Leaving El Salvador & entering Honduras
We crossed from El Salvador into Honduras at El Amatillo at 7 am on a Sunday. We did not use ayudantes - there were many on the Honduran side and they hounded us a lot, but we showed some attitude, which kept them at bay.

About 1 km before arriving at official looking buildings, we were flagged down by a fellow (and various others!) who claimed to be the ES Aduana. After further discussion, we determined that he was legitimate (his little office & official stamp added to his credibility). He took our original ES import permit and gave us a signed, dated, stamped copy & told us to ride further and present this document to the ES Aduana up ahead. We rode to a building that we could ride into & went to the ES Aduana window & the paperwork was completed. No fees were paid.

In the same building, at a window further up, we went to Honduras Migracion where we had to pay US$ 3 per person (we paid in US$). A receipt was issued - keep this as you will need it when you leave Honduras. All of the above took 45 minutes, due to low volume on a Sunday.

We were told to ride over the bridge and into the infamous blue Honduras Aduana building & approach the window. Some of the shark-like ayudantes tried to get us to go ride our bikes to a nondescript building (no obvious signage) to the right hand side of the blue building, saying it was the Administration building. We did not budge initially. At 8 am (official starting time on a Sunday), a fellow came out of the Aduana building and told me that he would process our paperwork in that nondescript building, which was indeed the Administration building. I went with him, my husband stayed with the bikes.

His name is Senor Aguilare and he is the jefe (boss). He was polite, organized, and understood English, even though he could not speak it. He explained that 2 months ago he started processing extranjeros paperwork personally in an attempt to speed up the process. He apologized for the fact that Honduras was the only country that charged for the bike importation, but that was the law. He is also aware that many ayudantes cheat foreigners and he apologized for that, but he is not able to control this.

Since it was a Sunday, and the bank was closed, he told me I had 2 options: I could leave the money with him & he would give me an official receipt (he showed me a stack of similar applications, with the money attached to each one) & he would submit my payment to the bank on Monday; or I could choose to come back the next day. I chose the first option. I paid US$ 36 per bike in Lempiras (you can pay in US$). I found a couple of errors in the info he had to manually write in our passports, so do double-check all the data is correct. The process took 45 minutes. He had initially said he would check the VIN on the bikes at the end, but he must have forgotten because he said we could leave. We were lucky to have encountered him as it saved us much of the usual Honduras crossing difficulties.

Leaving Honduras and entering Nicaragua
As we approached the border, several people pointed to the place where we had to stop with our bikes on the left side, to show the Honduran Aduana guy our Honduran import permit, so that he could sign and date it. We then drove up to the building about 200m further up on the left side, which houses both the Honduran Aduana & Migracion. We parked outside the building, my husband stayed with the bikes. I had to walk around to the other side of the building. I first went to the Migracion window, showed our passports and was asked to show the receipts for the US$ 3 that we paid to enter Honduras. I was given a small piece of paper with a stamp on it. I then went to the Aduana window, showed him the paper from Migracion and checked the bikes out. No fees were paid. The process took 30 minutes due to the low volume on a Sunday.

We rode to the Nicaraguan side (about 0.5 kms away) and parked outside the Nicaraguan Migracion & Aduana building on the right side. We were immediately approached by insurance salespeople. They all charge US$ 12 (to be paid in US$) for one month (even if you leave & re-enter) and as we understood it, it is mandatory. You can buy this after you have gone through the Aduana & Migracion process, but we did it first (Aduana did ask to see the insurance certificate). Note that even though it was a Sunday, the bank in the building was open to change money and I was also able to get smaller US$ bills. As soon as you enter the building, there is a Migracion lineup. Foreigners pay US$ 7 each to enter (in US$) and after handing over US$ 14, I was calmly issued a receipt for $4 (oh well!). I then walked around the corner to the Aduana. No fees were paid. The process took an hour.

About 2 km after leaving the border, there was a policeman and a lady, stopping traffic (there were orange cones on the road) and they were collecting US$ 1 per vehicle for some reason. We had read about this on the HUBB and simply paid it and received our receipts meekly. He also asked to see our insurance papers.

Leaving Nicaragua and entering Costa Rica
When you arrive at the border (main border crossing on the Panamerican Highway), you stop first at a little building (everyone points you to it) and we had to pay US$ 1 each - it is some kind of municipal fee and all vehicles pay it & a receipt is issued. Then you enter a gate where we were each given a little receipt with our licence plate # told to go to Aduana ahead. We followed the signs that said 'Autos' and parked in the lot, where the Aduana building is on the left and the Migracion is on the right. I went into Aduana and went to the 'Saliendo Nicaragua' window and was told to go out to the lot and get 2 signatures on the receipt: one from the Aduana guy and one from the Policia. After doing this, I went back to the Aduana office and the bikes were checked out. No fees were paid. We rode the bikes closer to the Migracion building, so that we could see the bikes as we went through the Migracion process (each person has to process their own paperwork). We each had to pay US$2 to leave Nicaragua (no kidding!).

The first thing we had to do on the Costa Rica side was get the bikes fumigated for US$ 3 each. Then we rode up to where there was a big restaurant on the left side and parked outside it. This building houses Migracion, the bank and the insurance office as well. No fees for Migracion, however we had to purchase mandatory insurance for Colones 7,900 (roughly US$14) each and it can only be paid in Colones. It is valid for 3 months. Aduana is across the street for the first step of the process. They give you some paperwork to take to the next Aduana office - you ride your bike to this one, there are signs to follow. At this office they enter all the info into the computer and give you your import permit. No fees were paid.

These border crossings are time consuming and somewhat chaotic, but can be done with patience without the use of the ayudantes. Take a firm approach with them and they will, for the most part, leave you alone. We realize that this is just one way of making a living in places without a lot of opportunity, but they can be irritating and a bit aggressive. The main problem we found with them is that each one tells you something different (and much of it untrue) and all point in a different direction. I think they rely on this confusion to pursue their scams. The aduana and migration officers in all cases were professional and helpful. If you follow their directions, it makes it easier. For instance, Honduran Migracion specifically told us to drive right into the tunnel in the blue building and stay there throughout the process. However, the so-called ayudantes told us we could not stay there and wanted us to move. We had to get a bit stern with one of them and told him we were staying put. Anyway, it is an interesting process.