From Guatemala you can reach Costa Rica overland in three to four weeks on three scheduled cross-border legs: Antigua to San Salvador (daily, 55 USD), San Salvador to Nicaragua (Tica Bus, daily at 12:30 a.m., $55), and Nicaragua to Costa Rica (Tica Bus, several departures a day, $33), with Guatemala’s own sights in the first week. Bus fares for that spine add up to US$143 (about C$200 or £111). The four-week version adds Copán in Honduras. Every fare and time below comes from the operator’s own site, read on 4 November 2026, or from this site’s route pages, which are linked leg by leg; this page adds no daily costs of its own.
TL;DR: Week 1 Guatemala, week 2 El Salvador (or Copán and El Salvador), week 3 Nicaragua, final days in Costa Rica. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua share one 90-day CA-4 allowance; Costa Rica does not. Since 31 October 2026 British travellers need no Honduran visa for visits of up to 90 days; the UK says Honduran entry rules apply even to riding through Honduras on the El Salvador to Nicaragua bus.
Fares from Guatemala City on each Tica Bus leg, and the sum to each capital, are on our Tica Bus guide; this page is the route and the order to do it in.
The route skeleton
| Leg | Operator | Leaves | Arrives (scheduled) | Fare | In C$ / £ | Runs | Border |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua → Panajachel (Lake Atitlán) | Adrenalina Tours | 08:00, 12:30, 16:00 | 3 hours stated | 25 USD | 35 / 19 | Daily | None |
| Antigua → San Salvador | Adrenalina Tours | 09:00 | 7 hours stated | 55 USD | 77 / 43 | Daily | Not named by the operator |
| Guatemala → El Salvador (alternative) | Tica Bus | 05:30, 06:30, 14:00, 16:30 | 6 hours later | $20 or $35 | 28-49 / 16-27 | Daily (16:30 Monday to Friday) | Valle Nuevo and Las Chinamas |
| El Salvador → Nicaragua | Tica Bus | 12:30 a.m. | 2:00 p.m. | $55 | 77 / 43 | Daily | El Amatillo / El Guasaule |
| Nicaragua → Costa Rica | Tica Bus | 06:00, 07:00, 12:00 (05:30 subject to availability) | 11 to 12 hours later | $33 | 46 / 26 | Daily | Peñas Blancas |
| El Salvador → Costa Rica direct (alternative) | Tica Bus | 03:00 | 03:00 next day | $81 | 113 / 63 | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday | El Amatillo / El Guasaule / Peñas Blancas |
Tica Bus says its fares apply to online purchase only and that arrival times are approximate, depending on border queues and traffic. Adrenalina’s times are its stated durations. Conversions at Banguat’s cross rates for 3 November 2026.
What the spine costs in bus fares: Antigua to San Salvador (55 USD) + El Salvador to Nicaragua ($55) + Nicaragua to Costa Rica ($33) = US$143, about C$200 or £111. That is a sum of separate tickets, before border fees, the Lake Atitlán shuttle and any local transport.
Three weeks: Guatemala to Costa Rica
| Days | Where | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Antigua | Fly into Guatemala City |
| 4-6 | Lake Atitlán | Antigua → Panajachel shuttle, then back to Antigua |
| 7 | Antigua → San Salvador | Adrenalina 09:00, 7 hours stated |
| 8-9 | El Salvador | See our Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras itinerary for the beach and Santa Ana options |
| 10 | El Salvador → Nicaragua | Tica Bus at 12:30 a.m., arriving 2:00 p.m. |
| 11-17 | Nicaragua | Detail on Guatemala to Nicaragua |
| 18 | Nicaragua → Costa Rica | Tica Bus, morning departure |
| 19-21 | Costa Rica | Onward and flight options on Guatemala to Costa Rica |
The 12:30 a.m. departure on day 10 means boarding at the end of day 9, so book a room in San Salvador for that night only if you want somewhere to wait.
Four weeks: add Copán and Tegucigalpa
| Days | Where | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Antigua and Lake Atitlán | As above |
| 7 | Antigua → Copán Ruinas | Adrenalina, daily 03:30, 7 hours stated, 55 USD |
| 8 | Copán ruins | Fees on our Guatemala and Roatán itinerary |
| 9 | Copán → El Tunco (El Salvador) | Gekko Trails, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:00, about 7 hours, US$71 (read 4 November 2026) |
| 10-12 | El Salvador | Make your own way from the coast to San Salvador’s Tica Bus terminal; this site has no page for that local leg |
| 13 | San Salvador → Tegucigalpa | Tica Bus 12:00, arriving 21:00, $35, via El Amatillo |
| 14 | Tegucigalpa → Managua | Tica Bus 09:00, arriving 20:00, $37, via El Guasaule |
| 15-24 | Nicaragua | As above |
| 25 | Nicaragua → Costa Rica | Tica Bus, $33 |
| 26-28 | Costa Rica | As above |
Bus and shuttle fares on this version: 55 + 71 + 35 + 37 + 33 = US$231, about C$323 or £180, before border fees and the coast-to-capital leg. Because the Copán to El Tunco shuttle runs only three days a week, fix day 9 first and count back to your Antigua departure. Swapping Copán for the Bay Islands instead turns this into the Guatemala and Roatán itinerary.
The CA-4 clock on this route
- One 90-day allowance for four countries. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form the CA-4. The UK FCDO says the 90 days run from your first entry into any of them and keep running when you move between them; Canada’s advice says 90 days are not granted automatically and that the officer at your first CA-4 entry point sets the length. Extensions and the reset rules are on our CA-4 border run guide.
- Costa Rica is outside it. The FCDO says British visitors can stay up to 180 days under Costa Rica’s visa waiver, at the immigration officer’s discretion, and that an overstay can bring a fine of US$100 per month.
- Honduras and British passports. The FCDO says that since 31 October 2026 British citizens can visit Honduras for up to 90 days without a visa, with a 30-day visit entry stamp on arrival that you can apply to extend at an immigration office, and that anyone transiting Honduras on the way to another country has to meet Honduran entry rules even without going through immigration. Every Tica Bus route between El Salvador and Nicaragua is listed as crossing El Amatillo and El Guasaule, so on this route you enter Honduras either way; the direct El Salvador to Costa Rica bus crosses the same two borders.
- Nicaragua. The FCDO says Britons need no visa for a visit of up to 90 days and may be turned away without an onward ticket.
| Country | UK passport (FCDO) | US and Canadian passports |
|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | Up to 90 days, shared with El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua | Canada: no tourist visa for up to 90 days |
| El Salvador | No visa needed for stays up to 180 days; the CA-4 90 days are shared with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua | Check your government’s page |
| Honduras | No visa for up to 90 days since 31 October 2026; 30-day entry stamp on arrival, extendable at an immigration office | Canada: no tourist visa for up to 90 days |
| Nicaragua | Up to 90 days; onward ticket may be checked | Check your government’s page |
| Costa Rica | Up to 180 days, at the officer’s discretion | Check your government’s page |
Border fees on the way
This site has already set these out from Tica Bus’s migration-requirements pages, which the operator says follow each country’s immigration rules; the full tables are on Guatemala to Costa Rica (read 21 October 2026) and Guatemala to Nicaragua (read 9 October 2026).
| Country | Listed by Tica Bus (via our route pages) | UK FCDO |
|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | No tax to enter or leave | Air departure tax of US$30, normally in the ticket, according to the FCDO |
| El Salvador | Tourist card of USD 12, cash, at land borders, for a group of nationalities that includes the US and Canada | The FCDO’s El Salvador entry advice lists no tourist-card fee for British passports |
| Honduras | USD 3 entry tax, all nationalities | Immigration may charge 3 US dollars in cash at land borders; keep the receipt |
| Nicaragua | USD 14 entry, USD 4 exit | 10 US dollars cash on arrival (advice updated 10 December 2025) |
| Costa Rica | USD 8 exit tax; an exit ticket from the country | A 29 US dollar air departure tax, which the FCDO says most airlines include |
The two Nicaragua entry figures differ, and this page does not choose between them; carry enough small US bills for the higher one.
Safety levels along the route
The US State Department lists El Salvador at Level 1, Costa Rica at Level 2, and Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua at Level 3 (as read 4 November 2026). What each advisory says about Nicaragua in detail is on our Guatemala or Nicaragua page. A policy that covers every country on the route is the subject of our Central America multi-country travel insurance guide.
Heading north instead, into Mexico and Belize? That loop is our Mexico, Guatemala and Belize itinerary.
Sources
- Tica Bus, rutas, horarios y tarifas, read 4 November 2026
- Adrenalina Tours, collective shuttles from Antigua, read 4 November 2026
- Gekko Trails Explorer, Copán Ruins to El Tunco shuttle, read 4 November 2026
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, travel advice for Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras (entry requirements), Nicaragua and Costa Rica, read 4 November 2026
- Government of Canada, Guatemala and Honduras travel advice, read 4 November 2026
- US Department of State, travel advisory levels as listed in the State Department’s advisory feed, read 4 November 2026
- Banco de Guatemala cross rates for 3 November 2026, via our exchange rates page
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you travel overland from Guatemala to Costa Rica?
Yes, on scheduled buses with a stop in El Salvador. Tica Bus runs Guatemala to El Salvador up to four times a day for $20 or $35, El Salvador to Nicaragua daily at 12:30 a.m. for $55, and Nicaragua to Costa Rica several times a day for $33; it also runs a direct El Salvador to Costa Rica bus at 03:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for $81 (Tica Bus timetable, read 4 November 2026). Tica Bus says its fares are for online purchase and its arrival times are approximate.
How long do you need for a Central America overland trip from Guatemala?
Three weeks covers Guatemala, a stop in El Salvador, Nicaragua and a few days in Costa Rica with three long cross-border travel days; four weeks adds Copán in Honduras and a night in Tegucigalpa. Each Tica Bus leg used on this route is scheduled at between 6 and 14 hours, and the direct El Salvador to Costa Rica service is scheduled at 24 hours.
Do El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua use up my Guatemala 90 days?
Yes. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua share one 90-day allowance under the CA-4 agreement, and the UK FCDO says crossing between them does not reset it. Costa Rica is outside the CA-4: the FCDO says British visitors can stay up to 180 days there, at the officer’s discretion. A three- or four-week trip fits well inside 90 days.
Do British travellers need a visa to pass through Honduras by bus?
No, not since 31 October 2026: the UK FCDO says British citizens can visit Honduras for up to 90 days without a visa, with a 30-day visit entry stamp on arrival. It also says anyone transiting Honduras on the way to another country has to meet Honduran entry rules even without going through immigration. Tica Bus lists its El Salvador to Nicaragua service as crossing at El Amatillo and El Guasaule, the Honduran borders at either end.
What border fees should I budget for between Guatemala and Costa Rica?
Tica Bus’s migration pages, as set out on this site’s Guatemala to Costa Rica page (read 21 October 2026), list no tax for Guatemala, a USD 12 tourist card at El Salvador’s land borders for a group of nationalities that includes the US and Canada, USD 3 to enter Honduras, USD 14 to enter and USD 4 to leave Nicaragua, and USD 8 to leave Costa Rica. The UK FCDO gives Nicaragua’s arrival tax as 10 US dollars in cash, so carry small US bills for either figure.
