Bus from Peru to Mexico

Hey guys!

Travelling is proving to be exhilirating and I am not ready to return to Europe - so I am extending my stay that little bit longer and continuing up Central America.

My plan is to leave Peru (region of Arequipa-Lima) mid May and bus all the way up to Mexico City.

Does anyone have any previous experience in this? Does any one know about issues crossing borders (for example between Columbia and Panama)? I hope to manage this in approx 2 months, if not more if i manage to finance myself properly. I am on a tight budget so cant fully discover every country, unfortunitely....

Any advice, opinion, knowledge would be of great help!

THANK YOU and merry adventures to all!

as fare as i know, the border region between cololbia and panama is right up there with the congo in terms of safety! The area called the darien gap is a lawless jungle area occupied by FARC rebels who kidnap people on a regular basis and use them in bids to get their counterparts freed from the colombian jails. Dont let this put you offcolumbia though!!! it isnt all like this......you're better to fly this part!

I will second that. Fly from Colombia to Panama City. Do not try to go through the darien gap.

hi. yes i did this too. on my way south, i flew from panama city to cartagena on the colombian airline Aires for US $147 including taxes... and then on my way back north i took a boat (US $25) from Turbo Colombia to some little coastal town still in colombia whose name i don't remember, but it's the only destination of the boat that leaves Turbo. from that town you take another boat for US$10 to the first coastal town in Panama called Puerto Obaldia once in that town you either wait who knows how long until a ship comes to the town with goods to return to panama city making the trip in 8 hours (US$20) or you hop on the small plane that leaves this small town 4 times a week (US$95) on Aeroperlas. If you do this make sure you have made your reservations ahead of time since the plane has very limited capacity and you may have to stay in this somewhat unpleasant town an extra day or two.

you can also leave from cartagena on yacht for US$200-$300 to arrive in panama city one week later as you stop in the san blas islands along the way. many backpackers do this in either direction and you can find information on yachts leaving at the hostels in panama city and cartagena.

If you have time it's now quite easy to travel along the Caribbean coast from Colombia to Panama (thus skirting the Darien).

poorbuthappy has all the details.

Thanks guys that was a lot of help!