Buses leaving Peñas Blancas at the Nicaragua border are plentiful. It’s very easy to get to Rivas, Managua and San Jorge from here.

If you’re looking to head to Costa Rica from here, check the Peñas Blancas page for Costa Rica.

Peñas Blancas to Rivas

Chicken buses leave towards Rivas about every 20 minutes and chances are you will not have to wait long. There will also be a line up of taxis waiting and hoping to catch your eye. If there are a few of you then it could be economical to grab one.

Peñas Blancas to San Juan del Sur

Grab one of the many buses heading to Rivas for 30C$ and ask to be let off in La Virgin – this is basically a fork in the road where one road goes to SJDS and the other to Rivas. From here you can get another bus for 20C$ to San Juan del Sur. Take a look at the San Juan del Sur page to see where you need to get off and how to change buses. If you don’t want to get off in La Virgin, you can go all the way to Rivas, and switch to the SJDS bus.

Peñas Blancas to Managua (via Rivas)

There are regular chicken buses to Managua that leave about every 20 mins and cost 67C$ (2017). The trip is about 3hr 20min.

There are also 4 Expreso buses a day from Peñas Blancas to Managua. They pass by the Rotonda in Rivas at on their way and leave the border at 12:30pm , 1:40pm, 2:20pm, 4:20pm. They cost 87C$(2017) and are slightly nicer than chicken buses. Travel time is about 2.5hrs.

All buses arrive at the Terminal Mercado Roberto Huembes.

Peñas Blancas to San Jorge

Two options. Go to Rivas and switch to the bus that goes to San Jorge. This bus passes on the street on the north side of the terminal. Or, get off at the Rotonda at the edge of Rivas and wait for the bus to pass heading to San Jorge. Just ask when you are there where you should stand. Saying “La parada por San Jorge” should be all you need to say.

International Buses

If you are heading a long distance and want to travel on a more premium service you will get the opportunity to purchase tickets with one of the higher end bus companies (Tica Bus, Nica Bus, Central Line, Transnica, Nica Expreso) before you exit the border. Once you are on the other side you will only have immediate access to local busses and taxis.

Costa Rica Border

Here is what the border looks like on the Costa Rica side: Peñas Blancas – Costa Rica – buses come and go very regularly for Liberia and San José. Have a look at the page for Peñas Blancas in Costa Rica for bus times and schedules.

Read about the crossing!

Here is a fresh travel blog about the experience from Ollanto.com – Border Crossing from Nicaragua to Costa Rica 

Help your fellow traveller

If you have taken any of the buses on this page, please drop us a comment below about how the trip went, what time you left, how long it took and what it cost. And, definitely let us know if we have anything wrong.

Lets help each other in our travels!