pros and cons with travelling thru el salvador
 

i'm in a bit of a quadary; i'm in nicaragua right now and will be making my way back to canada; i'm not sure if i should avoid the bureacracy at the el salvador border and bypass it thru honduras or if it's super-easy, fast and cheap to stay on the panamerican hwy and go thru el salvador; i came thru honduras from copan and the potholes on the santa barbara hwy were atrocious...not sure i want to go that route again unless i have to
also, when i left honduras, i was told i had to cancel my temp import visa that i paid $36 for a couple of days earlier; i understand i have to repurchase this on my re-entry (unlike guatemala and mexico); anybody else have the same problem?
thanks!
paul

El Salvador is scenic and friendly, and there's no real reason to avoid it--particularly if you don't like potholes, as it appears. I recommend the side trip up to Perquin and a quick tour of the massacre site, museum, villages, etc. San Salvador is so easily bypassed that I hardly even noticed it on the road.

No way to avoid the Honduras import fees either. Just don't over-pay, and don't be thinking you need a helper when entering or leaving. Oh, and follow the traffic laws carefully on that stretch, since no matter where you are there's likely to be a police barricade within spitting distance.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Avoiding El Salvador would be a BIG mistake . Great scenery and great people :thumbup1:

El Pital , Apaneca, Ataco , Suchitoto , El Tunco, Lago de Coatepeque, Cerro Verde, ...... Pupusas, fresh oysters,Pilsener bier


Google some of these places and you will know what I'm talking about

I have to agree with not avoiding El Salvador the pupusa's are not to be missed!
As per cancelling your Honduran TVIP you could have asked them to temporarally hold on to the permit for your return trip. This is what I did, they stamp and write in your passport that they are holding the permit for your return. When I arrived at the border it took them 5 minutes to find my permit which was in a big pile on the desk and give it back to me and I was on my way with no payment for a new permit!
Cheers

Calvin, unfortunately I couldn't have done what you did; I spoke to the woman in charge and when I asked if she was sure my temp visa had to be cancelled, she assured me it did. :(

Interesting how the different borders work!! My permit was held at the Los Manos crossing and it was the agent who suggested I leave it with him for my return trip. He did say I had to return to los Manos and if I used a different crossing I would just have to buy a new permit. By the way it was 3 weeks later
when I returned.