Crossing the Las Tablillas/Los Chiles Border from Nicaragua to Costa Rica
This is a road trip report from September 2022 about my journey from San Carlos, Nicaragua, to La Fortuna , Costa Rica, crossing the border at Las Tablillas/Los Chiles.
Enjoying a well-deserved Imperial beer in La Fortuna in Costa Rica, my 102nd country, 95th UN-Listed Member State:
On the way back north, from Panama City to Mexico City, I crossed the Costa Rica Nicaragua border at Peñas Blancas
San Carlos to La Fortuna in three stages:
Note: The border crossing is called Las Tablillas on the Nicaragua side and Los Chiles on the Costa Rica side!
San Carlos to Las Tablillas
Los Chiles to Quesada
Quesada to la Fortuna
1. San Carlos to Las Tablillas:
My ‘border crossing’ journey began in San Carlos, a small town on the northern side of Lake Nicaragua.
I had travelled to San Carlos from Matagalpa, via Juigalpa, over two days. The road used to be one of the worst in the country. Now it’s paved, but it’s still a tiring journey.
So after experiencing the delights of an end-of-the-road Nicaraguan town, I took a combi-van from the main bus terminal in San Carlos to the border at Las Tablillas.
The combi van does not take the main road. Sometimes it’s referred to as Las Tibillas:
Just after the Santa Fe Bridge, there is a security check, and just like the check coming into Nicaragua at Potosi, they emptied my bags. And it was a faster and more amicable experience than the Potosi one.
The ride from San Carlos to the border took 45 minutes in total. The fare was 60 C$.
I befriended a lady from Costa Rica. I don’t know her name, but she had been through the border before and knew the ropes.
Nicaragua – Costa Rica border
From where we stopped, it’s a short walk to the immigration office.
Make sure you are in the right queue. Seems like there’s one for exiting and another for arriving. As always, it’s not easy to tell which is which.
Nicaraguan immigration is slow. It depends on the people in front of you having their paperwork in order. And of course, the officer. I was processed pretty swiftly.
And bear in mind we are leaving, yet they still want to know irrelevant details such as marital status.
Hell, their database is obviously not linked, as the details should be on the system. But no. They seem to like making things more complicated than needed in Nicaragua.
After an hour, I am stamped out:
You get your bags scanned. Walk through No Man’s Land to the Costa Rican border. Right before the border, you give the customs declaration form to the officer in the little hut seen here.
Walk across the border.
The officers are efficient and speak great English.
You get 90 days.
Go to the customs desk where they ask if you have any fruits, and then you are free to go. 5 minutes if that.
Welcome to Costa Rica.
2. Los Chiles to Quesada:
The township of Los Chiles is 6 km away. The only transport available seemed to be big buses that were going all the way to San José, and my newfound friend told me I needed to get off at Quesada and then get another bus to La Fortuna, which is exactly what I did. So the bus left the border at 11.10 am and arrived in Quesada at 2.15 pm. 3550 CRC (Colones)
3. Quesada to la Fortuna:
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long. The next bus left at 2.30 pm and I arrived in La Fortuna at 3.55 pm. It cost me 1675 CRC.
Changing Money:
There are no ATMs at the border!
You can change leftover Córdobas (C$) at the San Carlos bus terminal. I kept 60 C$ aside for the ride and changed the rest.
You can also change money shortly before the border. The minivan stops!
I changed 20 USD at the exit at Nicaraguan immigration. I got 650 Costa Rica Colones (CRC) to the dollar.
So that was the border crossing experience as of the end of August 2022
The currency in Costa Rica is the Colones . The plastic bills, which are great in humid countries, are 20,000, 10,000 (plastic version coming in October 2022 apparently), 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000. And the coins; 500, 100, 50, 25, 10 and 5 Colones. The 500s and 100s are a bit clunky, like the old 1 penny in the UK pre-1971.
The Banco Nacional in Costa Rica has free ATM withdrawals.
One of the cool things you can do in La Fortuna that doesn’t require a guide or tour is to visit the La Fortuna Waterfall. I walked there and back. Bit of a ways, though. Super hot and sweaty:
No real traffic crossing the border. But going to the border may work, and again on the other side. Youd have to get to the first town once across and then manybe. Way less opportunities on the Nice side.
Nice breakdown here because you never know how Central American border crossings will go. We crossed over to Costa Rica busing from Granada in Nicaragua. I would call it an efficient operation because the guards seemed used to processing a decent number of locals with tourists mixed in.
Had 2 entries to Nicaragua. Took forever both times. Costa Rica just a few minutes. Panama was smooth and efficient. Mexico like to make it long winded too. .
Hi. Is there any traffic there or only buses? I want to hichhike 🙂
No real traffic crossing the border. But going to the border may work, and again on the other side. Youd have to get to the first town once across and then manybe. Way less opportunities on the Nice side.
Nice breakdown here because you never know how Central American border crossings will go. We crossed over to Costa Rica busing from Granada in Nicaragua. I would call it an efficient operation because the guards seemed used to processing a decent number of locals with tourists mixed in.
Had 2 entries to Nicaragua. Took forever both times. Costa Rica just a few minutes. Panama was smooth and efficient. Mexico like to make it long winded too. .