Central America Border Crossings.

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Central America Border crossing Summary

Crossing the borders through Central America can be a very daunting prospect when reading some of the literature available, particularly if your Spanish is not very good, however I have read accounts which seem to suggest an almost outright lawlessnes exists and that there is the need for almost a cavalier spirit to survive the events. This has not been my experience. The only country where there was shameless and flagerant Gringo shakedowns for money was on entering and exiting Honduras, which seems to be everybodies experience...but having said that, I/we never felt unsafe or threatened. Whatever happened in the other countries in terms of charges and paperwork seemed legitamate to me/us with the exception of the coffee money for the "Inspector" at Panama. On average the crossings take between 90 mins and 3 hours, depending on traffic largely, but also on their lunch-times, so be wary of trying to cross then as you could easily add another hour to the whole process.

In summary, there are basically two or three charges per entry into a country, and perhaps one on exiting, except perhaps Honduras, still not quite sure what should have happened on the exit. Keep your cool, smile if you can. The officials in general are used to the odd Gringo coming through and whilst they look bored and distarcted beyond belief, they don't tend to work against you. (This is where using the helpers definately helps!). In my experience $10 for a complete borer crossing for the helpers seems about fair for the hassle it saves you.) If you speak Spanish very well, you might try yourself but make sure somebody is watching your bike. (If only for your peace of mind !)

If any of you reading this would like further information, please e-mail us at : knobblies@exploringrtw.com or PM us at ExploringRTW

Mike
 


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