Tica Bus takes us from Managua, Nicaragua to San Salvador, El Salvador

Pictures coming soon… still posting on the run.
By this point, we’re pretty familiar with the bus system. We like it, it´s a fun and inexpensive way to get around.

Today, our Ticabus (Ticabus is a bus company operating from Mexico to Panama) took us from Managua, Nicaragua to San Salvador, El Salvador. We got to Managua after another bus ride (on a locally owned express bus) from Granada to Managua (about an hour).

We arrived at the Tica Bus terminal 45 minutes early, as instructed. However, our bus arrived 2 hours late.

To be fair, this is the first time that a scheduled bus has been late departing (at least one that we´ve been on). Oh well.

After the Ticabus finally came, we got on. Then we sat there for the next 11 hours.

Border crossings were interesting this time. We never had to get off the bus.

For this trip, we crossed out of Nicaragua, and into Honduras. At this border, the Honduras agent got on the bus and looked at all of our passports. No problem.

But then they started questioning two people. The questioning took awhile, but they were eventually allowed back on the bus (30 minutes later).

Then, when it was time to leave Honduras, and cross into El Salvador, the Honduras agent got on the bus to check us out.

Again, the same two people were questioned extensively. After another 30 minutes, they were allowed back on the bus. This means that we were now an hour late (in addition to the *late* leaving from Managua) already.

We found it odd and relieving that we didn´t have to get off the bus, and have our bags checked, or put in a cage to be checked out, or have the bus get sanitized (this actually happened while passing from Costa Rica into Nicaragua).

We crossed from Honduras into El Salvador, still never having left the safety and comfort of our ejecutivo ride on the Ticabus.

The El Salvador agents did just about the same thing.

This meant no stamp in our passports from El Salvador.

This time, however, Jonathan and I were rather concerned. We are planning on staying in El Salvador for a little bit, but the bus is going straight through, without us having stamps in our passports.

Does this mean we just entered El Salvador as illegal aliens???? Great….

We decide that there´s nothing we can really do about it. The El Salvador border officials are getting off the bus, and the bus is already driving off.

Finally, after watching 2 very violent movies (the executive class busses have TVs), we arrive in San Salvador. It´s 12:30am, and we were supposed to get here at 9:00pm.

No late night partying for us…we´re off to the hotel to sleep so we can have a day of seeing El Salvador tomorrow!

PS – Just like in Panama, the currency for El Salvador is the US Dollar. It´s strange to be spending in dollars again, and also to know that many of the people using this currency here in El Salvador will never know how to take advantage of opportunity so that they might see the places that are depicted on the bills they will use their whole lives…

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6 Responses to “Tica Bus takes us from Managua, Nicaragua to San Salvador, El Salvador”

Lisa says:

December 16, 2009 at 10:37 am

I’m glad you didn’t end up being illegal immigrants in El Salvador, but these kinds of memories will last a life-time!!

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Librada Fryrear says:

February 8, 2010 at 2:34 pm

This really is an fascinating article on traveling through Central America.
I presume you’ve got a good outlook for people traveling in El Salvador and Nicaragua?

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Suzanne says:

April 4, 2010 at 10:10 am

Hi,

I watched your video about Tica Bus and want to thank for quelling some of my worry about safety. My boyfriend and I will be traveling CA by bus for 3 months starting May 4th and after reading many tales of robberies, I’ve scared myself silly! Are there armed guards on board? Do you know if the seats are as big and comfy as the Hedman Alas Ejecutivo Plus? Those seats are lazy boys and super comfy!!!

Do you know if on the route from San Pedro Sula to Managua, Tica Bus stops in Leon?

Thanks,
Suzanne
Toronto

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- strive4impact says:
  
  April 4, 2010 at 10:17 am
  
  Hi Suzanne,
  
  We didn’t have any real issues with safety or theft at all on the TicaBus.
  
  I think it may have been a concern in the past, but TicaBus doesn’t (at least didn’t) stop in Honduras while we were there due to the political instability. I think they’re pretty aware of where and when they should be going certain places. For us, we just drove through Honduras to get to El Salvador. But even the day we spent in Honduras (we went to the ruins at Copan, Honduras), we felt safe.
  
  Armed guards on board… nope.
  
  Can’t say anything about the Hedman Alas Ejecutivo, as we didn’t take it… The seats on TicaBus weren’t Lazyboys, but they were comfortable enough.
  
  The best bus we have ever been on was Andesmar from Buenos Aires to Mendoza. 13 hours went by quick and easy because the seats lay down completely flat on the ejecutivo service, they serve food, and it’s just generally very nice. but that’s a completely different route in a different part of the world.
  
  Didn’t ride the bus from Sao Pedro Sula to Managua, so couldn’t say if it stops in Leon or not… I would generally say no, as Leon is a bit further North… but I could be wrong.
  
  I guess I haven’t really answered your questions all that well, but hope this at least gives you a point to start from.
  
  Warmest,
  
  Jonathan
  
  Reply
- Nikki says:
  
  May 14, 2010 at 3:06 pm
  
  Hi Suzanne, have you figured out yet if there is a bus from San Pedro Sula to Managua? I’ll be taking the same route when I backpack in July, but it’s really hard to find the information online especially when the ones that DO have websites don’t provide enough information such as arrival times. Please let me know! Thanks, and I hope you’re having a marvelous time in Central America.
  
  -Nikki
  
  Reply
tonykiwi says:

January 29, 2012 at 2:41 am

I travelled with my Spanish wife Maria on Tica buses in Centro America in
Jan/Febuary 1966. Almost pioneeer’s you might say as it started up around 1963. We had come down from the States, Mexico & Belize on local transports.
Joined our first Tica bus in Guatemala City. Travelled the Pan Am route to El Salvador, Honduras, Nicarragua, Costa Rica to Panama City.
We were in effect migrating from the UK to NZ~~~via Central America,with all our worldly goods in pack packs.
Cargo shipped out of Liverpool to New Orleans first: Then cargo shipped out of Panama to Auckland.
We found the mini Tica buses we had travelled in hot & noisey. The roads full of pot holes. But in general the driver’s & passingers quite friendly. Border crossings gruelling & time consumming. We were finelly deposited at the hotel Ideal in Panama… it was Carnaval time and a mad nightmare of interesting sounds & sights.(This my second Panama visit – in December 1951… I was a nine year old British child migrant being shipped…deported some say to down under: In 1965… I returned mostly overland to England via the far& middle East & Europe to search for my lost birth roots. see my 20 minute documentary film of my fateful child migration: The Boy in the Lifebuoy on vimeo.
This site has brought back memories of our Centro Americanco Trip; Viva El Tica; as it was then.
(I was an English born; but New Zealander returning to NZ with Maria.

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