Is it safe to drive from Texas to Costa Rica? How long would it take?

Question

Is it safe to drive from Texas to Costa Rica? How long would it take?

Answer 1

Have seen several similar questions here before...so have found some websites with articles I hope will help you.  See below.   I live in southern Mexico.  The drive is challenging, but if you educate yourself, are well-prepared, have a sturdy vehicle, you can do it.

Answer 2

Yes it is safe. BUT do take precautions, I've done twice already, back when there were guerrillas and really NOT safe at all. It would take about four days...taking it easy.

Day one. Texas-Mexico City, depending where you are in Texas, Say..Dallas for Example or Houston.

Day two. Mexico City-to Guatemalan Border. Stay at the little hotel close by the border on the Mexican side. Cross it early morning the next day and

Day three. Then you can make it all the way to Managua (Nicaragua) the next day. You would cross Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and end in Managua.

Fourth day. Managua-San Jose or Guanacaste... don't know where you are going.

Remember you will need a passport and perhaps VISAS for the FIVE countries you will be crossing plus for Costa Rica...maybe.

For the person that said that you pass through 10 countries, please shut-up, learn some Geography and see a map.

Answer 3

No, it's not safe. You would have to pass through a lot of unsavory areas to get to Costa Rica. Check out the map. I work with people from a lot of different South American countries(at least 10 you'd have to go through), and have heard some really bad stories about what can happen to foreigners who drive down the wrong road. Not to mention potential problems with crossing numerous borders. I'd definitely recommend flying.

Answer 4

i know people have done it and some of them tell ugly stories... at mexico border with guatemala, the guys there ask you for money and if you don't give them they would stop you for no reason. if you leave your vehicle in a place, cops would towed away again with no reason. at the end what you spend on money on the road, is quicker and safer by plane.

also in guatemala and el salvador you'll see trees in the middle of the road or people laying there and when you stop, you are a victim of their crime. the gangs in el salvador they don't give a dam about doing riots

Answer 5

I've done it.  Back in 1998 I drove from Missouri (through Texas.)

It would take about three days of hard driving.  (I stopped at a lot of old Mayan ruins and stuff, in Belize, and in Honduras, so it took me eleven days.)

I had only two "glitches.  One night at about 11:PM, I pulled over to the side of the road in a little turnout to sleep.  (This was in Mexico, but before we had gotten to the Yucatan.)  I had three of my teenage kids in the car, and we were all too tired to drive.  So, we found this wide spot in the road, and fell asleep in the car.

At about 1:AM, we were woken by a policeman.  He only spoke Spanish, and we only spoke English--but it was clear he wanted us to move.  I thought I was too sleepy to drive, so I just moved forward about 100', and parked nearer the tree-line, hoping that would help.

About an hour later the same policeman came pedaling back on his bike, this time with a local doctor who spoke English in his company.  The doctor helped translate.

It seems that the spot I had decided to park at was on a major path for the "guerillas" to come through.  They would emerge from the jungle right near us, and then go attack the locals in the area.  (They are still fighting for a separate homeland, although their "fight" consists of robbing a mailman once a week or so.) The policeman didn't want us to be harmed, but he thought that these guerillas might try to steal our money.  He asked that we move at least a mile or so down the road.

We did!

It was beautiful.  I'm glad I drove instead of flying over all those wonderful sights, as so many do.

Be sure you carry a passport--and you need a visa to go into some of the country's (Belize, and Honduras, for certain.)

Oh, nobody ever harmed us--quite the opposite.  Most were happy to have us there, and very helpful.  

We were searched at a few "checkpoints" for drugs.  Since we didn't have any, there wasn't a problem.

One checkpoint was manned by "guerillas", in Honduras.  It was an "unofficial" checkpoint.  They said we had to pay a $500.00 "toll" to go further.  I said "that's crazy," to a rough looking fellow that spoke English as good as I did.  There were about six of them, and they all had rifles.  He asked if I could "contribute anything" to their good cause.  I said no, but before we drove away, I asked him how far away the next town was, and if we could get a good lunch there.  He was very helpful.  No one even pointed their rifles at us, and we continued on.  We stopped where he suggested and had a fine lunch.

Answer 6

I was sitting in the San Jose, Costa Rica Airport waiting for my flight home 2 weeks ago when I was talking to a kid that did just that... he was probably in his early 20's, and he was driving with his friends from North Carolina to BRAZIL!

Although this guy ran out of money, so his friends dumped him off at the airport and continued on.

He said he had a great trip... had to deal with a few policemen that wanted...SOMETHING... just because they were "rich Americans driving a Suburban", so they gave a flashlight to one cop, 5 bucks to another... that sorta thing.

He said they had no incidents and never felt really unsafe, although Honduras was a little scary for them, and they were pulled over by cops a lot there.

There are a lot of stretches of bad dirt mountain roads, but other then that, it sounded like all went well for him.