TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO: 01:40 - How The Hippie Van Man planned and prepared for the Pan-American Highway 05:25 - How long do you need to tackle the PanAm? 07:25 - What advice do you have for planning and preparation? 09:25 - Do you need to speak Spanish for Latin America travel? 11:00 - Where do you sleep and use the restroom on the Pan American Highway? 15:28 - How much does it cost and how much is gasoline? 18:13 - What do you do when you need to leave your vehicle to go home? 20:40 - How were the international border crossings? 21:40 - Do you need vehicle insurance and how much is a policy? 24:45 - How do you deal with mechanical disasters and maintenance? 28:20 - CROSSING THE DARIEN GAP (and shipping vehicle experiences) 35:35 - Can you work whilst traveling the Pan American Highway? (and WIFI availability discussed) 41:10 - How do you travel the PanAmerican highway when you don't have time? 42:55 - Staying safe in Latin America 44:10 - Where do you get drinkable water? 46:45 - What if you get sick on the road? 48:47 - How does the PanAm compare in the US & Canada? 50:40 - Do you need a 4WD vehicle? 53:15 - The most common travelers on the Pan Am are... 54:50 - More thoughts on safety USEFUL: A complete guide to adventuring in a vehicle kombilife.com/van-life-book/
A dated story but I hitched from Mexico city to Vangroovy in !990. Met nothing but absolute kindness and generosity in Mexico. A part of my heart will always be there. Mexico may amora.
Thanks for calling Americans out to make this trip, your right we do spend our life's working for someone else while already living on the hwy so easily close to an amazing adventure. I'm one of them that should just dive in! Very inspiring vid Ben!
Hey Ben! Whenever my country settles, you're very welcome to come and experience all the things we have to offer. I live in Venezuela by the way. Such a fan! Happy travels!
Well filmed H.A The mellow conversation accompanied with the drone shots showing the landscape was engaging. I think a job in film could be in your future. Coo oo coo coo oo coo coo cooooo. to Aaron. Hopefully he's old enough to get that. Something a canuck would recognize.Safe travels.
Hippie Van Mans ride reminds me of the jeepney's i use to ride in the Philippines. very festive and colorful. were i to do a van trip it would be in a jeepney, they are all full on desile engines and can run on used vegtable oil. so my gas stations would be like a fast food store. hahaha ' for now im just using a bumper pull
Crossing the Darien Gap: We did it with a sailing boat and spent 300 Dollars each. Was in 2012. I would recommend to everyone because you get a lot for it. San Blas Islands are absolutely stunning! The seas were not very rough at that time but I guess that depends on the season. The 300 Dollar included the transfer from Panama City to the boat, the whole trip including food, accomodation and nearly everything else, so it really wasn´t expensive. Was definitively one of the best things I have ever done so far! And by the way we had a very nice crew of ten people on board which some of them we still keep contact.
WOW that was a bargain! I spent $192 going overland and island hoping through the San Blas. It wasn't comfortable and nowhere near a luxurious as the sailing option. Thanks very much for sharing your experience
This is great, and you two are legends! I've been watching you for the last year now and your adventures have inspired me to do it myself. I am leaving south around the first of next month for a trip to Chile in a van via the panamerican highway. We are starting off in Baja before crossing to the mainland and continuing south. I want to thank you for sharing your adventures. #vanlife #lokigen
I did the same thing, I can't watch the news anymore, would much rather watch inspiring and interesting shows while I am getting chores done around the house.
I enjoyed hearing your comments and suggestions. I however would not be patient enough to deal with the excessive bureaucracy of all the border crossings. If you two ever plan to be accompanying guides on such a long journey I would want in. It is the vacation of a lifetime in my eyes.
Congratulations, what a wonderful job / trip the one you have done. Driving though the PanAm has been a dream that I haven´t been able to accomplish YET for different reasons (studies, jobs, kids, etc) but I will do it (I´m working on it) before I turn the 50's. Your adventure and videos has been very motivating to me, thanks so much for sharing it with all of us. Saludos desde Santiago de Chile... the land of Capita.
went straight from the thinking about it to doing it skipped the planning stage currently on month 3 my question is how do you find time to edit the videos and post them I'm having too much fun
Thank you Kombi Life crew ! You've inspired me to do it, it's on ! Got your book and doing my homework for the next 3-6 months. I'm hoping to finish all preparation (van conversion) before the winter, from Montreal to Ushuaia !
I've been with you guys for a long time now and first wanted to say that I love your videos, truly inspiring! I agree that we would all love to see your journeys continue an possible take you to places like Europe, New Zealand, etc. A couple of questions I'd like to pose not only to your other adventure experts, but also to you, is this: do you see your lifestyle as sustainable from an economic and/or longevity standpoint? What are your long term plans, and how does traveling affect those plans as you become older, and think about tiresome things like retirement?
Totally sustainable, you just need to find a source of income. For me it's building websites, so essentially I need to find wifi in order to keep the funds coming in. Ben supports himself via his videos. We have both met numerous vanlifers sustaining themselve financially including selling goods, finding various types of contract work, etc. I wrote a post about this topic here hippievanman.com/faq-how-to-financially-sustain-yourself-while-you-travel/ Long term plans?? Too busy living in the moment :P haha.. In all seriousness I have a steady source of income and I'm enjoying the path that I'm on so I'm not too worried about the future any more than I would be if I was settled in one place. Whether or not I will continue this nomadic lifestyle years from now I'm not sure. Settling down somewhere is always an option and I'm sure I will eventually find a place and time where it's right for me. As for retirement, I think Tim Ferris sums it up well; "Retirement planning is like life insurance. It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario: in this case, becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservoir of capital to survive. Retirement as a goal or final redemption is flawed for at least three solid reasons: a. It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life. This is a nonstarter- nothing can justify the sacrifice. b. Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a hotdogs for dinner standard of living. Even one million is chump change in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year. The math doesn’t work. The golden years become lower middle-class life revisited. That’s a bittersweet ending. c. If the math does work, it means that you are one ambitious, hardworking machine. If that is the case, guess what? One week into retirement, you’ll be so damn bored that you’ll want to stick bicycle spokes in your eyes. You’ll probably opt to look for a new job or start another company. Kinda defeats the purpose of waiting, doesn’t it?" Through caution to the wind and go for it! Step one - figure out how you're going to generate income to sustain yourself. Best of luck :)
in latin america you can buy a water heater that looks a bit bigger than paint stirrer but it is metal with a coating. you plug it in and put the metal thing in your water. In a few minutes you have hot water. They sell them for about 5 dollars at most hardware stores.
Americans dont often leave the US for vacation for several reasons. One reason is how little vacation time people in the US get/take. Another is that we can see most types of landscapes without leaving the 50 states. And while we cant experience as many cultures as you would on the Pan-American, there are many different cultures within the 50 states of this nation to experience, and when you throw in the US territories there are even more. The combination of those things means most Americans dont even have a passport.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Exactly What I was looking for. This video helped me a LOT! I'm out of my dreaming phase and currently in the planning phase and what better time to watch this video than now? Thank you for all your effort of filming, editing and uploading!
you're welcome. This video is never going to go viral, but we know that it would help a few people a lot, so we made it anyway, just for people like you Reeewaj :)
Related to the subject of the video: Recommendations. I will definitively recommend you to learn at least basic things about the language of the place you are traveling to. Not only at the Panamericana highway, but everywhere. It will be very useful to you at the approach of the people of the country and their culture. You will find nice friends and locals to hang around and discover places and things that it will be very hard to you to find out by yourself. And you may have more fun too!! Here in China is like that, if you don't speak at least the basics of mandarin chinese, you will be ripped off when you try to buy something (specially in Beijing and Shanghai) or taking any transport or even going to eat somewhere in the street. For westerns the difference is not high if you get ripped off for a few euros or dollars, but it mean a lot when you are doing long trips with a low budget, and if you pay extra everywhere you go just because you don't speak the language, you will be out of money sooner. Another good advice that I will give you, is that if you are going for a long term travel to places where Malaria is endemic, take really care of the mosquitos, use repellent and mosquito nets, but also antimalarial pills. It is not a joke, if you like to enjoy the countryside, the forests and the nature, and you don't pay attemption to this, there is huge chances to get sick. Common malaria can be treated relatively easy and you won't die (you will if you don't get tratment), but cerebral malaria is a serious sickness, you may die in a few days suffering a lot. It is better if you take antimalarial pills (store them properly, if you don't do that they won't be as effective). Also take care of what you drink, locals can drink water almost everywhere and don't get stomach or belly sick because they are used to that water since they were kids. But definitively, if you do that, you will be shitting out water for days for sure, and in hot and humid climates there is a lot of possibilities of suffering dehidratation if you are loosing liquids by your ass all the time. And obviously it is not very comfortable feeling like if you had a katana stuck inside you because you drink water that you shouldn't. About safety and all that stuff, I think that you must have common sense to know what is safe and not safe to do anywhere and anytime. Everywhere in the world you can be putted in situations of risk, from Europe, to the states, to Canada, to Latin america, to Africa to Asia or to Australia, if you don't have that common sense to avoid the problems. Everywhere in this places you will find bad people, but something that I have found around my travels, is that if you have any problem, you might be helped more easily by someone in a non-western country that in a western one (Europe, US,Canada, England...). So don't be scare. Travel around the world, know how the people live, their culture and interests. For sure you are going to find real treasures in your way, people that by their kind soul, their way of treating you like an equal, how they see the life, may enrich the perception that you have of the world and change the moral values that the western culture taught you since you were a child. PEACE TO EVERYONE. Specially to you Ben and Leah. And to the lovely Alaska, of course!! She make me remind our lovely dog called Django. He is with my parents in law at our homeland, because coming here with him would have been really hard specially for him due the quarantine at chinese customs and all that stuff.
Your welcome guys! Maybe someday our paths will cross and we might have some nice chat with some beers (and maybe some good mota, at least for me) about our experiences in the road... Good vibes and safe travels!!! Cheers!
Great Interview. Very useful information. I follow you Ben since the beginning and what you do with your life is incredible. Like Konstantinos Kabafis said, Life is a journey, a trip like the "Odyssey" of Ulises. And when it comes to the end, to Itaca, you would find the city poor like Ulises did, but you must be rich in adventures and things learned through the way!! From what I´ve seen right now, you are a very rich person in that aspect, that I personally think is the most important of the life. Warm regards from the frozen northernmost Heilongjiang province of China at the Russian border!!
Inspiring. Thank you. I'd like to know about documentation relating to doing it with a dog? And did Alaska need any shots and proof thereof. Thanks again.
Just started watching your videos and find them inspiring. Why go there with Politics? Im an American, I would never speak poorly about your leaders. There are hard working, generous republicans whom would benefit from your experience. Logic=Truth
I'm hoping to travel the Pan Am by motorcycle with tent in about 3 years, Have you interviewed any motorcyclists? I'm very curious about their feelings of safety with their gear on their bikes. It would be great to leave the bike sometimes but I would hate to loose my stove or sleeping gear, etc.
Guys, thanks for all the good info. Quick question: I'll be doing it on my own, most ppl I invited to come along said i'm gonna die. We're all going to die, I just refuse to die sitting in a fucking cubicle. Anyway, I really like your idea of ridesharing, that's a good way to meet other adventurers from all over the world and also, save some gas money, I'll be driving south from L.A. back to my hometown Sao Paulo, Brazil. How did you guys find travelers? Is there an app or a website where you can post an ad or something like that? I was thinking Facebook, but what else can I do to find good (and crazy enough) people to come on parts of this journey with me? Thanks again!
Hi! I really enjoy the videos there are nice and helpful event for us Latin Americans. I'll be grateful if there is a little bit more order that is missing after the video 45. Thank you!!! Wish you the best.
Are you and Leah together in a relationship? You guys look cute together in a way that you have been on the road for sometime now as a couple having all those adventures. If you"re not, I hope you will be.....best of luck to your " Kombi Life".
great info. thanks. im thinking if driving from AZ to la paz mexico next winter in my 4x4 pick up. is there a site that would let me get together with other prople driving down so we could caravan together?
+Radnally I would check the overland sphere forum on Facebook. Ask there. Personally I think you'd enjoy the journey more if you did it with close friends though, or even with just one vehicle. Easy to fly back from la Paz. Talk a mate into the road trip.
Hi ,Thank you for another great video ..... you mentioned in the video about the Darian Gap and how there is now info. somewhere ( instrgram ? ) about places to stay if someone wanted to try crossing the gap like you did or attempted to do . Do you have a link to that information ? Thank you
Please tell me what do you need besides your passport to go from California to Colombia? Did you get pulled over by the police. Or run into any trouble?
for give my many comment's i love this interview it covers so many areas. in the matter of the police knock? i too have never had the police knock on my vehicle. on the out side of the door i put a large sign, you know one of them magnetic signs we can buy that cost 20 USD?. "GOD BleSS OUR POLICE" :P and i bought police decals that say i supported the police
the party at the top of the world is called Dawson city Yukon canada. back in the late 80's to early 90's the price of gas was 5 bucks per liter/ 18 dollars per gallon USD given the exchange rate back in the late 80's . the next gas stop is 150 miles /241 kilometers away. so one should plan in advance there UP COMING gas expenses. much inportanta, oh and yes when traveling the AL-CAN take 4 extra tires with you. some of the pot holes in the road can sneek up on one and even swallow the hole vehicle. do not know if Canada road repair laws have changed. back then it was every year Canada paided to repair that road for only 200 miles/ 322 kilometers per year. i do highly recommend going that far north especially in late august to catch and get stuck in the middle of the caraboo migration for days. wish i would have had a video camera in those days to show how many carabu brush up against our vehicals
ok fix that post and added the conversion values. thanks. +Kombi Life have you ever thought to your self when stuck on the road "Wish i had a moped bicycle to get me to the nearest town"?
outstanding and a very spiritual though of engaging others. and not just sightseeing the whole point is to ingest the culture. i do look forward to your future. in that you are ingesting the knowledge of the world and thereby gaining wisdom. be very interesting to me to explore your use of that wisdom.
+Michael Young hey. I would really like to finish writing the book and print it but write now we have a lot of editing to do and no time for writing. Someday though. Thanks Michael.
Hi Ben, based on your experiences, do you think that finding diesel fuel is any more difficult than gasoline? Would this be something to consider before doing central/south american trip?
Awesome Video, love what you are doing ! If you could do this hasta alaska trip again, would you rather take a watercooled kombi? Maybe a possibility to have a more reliable kombi? what do you think?
i wounder if elon musk would make an electric van? i know if one owns a Tesla motor one can energy up for free any where in the US. for free, or plug in to electricity any where else.
when it comes to mexico? i was warned by many people for the area i wished to explore. the Sonora desert. i went there to explore the land version of the Bermuda triangle. a place where a compass will not work and arionutical instruments always fail. where it has been reported that in a place where as far as the eye can see there is nothing then you get stuck in the sand and out of no where people show up and help you get unstuck. then just as fast they disappear. to me mexico is a wounder of the world, 2 large drug cartels exist there. why? no one goes to that desert for the strange things that have happened there for hundreds of years, before i went a high Lama of the Buddhist theologies hooked me up with a guide when i went. at that time i had a 1964 mustang i lived in
Me and and two of my best friends are dream is to move to California buy a kombis and travel for surf we are 12 and 17 and we all like acting like little kids 🤙🏽🏄🏽🌊🚌🚍✈️
Caleb Andersen I actually find this very tru, I've always thought that being anywhere in central/South America for a long time in a van would mean certain robbery, but it doesn't seem that bad after watching these vids
TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO:
01:40 - How The Hippie Van Man planned and prepared for the Pan-American Highway
05:25 - How long do you need to tackle the PanAm?
07:25 - What advice do you have for planning and preparation?
09:25 - Do you need to speak Spanish for Latin America travel?
11:00 - Where do you sleep and use the restroom on the Pan American Highway?
15:28 - How much does it cost and how much is gasoline?
18:13 - What do you do when you need to leave your vehicle to go home?
20:40 - How were the international border crossings?
21:40 - Do you need vehicle insurance and how much is a policy?
24:45 - How do you deal with mechanical disasters and maintenance?
28:20 - CROSSING THE DARIEN GAP (and shipping vehicle experiences)
35:35 - Can you work whilst traveling the Pan American Highway? (and WIFI availability discussed)
41:10 - How do you travel the PanAmerican highway when you don't have time?
42:55 - Staying safe in Latin America
44:10 - Where do you get drinkable water?
46:45 - What if you get sick on the road?
48:47 - How does the PanAm compare in the US & Canada?
50:40 - Do you need a 4WD vehicle?
53:15 - The most common travelers on the Pan Am are...
54:50 - More thoughts on safety
USEFUL: A complete guide to adventuring in a vehicle kombilife.com/van-life-book/
A dated story but I hitched from Mexico city to Vangroovy in !990. Met nothing but absolute kindness and generosity in Mexico. A part of my heart will always be there. Mexico may amora.
Thanks for calling Americans out to make this trip, your right we do spend our life's working for someone else while already living on the hwy so easily close to an amazing adventure. I'm one of them that should just dive in! Very inspiring vid Ben!
glad to hear this helped with the motivation
Hey Ben! Whenever my country settles, you're very welcome to come and experience all the things we have to offer. I live in Venezuela by the way. Such a fan! Happy travels!
i cant get enough of ur videos,i swear you deserve millions of subscribers.
Well filmed H.A The mellow conversation accompanied with the drone shots showing the landscape was engaging. I think a job in film could be in your future. Coo oo coo coo oo coo coo cooooo. to Aaron. Hopefully he's old enough to get that. Something a canuck would recognize.Safe travels.
Hippie Van Mans ride reminds me of the jeepney's i use to ride in the Philippines. very festive and colorful. were i to do a van trip it would be in a jeepney, they are all full on desile engines and can run on used vegtable oil. so my gas stations would be like a fast food store. hahaha ' for now im just using a bumper pull
oh and lastly. thank you for the video share. fantastic interview
Crossing the Darien Gap: We did it with a sailing boat and spent 300 Dollars each. Was in 2012. I would recommend to everyone because you get a lot for it. San Blas Islands are absolutely stunning! The seas were not very rough at that time but I guess that depends on the season. The 300 Dollar included the transfer from Panama City to the boat, the whole trip including food, accomodation and nearly everything else, so it really wasn´t expensive. Was definitively one of the best things I have ever done so far! And by the way we had a very nice crew of ten people on board which some of them we still keep contact.
WOW that was a bargain! I spent $192 going overland and island hoping through the San Blas. It wasn't comfortable and nowhere near a luxurious as the sailing option. Thanks very much for sharing your experience
The best part is that you guys put the timing of all the topics so we can watch anything we want
This is great, and you two are legends! I've been watching you for the last year now and your adventures have inspired me to do it myself. I am leaving south around the first of next month for a trip to Chile in a van via the panamerican highway. We are starting off in Baja before crossing to the mainland and continuing south. I want to thank you for sharing your adventures. #vanlife #lokigen
You're welcome - have fun on the road
Was just a little short for my cleaning day, but still enjoyed it~^^
ha ha, thanks for joining us
I did the same thing, I can't watch the news anymore, would much rather watch inspiring and interesting shows while I am getting chores done around the house.
I enjoyed hearing your comments and suggestions. I however would not be patient enough to deal with the excessive bureaucracy of all the border crossings. If you two ever plan to be accompanying guides on such a long journey I would want in. It is the vacation of a lifetime in my eyes.
Nice video, Arron is nice guy. Both you (Ben) and Arron have been my primary inspirations for planning a trip South. We are set to leave mid July.
how exciting!!!!!
Congratulations, what a wonderful job / trip the one you have done. Driving though the PanAm has been a dream that I haven´t been able to accomplish YET for different reasons (studies, jobs, kids, etc) but I will do it (I´m working on it) before I turn the 50's. Your adventure and videos has been very motivating to me, thanks so much for sharing it with all of us. Saludos desde Santiago de Chile... the land of Capita.
went straight from the thinking about it to doing it skipped the planning stage currently on month 3 my question is how do you find time to edit the videos and post them I'm having too much fun
We don't find time, we make time.... we also make slow progress as a result
Thank you Kombi Life crew ! You've inspired me to do it, it's on ! Got your book and doing my homework for the next 3-6 months. I'm hoping to finish all preparation (van conversion) before the winter, from Montreal to Ushuaia !
Just wanted to thank you. I very much enjoyed your Q and A very much.
Late to the party but great stuff nonetheless. Thanks.
I LOVE, LOVE these longer episodes. Sooooo Rad!
glad you enjoyed it - thanks for joining us.
So awesome to hear your stories and learn stuff at the same time! Thanks for the upload, I love these interview videos!
+PJAICSG thanks. Glad you enjoyed the vid.
Great post. Thanks Ben and Leah (and Aaron)!
I've been with you guys for a long time now and first wanted to say that I love your videos, truly inspiring! I agree that we would all love to see your journeys continue an possible take you to places like Europe, New Zealand, etc.
A couple of questions I'd like to pose not only to your other adventure experts, but also to you, is this: do you see your lifestyle as sustainable from an economic and/or longevity standpoint? What are your long term plans, and how does traveling affect those plans as you become older, and think about tiresome things like retirement?
Totally sustainable, you just need to find a source of income. For me it's building websites, so essentially I need to find wifi in order to keep the funds coming in. Ben supports himself via his videos. We have both met numerous vanlifers sustaining themselve financially including selling goods, finding various types of contract work, etc. I wrote a post about this topic here hippievanman.com/faq-how-to-financially-sustain-yourself-while-you-travel/
Long term plans?? Too busy living in the moment :P haha.. In all seriousness I have a steady source of income and I'm enjoying the path that I'm on so I'm not too worried about the future any more than I would be if I was settled in one place. Whether or not I will continue this nomadic lifestyle years from now I'm not sure. Settling down somewhere is always an option and I'm sure I will eventually find a place and time where it's right for me.
As for retirement, I think Tim Ferris sums it up well;
"Retirement planning is like life insurance. It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario: in this case, becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservoir of capital to survive.
Retirement as a goal or final redemption is flawed for at least three solid reasons:
a. It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life. This is a nonstarter- nothing can justify the sacrifice.
b. Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a hotdogs for dinner standard of living. Even one million is chump change in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year. The math doesn’t work. The golden years become lower middle-class life revisited. That’s a bittersweet ending.
c. If the math does work, it means that you are one ambitious, hardworking machine. If that is the case, guess what? One week into retirement, you’ll be so damn bored that you’ll want to stick bicycle spokes in your eyes. You’ll probably opt to look for a new job or start another company. Kinda defeats the purpose of waiting, doesn’t it?"
Through caution to the wind and go for it! Step one - figure out how you're going to generate income to sustain yourself. Best of luck :)
+TheHippieVanMan great reply!
You never disappoint to inspire me again and again! I'd love to see you doing a Euro Roadtrip one day!
Cheers!
cheers - so would we
in latin america you can buy a water heater that looks a bit bigger than paint stirrer but it is metal with a coating. you plug it in and put the metal thing in your water. In a few minutes you have hot water. They sell them for about 5 dollars at most hardware stores.
death trap!
Americans dont often leave the US for vacation for several reasons. One reason is how little vacation time people in the US get/take. Another is that we can see most types of landscapes without leaving the 50 states. And while we cant experience as many cultures as you would on the Pan-American, there are many different cultures within the 50 states of this nation to experience, and when you throw in the US territories there are even more. The combination of those things means most Americans dont even have a passport.
Great info! Lots of little tricks of the trade revealed.
This was extremely helpfull.
Glad to hear it.
I bet that engine weight on the back wheels really helps make the VW do all-terrain stuff.
+Laurence Whited it sure does.
very good explanation of the language barrier. i have heard years ago there is a software program that can verbally translate for us. back and forth
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Exactly What I was looking for. This video helped me a LOT! I'm out of my dreaming phase and currently in the planning phase and what better time to watch this video than now? Thank you for all your effort of filming, editing and uploading!
you're welcome. This video is never going to go viral, but we know that it would help a few people a lot, so we made it anyway, just for people like you Reeewaj :)
one guy hitch hiked and public transit from new york to antartica in i think it was 9 months.
Related to the subject of the video: Recommendations.
I will definitively recommend you to learn at least basic things about the language of the place you are traveling to. Not only at the Panamericana highway, but everywhere. It will be very useful to you at the approach of the people of the country and their culture. You will find nice friends and locals to hang around and discover places and things that it will be very hard to you to find out by yourself. And you may have more fun too!!
Here in China is like that, if you don't speak at least the basics of mandarin chinese, you will be ripped off when you try to buy something (specially in Beijing and Shanghai) or taking any transport or even going to eat somewhere in the street. For westerns the difference is not high if you get ripped off for a few euros or dollars, but it mean a lot when you are doing long trips with a low budget, and if you pay extra everywhere you go just because you don't speak the language, you will be out of money sooner.
Another good advice that I will give you, is that if you are going for a long term travel to places where Malaria is endemic, take really care of the mosquitos, use repellent and mosquito nets, but also antimalarial pills. It is not a joke, if you like to enjoy the countryside, the forests and the nature, and you don't pay attemption to this, there is huge chances to get sick. Common malaria can be treated relatively easy and you won't die (you will if you don't get tratment), but cerebral malaria is a serious sickness, you may die in a few days suffering a lot. It is better if you take antimalarial pills (store them properly, if you don't do that they won't be as effective).
Also take care of what you drink, locals can drink water almost everywhere and don't get stomach or belly sick because they are used to that water since they were kids. But definitively, if you do that, you will be shitting out water for days for sure, and in hot and humid climates there is a lot of possibilities of suffering dehidratation if you are loosing liquids by your ass all the time. And obviously it is not very comfortable feeling like if you had a katana stuck inside you because you drink water that you shouldn't.
About safety and all that stuff, I think that you must have common sense to know what is safe and not safe to do anywhere and anytime.
Everywhere in the world you can be putted in situations of risk, from Europe, to the states, to Canada, to Latin america, to Africa to Asia or to Australia, if you don't have that common sense to avoid the problems. Everywhere in this places you will find bad people, but something that I have found around my travels, is that if you have any problem, you might be helped more easily by someone in a non-western country that in a western one (Europe, US,Canada, England...).
So don't be scare. Travel around the world, know how the people live, their culture and interests. For sure you are going to find real treasures in your way, people that by their kind soul, their way of treating you like an equal, how they see the life, may enrich the perception that you have of the world and change the moral values that the western culture taught you since you were a child.
PEACE TO EVERYONE.
Specially to you Ben and Leah. And to the lovely Alaska, of course!! She make me remind our lovely dog called Django. He is with my parents in law at our homeland, because coming here with him would have been really hard specially for him due the quarantine at chinese customs and all that stuff.
Thanks for posting all the useful advice Rafael
Your welcome guys! Maybe someday our paths will cross and we might have some nice chat with some beers (and maybe some good mota, at least for me) about our experiences in the road...
Good vibes and safe travels!!!
Cheers!
There is this German guy who did it in 11 days. From Dead Horse to Ushuaia. He was heavily sponsored tho.
Lots of good info. Thanks, Guys.
Thanks for making these videos my dudes ! If your travels bring you guys to NYC ill buy some beers. Peace!
+Walt 2D2 Deal ! 😊
Great Interview. Very useful information.
I follow you Ben since the beginning and what you do with your life is incredible.
Like Konstantinos Kabafis said, Life is a journey, a trip like the "Odyssey" of Ulises. And when it comes to the end, to Itaca, you would find the city poor like Ulises did, but you must be rich in adventures and things learned through the way!!
From what I´ve seen right now, you are a very rich person in that aspect, that I personally think is the most important of the life.
Warm regards from the frozen northernmost Heilongjiang province of China at the Russian border!!
awesome chat. very usefull 👍👍 greetz from the EU
Expedition Overland hated large sections of the Pan Am.
They also rushed through it
I was just wondering is a van the best mode of transportation. I thought maybe a pickup with a box in the back may be better?
Love you guys! Thanks so much for a great video
cool just make sure you get a engine and transmission rebuild before you head out this time around.
Inspiring. Thank you. I'd like to know about documentation relating to doing it with a dog? And did Alaska need any shots and proof thereof. Thanks again.
Can you guys ask how these travellers support themselves financially on these journeys? I really wanna do this too!! Love the vids🤗
Just started watching your videos and find them inspiring.
Why go there with Politics? Im an American, I would never speak poorly about your leaders.
There are hard working, generous
republicans whom would benefit from your experience.
Logic=Truth
Good
I'm hoping to travel the Pan Am by motorcycle with tent in about 3 years, Have you interviewed any motorcyclists? I'm very curious about their feelings of safety with their gear on their bikes. It would be great to leave the bike sometimes but I would hate to loose my stove or sleeping gear, etc.
Guys, thanks for all the good info. Quick question: I'll be doing it on my own, most ppl I invited to come along said i'm gonna die. We're all going to die, I just refuse to die sitting in a fucking cubicle. Anyway, I really like your idea of ridesharing, that's a good way to meet other adventurers from all over the world and also, save some gas money, I'll be driving south from L.A. back to my hometown Sao Paulo, Brazil. How did you guys find travelers? Is there an app or a website where you can post an ad or something like that? I was thinking Facebook, but what else can I do to find good (and crazy enough) people to come on parts of this journey with me? Thanks again!
Hi! I really enjoy the videos there are nice and helpful event for us Latin Americans. I'll be grateful if there is a little bit more order that is missing after the video 45. Thank you!!! Wish you the best.
Leah looks like she could be The Hippie Van Man's Sister. She's gorgeous though!
Are you and Leah together in a relationship? You guys look cute together in a way that you have been on the road for sometime now as a couple having all those adventures. If you"re not, I hope you will be.....best of luck to your " Kombi Life".
great info. thanks. im thinking if driving from AZ to la paz mexico next winter in my 4x4 pick up. is there a site that would let me get together with other prople driving down so we could caravan together?
+Radnally I would check the overland sphere forum on Facebook. Ask there. Personally I think you'd enjoy the journey more if you did it with close friends though, or even with just one vehicle. Easy to fly back from la Paz. Talk a mate into the road trip.
Can you tell us some info on doing the Pan-American with a dog?
They talk about how Ben goes to the bathroom?
Hi ,Thank you for another great video ..... you mentioned in the video about the Darian Gap and how there is now info. somewhere ( instrgram ? ) about places to stay if someone wanted to try crossing the gap like you did or attempted to do . Do you have a link to that information ? Thank you
here is some more info about it including links to where to stay in the Darien kombilife.com/top-10-vanlife-overlanding-faqs/#q24
Thank you
WHAT DO I DO IF I DO END UP GETTING MY VAN STUCK IN THE SAND? lol
Please tell me what do you need besides your passport to go from California to Colombia? Did you get pulled over by the police. Or run into any trouble?
for give my many comment's i love this interview it covers so many areas. in the matter of the police knock? i too have never had the police knock on my vehicle. on the out side of the door i put a large sign, you know one of them magnetic signs we can buy that cost 20 USD?. "GOD BleSS OUR POLICE" :P and i bought police decals that say i supported the police
That's actually a great idea!
I'm afraid to travel into Mexico any advice?
the party at the top of the world is called Dawson city Yukon canada. back in the late 80's to early 90's the price of gas was 5 bucks per liter/ 18 dollars per gallon USD given the exchange rate back in the late 80's . the next gas stop is 150 miles /241 kilometers away. so one should plan in advance there UP COMING gas expenses. much inportanta, oh and yes when traveling the AL-CAN take 4 extra tires with you. some of the pot holes in the road can sneek up on one and even swallow the hole vehicle. do not know if Canada road repair laws have changed. back then it was every year Canada paided to repair that road for only 200 miles/ 322 kilometers per year.
i do highly recommend going that far north especially in late august to catch and get stuck in the middle of the caraboo migration for days. wish i would have had a video camera in those days to show how many carabu brush up against our vehicals
Thanks :-) please learn how to adjust the valves just as important as oil change
for sure.
ok fix that post and added the conversion values. thanks. +Kombi Life have you ever thought to your self when stuck on the road "Wish i had a moped bicycle to get me to the nearest town"?
yes - it would be nice, hitch-hiking is more sociable though :)
outstanding and a very spiritual though of engaging others. and not just sightseeing the whole point is to ingest the culture. i do look forward to your future. in that you are ingesting the knowledge of the world and thereby gaining wisdom. be very interesting to me to explore your use of that wisdom.
What if I don’t have a car tittle to cross borders?
now that you gave the van away what are your plans?
still working on the details will let you know when we know
Looks like you had some drone shots during the interview. Can you fly a drone in Mexico or other countries?
+Laurence Whited maybe now but not forever.
Love the video! Is there a place where we can BUY your book in hardcopy? I like having real books, and am happy to pay for the luxury.
+Michael Young hey. I would really like to finish writing the book and print it but write now we have a lot of editing to do and no time for writing. Someday though. Thanks Michael.
I'm planning on driving down to Ecuador this year, how hard is it to cross your vehicle to Colombia? Thanks guys
kombilife.com/top-10-vanlife-overlanding-faqs/#q24
Hi Ben, based on your experiences, do you think that finding diesel fuel is any more difficult than gasoline? Would this be something to consider before doing central/south american trip?
+Rob you can find diesel most places and certainly enough places. I would do the trip with a diesel vehicle.
Awesome Video, love what you are doing !
If you could do this hasta alaska trip again, would you rather take a watercooled kombi? Maybe a possibility to have a more reliable kombi? what do you think?
+MoritzJ I think it would give less problems. Water cooled is stronger.
Winner winner chicken dinner
i wounder if elon musk would make an electric van? i know if one owns a Tesla motor one can energy up for free any where in the US. for free, or plug in to electricity any where else.
when it comes to mexico? i was warned by many people for the area i wished to explore. the Sonora desert. i went there to explore the land version of the Bermuda triangle. a place where a compass will not work and arionutical instruments always fail. where it has been reported that in a place where as far as the eye can see there is nothing then you get stuck in the sand and out of no where people show up and help you get unstuck. then just as fast they disappear. to me mexico is a wounder of the world, 2 large drug cartels exist there. why? no one goes to that desert for the strange things that have happened there for hundreds of years, before i went a high Lama of the Buddhist theologies hooked me up with a guide when i went. at that time i had a 1964 mustang i lived in
my next trip down there will be to climb into the crystal caves, just after i send down my drone in to both of mel's holes
So little views but so many subscriptions
Strange
wow this one is longer than usual.
where is your dog now?that is my concern
How old are you guys?
Me and and two of my best friends are dream is to move to California buy a kombis and travel for surf we are 12 and 17 and we all like acting like little kids 🤙🏽🏄🏽🌊🚌🚍✈️
They don't let you on the ferry so they can steal your stuff freely. What a racket.
+J Dub agreed
Yo, I think Americans are just afraid of it. Not even as much the time. I think Americans have a big fear of everything south of the border.
Caleb Andersen I actually find this very tru, I've always thought that being anywhere in central/South America for a long time in a van would mean certain robbery, but it doesn't seem that bad after watching these vids
Not true about the water in Panama! Don’t drink the water or get ice unless you’re looking to lose 10 pounds overnight 🙀
1st?
Appears to be the case.
congrats - you got to this one before we were even supposed to release it!
Liked the video until the Trump comments I stopped watching after that.
stupid people say stupid things .
just be nice .
My advice is to know as little spanish as possible, when they see how dumb tou are they ask for a 5$ fine amd let you leave
This conversation ON THE GO - available on our Podcast: kombilife.com/pan-american-highway-road-trip-advice/