Border Crossing: El Salvador to Nicaragua by boat
If you want to travel overland through Central America but are not keen on going through Honduras, taking the boat from El Salvador to Nicaragua is your only option.
In this blog post, I detail how I travelled by boat from El Salvador to Nicaragua. From La Union to Potosi. Details correct as of July 2022.
In this blog post, I detail how I travelled by boat from El Salvador to Nicaragua. From La Union to Potosi. Details correct as of July 2022.
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Supposedly you need to register with Nicaraguan immigration in advance 7 days if you can.
I filed my application. I received confirmation of my request almost immediately and 2 codes where I could track the progress.
I received an email in my spam box detailing the health protocols in place in Nicaragua to which I simply needed to reply that I had read them.
And then nothing. My status was always IN PROCESS. My attempts to contact them were fruitless.
***
I contacted Mario, the boat guy who runs Ruta del Golfo.
I filed my application. I received confirmation of my request almost immediately and 2 codes where I could track the progress.
I received an email in my spam box detailing the health protocols in place in Nicaragua to which I simply needed to reply that I had read them.
And then nothing. My status was always IN PROCESS. My attempts to contact them were fruitless.
***
I contacted Mario, the boat guy who runs Ruta del Golfo.
Requirements and details to travel by boat from La Union to Potosi
. The boat goes Tuesday and Friday
. It costs 55 USD
. A transfer from Potosi to León can be organised for 20 USD
. You need 3 copies of your passport.
. You need 3 copies of your covid vaccinations.
. You can still travel to Nicaragua if you have not been vaccinated but you must provide a PCR test.
. You need to tell Mario of your intended travel day.
Here is one of his many whatsapp numbers: +503 7282 4362
He's a busy guy but he does reply.
I travelled from San Miguel to La Union where I spent 2 nights. I mooched around, got my copies done and prepared myself to travel to Nicaragua, my 101st country.
I turned up at 7.00 am at the immigration.
4 others had travelled down from San Salvador, leaving there at 2.30 am.
Processing 5 passports with a simple exit stamp took an hour. It took another hour for the boat to turn up.
. It costs 55 USD
. A transfer from Potosi to León can be organised for 20 USD
. You need 3 copies of your passport.
. You need 3 copies of your covid vaccinations.
. You can still travel to Nicaragua if you have not been vaccinated but you must provide a PCR test.
. You need to tell Mario of your intended travel day.
Here is one of his many whatsapp numbers: +503 7282 4362
He's a busy guy but he does reply.
I travelled from San Miguel to La Union where I spent 2 nights. I mooched around, got my copies done and prepared myself to travel to Nicaragua, my 101st country.
I turned up at 7.00 am at the immigration.
4 others had travelled down from San Salvador, leaving there at 2.30 am.
Processing 5 passports with a simple exit stamp took an hour. It took another hour for the boat to turn up.
Immigration office in La Union:
It's a speed boat. Good for 10. Prepare your stuff against the possibility of getting wet. Thankfully our crossing was smooth but could well have been bumpy:
We arrived in Potosi at 11 am having set off at 8.45 am:
A short walk to immigration. A small military camp and what looked like a former storage deport for the end of the railway line:
We were given immigration cards just like the one I had done online. My digital application was not asked for.
They started processing us. We were given another form which needed our profession and a phone number.
1 copy of our passport with our accommodation address was requested. We all put the same hostel in Leon, and 1 copy of our vaccinations.
We had to put our bags on the dirt track, open them up and let the sniffer dog do its job before a soldier took out the contents and put them in the dirt with all the goat and horse shit. Really? Yes really.
At what point do they think that this is ok?
A 2nd copy of the passport and vaccinations was requested.
Why were we told 3? One of life's great mysteries I guess.
We heard the horn of the 1 pm bus departing. Our passports were still being processed.
A short time later we were given our passports back but not before parting with a 13 USD entry fee.
Everything was in order.
Me and an English guy needed to take the bus to Chinandega. 3 had onward transport organised.
But one had come with a drone. Drones are not permitted in Nicaragua.
He was trying to sort it out, possibly going back to El Salvador directly, with or without his 1500 $ drone.
Me and the English guy waited until 3 pm for the next bus. He had a reservation at a hostel in the village of Jiquilillo. I joined him as I deemed it too late to make it to León before dusk.
We rode the bus for 1 hour to the turn-off and then started walking.
The rest is another story.
They started processing us. We were given another form which needed our profession and a phone number.
1 copy of our passport with our accommodation address was requested. We all put the same hostel in Leon, and 1 copy of our vaccinations.
We had to put our bags on the dirt track, open them up and let the sniffer dog do its job before a soldier took out the contents and put them in the dirt with all the goat and horse shit. Really? Yes really.
At what point do they think that this is ok?
A 2nd copy of the passport and vaccinations was requested.
Why were we told 3? One of life's great mysteries I guess.
We heard the horn of the 1 pm bus departing. Our passports were still being processed.
A short time later we were given our passports back but not before parting with a 13 USD entry fee.
Everything was in order.
Me and an English guy needed to take the bus to Chinandega. 3 had onward transport organised.
But one had come with a drone. Drones are not permitted in Nicaragua.
He was trying to sort it out, possibly going back to El Salvador directly, with or without his 1500 $ drone.
Me and the English guy waited until 3 pm for the next bus. He had a reservation at a hostel in the village of Jiquilillo. I joined him as I deemed it too late to make it to León before dusk.
We rode the bus for 1 hour to the turn-off and then started walking.
The rest is another story.
This post is the property of Nomadic Backpacker
