolic acres.

18 Baseball Hall of Fame

Celebrate a favorite U.S. past time at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Exhibits detailing the long and storied history of the distinctly American sport, from the anything-goes early days to the Negro Leagues to today's greats. You'll leave with a new appreciation for the sport.

Summer is a great time for a trip along US-20. The weather might get hot, and some spots—like Yellowstone—might get crowded, but many roads and attractions close during the winter due to the northern nature of this route. Spring and fall provide mild weather, which is always nice, but plan for variable conditions, including rain. It will take you at least a few weeks to fully appreciate everything offered along US-20, so leave yourself plenty of time—and just enjoy the ride.

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It Takes This Long To Drive North America's Longest Highway

This is the longest national highway in the Western Hemisphere and anyone would enjoy driving it for its stunning sceneries.

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Trans-canada highway - the longest in the americas, driving the trans-canada highway, how long to drive the trans canada highway.

The longest national highway in the Western Hemisphere is the Trans-Canada Highway. The highway goes all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and is the ultimate Canadian road trip. For a much smaller Canadian road trip, consider just visiting the Canadian Pacific Northwest.

If one is looking for even more extreme road trips around the world, then Australia's Highway 1 is the longest national highway in the world - the highway circumvents the country. But the longest "motorable" road in the world is the Pan American Highway which runs all the way from Alaska to the southern end of Argentina.

The main route of the Trans-Canada Highway travels through nine of ten of Canada's provinces (but not its territories). It connects most of the country's major cities including Quebec City, Fredericton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Montreal.

The main route stretches from St. John's in Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean and runs all the way to Victoria in British Columbia on the Pacific Ocean. The highway system is signed by the distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers.

There are a number of other routes that make up the Trans Canada Highway system, but this article is mostly concerned with the main route and not the spurs. Over the years, a number of multiple alternative routes have been added to the main route (Yellowhead Highway being the largest). Other major offshoots include Highway 17 in Ontario and the Confederation Bridge that connects the tenth province - Prince Edward Island.

• Beginning And End: The Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
• Beginning Cities: St. Johns and Victoria
• Main Route Length: 7,476 km (4,645 mi)
• Full Length: 12,800 km (7,950 mi)

In all the Trans-Canada Highway is considered the fourth-longest highway in the world and the second-longest national highway (after Highway 1 in Australia). While the main route is 7,821 kilometers long, with the spurs and alternative routes it is some 12,800 kilometers.

Related: Nova Scotia To Ontario: Guide To This Three-Day Road Trip

Driving the Trans-Canada Highway is likely to be easier than driving Australia's Highway 1. That is because vast distances of Australia's Highway 1 are extremely remote and don't really connect large population centers in the country. The drive from Darwin to Perth is likely to be a very lonely road. But the Trans-Canada Highway connects most of the major cities of Canada and follows the most populated parts of the country.

The climatic challenges are the opposite of Highway 1 in Australia. Australia's roads can be exceptionally hot (so take plenty of water), but parts of Canada's highways can become very hazardous in the winter during blizzards. In the Prairies, one can plan for around 12-14 hours of daylight in the summer but only around 6 hours in the depth of winter.

If one would like to drive the Trans-Canada Highway, then drive it in the spring or summer.

• When To Go: Spring Or Summer

Driving the Trans-Canada Highway is a rewarding experience. One will see much of Canada's diverse landscapes and scenery. See everything from the stunning rolling hills of the Maritimes to the Canadian Shield to the vast prairie provinces to the majestic Rockies of British Colombia.

Along the route, one will see some of the best of Canada's national parks and an innumerable number of Tim Horton's.

• Note: The 401 is not part of the Trans Canada Highway

Related: Vancouver To Calgary: One-Week Road Trip Guide

Canada is a big country - a huge one and only Russia is larger. Canada has a slight each over the United States and China in geographic size. To drive all the way across Canada takes determination and a lot of time.

How long it takes to drive the Trans Canada Highway depends on which route one takes (if one just drives the main route or also some of the spurs) and how long one is willing to spend driving each day.

Driving from Newfoundland's St John's to BC's Victoria it takes around 20 days. It takes around 100 hours of pure driving time to travel the whole Trans Canada Highway

Time To Travel The Trans Canada Highway:

• Pure Driving Time: Around 100 Hours
• Time Needed: Around 3 Weeks (Average of 250 miles a day and Some Sightseeing)

If one is feeling more adventurous and if one could like to terminate one's trip on the Alaska border it would take around 23 days.

Pan-American Highway

• 1 Understand
• 4.3 By bike
• 6.1 Alaska, United States
• 6.3 United States (Lower 48)
• 7.1 Guatemala
• 7.2 El Salvador
• 7.3 Honduras
• 7.4 Nicaragua
• 7.5 Costa Rica
• 8.1 Colombia
• 8.2 Ecuador
• 8.3.1 Variant via Bolivia
• 8.5 Argentina
• 9 Stay safe

The Pan-American Highway is a series of routes that passes through Mexico , Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and Panama in North America, and Colombia , Ecuador , Peru , Chile and Argentina in South America. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest motorable road in the world. While the Pan-American Highway doesn't have a route through the U.S. and Canada , some people start in Alaska and drive/bike to Ushuaia , Argentina , the southernmost tip of South America . It is necessary to bypass the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia by ferry, however.

Understand [ edit ]

The Pan-American Highway is about 19,000 miles (30,000 km) long depending on the route you take. There are many options in the United States, Canada, and Mexico because of the large area and number of roads. Central America has only a few roads going north to south, with most of them - especially the Pan-American highway running along the Western (Pacific) shore.

Prepare [ edit ]

The Pan-American Highway passes through many diverse climates and ecological types, from dense jungles, to arid deserts, some of which are passable only during the dry season, and in many regions driving is occasionally hazardous.

Talk [ edit ]

Most of the route passes through Spanish-speaking countries and thus you should definitely make an effort to learn some Spanish. Not only will it be invaluable in case of any problems (and there will be problems on a long trip), but you will be much more able to get to know the locals and experience the culture of places you pass through and stay at.

Get around [ edit ]

There are several modes of travel that are used on the Pan-American Highway.

By bus [ edit ]

It is possible to use buses down all the way to Argentina from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska , except for the Darien Gap and along the Alaska Highway between Fort Nelson , British Columbia and Tok , Alaska . Buses are less frequent with limited availability in remote areas especially those in the far northern parts of Canada and Alaska; and in the far south such as the Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. They are more possible and frequent, connecting the more populated areas between Canada and Argentina. See By bus under Get around in a country or state/province article and under Get in in a city or town article for a list of available bus companies. It will require multiple transfers to travel the entire western hemisphere between north and south by bus. Except in the United States and Canada there are no trains to travel north and south along the entire western hemisphere.

By car [ edit ]

If you drive by personal vehicle, it is important to know that your vehicle must be shipped from Central to South America (or vice versa) in order to travel around the Darien Gap. While your vehicle is shipped, you can transport yourself by plane or boat. Driving the Pan-American Highway is certainly possible, and many travelers complete the overland journey from North America to South America (or vice versa) each year.

By bike [ edit ]

While most of the territory the highway passes through cannot be considered "bike-friendly" by any stretch of the imagination, every year countless people do successfully travel all or part of the route by bike. Knowing how to fix minor defects is essential if you want to attempt the whole route on your own as help is often not forthcoming on rural stretches of the highway. A firm grasp of local languages (particularly Spanish) is another thing to consider.

Route [ edit ]

Because the route of the Pan-American Highway essentially consists of a number of other famous driving routes (such as the Alaska Highway and the Inter-American Highway) in succession, more detailed planning should be done by researching each of those sections. Furthermore there are numerous alternative routes possible. Here we can only give a summary with links to more details about various subsection of the route where it's named or defined as the "Pan-American Highway" or "Inter-American Highway" from north to south.

North America [ edit ]

The original Inter-American (Pan-American) Highway begins in Yaviza, Panama and goes up north through Central America and Mexico and ends at the US border in Laredo, Texas. From the north it begins from Purdhoe Bay on the Arctic Coast and follows the Dalton Highway, south to Fairbanks, AK and southeast to Dawson Creek, BC on the Alaska Highway. Between the end of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek and Mexico City (where the Interamerican Highway splits into multiple branches) there are multiple routes one can take to reach northern Mexico, through the United States and Canada, from one end to the other. The Pan-American Highway is loosely defined with multiple interstate highways as the "Pan-American Highway" in the United States and undefined in Canada. The below are the most direct and popular routes between Dawson Creek and Mexico City:

Alaska, United States [ edit ]

Canada [ edit ].

In Canada, no particular roads have been designated as the Pan-American Highway. The National Highway System, which includes but is not limited to the Trans-Canada Highway, is the country's only designated inter-provincial highway system. However, several Canadian highways are a natural extension of several key American highways that reach the Canada–US border:

• Through British Columbia

Traveling along the Alaska Highway you can go south on BC 37 to Trans-Canada Hwy 16 from Watson Lake and go east towards Prince George on Trans-Canada Hwy 16 or continue on the Alaska Highway (BC-Hwy 97) through Dawson Creek to Prince George. The Pan-American Highway would continue east into Alberta along BC-Hwy 2 from Dawson Creek . But, some travelers may continue south on BC-Hwy 97 towards Vancouver or Osoyoos Lake, through Prince George and Cache Creek , as a more direct route into the "Lower 48" from the Alaska Highway:

• Through Alberta

The routes through Alberta have been designated as part of the CANAMEX Corridor established under the North American Free Trade Agreement as a series of improvements to the transportation infrastructure, including highways to link Canada to Mexico through the United States as follows:

• Through Manitoba
• Through Ontario
• Variant via Saskatchewan

United States (Lower 48) [ edit ]

In 1966, the US Federal Highway Administration designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the "Pan-American Highway System", but this has not been expressed in any of the interstate signage. Of the many freeways that make up this very comprehensive system, several are notable because of their mainly north-south orientation and their links to the main Mexican route and its spurs, as well as to key routes in Canada that link to the Alaska Highway:

There are additional spur routes from Mexico to the Canadian border, through the United States:

The following are east-west highways that connect the north-south spur routes to each other. Interstate 90/94 connect along the north while Interstate 80 serves as the middle tier and Interstate 10 along the southern tier. Interstate highways going north & south are odd numbered while the east & west highways are even numbered:

Mexico [ edit ]

The Pan-American Highway is also the "Inter-American" which is well defined and often also well signed in Mexico as it is through Central and South America. It runs from the US border in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas to the Guatemalan border in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, Chiapas; through Mexico City which consists of:

Additional branches of the Pan-American Highway from Mexico City, through Northern Mexico , to the US border as follows:

Central America [ edit ]

The Pan-American Highway is well defined through Central America and runs continuously from the Mexican border at La Mesilla, Guatemala to Yaviza, Panama in the Darien Gap as a singular route. In most countries it is numbered as "CA-1" or "Hwy 1" which passes through the major cities in the heavily populated areas of the Central American isthmus. Like the roads in North America (see above) there are numerous other highways not defined as the "Pan-American Highway" (Carretera Panamericana) one can travel on to get across the Central American isthmus from the Mexican border to the Darien Gap.

Guatemala [ edit ]

• Huehuetenango is the largest city and capital of the department of the same name. It serves as a major city and trading center for the Western Highlands and as the first stop if entering from Mexico.
• Cuatro Caminos is a busy intersection with RN-1 which leads into Quetzaltenango (Xela) in one direction and up the hill to Santa Cruz de Quiche in the other. This intersection is 16 km NE of Quetzaltenango.
• Los Encuentros is where the road to Chichicastenango (RN-15) intersects the Pan-American Highway. The turn-off towards Solola and Panajachel (RN-1) is another 3.3 km west of Los Encuentros.
• Chimaltenango is a town 50 km west of Guatemala City. It is also where the main highway (Hwy 14) to Antigua Guatemala begins for traffic from the Western Highlands .
• Jct CA-10 to Antigua is 20 km west of Guatemala City, east of town of San Bartalome Milpas Altas.
• Guatemala City is in the department (territorial division) of Guatemala, and it's the capital of the country. All the main highways start at Kilómetro 0, inside Palacio Nacional de la Cultura (National Palace), in Centro Histórico (Historic Center).
• San José de Barberena

El Salvador [ edit ]

• Candelaria de la Frontera/San Cristobal
• Santa Ana is the second largest city of El Salvador and a very important one in terms of agriculture and coffee production (coffee plantations - called fincas - cover much of the land outside town and up the hills) in Western El Salvador .
• Santa Tecla
• San Salvador is the capital city of El Salvador, approximately in the center of the country in a valley near the base of the San Salvador volcano. The city has a long history, with origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Pipil tribes.
• Cojutepeque
• San Vicente
• San Miguel is the third largest city in El Salvador and center of agriculture and production of Eastern El Salvador . It is less cosmopolitan than the capital San Salvador in the West but the surrounding areas of San Miguel are very beautiful with many beaches around the city.

Honduras [ edit ]

RN-1 passes through the south/southeastern part of Honduras from its border with El Salvador in El Amatillo, through Choluteca, and into Nicaragua at El Espino. The highway goes through:

• El Amatillo
• Jicaro Galan a town 40 km east of El Amatillo border crossing and 12 km north of San Lorenzo at the junction with RN-5 . From here travelers can go north towards Tegucigalpa on RN-5 .
• San Lorenzo
• San Marcos de Colon

Nicaragua [ edit ]

• Managua — the capital and principal city of Nicaragua

Costa Rica [ edit ]

• Peñas Blancas
• Paso Canoas

Panama [ edit ]

• David serves as a major city, transport hub and trading center for the Pacific West Region such as Boquete , Boca Chica , Volcano , hot springs and many other places. It is the first major city from the Costa Rican border at Paso Canoas.
• Santiago de Veraguas
• Goes over the entrance into the Panama Canal from the Pacific on the Puente Centenario
• Balboa is separated from Panama City by the Cerro Ancon (Ancon Hill), one of Panama City's skyline landmarks.
• Panama City is the capital of Panama. Sitting on the Pacific end of the Panama canal it has long been a point of transit for travelers and freight and these days Tocumen Airport has become the busiest in Central America and one of Latin America's most important transfer hubs. This is where travelers make arrangements to ship their vehicle(s) to Guayaquil , Ecuador from Panama City via the Pacific or to Cartagena , Colombia from Colon via the Caribbean. After shipping the car (or traveling without a car) one can fly or sail to South America to continue the Pan-American journey. Therefore, Panama City would be the end of the road for many coming from North America or where the road picks up again for going north from South America.
• Yaviza in the Darien Gap is where the road itself from North America ends or begins in.
• Puerto Obaldía is not on the Pan-American Highway but it is a remote place where travelers go through to get across the Brazo Leon Rio Atrato Bay to Turbo , Colombia via Capurgana , Colombia. Travelers would still have to fly from Panama City to Puerto Obaldia as the village/town is not accessible by road.

South America [ edit ]

The Pan-American Highway officially begins in Turbo , Colombia (nearest to the Darien Gap) and winds its way down towards Santiago Chile through Colombia , Ecuador , Peru and Northern Chile . From approximately 80 km (50 Miles) north of Santiago the highway continues east towards Buenos Aires where it officially ends. Unofficially the route continues south along AR-RN 3 to Ushuaia , Tierra del Fuego in the southern tip of South America. Alternatively the traveler can continue south on the unofficial route from Santiago to Puerto Montt where it splits again to Quellon on Chiloé Island or to Villa O'Higgins along the Carretera Austral . Going north the Pan-American Highway splits in Medellin . One branch goes towards Turbo (nearest to Darien Gap) while the other continues north towards Cartagena as the principal port where the majority of travelers sail to and/or ship vehicles to Panama for the continuation of the Pan-American Highway through Central and North America.

Colombia [ edit ]

Ecuador [ edit ], peru [ edit ].

• Tacna is 37 km north of the Chilean border.
• The road (Carretera Interoceanica Sur PE-36A) to La Paz, Bolivia begins at its intersection with Carretera Panamericana Sur (PE-1S) south of Moquegua . Follow signs to Moquegua and then to Desaguadero (border town with Bolivia).
• Arequipa is a city in the Southern Coastal region of Peru just below the edge of the Altiplano, at 2,380 m (7,810 ft) above sea level and surrounded by three impressive volcanoes. It's Peru's second most important city (after Lima), and the second most popular among tourists (after Cusco).
• Nazca or Nasca is a town in Peru's Southern Coast region. It is most famous for the Nazca Lines, a collection of long lines, geometrical figures, and giant drawings in the desert sand that have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The road (Carretera Interoceanica PE-30A) going towards Abancay and Cusco begins in Vista Alegre, the next town south of Nazca.
• Pisco The road (Av Liberatador PE-28A) going towards Ayacucho and Cusco begins in San Clemente, the next town NE of Pisco.

Variant via Bolivia [ edit ]

Chile [ edit ].

Argentina [ edit ]

Stay safe [ edit ].

Try to avoid areas where cartels operate, particularly in the Mexican states south of Texas. Follow the advice for the areas you are planning to travel through.

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What Is the Longest Road Trip in America and How To Do It

• Date: July 18, 2022
• Time to read: 5 min.

A super incredible cross-country road trip is on many people’s bucket lists, make it more iconic by traveling America’s longest road. 

The longest road trip in America can be taken by traveling the US 20 from Massachusetts to Oregon. This is the longest single road in America, the trip will take you across 3,365 miles and through 12 states. The longest duration of a road trip according to Guinness began on October 18, 1984, and is still ongoing. 

Route 20 is a bucket-list road trip for sure and if you plan it right you can see the beautiful foliage in New England, enjoy Yellowstone National Park, and pick strawberries in Oregon and everything in between. 

This can be a trip of a lifetime so save up your vacation time because this trip will take 4-6 weeks. 

What is the longest road in America?

The longest road in America is the US Route 20. It is 3,365 miles long and stretches across 12 states. It begins in Boston, Massachusetts, and ends in Newport, Oregon. 

US Route 20 goes through:

Massachusetts 

New York Pennsylvania

US Route 20 will take you through the heart of Boston, Boise Idaho, Craters of the Moon National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.

The route will take you across the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, the Finger Lakes and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. You will pass by a lot of interesting landscapes including deserts, bluffs and escarpments. 

Keep reading for more really cool stops along Route 20. 

US Route 20 runs parallel to Interstate Highway 90 and the name US 20 does get confused at a few points along the drive, most notably around Yellowstone. 

How Long Does It Take to Drive Route 20?

As a general rule, a comfortable trip will cover no more than 2-300 miles a day and allow for 2 days of rest between each driving day. Using this formula the trip would take 40 days in each direction. 

When planning a more direct road trip across US Route 20 plan to spend at least 8 days driving each way. This is based on the maximum recommended 450 miles each day. 10-13 days would be a much more comfortable trip and much more realistic if you are traveling with kids or pets. 

If you have two drivers and you are trying to do the drive as fast as possible, you could cover the distance in 4 days with each driver driving 8 hours a day, but you wont be breaking any records. 

The fastest cross country road trip according to Guinness took 25 hours and 55 minutes, but that was not on Route 20. 

I have a large family with 4 young children. We are currently traveling and it is very difficult to cover more than 4-6 hours of driving or 250 miles each day. If I was planning this trip for my family I would plan 30-40 days, 15 driving days and 15-25 rest days. 

With two drivers, if we wanted to do it faster we could drive while the kids sleep as long as the adults were able to rest. 

This is a long trip, but a great one for seeing a large part of America. 

This trip goes through some really beautiful National Parks and through some major cities. 

I would plan to take this trip beginning in Mass in Summer. The temperatures will be favorable and you can enjoy all the beautiful local foods available. The average high temperature in Newport, Oregon in June, July, and August is in the low to mid 60s. 

This trip is likely to help you beat the heat. 

US Route 20 Road Trip

If I have convinced you to give a Route 20 road trip a try, here are my best tips. 

Tips for a US Rt 20 Road Trip:

• Go in the Summer

Divide the Trip Into Legs

Choose 3-4 major stops.

• Get a Hotel Loyalty Plan 

Be Flexible

Go in the summer.

Plan your trip in either Spring, Summer or Fall to avoid dangerous winter road conditions in the Northern United States. 

Driving in snow and ice is difficult even for experienced drivers, if the road conditions become poor, pull over. 

I spent my childhood visiting New England and it is magical in the Summer, so I recommend starting this trip in May, June or July. Many shops and attractions do not have air conditioning so when temperatures peak in July and August, you may want to be elsewhere. 

A road trip of over 3,000 miles can be a beast to plan. Make it easier by dividing the trip up into legs. 

Use this handy one page worksheet to make a simple plan for where you will stop on each leg. 

Since you know you will be driving about 250-400 miles a day, plan your legs to be about that long. 

You may find that you spend 3 days at one stop and just sleep and go at another stop. You do not have to make those decisions now. 

Choose a few attractions that you KNOW you will want to spend some time exploring. This trip includes:

Yellowstone National Park

The Idaho Potato Museum

Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

Cedar Park Amusement Park

Michael Jackson’s Home

Baseball Hall of Fame

Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden

Niagara Falls (off of 20, but close) 

Studebaker National Museum

RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame

Lincoln Zoo Park 

This list makes it easy to see why this trip can easily take a month or more! There is so much to see and selecting a few that you are very excited about will help you plan and budget for the trip. 

Get a Hotel Loyalty Plan

Road trips allow for a lot of flexibility, but if you are booking hotels ahead of time you will need to stay on a tighter schedule. 

One of the best ways to plan your hotel lodging is to choose a chain and join their loyalty plan. This will help you select stops and help cut down on the decision fatigue. 

Be sure to book your hotel by 2 pm in case you find you will need to travel to find a vacancy. There are a lot of really practical road trip hotel planning tips in the linked post. 

A long trip like this is sure to have a few bumps along the way. 

Be prepared to find alternate lodging, stop at an interesting attraction or skip the water park if it starts raining. 

Pack jackets and swimsuits and be ready for every possibility. 

I have a whole system for planning 1-3 month-long road trips with free printable worksheets and more detailed steps. Grab them in the linked post. 

Longest Car Trip without Stopping

There is another definition of the “Longest Road Trip” and that is the road trip that has been going on for the longest time. 

That award has gone to a Scottish couple who started their trip in September 1983. They have been traveling in the same Toyota Land Cruser for 13,707 days. This trip is still ongoing. 

The longest road trip in one country is a record currently held by an American couple who traveled over 29,000 miles and covered 39 states. 

They traveled for 103 days or 14 weeks. 

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Pan-American Highway is the longest road in the world

What’s the pan-american highway, how long is the pan-american highway, where does the pan-american highway start and end.

Can you really drive from Alaska to South America?

Is the pan-american highway safe.

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Where to Find the World's Longest Road

The Pan-American Highway covers 19,000 miles.

Steven Casale is a New York City-based freelance writer and digital strategist. He specializes in food, travel, and lifestyle content for publications like Tasting Table , Travel + Leisure , The Lineup , and amNY.com.

Bob Marley once sang that " life is one big road with lots of signs ." If he was singing about the biggest, he must've meant the Pan-American Highway.

Stretching from the frozen north of Alaska to the glacial tip of Argentina, the Pan-American Highway runs the most miles — or kilometers, if that's your thing — of any road on Earth.

Beginning in Prudhoe Bay , or Sagavanirktok in Inuit, where caribou wander through Arctic air, the Pan-American Highway heads south to its unofficial end in Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province.

However, the highway is not without its peculiarities. The Alaska Highway, which runs through Alaska and Canada, is the unofficial beginning of the Pan-American Highway. Once in the contiguous United States the entire Interstate Highway System is designated as part of the Pan-American Highway.

There are a couple of routes — Interstate 35 is the most popular — to take south toward Mexico and Central America, where the road is known as the Inter-American Highway.

By the time it reaches Panama, the highway is interrupted twice: by the Panama Canal, where vehicles can be ferried over, and by the Darién Gap, where vehicles dare not go.

The Darién Gap is a 60-mile stretch of swampland that straddles the border of Panama and Colombia. No road exists between Yaviza, Panama, and Turbo, Colombia, because construction has been deemed too expensive. There are also concerns that a highway running through the area would damage the environment and disturb indigenous peoples.

The highway then rolls through the jungles, mountains, and deserts of South America's Pacific coast. It passes through Ecuador, Peru, and Chile before turning east into Argentina. Once in Buenos Aires, the route unofficially continues south toward Argentina's end.

There it once again reaches an obstruction: the Magellan Strait, over which a ferry must be taken to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego . The second split takes motorists by boat across to Uruguay and continues up along Brazil's coast passing through cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro along Brazilian Highway 116.

The roughly 19,000 miles of the Pan-American highway represent the most extensive highway system on Earth, passing through every kind of terrain and a variety of cultures.

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The Pan-American Highway: the ultimate road trip

Jul 22, 2020 • 4 min read

Driving from Alaska to the tip of Argentina is the ultimate road trip ©Thiagofav/Getty Images

Ask your friends what their idea of a cool road trip is and you’ll get some great suggestions. South of France in summer in a convertible. Safari in Africa in a jeep. Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.

But you can laugh in the face of their puny routes by answering with the Mother of all Road Trips – the Pan-American Highway (PAH).  Traveling from the top of Alaska to the tip of Tierra del Fuego , this is the tire-testing, jawdropping, gas-guzzling  journey that will impress all your friends. 

History of the Pan-American Highway

In 1889 at the First International Conference of American States, the USA proposed closer links to its neighbors via a continent-spanning railroad. The idea never amounted to much but years later, at the Fifth International Conference held in Chile in 1923, a Pan-American Highway was proposed. This time the idea received a more enthusiastic response from the participating nations, though it wasn’t until the sixth conference, in Cuba in 1928, that the proposal was approved.

The suggestion was to have the highway start in Mexico and run south to Buenos Aires , and it was the financial support from the United States that was key to its development, even though the US didn’t have an official part of the PAH running through it.

Creating the PAH was a slow process, with war, money and lack of governmental cooperation providing constant issues, but it’s now possible to travel the length of the Americas (more or less) by car.

First off, there is no one route. The original and only official section of highway runs from Laredo in northern Mexico to the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, but there are many branches that allow you to cover the full Arctic to almost Antarctic distance, adding up to a whopping 30,000 miles/48,000km in total.

North America

Prudhoe Bay in Alaska is the starting point if you’re heading north–south. From here, the PAH continues into Canada where a few different routes head further south into the United States.

It’s here that things get a little confusing as the US federal government has declared ALL interstate roads to be part of the Pan-American Highway. On our map, we’ve chosen the best north–south freeways that link up with the main and official PAH in Mexico, passing through spectacular landscapes, cute small towns and famous cities like Los Angeles , Las Vegas and San Diego on the way.

The original Pan-American Highway begins in Laredo, Mexico , just across the border from San Antonio in Texas, and continues to Mexico City . A separate route runs down Mexico’s western coastline before joining up with the original road in Mexico City.

Central America

From Mexico the PAH passes through every Central American capital, except Honduras’ Tegucigalpa (though it passes just 60 miles/100km south of it), before it hits the only section that can’t be traveled by car – the Darien Gap , an area of mountains and jungle about 50 miles/80km long, lying between Panama and Colombia.

Environmental concerns and the opposition of local people have consistently put a stop to any road building in the area, meaning that this stretch can only be covered by plane, with your vehicle traveling separately in a shipping container. Crossing the region by bike or on foot is not advisable because of the difficult terrain and possibility of dangerous smuggler gangs.

South America

The PAH picks up again in Turbo, Colombia before continuing south, following the western side of South America through Ecuador (including the capital Quito ) and Peru (including the capital Lima ) and on into Chile . Here a branch makes its way to Quellón while the main route heads to Argentina and Buenos Aires .

Another branch then diverges to Uruguay and north into Brazil , passing through São Paolo on the way to Rio , while those determined to get to the southernmost point of the PAH head in the opposite direction to Patagonia’s mind-blowing natural beauty and the road’s final destination, Ushuaia on the main island of Tierra del Fuego , at the bottom of the planet.

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9 expert tips for a safe road trip during the pandemic    Canada's 10 best road trips    Is a camper vacation right for you?   

Article first published in February 2015, and last updated in July 2020.

This article was first published Feb 27, 2015 and updated Jul 22, 2020.

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8 of North America's Loneliest Roads

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You may think you like spending time alone now, but when you embark on a journey down one of North America's loneliest roads, you could find yourself desperate for the sight of another soul. These remote routes stretch for hundreds of miles through barren territory, sometimes not offering as much as a gas station for hours. They challenge drivers to maintain focus and navigate inherently harsh terrain, be it Arctic ice, steep mountains, or scorching deserts. Some are even off limits to all vehicles that don't have four-wheel drive.

If you're up for the challenge, then fill up the tank and head out on one of these eight lonely roads. (And don't expect to have cell service.)

U.S. Route 50, Nevada

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U.S. Route 50 runs about 400 miles from Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California, but a certain 287-mile stretch was dubbed the "loneliest road in America" by LIFE in 1986. The transcontinental highway's most desolate section traverses the vast desert valleys and basins of central Nevada, crossing 17 mountain passes along the way. Parched land is about all for sightseeing besides a handful of gas stations and small stores sporting kitschy “I survived Route 50” signs.

Carson City — the western entrance to this barren stretch — sells Highway 50 Survival Guides that include tourist attractions and historically significant stops along this iconic route, formerly used for the 19th-century Pony Express. According to Travel Nevada , national parks, ghost towns, old mining communities, and a handful of saloons are included.

Dalton Highway, Alaska

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Alaska's 414-mile Dalton Highway runs through some of the state's most remote wilderness from Livengood to Prudhoe Bay. It passes by only three small towns (Coldfoot, Wiseman, and Deadhorse), and for the last 240 miles of the drive, there are no gas stations, restaurants, or any kind of services.

As was shown on the History Channel series "Ice Road Truckers," this lonely haul route is also treacherous — not least for a semi-trailer. Part gravel, part dirt, Dalton Highway is tremendously steep (10% to 12% grades), sometimes muddy or icy, and prone to tire-flatting potholes and washboard. In the winter, temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded. Rental cars are not allowed on this stretch of road, which was originally an access road for construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that now lines the Dalton Highway.

South Point Road, Hawaii

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As its name suggests, Hawaii's South Point Road will actually take you to the southernmost point not only of the Hawaiian Islands, but of the entire U.S . Located on the Big Island, the route starts off as a two-lane, paved road before narrowing to one lane and becoming more rugged. Though lonely, the scenery is gorgeous, featuring macadamia nut groves, pasture land with grazing cows, a Mauna Loa lava flow, and the Kamoa Wind Farm.

The Hawaiian name for South Point is Ka Lae. At the end of the road, people can park and walk to the edge of the cliff to the true Ka Lae.

Trans-Taiga Road, Quebec

The Trans-Taiga Road in Quebec is an extremely remote gravel road that travels about 460 miles between Brisay and Caniapiscau with no towns or settlements, though there are a few spots that offer food, fuel, and places to sleep. This road has at least two superlatives to its name: One end of it is reportedly the farthest you can get from a town on any road in North America, and another point is the farthest north you can travel on a road in Eastern Canada.

The scenery, however, is rewarding. Travelers cruise by spruce and jack pine forests, bogs, rocks (watch out for big ones in the road), and low-lying hills.

Interstate 70, Utah

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The 110-mile portion of Interstate 70 that winds through Utah is the longest stretch of road in the U.S. interstate highway system without motorist services. There are no gas stations, no bathrooms, and no exits. Between the towns of Salina and Green River, there isn't even as much as a legal way to turn around.

Ample billboards warn motorists coming from the west of the long, barren stretch ahead, but the signage in Green River, on the eastern side, isn't as prominent. The service stations on either side sell dozens of gas containers per week to folks who have depleted their tanks on I-70.

The highway's one redeeming quality is its views. Surrounded by otherworldly landscapes of fiery sandstone, this portion of the road doubles as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, one of the few U.S. interstate highways to be listed as a National Scenic Byway .

Highway 104, New Mexico

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New Mexico's Highway 104 runs 110 miles west from Tucumcari to the town of Las Vegas (not Nevada), traversing red rock mesas and vast sagebrush-covered plains along the way. It's been called "the loneliest road in New Mexico" due to its lack of traffic and minimal services. There are a few small towns along the route, including Trementina, Trujillo, and Alta Vista.

Despite its remoteness, some travel this road specifically for the scenery. Highway 104 offers spectacular views as it climbs Corazon Hill, crosses rolling llanos, and runs alongside steep plateaus.

Highway 160, Arizona

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Though it's quiet, offering little in the way of populated stops, the Arizona section of Highway 160 — stretching about 160 miles between U.S. 89 in Cameron and the Four Corners — is packed with cultural and historical relevance. The route travels through Navajo Nation, the largest land area retained by an indigenous tribe in the U.S., and alongside supposed dinosaur tracks before leading travelers into Utah's Monument Valley. Two small towns, Tuba City and Kayenta, provide food and fuel.

Trans-Labrador Highway, Newfoundland and Labrador

Though it's the primary public road in Labrador, this region of Canada is extremely isolated, located just a few degrees south of the Arctic Circle. Along its some 700 miles long — stretching from Newfoundland and Labrador's border with Quebec, following the curve of the East Coast, and ending at Blanc-Sablon in Quebec — drivers will encounter long patches of gravel, steep grades, narrow bridges, and not many other people. It does pass through a few towns, such as Labrador City and Goose Bay, but the region is overall quite undeveloped. Drivers must prepare for freak storms and no cell service.

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