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Border Crossing 101: Nicaragua into Costa Rica at Peñas Blancas

Posted on October 26th, 2012 :: Posted in Border Crossing, Border Crossing 101, Central America, Costa Rica, Nicaragua

Crossing Latin American international borders is rarely easy or pleasant (why do they always smell like pee and desperation?). Things are even more complicated when you’re driving across in your own vehicle as part of an overland road trip. We hope these border crossing tips help you travel across the Peñas Blancas border from Nicaragua into Costa Rica smoothly with or without a vehicle.

Date: December 21, 2011 & April 14, 2012

From: Peñas Blancas, Nicaragua

To: Costa Rica

Lay of the land: The differences between the poorest nation Central America (Nicaragua) and one of the most prosperous (Costa Rica) are stark at the border they share at Piedras Blancas. The Nica side, though pleasant and orderly, is dusty and peppered with sandal sellers, money changers and stray dogs. And don’t expect to find anything to eat. The Costa Rican side just got even nicer with the opening of a new air conditioned immigration hall. Though people entering Costa Rica in their own non-Costa Rican vehicles still have to run around between three different locations to handle customs formalities for their vehicles. The La Frontera Cafeteria on the Costa Rica side seems popular. There’s a BCR mobile ATM on the Costa Rica side as well and it does not charge a fee and will dispense dollars as well as Costa Rican colones. Big rigs can get backed up for miles on either side of this border. If you’re driving your own vehicle you are allowed to cut the line in front of them. But drive carefully. This is a two lane road so passing the parked big rigs means driving against traffic in the wrong lane. Go slow and always be ready with an escape plan that allows you to merge back in with the parked big rigs if a bus or other vehicle needs to get through in the oncoming lane.

Elapsed time: It only takes around 15 minutes to cancel your visa, cancel your vehicle importation documents and exit Nicaragua unless you end up at the border with tour buses or try to cross near Christmas or Easter. Note: even though you’re leaving the country officials may still want to look inside your vehicle. It took us about an hour to clear the Costa Rican side of the border, mainly because of truck paperwork which requires visiting a few different offices.

Fees: There’s a US$1 per person fee to leave Nicaragua. On the Costa Rica side there’s no fee at all for people to enter. We paid nearly US$17 for 90 days of mandatory vehicle liability insurance for the truck. We also paid US$6 for vehicle fumigation, though when we crossed this border again most recently they seem to have stopped fumigating.

Number of days they gave us: Costa Rica issues a 90 day tourist visa. We were also given a 90 temporary importation permit for our truck. Both are free.

Vehicle insurance requirements: Costa Rica requires that all vehicles buy liability insurance (see fees, above).

Where to fill up: Gas (and everything else) is cheaper in Nicaragua. Note, the nearest gas station on the Nicaraguan side is in Rivas about 35 km before the border.

Need to know: Even though tourists visas can be renewed for an additional 90 days by simply leaving Costa Rica for 72 hours then returning, foreign vehicles are only allowed to be in Costa Rica for 90 days out of every 180. You can “suspend” your temporary vehicle importation when you drive out of the country. This means that whatever time was left on your importation when you left the country will be available to you when you drive back into Costa Rica. But if you want to get a new 90 temporary importation permit your vehicle has to be out of Costa Rica for at least 90 days.

Duty free finds: There are a handful of duty free shops on the Nicaraguan side of this border. Most offer the same price on Nicaragua’s Flor de Cana rum but you can buy Flor de Cana cheaper in supermarkets in Nicaragua. Stock up on that here since it’s MUCH more expensive in Costa Rica. We also found a bottle of Reserva de Familia super aged tequila in one of the duty free stores on the Nica side where they were selling it at very, very good price of US$89. There are no duty free shops on the Costa Rican side of this border.

Overall border rating: We’ve now crossed the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica at Peñas Blancas four times (with more to come) and it’s always been relatively efficient and free of corruption or bribery.Even the money changers and kids offering to help you with your paperwork on the Nica side aren’t too persistent.

Border Crossing 101: Honduras into El Salvador at El Poy

Posted on June 7th, 2012 :: Posted in Border Crossing, Border Crossing 101, Central America, El Salvador

Crossing Latin American international borders is rarely easy or pleasant (why do they always smell like pee and desperation?). Things are even more complicated when you’re driving across in your own vehicle as part of an overland road trip. We hope this border crossing information helps you travel across the El Poy border from Honduras into El Salvador smoothly with or without a vehicle.

Date: October 4, 2011

From: Ocotopeque, Honduras

To: El Poy, El Salvador

“Bad attitudes prohibited here” – good advice in the immigration office on the Honduran side of the border.

Lay of the land: This small, dusty crossing is relatively quiet except for occasional waves of 18 wheelers, mostly transporting beer and liquified gas. If your papers are in order (see CA-4 visa warning, below) the agents here keep things moving at a nice clip unless you arrive at lunch time when you can expect to wait at least an hour. Just beware of the scuzzy bathrooms and, apparently, cholera-filled water (check out the creepy warning poster in the ladies room, below).

“Water with cholera!!! You can end your life!” – scary advice in the ladies room on the El Salvador side of the border.

Elapsed time: 1 hour (mostly spent dealing with the truck which entailed listening to the chatty customs agent who was bored and curious and thrilled to have someone new to talk to)

Fees: None. Amazingly, personal entry is free, there was no fee for the temporary importation of our truck either and no fumigation to pay for. This was our first totally free border crossing south of the US. We could get used to this…

Number of days they gave us: When entering El Salvador at an overland border crossing you don’t get a visa, permit or passport stamp. We walked away with no record in our passport of when we’d entered El Salvador or when we were supposed to leave. But that doesn’t mean you can stay as long as you want. El Salvador upholds the CA-4 Border Control Agreement which means you can stay in the region (Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador) for up to 90 days total. Note that if you fly into El Salvador you will be given an entry stamp on arrival as this will be considered your point of entry into the CA-4 region.

Vehicle insurance requirements: There was no place to purchase insurance at the border and we were never asked to provide proof of insurance.

Luckily, we did not have to abandon our truck at the border like the owner of this vehicle, parked right in front of the immigration office, obviously did.

Where to fill up: Fuel is a few cents cheaper on the El Salvador side of the border.

Duty free finds: You’re kidding, right? Shopping at this border is limited to spectacularly greasy pupusas, the national dish of El Salvador, warm beer or minutes for your cell phone.

Need to know: This is not a 24-hour border.

El Poy - El Salvador, Honduras border crossing

Approaching the El Poy border into El Salvador.

CA-4 warning: In 2006, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras joined together to create the so-called CA-4 (Central American 4) group of countries all honoring and enforcing one CA-4 visa governed by rules spelled out in the CA-4 Border Control Agreement.

Tourists are allowed to spend up to 90 days in total in any combination of the four participating countries. The clock starts ticking on your CA-4 visa the moment you step foot in any of the CA-4 countries.To complicate things further, in 2009 Honduras stopped honoring CA-4 regulations and started issuing its own 90 day visa. This means you can now spend 90 days in the other three CA-4 countries then enter Honduras and receive a new 90 day visa for that country.

But be warned: Honduras is completely surrounded by other CA-4 countries and, unless you fly, the only way out is overland. This requires entering one of the other CA-4 countries which still abide by the 90 day limit starting when you first entered Central America. If you’ve used the 90 days Honduras give you, you will not be allowed to enter another CA-4 country without paying a hefty fine for a transit visa.

This is exactly why El Salvador wouldn’t let us in the first time we tried to cross this border.

Overall border rating: This crossing is relatively hassle free and easy-going as long as you have time on your CA-4 Visa. What this border lacks in services it makes up for in dust, filth, half-dead dogs and long-abandoned vehicles.

Welcome to El Salvador

Border Crossing 101: El Florido, Guatemala to Honduras

Posted on March 20th, 2012 :: Posted in Border Crossing 101, Central America, Guatemala, Honduras

Crossing Latin American international borders is rarely easy or pleasant (why do they always smell like pee and desperation?). Things are even more complicated when you’re driving across in your own vehicle as part of an overland road trip. We hope the information, below, helps you get prepared and travel across smoothly with or without a vehicle.

Date: June 8, 2011

From: El Florido, Guatemala

To: Honduras

Lay of the land: This border crossing, referred to as El Florido on both sides and used primarily by big rigs and day-trippers visiting the Copan archaeological site, is dusty and quiet. No touts, no hassles, no services, banks or other facilities. The immigration office on the Guatemala side is well-marked and efficient. A brand new immigration and customs building has been put up on the Honduran side. A charming Honduran customs agent named Fabricio handled our truck importation with an absolute minimum of hassle. He barely inspected the vehicle at all but he was a bit of a Chatty Cathy which ate up some time. Before we drove away Fabricio gave us his cell phone number in case we had any questions or problems in his country and he tipped us off about a German man making excellent small batch beer in the town of Copan Ruinas just a few miles away.

Honduras Border Crossing - El Florido

Elapsed time: 1.5 hours (mostly spent talking to Fabricio)

Fees: $3 per person for a Honduran visa; $35 for temporary importation of the truck into Honduras

Number of days they gave us: 90 days for us and for our truck. See warning below regarding CA-4 regulations for overland travelers.

Vehicle insurance requirements: We were not required to show proof of Honduran liability insurance and there was no place to buy insurance.

Where to fill up: Fill your tank before you leave Guatemala. Fuel is much more expensive in Honduras. If you’re headed to the El Florido border from Chiquimula, Guatemala the best place to fill up is the Shell station about a mile and a half before you reach the turn for El Florido. There’s no fuel immediately available on either side of this crossing.

Duty free finds: None

Need to know: Police officers in Honduras are serious about seat belts and you are required to carry reflective emergency triangles and a fire extinguisher in your vehicle (as is the rule in most of Latin America). We were pulled over about three miles into Honduras by cops looking for our front plate (we only have a back plate because a front plate won’t fit underneath our winch). The cops were not hassling us at all nor were they looking for a bribe. Once we showed them the temporary importation papers we’d just been given they explained that all vehicles registered in Honduras are required to have front and back plates then sent us on our way.

Tourists are allowed to spend up to 90 days in total in any combination of the four participating countries and the clock starts ticking on your CA-4 visa the moment you step foot in any of the CA-4 countries.To complicate things further, in 2009 Honduras stopped honoring CA-4 regulations and started issuing its own 90 day visa. This means that you can spend 90 days in the other three CA-4 countries then enter Honduras and receive a new 90 day visa for that country.

But be warned: Honduras is completely surrounded by other CA-4 countries and, unless you fly, the only way out is overland. This requires entering one of the other CA-4 country which still abides by the 90 day limit starting when you first entered Central America. If you’ve used the 90 days Honduras give you, you will not be allowed to enter another CA-4 country overland.

We learned this the hard way after we spent almost three months in Guatemala, entered Honduras and got another 90 day visa and then tried to enter El Salvador which denied us entry because we’d (unwittingly) overstayed our allotted 90 days in the region as defined by the CA-4 regulations.

Overall border rating: Excellent. The El Florido crossing between Guatemala and Honduras was smoothly run, hassle-free and relatively quiet despite the presence of quite a few big rigs.