Costa Rica to Nicaragua Border Crossing: Travel Guide
Here's our travel guide on crossing the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua via Penas Blancas independently (and vice-versa).
Traveling across land borders between Costa Rica and Nicaragua or in the opposite direction is relatively easy and cheap when you know what to do.
Personally, no matter how many times we've crossed borders in Central America, we always feel a bit anxious the night before as there are many things we cannot foresee.
But what we can always do is to gather as much up-to-date information as possible, get all the documents ready, and in a nutshell, be prepared for a long day on the road. During our year-long trip across South America and Central America, we experienced numerous border crossings.
Some of them were organized and painless, while others involved long waiting lines and plenty of uncertainty.
Crossing the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua was actually something in between. Leaving quite an organized country such as Costa Rica (for Central American standards) and Nicaragua, where bureaucracy thrives, was not that difficult.
Still, on the other hand, we experienced a few eye-rolling situations that made the trip a bit more complicated. That's why we've created this Costa Rica to Nicaragua border crossing travel guide to make sure your trip will be as smooth as possible.
After all, if you plan on visiting more countries on your trip on a strict budget, this will be an inevitable part of the journey that must be done, and it is worth it to come well-prepared.
COSTA RICA - NICARAGUA BORDER CROSSING
Depending on your Costa Rica itinerary or Nicaragua itinerary, you can choose a border crossing that will suit your needs best. In our situation made sense to use Penas Blancas land border crossing as our first destination in Nicaragua was San Juan del Sur, a beautiful place famous for beaches and surfing.
If you travel with a higher budget, it is, of course, possible to fly from San Jose to Managua, which are the capital cities of these two countries, or there's even an alternative of taking an international bus.
As we always prefer taking the independent route, especially when it helps us save money on the road, we have opted for this possibility, but let's look more closely at every option.
BY PLANE
If you are short on time, traveling from Costa Rica to Nicaragua is definitely the most time-efficient and hassle-free way.
The only disadvantage is that you have to get to the capital city, but both countries are pretty compact, and both San Jose and Managua are easily accessible.
Make sure to buy the plane ticket a few days before your intended trip. You should also always consider an additional cost such as the journey to and from the airport.
BY BUS
Traveling on an international bus across borders is undoubtedly the easiest but also more expensive way to get from one country to another, at least compared to using public buses.
Several companies such as Tica Bus, Nica Bus, or Transnica run their services on this route, and you only need to buy a bus ticket in advance.
The bus will take you to the borders, wait for you and drop you off at your final destination. This is certainly a way to go if you are in a hurry or when you are willing to pay a bit more in exchange for a smooth trip.
BY CAR
Although traveling by rental car is a popular option in Costa Rica and the way how to explore this Central American country, you cannot cross the border between those two countries with rental car.
Suppose this is your preferred way of travel. In that case, you can explore Costa Rica in a car, return it, cross borders, and then rent a car again in Nicaragua, but based on our experience; we think it is best to get around this country by public transport or shuttle buses.
INDEPENDENTLY
Traveling from Costa Rica to Nicaragua independently is what we did; it requires catching a bus to borders on Costa Rican side, walking through immigration offices, and finding a bus from Penas Blancas to Rivas, and it is much easier than it sounds. Let's have a look.
Travel Insurance
We never leave home without travel insurance that was designed to cover our expenses if something goes wrong during the trip.
Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.
World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers to cover their trip essentials, including sports and adventure activities.
SafetyWing is affordable travel insurance for backpackers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads.
Travel smarter and safer!
WHERE TO STAY IN LIBERIA, COSTA RICA
We always wanted to stay as close to the borders as possible when on the road because we wanted to make sure we would arrive early - this proved to be the best strategy to avoid queues.
On the Costa Rican side, the best place (although definitely not the most beautiful one) is the town of Liberia.
Especially when you arrive late in Liberia, it is better to spend a night here before crossing the borders to enhance your safety.
Here's the list of the best hotels in Liberia, Costa Rica.
Budget | Hostel El Buey Azul - The cheapest option in the city with private rooms and a great position in the center.
Mid-range | Backpackers Liberia - Spacious, clean hostel has a fully-equipped kitchen, both private rooms and dormitories, and friendly hosts.
Luxury | Best Western El Sitio Hotel and Casino - The best thing about staying in Liberia is that normally luxurious hotels are reasonably priced despite the fact you are still in an expensive country, Costa Rica, so you better take advantage of it.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON CROSSING BORDERS FROM COSTA RICA TO NICARAGUA
As the Penas Blancas border crossing can be busy at times, we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to start early in the morning.
This will hopefully help you to avoid crowds, but you will also escape the heat. There are only a few steps you need to follow.
In case you travel in the opposite direction, from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, you can follow this travel guide too, just in the reverse order.
GET TO PENAS BLANCAS
The first thing you need to do is to get to Penas Blancas, the border. It depends on your destination before heading to Nicaragua, but you need to get either to La Cruz or to Liberia, from where regular shuttles go to the borders.
We were heading to borders from Bijagua, a small village that serves as a base for visiting the beautifully sky-blue Rio Celeste, so we took a bus to Liberia from there. There are two bus stations in Liberia, only three minutes walk from each other, so do not panic when you end up in the wrong one.
The bus from Liberia to Penas Blancas costs 1760 colones per person and takes about an hour. You can also change Costa Rican colones to Nicaraguan cordobas here at the bus terminal in Liberia or the borders for the acceptable exchange rate.
PAY THE EXIT TAX
Once the bus drops you off, someone will approach you and direct you to a small office on your right as you need to pay an exit tax. If there's nobody to help you out, look for the office on your own otherwise, you will have to return later.
The office looks rather like a shack, but you'll see the sign written in Spanish and English. The exit tax from Costa Rica is $10 per person - it is better to have US dollars on you, but you should be able to pay it in colones as well.
An interesting fact - after we got the receipt, there was written that we paid only $7, and out of $7, we apparently paid $3 for a non-existent luggage check.
EXIT COSTA RICA
Now it is time to leave Costa Rica. Once you paid the fee, continue and enter the immigration office on your left and wait in line in order to get a stamp into your passport.
The officer in our line took his time, but after 30 minutes, we could carry on. The officer only wanted to see our passports with an entry stamp and the receipt that we paid the departure tax.
WALK TOWARDS NICARAGUA
Now you officially left Costa Rica and need to walk from Costa Rican to the Nicaraguan side of the borders. Follow the cars and other travelers - we were quite surprised that the Nicaraguan office is not in sight, but no worries, just walk in the right direction; there's no way you would miss the immigration office.
Many tricycle drivers will keep telling you that it is too far and you cannot walk on your own, but if you do not mind walking for 5 minutes on a flat road, you do not need to use this service.
Approximately in the middle, there's one more checkpoint to ensure you've received the exit stamp in your passport. While walking, we were stopped by two different uniformed officers checking our passports again.
ENTER NICARAGUA
Once you get to the Nicaraguan immigration office, first you have to go to a window on your right where you will pay a $1 municipal fee, and then you need to line up in a queue to get a stamp allowing you to stay in Nicaragua.
To enter Nicaragua, you also must pay $12 per person to an immigration officer. The process was pretty slow as he must fill out like a hundred forms and stamp and sign each one.
We, Czechs, don't need a visa to enter Nicaragua (check requirements for your country), and we even did not have to show proof of onward travels, although we purchased one the day before.
The officer only wanted to know the name of a hotel in our first destination in Nicaragua and asked us a few questions about our occupation; and found it pretty funny we don't have one as we were traveling long-term.
Once you get the stamp, you have to put your luggage through the scanner, and once you pick up backpacks again, now thoroughly checked, you are free to start exploring Nicaragua.
WHAT TO DO IN NICARAGUA AFTER THE BORDER CROSSING
After we exited the immigration, we were officially in Nicaragua, and the next task was to get to our first destination in the country, San Juan del Sur.
Generally, plentiful buses are heading to the capital Managua or to Rivas, Nicaraguan transportation hub, where every traveler will end up at least once while in the country.
Again, there are many taxi drivers, and you can choose whether you want to wait for the bus or if you want to drive straight away (rides with a cab are cheap in Nicaragua, so it is a convenient way of transport).
The only thing we really did not like were constantly lying taxi drivers in Nicaragua - they are able to tell you ten times that there is no bus going to your destination even when you are almost sitting in one. Just be patient, and be prepared to answer 'no gracias' a thousand times.
When you are heading to Rivas, take one of the frequent chicken buses leaving every 30 minutes, they cost $1 (30 cordobas). If you plan on getting to San Juan del Sur, you don't need to go to Rivas first and take a bus to the beach town after, but ask the driver to drop you off at the intersection known as La Virgen - buses to San Juan del Sur pass here every 30 minutes, and you save some time and money.
If you’re planning on visiting Ometepe Island, where you can hike the 1610 meters high Concepcion Volcano, you need to change the bus from Rivas to San Jorge, from there take a ferry to the island.
Taxi from the borders to San Juan del Sur cost $25.
WHERE TO STAY IN SAN JUAN DEL SUR, NICARAGUA
San Juan del Sur is a pretty beach town, and for many, including us, it is the first destination on Nicaragua travel itinerary.
The town itself is quite compact, but there are other beaches outside the center where you can stay. Fortunately, jeeps that supplement public transport are available.
Here are some tips on where to stay in San Juan del Sur.
Budget | Selina Maderas - An atypic hotel close to Maderas beach offers accommodation in teepees or standard private rooms.
Mid-range | Hush Maderas - Amazing, well-priced accommodation with an infinity pool overlooking the beach. We stayed here for four nights and could not get enough of views and great food.
Luxury | Hacienda and Ecolodge Morgan's Rock - An exceptional concept of bungalows that offer luxury in the jungle.
ESSENTIAL THINGS TO PACK FOR BORDER CROSSING
For obvious reasons, we always felt a bit vulnerable when crossing borders as there's a lot of stress, showing passports, money exchange, etc., and we were always worried that we would lose something in the chaos.
This is why we find it essential to pack smart and keep all the documents safe and accessible to stay organized. You can use passport holder if you want.
Make sure you have a comfortable anti-theft daypack and plenty of water. We also recommend having a travel pouch as you can tuck it in under your shirt and keep your passport available.
The extra security of a TSA luggage lock should deter casual thieves eyeing your large backpacks.
Your passport should be valid for at least the next six months. Also, although it is normally not enforced, we felt better with the proof of onward travels in the pocket and a hotel reservation in the first destination in Nicaragua.
Some travelers prefer having a moneybelt to keep some extra cash safe from pickpockets.
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
