Bus Travel Through Central America

[Subfighter63]

I want to fly into Panama City, Panama and then take a bus all the way up to Guatemala City and then fly back to the States. I ound a bus company online that services all of CA called TICA BUS (http://www.ticabus.com/), and it seems to be pretty decent.

Has anyone made this trip or one similar in Central America? I have never been to Central America yet, I do a lot of travelling to the Dominican Republic, going there every 2 to 3 months for the last three years. I want to start visiting other parts of Latin America for a change.

Any info and tips would be greatly appreciated, and if there's anyone out there who wants to know about the DR, feel free to ask. I know the country like the back of my hand.

[Penta]

Has anyone made this trip or one similar in Central America?

Yup. But quite probably before you were born. Went on a Tica Bus for some of it too.

[Chelly]

ticabus... well run, clean (bathrooms deteriorate quickly though), they show movies, they collect everyone's money and passports (they pass out and collect customs/immigration forms also) to speed up most of the border crossing parts. You still have to manually go through customs though.
Food and beverage vendors will occasionally board and work the bus - then hop off and work a bus going the other way. No smoking. They only stop at larger cities. They have an Open Ticket policy, but you're supposed to make a reservation to guarantee a seat is available, and I don't know if that applies to individual legs of a trip or just the return journey.
Check and see if you can stay over for extra days when going in one direction - I'm assuming you're planning on stopping off and staying overnight at a few spots along the way, because flying to Panama to ride a bus for 4 or 5 days is just nutty. It will be the least eventful and most boringest ever part of your trip. Bring a warm cover in case the air-conditioning is too high, and an MP3 player or books or whatevah.
cheers!

[coldharvest]

Has anyone made this trip or one similar in Central America?

Yup. But quite probably before you were born. Went on a Tica Bus for some of it too.

......was it Columbus or Cortez driving the bus?

[friendlyskies]

I take Ticabus because it's not so insanely air conditioned, but some folks prefer to spend a couple extra dollars on King Quality (http://www.king-qualityca.com/), which is sort of like being on an airplane - beverage service, reclining seats that still work - but with more leg room. There are several smaller international bus companies without websites, but maybe better schedules once you're on the ground. One nice thing about taking Ticabus on the Managua-San Salvador stretch is it's got a cheap, passable hotel in Managua, where they'll wake you up for the 2am bus, and a great $14/night hotel in the Zona Rosa (think Beverly Hills) of San Salvador.

There's no reason to lock yourself into Ticabus for the whole trip, unless you're on a ridiculously tight schedule. Most tourists think major cities are the worst parts of Central America, and that's where international buses stop. For instance, if you want to go to Bocas del Toro, Panama, a groovin' archipelago on the Caribbean Coast about 7hrs by local bus from Panama City, and then cross to some of Costa Rica's best beaches from there, Tica Bus can't do it. They run straight from Panama City to San Jose on the Pacific side, driving right past the best parts of both countries IMO. But you can take local boats/buses between Bocas and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, CR, a very easy, scenic crossing that caters to tourists. From there, it's a 4hr local bus to San Jose, the capital of CR, where you can hook up with Ticabus again.

[Subfighter63]

Has anyone made this trip or one similar in Central America?

Yup. But quite probably before you were born. Went on a Tica Bus for some of it too.

I'm 47 years old, so if it was before I was born it was quite some time ago.

[Penta]

It was quite some time ago, but not quite that long. ;)

Apologies.

[rickshaw92]

Real men ride the chicken bus.

[JamesInTheWorld]

Has anyone made this trip or one similar in Central America?

Yup. But quite probably before you were born.

You are as old as dirt you cunt!

Old people make me sick, they smell like mothballs and pee - Just DIE ALREADY!


~James

[EV]

Real men ride the chicken bus.

Real men hitchhike.

But Subfighter, please promise that no matter what happens, you won't listen to those idiots at Panamanian-CR customs who say you need to pay for a star stamp on your tourist card. They are lying liars, but they will nonetheless swindle money out of every TICA bus passenger who comes through, and most everyone else as well.

[Chelly]

Real men ride the chicken bus.

Real men hitchhike.

oooooooh, you are both so close...

\penis size

[JamesInTheWorld]

So when are ya planning on taking this trip?


~James

[EV]

Closer and closer.




Still, there's nothing says you can't hitchhike a motorcycle. Now getting a ride from a Segway...