What's the security situation in Colombia?
- In the terms of the last and current presidents, the country has seen enormous changes. The right wing para-military has for the most parts laid down their weapons and the left-wing guerrillas have been seriously weakened to the point where the have issued a statement that no more civilian kidnappings will take place. You should not believe anything you read in the medias, Colombia is possibly now the most organized and most secure country in Latin America. Colombia is hardly a 3rd world country - maybe 2nd world if that term exist.
What documents do I need to rent and ride in Colombia?
- Valid passport with minimum 6 month until expiration
- Drivers license with motorcycle endorsement
- Valid credit card to cover security deposit
How do I make reservation?
- Make sure to make reservation well in advance. A reservation is not valid before we receive 50% of the total price of the rental or tour and confirm this in writing. We accept all major Credit Cards, Paypal and Bank transfers. To pay with Credit Card send us your card no., expiration date and full name on card. We also accept Paypal payments (please make sure we do not get charged transfer fee's) and finally you can make an international money transfer to Mike's Danish bank account or to our American Bank account (if you wish to do that we will forward the bank account details upon request).
What about insurance?
- All rentals include the mandatory 3rd party liability insurance (SOAT)
- For an additional $25-35 USD/day you can reduce your damage and theft responsibility significantly and get basic medical coverage (pillion rider covered as well). If you purchase this insurance your responsibility will be limited to 10% of the value of the bike. Injuries occurring during riding the bike will be covered (conditions apply). If you decline this insurance option you will be responsible for all expenses including, but not limited to, damage or theft of the vehicle or personal injury. This insurance reduce, but do not eliminate responsibility for damage or theft and the rider must comply with all terms and conditions in the rental contract. Personal property is not covered.
- A deductible security deposit will need to be confirmed on your credit card before hand-over of the bike and covers the maximum responsibility you have.
- We recommend that you take out adequate travel and health insurance as well as trip cancellation insurance as this is not covered by us.
What riding gear do I need?
- Your own helmet and riding gear as this is not included in the rental or tour. We do have some gear and helmets available for short-term tours at the Medellin HQ, but we do not have all sizes and no boats. We recommend you use high touring boats or MX boats and protective gear and carry a pull-over rain-suite.
Can I expect that everything is exactly as described?
- Most times yes, but please bring good spirit and an ability to stay calm and be patience as things sometimes take longer in Latin America or don't always go exactly as planned. We have good experience in coming up with solutions to anything unexpected.
Can I leave extra luggage somewhere while on tour?
- You can safely leave luggage at the hotels we recommend or at the Motolombia HQ in Medellin. Its free of charge while renting or on tour with Motolombia.
Where will we sleep on tour?
- This depends on which type tour you chose. We normally stay in at best option available hotels, Guesthouses, resorts and some of the nicest hostels. Always private rooms double occupancy (single occupancy can be arranged as an upgrade).
- Camping is an option on personalized tours.
Where will we eat?
- Breakfast is usually served at the place we stay. We stop at a nice restaurant for lunch everyday and at night we are usually in a city or village that have several different options to choice from for dinner and some days we eat at the hotel where we stay.
Do I need to worry about altitude sickness?
- Altitude sickness is not a problem, you need to get quite high up to feel anything. The highest mountain pass we cross is approximately 4500 meter. We do not overnight in higher altitudes.
Do I need to worry about mosquito, snakes or other dangerous animals?
- We will not go into any area where malaria is a thread, but there can be some areas with mosquito especially after it has rained, but no more than a summer day in Europe. Other dangerous animals are rare. And they won't be near roads, cities, villages or hotels where we stay.
How many hours a day do we spend on the bikes?
- Usually 3 hours before lunch and 3 hours after lunch. Some days are longer some shorter. There are non-riding days planned on tours of one week or longer. The motorcycle is available to use if you wish to go out and see something on your own (fuel is not included on scheduled non-riding days) and there will be activities arranged depending on the group wishes. The possibilities are many for example horse back riding, hiking, site seeing, shopping, off road riding, rafting, canopy, swimming pool, hot springs, coffee plantation tour etc.
Can I cross borders on the rental bikes?
- Going into Ecuador is possible with a special permission. We make this permission for an extra fee of $100 USD. We do not allow for our bikes to enter any other country. Ecuador is also doable on a customized guided tour. If you wish to cross more borders, we suggest you look at buying a bike from us with buy-back guarantee.
What happen in case of an accident?
- There are great doctors and clinics all over Colombia, but since the country is huge, many areas are remote. The tour guide always carry a first aid kit and have first emergency response training. On most tours we bring bring our 4×4 support car, which of cause will be ready in an emergency and can carry bike and passengers.
- You can get basic medical coverage by purchasing Liability Reduction Insurance, but we recommend that you buy health insurance to cover yourself in case of medical issues not related to the motorcycle riding. Make sure to tell your insurance company that you will be riding a +500 cc motorcycle.
What airlines fly from Europe to Colombia?
- There are several good and cheap options from Europe to Colombia. Iberia Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa and Avianca Airlines all have connection to Cali, Medellin or Bogota. We do not recommend flying via the USA because of their strict security measures that might result in you missing your connection flight.
What airlines fly form USA to Colombia?
- The Panamanian airline Copa Airlines, American Airlines, LAN Airlines, Spirit Airlines are among the cheaper flights and there are daily flights to Medellin and Bogota.
How much money should I bring to Colombia and what is the currency?
- Its not recommend to carry to much cash or travelers checks. There are ATM machines everywhere, so its easy to get a cash advance from almost any major Credit Card in most cities. In Colombia the currency is Pesos (one US Dollar = approx. 1800 Pesos) and in Ecuador the currency is US dollars.
What's the climate and temperature like?
- Colombia is very close to the Equator, so the days are equally long and the weather is tropical warm all year around. In the valley's its between 25-35 C and in the mountains it get colder but never really cold. In May and October/November it is supposed to rain more, but its usually no more than a 1 hour tropical rain poor and then the roads dry fast again. We run tours all year around no problem. The weather is a very local thing here and everything can change just around the bend.
How many percent of the trip is off road or on dirt roads?
- This completely depend on the type of tour you choose!
- The percentage of dirt riding can be adjusted according to rider wishes on the tour. In general Colombia has very well maintained pavement roads in super condition. So if you're looking of dirt and off-road. Chose a tour accordingly.
Will we reach the ocean for a swim?
- Yes on our Giant Loop of Colombia Tour. We do not reach the ocean on any other tour. Some riders plan to fly to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast before or after the motorcycle tour to relax on the beach in addition to the motorcycle trip. National flights are about $60-100 USD between major cities in Colombia.
How many kilometers will we ride per day?
- Because of the technicality of the routes here (many curves) the average amount of kilometers is usually around 250-300 km per day, which can easily be 6-8 hours on the bike. Routes are calculated in time not Kilometers!
