Hitching Central America Arizona border to Nicaragua

[Meester Bomba]

Hey so I'm thinking about crossing the border at Nogales in Arizona and hitchhiking through central america and into nicaragua sometime in february. I spent 3 months in central america this past summer and did some hitchhiking just from town to town but it definitely wasnt my primary means of travel. this next trip however i am considering making it my only way to travel.

Has anyone done this? And would anyone be interested in joining me? The plan is to get to nicaragua either granada or san juan del sur and do some freelance english teaching and sell some things to tourists while they are passing through. You dont need much to live off of down there. Let me know people what you think or if anyones interested.

 

[JakeRobbins]

I left Nogales AZ last April and hitchhiked all the way to Argentina/Chile. It took about 4 months. I did pay for a bus past Nogales into more souther part of Mexico because of the border violence at the time, but this probably isn't necessary. Especially if you know a bit of Spanish, hitchhiking in Latin America is sweet! From Mexico border to Nicaragua was less than a month.

Good places to stop are the international borders where trucks have to stop and do paperwork. The police are your friends too, it's not like in America, they often have police checkpoints and will sometimes help to connect you with a ride to where you're trying to go.

It's good to sell stuff or do work or something of value, for the first bit I just kind of mooched off the locals. They gladly help you out but that's only having a poor survival mentality instead of thriving in the epic spirit of adventure and exchanging love with the world. It's easy to sew bracelets or play the harmonica or go to restaurants to do work exchange.

Two important things to have: Spanish dictionary and a MAP of where you want to go (people don't give reliable directions).
Take your time. Make the most of your trip and good luck!

 

[Meester Bomba]

wow thats pretty impressive man, quite a trip. id like to talk to you more about this, i have many questions. did you stay in hostels or sleep on the beach or what? ive read this dudes blog a little bit ago and him and his buddy hitched through central america as well and they said they got offered a lot of places to stay by the people that picked them up. did you ever have luck like that? also was it mainly truckers that gave you rides? and how did you get across the darien gap? sorry for all the questions but im super curious about this and just want to know as much as i can before i head out.

 

[uliveandyouburn]

How'd you get from Panama to South America? I've read about ferries but if one has a car or motorcycle I read you'd have to set up to rent a shipping container. Have they got a vehicle ferry going yet?

 

[Cardboard]

Panama is south america. Continental divide is in Costa rica.

 

[uliveandyouburn]

the Darien gap is between Panama and Colombia, and is what prevents travel overland by anything other than on foot.

 

[axolotl]

ive read this dudes blog a little bit ago and him and his buddy hitched through central america as well and they said they got offered a lot of places to stay by the people that picked them up.

can you post a link for that blog if you have it?

 

[Meester Bomba]

dude i cant remember where i read that. i think i found a link on digihitch.com. if i find ill put it up there for you.

 

[Meester Bomba]

i couldnt find the blog i was talking about earlier but i did find this blog. hitchtheworld.com. after reading some articles i am pretty close to getting my paycheck next week and pulling the trigger.

 

[happythoughts123]

How'd you get from Panama to South America? I've read about ferries but if one has a car or motorcycle I read you'd have to set up to rent a shipping container. Have they got a vehicle ferry going yet?

There's car/passenger ferries that can take you around the gap.