I rented a motorbike in October 2023 and rode solo from Santiago to the Atacama Desert. Before arriving, I had planned my own trip, but the rental shop gave me so many great tips that my ride ended up completely different, and much better than what I'd originally mapped out! I had checked prices from every rental place I could find, and theirs was the best. When I arrived at the rental shop, I explained my plans, and they pointed out a few issues. For example, some of the roads I planned on riding were quite boring, some of the places I planned on staying were either unsafe or uninteresting, and I was missing out on so many other beautiful places. They actually sat down with me and helped rewrite my whole trip. The staff had an amazing knowledge of the area, told me about places I had never heard of through my searches online. They tailored it to exactly what I was after. I saw so much nature, rode through national parks, along the coast, through mountains and stayed at so many beautiful towns I wouldn't have found otherwise. I didn't end up crossing borders, but they let me know about the rules, permits, fees etc in case I change my mind - things I had no idea about before talking to them! They mapped out my route and sent it to me in a file that I could download to my phone. They helped me out with riding gear, phone mount, charger, bags and straps. There were no issues with the motorbike at all throughout the whole trip. They even put on a new set of tires as they knew I was going off-road quite a bit. Being a foreigner, it really made a difference having some locals that I could trust to help you out. They were even checking in with me along the way to make sure I wasn't having any issues.
