Getting to Nicaragua by Land or Sea

By Land

Borders

Honduras (922 km) and Costa Rica (309 km).

From Neighboring Countries

Since 2006, there has been an agreement between Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua called the "Central American Border Control Agreement" (C-4). This allows free movement of nationals from these countries within this area without border controls, and in theory, any foreign visitor as long as they travel directly from one of these four member states to another.

By Land

Travel between Nicaragua and its neighbors is straightforward. However, it is only on the Pacific side that you will find road networks, including the Pan-American Highway, allowing travel from one country to another. Several bus companies provide international routes, including:

• Central Line: for Managua-San Jose (Costa Rica).

• Easy Ride: transfers to/from Costa Rica. Easy Ride is one of those agencies that offers regular minibus ("shuttle") services for an almost exclusively foreign tourist clientele. Slightly more expensive than the bus.

• Nica Expreso: same as Central Line to/from Costa Rica, plus local routes in Nicaragua.

• Platinum: luxury buses with Wi-Fi for routes between Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

• Tica Bus: the most well-known for their presence and transport across Central America (excluding Belize).

• Trans Nica: for Honduras and Costa Rica.

Note that if you want to spend slightly less and have time, you can also choose the option of taking a local bus to the border and then another one in the next country once you’ve crossed.

By River

On the Caribbean side, since there are no roads, crossings are much more unpredictable, and travel between countries is done via rivers. This is the case, for example, between Los Chiles (Costa Rica) and San Carlos (Nicaragua). Sometimes, you just need to find the boats that make these trips...

By Sea

Ferries

There is only one real international service, which is actually carried out by small boats rather than ferries as we imagine them. This is the route between El Salvador (La Union) and Nicaragua (Potosi), which has been operating since 2009 via the Gulf of Fonseca. The company Ruta del Golfo manages the bi-weekly line with options that include the boat trip alone (US$65 round trip) as well as combined "boat + bus" packages to/from various cities in these two countries.

It’s worth noting that the Los Chiles-San Carlos route can be done by water taxis, as well as with the two daily scheduled connections between these two small towns for about US$12 per trip.

Cargo Ships

The ports of Bluefields, on the Caribbean coast, and Corinto, on the Pacific coast, are the main entry points for arriving by cargo ship. That said, if the Nicaragua Canal project goes ahead as planned for 2020, things and opportunities could well change...

Cruises

The country is not yet a major destination for cruise passengers, although local authorities are keen to develop this sector. For now, the cruise ships that stop in Nicaragua dock at Corinto (Pacific) for the beaches of San Juan del Sur or at Puerto Cabezas on the Caribbean coast.

Sailboats