How to join / leave the ride
5th Olympic Expedition
from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo
BaltiCCycle 2020 (03.02 – 04.07) and its continuation BaltiCCycle 2021 (03.27 – 07.24)
The dates in brackets show the planned dates in corresponding countries. The real dates can slightly differ (hopefully not more than plus/minus 1-2 days) from scheduled ones.
General hint: To see all and cheap possibilities use search-engines like Skyscanner, Opodo, Whichbudget, Jetcost and others. It’s advised to use such search-engines only to get the information, NOT for booking, because you have to book your bicycle too and that can cause problems using the search engines. Book directly at the website of the founded airline! At some airlines simply with a “click”, at others by phone. To get knowledge which airlines fly to one or another airport it is advisable also to visit websites of corresponding airports.
When searching for flights try to use “Multy-City” option. The combined ticket can be cheaper than for separate parts.The rough info how
to reach one point of the route from another by various means of transport you
can find on https://www.rome2rio.com/.
BRAZIL
The main international airports on our route are Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, and Foz do Iguaçu, with regular connections between these cities and to destinations all over the world. A map of all airports in Brazil you can find – here (zoom the map). There are two major airlines that fly both international and domestic routes: LATAM (has regular flights to Europe and the USA), and GOL (flies internationally only to Latin America countries). More about flights to/in Brazil here.
You can use also the Brazilian bus system which consists of many different bus carriers and terminals, and you can reach by bus every bigger city on our route. You can purchase a ticket on-line via the booking system Brazil Bus Travel. Travelling by bus in Brazil is economical, comfortable and safe. It is possible to take your bike on long distance buses but it depends on the bus company and luggage storage space. More info about Brazil bus services read – here.
PARAGUY
The best place to join us for Paraguy is Iguazu Falls (see Brazil section) or Asunción. More how to come to Paraguay here. From Asuncion we plan to take a boat up the Paraguay River which runs once a week on Tuesday.
BOLIVIA, ARGENTINA, CHILE
We will enter Bolivia from Paraguay only for 2 days in Villamontes, which you can reach by bus or train from Bolivian airport towns Santa Cruz de la Siera or Yacuiba or by bus from Tarija. More info here.
To join us on the Ruta 40 in Argentina best is to start in Salta. Aerolíneas Argentinas and LATAM regularly fly from Buenos Aires. Andes Linea Aéreas flies from Buenos Aires and Jujuy.
Bus services from Salta include the following destinations: Buenos Aires (930 AR$, 21 h), Cachi (58 AR$, 4 h), Cafayate (58 AR$, 4 h), Jujuy (52 AR$, 2 h), La Quiaca (115 AR$, 7 h), Mendoza (619 AR$, 18 h), Molinos (82 AR$, 7 h), Resistencia (441 AR$, 12 h), Rosario (754 AR$, 16 h), Tucuman (167 AR$, 4 ½ h). Bus tickets in Argentina you can buy here.
In Chile we will cycle only a few days. From Santiago de Chile we will take a flight to Hawaii. Santiago is connected by direct flights with different parts of the world. Here you can find all airlines operating in Santiago de Chile airport.
HAWAII, USA
From South America we have to take a flight to Hawaii. You can see here all airports in Hawaii islands. Unfortunately, the direct flights from Santiago de Chile and other SA airports to these islands are not more available, and we have to look for a flight through continental part of US. Here you can find all operating airlines and destinations of Kona International airport, from where we will start cycling around the Big Island. Most convenient it would be to look for flights to Hawaii through Los Angeles or San Francisco.
JAPAN
Wakkanai, where we start our ride in Hokkaido, can be reached from Tokyo and Sapporo by All Nippon Airways. You can easily move around Hokkaido by plane, train or bus, more details here or here.
From Hokkaido to Honshu we will take a ferry from Hakodate to Oma. If you plan to join us in other part of Honshu read about transportation in Japan here.