KeyWestPirate
12/14/2016 11:16 EST
I used to do it three times a year but this year only once so far.
Through Mexico it's a piece of cake. We enter through Nogales and there is no customs inspection. Just stop at KM 21 for car permit and tourist card.
Stay on the toll roads and it can be a fast trip. I've made it from Nogales to the Guate border in 3.5 days, driving a Toyota Highlander with CR plates. I prefer to take my time however.
There is a lot of inspection in Chipas, but otherwise,, no one seemed interested in me.
Hitting Guatemala everything changes, each country is different, and it's always a moving target. For example,, I arrived at my usual crossing into Guatemala to find they no longer accept vehicles loaded with cargo.
Yes, there are many good sites and blogs with detailed information,, some with pictures.
If I could give anyone advice it would be,,, avoid the helpers. They will create much grief for you, find problems that don't exist in order to extort money.
Make LOTS of copies of your personal and vehicle information before leaving,, preferably in color. I have one major copy that includes the passport page,, license,, and registration.
You will also need copies of your vehicle title. You are still stuck getting the odd copy as the car permit issuer will often want a copy of your passport stamp.
I've found the people who man the borders to be increasingly honest and helpful. Spanish helps,, but if you show up prepared with the copies you need,, your documents in order, and smiling,, they are helpful.
If you are traveling with a LOT of cargo as I usually do,, a detailed list of the contents is helpful. Emphasize that you are NOT carrying merchandise, that this is stuff for your new life in Nicaragua,
Learn to say,, household articles, clothing,, food,, and personal articles in Spanish,, and repeat this.. They need to hear it.
Good luck! Try to hit the borders early, not late at night. For example,, put up in Tapachula the night and enter Guatemala early the next morning. Stop before the border for the night and then you leave Guatemala and enter El Salvador fresh. I stay in San Miguel and can then leave El Salvador and pass through Honduras in one day, arriving late in the afternoon at El Espino.
You can PM me for details of the border crossings, but it's:
Relax,, stay smiling, avoid the dodgy denizens who inhabit the no man's lands between the borders.
All the borders are identical in what you need to accomplish,, but each one is unique in where and how you accomplish it.
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