Crossing Borders: Costa Rica and Nicaragua

As I prepared for my third trip to Nicaragua, I found myself again trying to figure out a way to get to the border

. In this article, I will share with you my experience of getting to Nicaragua from Playa Grande on a budget along with some tips that may help you should you decide to head to Nicaragua from Costa Rica.

Every trip that I have taken to Nicaragua has been different thus far and somewhat a different adventure. I was lucky enough on the first two times to get a ride to the border with the people I traveled with avoiding trying to figure out which way would be the cheapest way to get to the border. Of course there are the options of taking a shuttle or a taxi to the border but I was on a budget and wanted to experience taking the local buses to the border to save money. If you are in no big rush, it is definitely a way to go and to save some money.



Costa Rica to Nicaragua: So I decided to leave on a Thursday and was lucky enough to get a ride from Playa Grande to Huacas. The bus arrived near 10:00am and cost 850 Colones (Approximately $1.54). Typically the trip from Playa Grande to Liberia is just under an hour, but because I took the public bus it stopped about ten to twelve times along the way to pick up other people at the designated bus stops in other towns. It took roughly 2 hours to get to the bus station in Liberia. It may take longer depending on the day and time. From Liberia, I had to take another separate bus to head to the border or what they call "Fronterra." I was lucky enough to only have to wait for ten minutes when the bus showed up. I believe that they have buses that leave every half hour to go to the border. The cost was 800 Colones (Approx. $1.45). It took about one and a half hours to get to the border but as mentioned above it may take a little longer than this depending on the day and time. Once I got off the bus, I needed to go to the Costa Rican Customs to get my passport stamped, this is required. You need to fill out a Migration Registration form which will be handed to you or they have at the front of the line to fill out. This is the sheet that you fill out on the plane when entering Costa Rica. You then have to walk about 200 yards while your are checked by a Costa Rican and Nicaraguan border patrol man to make sure the passport was stamped to get to the Nicaraguan Customs building. They may check your luggage as well so be prepared. Once I got to the customs building I had to get my passport stamped to enter Nicaragua. To me it always seems as if the lines are longer here in all my experiences. You will also notice once you get into Nicaragua you will be surrounded by Nicaraguans asking you if you need a taxi, money exchanges, etc. This can be sometimes overwhelming especially if this is your first time or don't speak Spanish. As I stood in line to get my passport stamped, you will get people asking you if you want to buy a Migration Registration form which is required to fill out. These forms are free but it is $1 to get from one of the people selling these. I typically just pay for one so I have it when I get to the front of the line so I don't waste anytime. I was approached by a local to see if I wanted to pay him some money so he can cut in line and expedite the process. I call them runners and they always do this to foreigners. I have mixed feelings about this for a few reasons. I was giving my passport to a stranger, and he was cutting in line in front of 25 people or so who have been waiting there for an hour plus. I have done this before and have been taken advantage for a decent amount of money. Typically they will charge you $10 to do this. This time though the runner only charged me two dollars which was a deal. You can bargain this amount with them. I saved an hour of standing in line. I would recommend staying within 10 feet of them when they go to the front. In addition, there is a $7 entrance fee to Nicaragua. Once you get stamped and paid your entrance fee, I decided to take a taxi to San Juan del Sur which is an hour away. This is probably your best bet plus it is a cheap taxi ride for an hour of traveling. It won't be hard to find a taxi driver as there are probably 50 to choose from. I bargained with my driver and paid $25 for my trip. Before we got to his car, we had to go through another inspection point in which they check your passport again for the stamp and charge an additional $1 municipal fee. Here is the breakdown of the cost to get from Costa Rica to San Juan del Sur.

Bus rides: $3

Migration Registration form (Nic): $1

Entrance Fee to Nicaragua: $7

Cost to pay runner to cut in line to get passport stamped: $2

Municipal Ticket: $1

Taxi: $25

Total: $39



Nicaragua to Costa Rica: I coordinated the time and day with the taxi driver on when I wanted to be picked up from San Juan del Sur on my return. The fee was $25 again. Once you get to the border you have to pay another $1 for the municipal ticket. You then have to get an exit stamp for your passport at the Nicaraguan customs building. I decided to stay in line and not pay a runner to cut in line. I did pay $1 to get my migration registration form so I could fill out when I stood in line. The exit fee for Nicaragua is $2. I then walked back through the border check points of Nicaragua and Costa Rica then went to the Costa Rican Customs building to get my entrance stamp on my passport. There is no cost to enter or leave Costa Rica. I then waited half an hour to get a bus from the border to Liberia, same cost and time duration. From Liberia I got on the bus to Tamarindo which stops in Huacas, same cost and time duration. I then got a ride from a friend of mine from Huacas to Playa Grande. Here is the cost breakdown to get from Nicaragua to Playa Grande, Costa Rica.

Taxi ride: $25

Municipal ticket: $1

Nicaraguan exit fee: $2

Bus rides: $3

Total: $31

I hope this article may help you on your travels from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. Overall I had a good experience and plan to go this route in my future trips to Nicaragua. If you have a unique experience traveling through the border I would like to hear it. Feel free to comment or write something about this article.

Johnny Vigil

www.surfingplayagrande.com

Crossing Borders: Costa Rica and Nicaragua

By: Johnny Vigil

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