Travel Hack #31: Border Crossing Strategy - How to Cross Borders
Posted: October 30, 2024 | Tagged: Travel Hacks
I am a big fan of overland travel. I have travelled overland/without taking a flight from London to Beirut, Hong Kong to the Aral Sea, Singapore to Islamabad, Cairo to Cape Town, Nairobi to Katima Mulilo, Panama City to Mexico City.
These are not just some small jaunts. These journeys involved multiple border crossings and 95 % of the time I have followed the tips listed below.
They have added to the adventure, saved me a shit load of cash and that's all part of being a backpacker, a traveller!
I really must make a list of all the borders I have crossed by bus, train or boat. That will make an interesting read!
Having crossed the border into Honduras, I wait for the chicken bus, the first in a series of buses that day, to El Paraiso. No timetables, no schedule, it's just a question of waiting.
These are not just some small jaunts. These journeys involved multiple border crossings and 95 % of the time I have followed the tips listed below.
They have added to the adventure, saved me a shit load of cash and that's all part of being a backpacker, a traveller!
I really must make a list of all the borders I have crossed by bus, train or boat. That will make an interesting read!
Having crossed the border into Honduras, I wait for the chicken bus, the first in a series of buses that day, to El Paraiso. No timetables, no schedule, it's just a question of waiting.
Essential Border Crossing Tips:
- Start Early
- Get transport to the border
- Cross the border
- Get onward transport
Taking the early bus from Ocotal in Nicaragua to the frontier with Honduras:
1. Start Early
I can't emphasise enough how important it is to start as early as you can. The day could be long. You will lose time at the border, and there is nothing worse than arriving at your final destination in the dark
2. Get transport to the border
In developing countries buses can start at 4 am. I am not keen on getting up at 3 am but a bus at 6 or 7 am is ideal.
The bus to the border will be a local bus. They are always much cheaper than international buses or trains. Local buses are always much cheaper than bus companies like TicaBus or NicaBus which run in Central America.
Many travellers think that just because they can't find a timetable or book online that there aren't any other options available, that they must use a company like TicaBus. Do you think the majority of locals have enough cash to travel on these luxury buses? NO. Just go to the bus station and ask, look for yourself. It's a quality seeming lost of travellers today.
Taking a matatu from Kisumu in Kenya to the border with Uganda at Busia:
The bus to the border will be a local bus. They are always much cheaper than international buses or trains. Local buses are always much cheaper than bus companies like TicaBus or NicaBus which run in Central America.
Many travellers think that just because they can't find a timetable or book online that there aren't any other options available, that they must use a company like TicaBus. Do you think the majority of locals have enough cash to travel on these luxury buses? NO. Just go to the bus station and ask, look for yourself. It's a quality seeming lost of travellers today.
Taking a matatu from Kisumu in Kenya to the border with Uganda at Busia:
3. Cross the border
Crossing borders can be stressful. Sometimes the immigration officials can be a bit anal, hoping for a bribe. They have the authority to make or break your day, but I mostly breeze through immigration. I love the buzz!!
Crossing borders is preferable as early in the day as you can make it.
I once crossed from Guinea to Sierra Leone late at night. An experience I would not like to repeat. The border guys were drunk, and I lost a lot of time. What I should have done was to stay in the town 30 km from the border and make the crossing the next day.
So, if you are arriving at the border late, getting onward transport from the border could be problematic, so try to find a hotel either before or after the border. Do your research. Scroll GoogleMaps. Zoom in, and you will find hostels you never even knew existed.
Crossing from Senegal to Mali was an example of when I should have found accommodation before crossing the border:
Crossing borders is preferable as early in the day as you can make it.
I once crossed from Guinea to Sierra Leone late at night. An experience I would not like to repeat. The border guys were drunk, and I lost a lot of time. What I should have done was to stay in the town 30 km from the border and make the crossing the next day.
So, if you are arriving at the border late, getting onward transport from the border could be problematic, so try to find a hotel either before or after the border. Do your research. Scroll GoogleMaps. Zoom in, and you will find hostels you never even knew existed.
Crossing from Senegal to Mali was an example of when I should have found accommodation before crossing the border:
4. Get onward transport
99.99% of the time, there will be some form of onward transport from the border to the next town. It might be a shared taxi or a local bus. It depends entirely on the set-up. In almost 32 years of travel, I have never been stranded at the border. Though I have had to wait sometimes. I have even hitchhiked. When I crossed from Albania to North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to walk with my thumb out, hoping for a ride.
When I crossed from Guatemala to Mexico at the El Ceibo Border crossing, the buses on the Mexican side weren't, for whatever reason, running that day. Me and some French travellers scrounged a ride in the back of a pickup to the first town where we could get onward transport.
When I crossed from Guatemala to Mexico at the El Ceibo Border crossing, the buses on the Mexican side weren't, for whatever reason, running that day. Me and some French travellers scrounged a ride in the back of a pickup to the first town where we could get onward transport.
Changing some Kenyan Shillings to Ugandan Shillings at the border in Busia. It's not a given that there will be a money changer. But at busy border crossings, especially in less developed parts of the world, there will always be someone.
Of course, when things go wrong, this will be all part of the adventure. Many times I have had to use my wits, to think on my feet, to use my experience gained from having travelled for many years across many different borders and to make snap decisions, whilst prioritising my well being.
Think of all the stories you can tell in the pub.
Where's the fun in saying "I took a gringo shuttle from my hotel in San Cristobal and they dropped me off right at the door of my hotel in Panajachel"? If there was one thing that distinguishes a traveller from a tourist it is this.
Think of all the stories you can tell in the pub.
Where's the fun in saying "I took a gringo shuttle from my hotel in San Cristobal and they dropped me off right at the door of my hotel in Panajachel"? If there was one thing that distinguishes a traveller from a tourist it is this.