Driving Central America & South America.
6 month trip to Nicaragua by truck
November 12, 2006 - 1:08pm
My wife and I are very interested in taking our 2004 dodge ram down to Nicaragua where my friend lives and staying as long as possible. I know we need to check out every month if we have an out of country vehicle, but my the house we will be staying in is only 70 km from Costa Rica. We though about just flying down and buying a truck, but we would love to make the journey and enjoy a two to three week road trip. What are the difficulties involved with a trip like this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Oh yeah, we are thinking of also taking a trailer with a 4 wheeler and anything else we can pack on to make life a bit easier down there.
November 12, 2006 - 2:19pm
#2
Hi - Im planning to take off from San Diego to Panama in an '88 Ford Bronco II in the next few weeks.. Do you mean that if you take an out of country vehicle out of whatever country that you dont need a permit? I know that for Mexico you have to have a permit or nationalize the vehicle. What you you going to do? Robert, what did you do when you drove? Get the Mexican permit with the credit card/cash deposit? What about Central America? Know any of the policies there? Thanks!
November 12, 2006 - 5:14pm
#3
you can get a permit (must get a permit) for each different country... that is why you can't just fly through the borders.
You have to have your old permit canceled and then 100 yards later get the new one for the new country.
November 12, 2006 - 5:12pm
#4
it all depends on how long you want to stay. If you are talking about a year, and you can only get a one month vehicle permit, you might consider flying in and buying a small car or motorcycle and selling it when you are done.
Taking a trailer isn't a big deal -- you'll pay more at the borders since you have more axles, but it's not a whole lot. You also have to consider turning radius, parking in small parking areas, backing it up in tight streets... Basically I wouldn't take one unless I just had to.
However, with a truck you'll probably have plenty of room in the back for all the gear you'll need. And you'll probably need way less than you take. :) And, since you're coming back, you'll likely want to buy some cool things to take back. Maybe bulky things like a chair, or pottery, and if you've taken that camp stove that you just can't part with... well, you might have a space issue.
THe 4wheeler is another question. Since those aren't titled, I don't know how they'd deal with getting it cleared. It's a big question -- and one that I wouldn't bother with -- save the headaches, use the car or catch a cab.
So, yeah, I think that I'd make the drive yourself (then you don't have to worry about selling a car, too) and leave the four wheeler.
What area of the country is this? Do you have any specific plans yet?