Border Crossings in Central America

Border Crossings in Central America

by Doug French

This posting is mostly pertaining to crossing borders in Central America with a motorcycle or a car. Though obviously my experience was with a motorcycle, I'm sure having a car is very similar but brings up its own nuances. If you're lucky enough to be on a regular bus or a tour bus without a vehicle to deal with, the basic procedures are the same except it's less paper work and expense. If your hitchhiking (and I did see at least one person doing that) walking (didn't see anyone doing that) or riding a peddle bike I'm not sure what different procedures you might encounter but just the fact your not driving should make the procedure simpler (if that's possible) and cheaper. I would like to hear from anyone who has hitched or walked through Central America.

The basic procedures for crossing borders In Central America are as follows. First you need to get your passport stamped out of the country you're leaving at Migracione (migration) and than get your vehicle permit and the permit for yourself canceled at Aduanas (customs) for that country (it may not be in this order at every country). Upon entering the next country you get your passport stamped in at migration and than go to customs for permits for the vehicle and yourself. That's basically it, migration and customs for the country your leaving and migration and customs for the country your entering. The amount of time and money you spend doing this simple process can vary considerably.

When you get to Aduanas (customs) to get the vehicle and your own permits they are usually good for 30 to 90 days, but check to make sure their for as long as you want, 90 is the max but they will often put just 30 down if you don't ask them for more (and don't let them charge you more for more days). As already mentioned when your leaving a country you need to first have your passport stamped out of that country and than again go to customs to have the vehicle permit (and your own) canceled. This is very important for in the case of Mexico if you don't cancel your vehicle permit on leaving, you may not be allowed back into the country ever (I'm not sure if this is just with a vehicle or is a life time ban on yourself as well), they figuring you sold it for a big profit without paying duty or import fees.

Its worth noting that the only places you should be spending money (outside of handlers fees or having someone watch your bike if you choose to use them) while crossing borders is when your getting your passport stamped in and out at migration (these are often the cheapest charges ranging from $0-$10) and at customs when you pay for the vehicle permit, your permit, possibly your vehicle insurance (some countries seem to require it, I bought no special insurance for the trip, basically I was uninsured as most motorcycles are that go south of the border, it is way too expensive, hundreds or maybe even a couple of thousand dollars for full coverage for a long trip), and any other charges like vehicle spraying. Having your bike sprayed with insecticides is required to enter Nicaragua and Guatemala and the charge is usually $2-$4. Costa Rica requires vehicle insurance and was $25 for ninety days. Also having copies of everything is important, as many as you need for the amount of borders your crossing. You should have copies of your title (try never to use the original by the end of the trip it will be worn out), drivers license, passport, insurance (whether its valid in that country or not) and vehicle registration. Know where your serial numbers are on your bike, they will want to see them at every border and check them with your title. Handlers will often want to run off with some of your copies or make copies after they have been stamped for another $2. I did not include copying charges in all this because they did not amount to much and having my own I often did not need to pay to have them made (but for some reason often did anyway). It's hard to know what is necessary in regards to copies without being able to talk to an official directly, at least having your own copies cuts down on some of this nonsense.

Nicaragua like Costa Rica is another country that apparently requires vehicle insurance to enter though I've heard varying reports. For me they told me I had already bought some on my trip down and didn't need to buy it going back (the problem with not speaking the language and using handlers, you never know what you are or aren't getting). All this is debatable, certain bikers say they just refuse to pay it and don't. Or you hear other stories of people going all the way through these countries without paying hardly anything. Knowing the language and having a basic knowledge of border crossings can save you a lot of money no doubt, but I've also heard some of the most outrageous claims like one guy saying he only spent $12 to drive from the U.S. to Argentina on border fees.

Customs is really the place where the hidden fees are, unclear charges and corruption can lie. If your going to get ripped off, here's the place. They may try to sell you bike insurance you don't need, or say the vehicle permit is good for all Central American countries when its not (saying that's why its so expensive), or make something up like your title is not the original so they need to charge more. As in the case of Honduras and Guatemala this is where both the vehicle and my permit came to $250-$300 contributing to a staggering some of $630 just to cross those two borders. On my return trip coming back the total for both borders was about $80! Later in this post I describe strategies one can employ to try to reduce some of these risks of getting ripped off.

Tips for keeping your money in your wallet

1. Ideally before you go spend two years studying and becoming fluent in Spanish.
2. Realistically; write out the actual Spanish phrases you'll need to know to ask directions and cover all the procedures, like ?donde estas aduanas? (where is customs?) how much is it? How much is a vehicle permit? How long is it good for? Where is migracion ?etc. Everything you can think of that you might need to know and have them handy (having practiced basic phrases will help you countless times on you trip, not only at border crossings).
3. Write down what the actual border procedures are, which are you go through migracion and aduanas of the country your leaving, and then migracion and aduanas of the country your entering.
4. You can try to write to each embassy of the countries your visiting and ask them to send you all the expected fees for your border crossings. It is doubtful you will get many responses, but if you can manage to secure something that looks official with some sort of expected price it could carry a lot of weight. Remember these border guys are looking for easy targets and the more road blocks you can throw at them the better. Guatemala and Honduras were the most corrupt borders and remember all handlers and officials are not corrupt or out to get you, but the ones that are have it down to a science.
5. In the end if you feel like your getting totally ripped off, have a back up plan. You can refuse to pay and either go back to the country you came from and wait for a different time to come back (often if your not driving very far into the country they may not charge you a vehicle permit to simply spend one night. Mexico has a 20 mile buffer zone around the border so you don't have to get a vehicle permit if your simply visiting a border town), or you can look at trying a different border crossing (most countries except for Costa Rica have at least two) spending the time to drive to another one. Going back the way you came to find another one sounds like a hassle (and it is), but it could save you 2 or 3 hundred dollars (or at least give you the satisfaction of knowing you didn't give in to some ones corruption). When planning ones trip if possible one should try to plan on quieter border crossings (like non Pan American Hwy. ones), in an effort to avoid a lot of these hassles.
6. The Pan American Hwy. crossings are the busiest and hardest to deal with. Also with all border crossings try to get there early like at 7 or 8 a.m. Many of these borders close at night and getting to them early in the day can be well worth it. You might avoid crowds and the heat and the bulk of the corrupt handlers. I had much better luck approaching these borders early in the day and on week days.

Handlers

Remember, anyone who speaks Spanish well enough doesn't use them. And many who don't speak Spanish at all still suffer thru not using them. It just takes a lot longer to get thru with out them, but it can be done. As someone once put, how much you end up spending at these crossings is directly related to how determined you are not to accept help.

If you’re going to use them agree on a price before you start, $5 to $10 for some ones help, especially if they can help you out of one country and into the next can be well worth it. Be clear about this; don't just accept someone's help without agreeing on a price, hopefully for both borders.

Paying some one to watch your bike is debatable, most times I don't think its necessary, just carry your most valuable stuff with you, plus I found these guys didn't want to ruin their reputations by petty theft!

Most importantly don't just give your passport or paper work to a handler with money and have them run off to take care of business. Go with them to every window, and give the money directly to the person at the window, this way they can't fabricate charges as easily and you will be dealing with the official first hand, seeing how much is being given to them. This is where I lost a lot of money, by giving the handler money to go pay for something having no idea if they even went to any window or official at all. In fact don't give the handler any money unless you can see who their giving it to. Pretty much the only money you should be giving them anyway is when everything is done and your paying them for their service. They can show you what windows you need and act as an interpreter for you at the window, but that is all you really need them for, again paying them your agreed upon wage when your are all done.

On my way back when I could I chose young handlers, kids about 12 years old who were basically honest and not out to rip you off. These kids would often be run off by the older handlers later on in the day. I thought about just choosing the younger ones over the older ones but I was afraid the older ones would just take their money from them later on so I just used the older ones when they were both present. The older "seasoned" handlers are the ones that are the hardest to deal with, they don't take no for an answer and have the whole rip off system down to an art.

Don't flash much money, do your homework and know about what you should be paying for. But remember if you have to drive 20 miles back to town and take more money out of a bank to pay them, they have you. Refuse, say you only have so much money and if like I said if they still want more, just tell them and no and go back the way you came, either waiting for a different time to come back or going to border different crossing.

Summary

Remember these guys are the pros, this is what they do for a living day in and day out, they see thousands like us every year. If your not prepared or have strategies for dealing with them the odds are in their favor for you spending more than you should. Be prepared, like I said, how much you spend is in direct proportion to how determined you are not to spend more than you should.

Your best bet is to go early in the day, avoid weekends, and use non Pan American Highway crossings....learn as much Spanish as you can before you go. Also when you see a long line of trucks (sometimes a mile long) before the border, just drive right up to the front of them and start your business. If your going to use a handler, choose one that hopefully speaks your language. As they flash their badges at you trying to woo you with their professionalism, know this is all part of their act. Most of them have no official role to play outside of some times being the lead man for some corrupt official behind them.

Even with all these warnings it is hard to imagine the chaos, the heat and the slickness of these characters trying to get your money until you've experienced it. The good news is it is all doable and you can reduce your risk of losing money by being prepared. The bad news is the crossings are unavoidable and have to be dealt with. They can be unpredictable, chaotic, hot, time consuming and totally frustrating, but I never felt physically threatened or in danger from all these characters. So be patient and guard your wallet at all times, the borders are not the only places where some people will try to get all they can from you....