Driving To Costa Rica via the Pan-American Highway

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Last Updated on April 6, 2025 by Carolyn

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Driving the Pan-American Highway to Costa Rica

Sooner or later, most Costa Rican expats will want to move their personal belongings to Costa Rica.  It’s widely accepted that it’s wise to sell most of your furniture, vehicles, and belongings and move with only the bare necessities.  But once you’ve purged to the bare necessities, what are your options for getting them to Costa Rica?

Many people purge to the point where they have so few possessions that they can load their few remaining treasures into plastic totes and take them along when they fly to their new homes. But what if you have large pets, an heirloom piece of furniture that you can’t part with, or if despite a massive purge you still have too many possessions to make flying feasible? What options do you have to get these treasures moved?

If your possessions are not pets, shipping via a container is a viable but expensive option. Shipping a container of goods sounds pretty simple, but it’s not as straightforward as it may first appear.  There are all sorts of regulations on what can be shipped, how it must be packed, and how it must be documented.  Then, once the container arrives in Costa Rica there are many horror stories about it getting hung up in customs and finding contents either missing or broken.  Getting a firm price on shipping is like stabbing in the dark at a floating target. 

Another option for those in North America is to pack up their belongings and drive to Costa Rica via the Pan-American highway.  This option sounds daunting, but I thought it would be interesting to get some first-hand accounts of how difficult this option is in reality.  Following are four parties’ accounts of their epic journey along the Pan-American highway.

My first question was “Why did you Opt to Drive the Pan-American Highway to Costa Rica ?”

Kat’s family drove because they thought it would cost less. They had a mattress they didn’t want to leave behind as well as various kitchen appliances and a large Pitbull dog, and a cat.

Deserae drove with her spouse, and her reply to my question was “.. part of the reason we decided to drive was because we had two cats who were too big to fit in the carriers that store underneath the seats on the airlines.  The cats’ temperaments were also not well suited to going through an airport with thousands of people. We also wanted to have a reliable vehicle to drive in Costa Rica. We packed the entire truck full of all the stuff we could fit, and put everything we could in clear plastic totes.

Juan drove because he has a large German Shepherd dog and he also wanted a reliable vehicle when he arrived in Costa Rica.

Steve chose to drive as he was seeking adventure.

What Kind of Vehicle Did You Drive, and  Who Went With You?

Kat: We drove a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport pulling a cargo trailer. I traveled with my husband, our 3-year-old daughter, a cat, and a dog.

 Deserae:  We drove in a 2011 F150. It was my partner and I, along with 2 cats.

Juan:  We drove a 2022 Toyota 4Runner ORP. It was my wife and I, along with our German Shepherd dog.

Steve: I drove with one other person, Kurt, in my 2019 Toyota Tacoma.

Where and When did Your Journey Start, and Where Did it End?

Kat’s family started their journey in January 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ended it in Puriscal, Costa Rica.

Deserae’s duo did the drive in February 2022, starting in Phoenix, Arizona, and ending at San Isidro Del General, Perez Zeledon.

Juan and his wife left central Florida in October 2024  and they too ended their trip in Perez Zeledon.

Steve’s trip started in July 2022 in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and ended in Jaco, Costa Rica.

How Long Did the Drive Take You and What Route Did You Take?

Kat: “It took us three weeks, mainly because we couldn’t drive faster than about 40-45 mph towing the trailer.

We crossed into Mexico at Eagles Pass and stopped for the night in Monclova. Then we just kept heading south stopping in Monterrey and Rio Blanco. Parking with the trailer was difficult so we avoided big cities. The iOverlander app was a huge help for finding places to overnight.

After Rio Blanco, we headed to Tuxla Gutierrez and then toward the Guatemalan border at Talisman. The drive through Guatemala to El Salvador was interesting to say the least! (We elaborate on this part of the journey below). We then passed through Honduras to Nicaragua and then to the Costa Rica border where we again ran into some issues ( detailed below).

Deserae: We decided it would be faster and safer to drive to Texas and cross over the McAllen International Bridge. We hugged the Gulf and stayed on the highways where the semi trucks drove. The roads through Mexico were new and we did 80 mph for stretches which helped with time. We took what is known as the “Mountain Route”, the less traveled but windier route, and stayed away from large cities. Tegupaculpa, Honduras was the only large city we crossed through and we did that in the middle of the night with no traffic (we broke the no-night driving rule only that 1 time due to horrible conditions in the hotel) and it took us only 45 minutes to get from 1 edge to the other of the city. I think it was in Guatemala and  Honduras that we crossed through the mountains to get to the Pacific Coast side. We did not go through El Salvador because it seemed like it just added 2 more border crossings and, would take up time. We crossed through Nicaragua directly from Honduras. We stayed in hotels that we would find on either the I-Overlander app or our support crew comprised of friends and family with whom we had a group text chat and would update throughout each day our position and forecast route.

Juan:  We crossed into Mexico at  Laredo and then shot down the center of Mexico, crossed through Oaxaca down to Tapachula into Guatemala to Antigua, then to Copan Ruinas, then to Choluteca, crossed all of Nicaragua in one day into Costa Rica.

Steve: These were all of our overnight stops:

First night – Laredo, Texas

Second night – San Luis Potosí, Mexico 

Third night – Lafer, Mexico 

Fourth night – Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico 

Fifth night – small town in Guatemala,  Las Gardenias Hotel y Turicentro, Coatepeque, Guatemala. 

Sixth night – downtown San Salvador 

Seventh night – Leon, Nicaragua. 

Eighth night – Jaco (home)

Did Anyone in Your Party Speak Fluent Spanish?

Kat: None of us spoke fluent Spanish. I can speak enough to get by in restaurants and things like that but when they reply, I get lost very easily. So I’d say I speak “bad Spanish”

Deserae: Neither of us spoke a lick of Spanish.

Juan: I’m fluent in Spanish.

Steve: My companion Kurt spoke decent Spanish but not fluent.

What Did You Bring With you to Costa Rica

Kat: We brought 9 solar panels, a battery pack, and solar-related equipment, our mattress, kitchen appliances, and clothes.

Deserae: We brought remote work equipment, 2 TVs, my crystal collection, electronics, tools, and kitchen stuff. We packed everything in clear, labeled totes.

Juan: It was all overlanding gear

Steve: 5 55-gallon bins filled with household goods.

What Permits Were Required for Your Journey?

Kat: We needed TIP (Temporary Import Permits) and FMM (Forma Migratoria Múltiple) tourist card to enter Mexico. We also needed proof of current Rabies shot for our pets as well as shot records. Before entering Guatemala and Costa Rica we needed a health certificate for our animals. The vehicle you are entering with must be titled in the driver’s name.

Deserae:  We needed TIPS and paperwork for the cats. Since we drove at the tailend of the Covid pandemic, we needed a rapid Covid test before entering Nicaragua. Luckily all the other border crossings had done away with Covid testing 2 weeks before we crossed.

Juan: CDC Dog certificate for our German Shepherd.

Steve: None in advance. I pre-purchased an insurance policy for Mexico. I purchased a TIP at each border. 

What Kind of Bureaucracy Did You Run Into?

Kat: “The Guatemalan border was where it got tricky. I guess they have their own laws.  They wouldn’t let us through and they escorted us to a hotel at the border.  And this guy told us that we needed to do Transito. So what happened was the next day, they locked up our trailer and they took a simple list of our belongings.  They told us that we needed to have a GPS tracker in our car, and I kid you not, a live person to go with us to the El Salvador border. At first, I thought they were joking, but believe it or not, they were not.

So with this old guy in our car, the GPS, the cat, the dog, and the three-year-old who barely fit in, we started driving toward the El Salvador border, and we decided that we were not stopping for nothing. Well, when it got close to midnight, the old man started complaining, and we were previously told that if we were to get a hotel and go eat, we were to pay for his accommodations as well. So at that point, we were so frustrated with Guatemala, we decided to keep on driving until we were in El Salvador, and that’s what ended up happening.

Deserae: “We didn’t really run into any bureaucracy, the only place we had issues was the entrance of the Nicaragua border with the covid paperwork and the fact they wanted to look at our things and claimed that our electronics we were taking to sell LOL It took hours in the 100* heat of negotiating with the man in charge that spoke english to convince him we had no cash on us and that was our remote work equipment supplied by our employers. He couldn’t believe that we wouldn’t have cash and lots of money if we were driving a nice truck like we were. Finally after trying for a while and getting nowhere with us, and us telling him we weren’t stupid enough to travel with a bunch of money through central america, he approved and stamped us in.”

Juan: “In Mexico I was stopped a few times obviously because of the foreign vehicle I was driving. Most stops were legit, only one cop asked for something. I ended up giving him candy. ( I think the fact I am fluent in Spanish helped to avoid hassles)

Steve: “None. Nicaragua border was thorough, but no problems.“

What “Encounters” Did You Have Along the Way? Did you Have to Give any Authorities Bribes?

Kat: “When we crossed the Mexican border we stayed in Mankova, we stopped at a hotel. The next morning, we made the mistake of opening the trailer to go through some stuff, and since we had it open we decided to make some coffee and some tacos. While we were doing that, some guy was eyeballing us. It was really weird. He would casually stroll by and eventually he walked up and asked if we were a food truck, which clearly we were not. We thought okay we’re gonna get hit. It was not a secure parking lot, so we decided not to take any chances. We were going to stay there an additional night, but we just packed up and left. I think that was the right decision because I’d rather lose the  60 bucks that we paid for a hotel night than four grand worth of stuff that we just dragged across the entire America and to the Mexican border.

So yeah, I think it was the right decision, but it was probably the biggest scare.

Deserae: We didn’t really have many encounters, in Mexico, which is normal, there are military police stops which we ran through 2 times. The first guy asked us where we were going, if we had any dogs and why we were traveling. We told him 2 cats and we are moving to Costa Rica. To which he chuckled and said “Good Luck!”

Juan: Day 4 in Mexico we ran into a road block. We were told it could be closed until the next day. A passerby stopped and told us that we could cut threw a corn field and the field owners would only charge us like 40 pesos. A group of cars decided to go, we hit the first group and we were told it would be 100 pesos ($5 US) I said I only have 50 he took it but others got mad but still let me go. Advanced some more in the field and another group asked for 100 pesos. I said I would give them the 100 pesos if they guarantee me there isn’t another group wanting more money. There wasn’t. All was good kept going and we hit the main road again before Juchitan.

Steve: No encounters, no bribes.  Police and Border Patrol were all polite and professional

What was the Best Surprise on the Trip? What was the Worst Surprise?

Kat: The best and the worst things happened at the Costa Rican border. We got there, and my husband was allowed to go through with the trailer, but they rejected our paperwork for the animals. I don’t know if it’s because our trailer was in Transito, and they treat animals the same as property, and they put animals on the same paperwork as Transito, but they told me that my health certificate is not valid.  I had a valid health certificate from El Salvador, but they said I needed to go to IPSA in Managua, which is the capital of Nicaragua, and get an expert permit from them.

I chose to rent a car and go back to Managua with the animals whilst my husband and our daughter would cross into Costa Rica. I think the officials felt bad about us having to split up: they didn’t charge us any import taxes. That was a huge saving.

Meanwhile, I went back to Managua to the IPSA office and then paid the fees per animal at a local bank and went to a local vet’s office. I was happy to find a clinic that would do it in two hours. By the time I had the paperwork all done, it was late, and I ended up staying at a divey hostel.

The next day I went through the Costa Rica border without any issues with my cat and my dog. And, yeah, we finally made it here

Deserae  I would say the most lucky thing that happened was when we crossed the CR border. We had heard it could be horrible and long, and you have to take everything out of your vehicle,e and the animal certificate could be super hard to deal with. 

After the issue we had at the Nicaragua border, I said we are not staying in Nica and I’m driving us through! And that I did! We got to the CR border at 9:30 pm on March 6th, 2022, and it was still open, so we did it! There were no people or lines anywhere to be found. In fact, it was hard to find employees! The x-ray machine shuts down at that time of night, there are no lines, and all the employees just want to go home! The guy who inspected our truck had us open up the cover over the bed, and we told him everything was personal items packed in clear see-through totes, he looked at it for 1 minute and said ok. 

Then we went to do the cats’ vet certificates, but the office was already closed for the day, and when we asked the inspection crew about that they said, “I don’t know, just exit then”. So we didn’t have to deal with the vet certificates! It took us about 1.5 hours to get into CR and back on the road! Luck was really with us considering it was Santa Semana week, one of the year’s busiest traffic weeks in Costa Rica, and we slipped through like a mistress in the night!

We did not pay any taxes on anything on entry to Costa Rica! Again, GO LATE AT NIGHT about an hour or so before closing, be respectful, chat with the guy, crack a joke, and make them smile. It’s all about common courtesy and respect, and it will get you far in life with people. 

 The worst bad thing was the Nica border for sure, and that wasn’t even bad, it was just time-consuming, hot, and a delay with some negotiating and explaining.

Juan: Costa Rica and our home border was the worst. We arrived, they stamped our passports and we were out in 5 minutes. We go to do the car import and hit a brick wall. I am informed that because I am a Costa Rican resident bringing in a foreign car is prohibited by law. I was like what? Since when? Long story short. I was not allowed to bring the car into Costa Rica under my name. 

We had to call a lawyer to do a Power of attorney to “transfer” my car to my Tica wife. 5 hours later the lawyer shows up with the PoA and says read it and make sure everything is ok. I start to read it and the PoA basically just says “ That I give my Tica wife permission to drive my 4Runner in Costa Rica” $125 and 5 hours later, we finish the process of importing the car and our dog.

How much did they assess you in taxes?  This did not happen at the CR border.

Steve:  The best: We met a lot of nice people and enjoyed good food.  The worst: Negotiating the Nicaraguan border (in and out) was frustrating and onerous. 

How Much Did The Drive Cost You?

Kat: The total for gas, lodging, food, permits, and fees was $6300.

Deserae: It wasn’t expensive at all, lodging, fuel, and food cost us about $1500.

Juan: With Airbnb’s, food, and gas I would say the trip cost us around $2000 maybe less.

Steve: I did not keep track of the costs.

Do You Have Some Tips for Someone Contemplating Making the Drive?

Kat: I made a whole bunch of copies of the following paperwork because at every single border they asked for:

• Copy of the vehicle title front and back,
•  Copy of our passports,
• Usually a copy of the driver’s license front and back.

Don’t have any expectations for how long a border crossing will take. It might be 2 hours, it might be 2 days.

Deserae: “My advice would be: It’s all in the preparation and organization of the paperwork and how you treat the border officials. Make sure that you have cash on hand at each border, as it costs money to cross. Some borders take US,D some don’t, and you need to have their currency in the correct denomination.

Juan:  Research ahead of time the route you would consider taking. In my case, I had to do the trip fast because of my dog. If I did it again, I would more than likely take the same route but take much longer doing it to enjoy the touristy things, ruins, cenotes, etc

Steve: Just be confident, be polite, and be patient

Thoughts on Driving to Costa Rica via the Pan-American

After hearing each one of these first-hand accounts of the drive to Costa Rica, here are some key takeaways:

• Don’t have preconceived notions about how the drive will go. Each party had different experiences, although Kat’s was definitely the strangest having an escort across Nicaragua.
  
• Download the iOverlander App.
• Have your paperwork well organized and make many copies.
• When dealing with officials be polite and patient.
• If you have the time, don’t rush, enjoy the trip.
• Time your border crossings for late in the day

Did you notice, that each interviewee said they’d do the trip again? If you have a sense of adventure (and humor) driving the Pan-American to Costa Rica may be a great way to move or visit the country.

Recommended Resources

If you’d like to know more about driving the Pan-American here are resources:

For Your Viewing Pleasure:

Long Way Up: A British documentary series documenting the journey of two Motorcyclists from Argentina to Los Angeles-available for purchase on Amazon

Pan-American Highway: A You-Tube Playlist featuring videos on driving the Pan-American.

Some Good Reads:

One Border at A Time – Life lessons from 70 days on the Pan-American Highway

The Drive: Searching for Lost Memories on the Pan-American Highway

Don’t Go There. It’s Not Safe. You’ll Die: And other more rational advice for overlanding Mexico & Central America

Social Media

If you’re a Facebook user this is great group to join, it’s a treasure trove of information:

PanAmerican Travelers Association

This concludes our Drive to Costa Rica via the Pan-American Highway post. Have you done this drive or part of it? Please feel free to share your experience in the comments!

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