Planning on driving from Mexico to Nicaragua...

First plan to taking plenty of time. I would suggest a minimum of three to four weeks between the US border and Nicaragua. If you a planing on a round trip plan on a minimum of two months. The maximum average miles per hour I was able to get was something less then 35 MPH unless you take the toll roads in Mexico which limits your ablity of seeing the country. Try to keep daily mileage under 150 miles per day. Believe me I learned from experience as I drove Brownsville TX to Tamarindo Costa Rica in ten day and averaged about 240 miles per day which was way too fast, and left no time to explore the country side. Also I was exhusted my first week in Costa Rica. Plan on taking lots of rest day to explore along the way. On Border crossings plan on staying as close to Border as you can get the night before the crossing, and get up before dawn to get the the crossing before all the helpers (people who claim to want to help you, but in reality are trying to separate you from as much of your money as possible) arrive. This is especially true for the Hondurus EL Salvador Border which will be the worst to get across. You must show your original car title at every border crossing. Also they will want a photo copy of your drivers licence, Car Title, Vehicle registration, and passport each time you cross a border, sometimes two copies. Make a minimum of one copy for each border you plan to cross in the states where it is much cheaper than at the border.

Also start looking for you accommadations early in the afternoon. Note that it is not safe to drive at night for a couple of reason 1) Some of the pot holes will distroy your car and there a lot of pot holes 2) There a many speed bumps which will also distroy your vehicle if crossed at more then a couple of miles per hour, and 3) note nearly all the roads have no shoulder and the drop off is usually a minimim of a foot which is large enough to roll most vehicles, and 4) the bandits tend to come out at night. ( In El Salvador most hotels motels close there gates at sun down and have a couple armed guards to keep everybody out. In most of the countries the hotel or motel will have a armed guard for the parking lot. I believe that you can get an electric copy of Loney Planet for a laptop, when looking for a place to stay make sure that it shows parking which usually means sucure or guarded parking. Note that year around sunrise is about 6 AM or earlier, and sunset is between 5:30 and 6:00 PM.

Fill up with gas at every opportunity, all the bigger gas stations usually take credit cards, but if you outback, those stations do not. Also it can be 50 to 100 miles between gas stations. Never let the tank get below half full. Note that in January thru March of this year the price of gas was about $4.50 per gallon.

In Mexico the Army operates road blocks, at which I was never required to stop. South of that the police operate the road stops. If stop they will want to see all your paper work for the vehicle and your passport. In EL Salvador they went though the car each time (stopped two times in El Salvador, three times in Honduras, and once in Nicaragua) and in the other countries they only looked at the paperwork. In Nicaragua I was told I was in violation of something, which I was never able to get them to tell me what, only that I that I was in violation. I paid the fine to the police on the spot, and went on my way. It was only about $36.

Note cross county traveling by car is Central America is not the cheapest way to travel. Know that you are doing it for the adventure of the road trip and that it will cost a lot more than flying to the destination county and renting a car there. Be sure to have your debit card for the cash machine and have a lot fun. I truly love Central America especially Costa Rica.

As for save route it depends where in the states you will be starting from. I do believe that any route you take will be safe.