© meltravels — An old US school bus repainted into the infamous public ‘chicken bus’

If you’re flying into Guatemala City, upon arrival at the airport there are shuttles (even without prior reservation) to Antigua, from where you can then further your journey to other parts of the country. Otherwise, take a taxi to a bus terminal to catch a chicken bus to your destination.

Pros and cons between a shuttle and a chicken bus?

Truth is, they don’t differ very much in terms of comfort. Taking a chicken bus from Guatemala City, which is the starting point for most buses, you’ll be guaranteed a seat so you won’t have to be swaying interminably in the center aisle.

And in terms of time saved, I’ve found that there’s no significant difference between the two either since all the drivers drive like hell’s on fire anyway. The chicken bus will make stops for people to get on and off but that doesn’t contribute to a significant delay in reaching your destination. Any delays will be due to highway constructions.

In terms of cost, the chicken bus is generally cheaper, although for some routes there is no significant difference. For example, from Antigua to Panajachel or Guatemala City, you can get it as cheap as $5 or $7 with a shuttle, which works out about the same as a chicken bus. But for longer routes there might be a larger margin of difference.

Point is: if you’re hesitating about taking a chicken bus, don’t… unless: (1) you have a hefty amount of luggage, then you might want to consider a shuttle, or (2) if you don’t want to take the chance of being robbed while you’re asleep or unaware - I’ve had my wallet stolen from me before while I was asleep, and I met a traveler once who unknowingly had his pocket sliced open with a knife and his passport and cash stolen. But the better reason to opt for a shuttle over a chicken bus is (3) not having to make multiple connections. A shuttle brings you from A to B in one vehicle, sometimes even door to door.

However, for every first-timer in Central America, the chicken bus is an experience not to be forgone since it offers up a true local experience (once you’re a veteran you’ll probably tire of it). So here I’ve listed a few places in the country you might want to make your way to from la capital, with the bus terminal addresses provided in Spanish.

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© Czyczy - The Río Escondido, Bluefields

I thought I’d better put up this blog entry quick.

I was perusing my blog statistics and realized somebody had found their way here by googling ‘current bus managua to el rama’. No doubt she or he had been looking to make their way to Bluefields, as most people hardly spend time in El Rama itself; the town usually serves only as a connecting point to the capital of the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) of Nicaragua.

First, just let me say that Bluefields is a must-do-trip while you’re in Nicaragua. Too many people give it a miss, choosing to stay only on the Pacific side of the country, understandable since the Caribbean side is purportedly more remote and both coasts are separated by a huge amount of inaccessible land. But Bluefields is worth going to for a peek at how completely different it is from the Pacific side of Nicaragua; and if nothing else… the journey itself is very enjoyable, possibly my best transportation experience in Central America thus far.

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If you:

• want to travel dirt cheap
• don’t mind being squashed like a sardine
• don’t mind making several connections
• don’t mind waiting for the connections, for what could potentially be hours (breakdowns aren’t rare to hear of)
• speak enough basic Spanish to take you through what could be unpredictable schedules and bus-stops not obviously signposted
• don’t mind missing out on sleep
• don’t mind taking a longer journey

… then by all means, take what tourists have dubbed ‘chicken buses’ (because according to Lonely Planet you will sometimes have to share your seat with sqawking chickens; however, I’ve yet to actually experience that to justify the nickname) all the way across borders in Latin America.

Of course, the local chicken buses don’t traverse national borders so you’d have to get off at borders, cross them, then take another bus onward.

I met a German guy recently who caught six chicken buses from Copan, Honduras to San Salvador, El Salvador for all of $5 USD; so you know, if you have the nerve and the patience for it, it’s entirely possible.

I’d recommend traveling light though. If you have a fat backpack with you it might be difficult to squeeze into the bus if it’s full. You can leave it on the roof of the bus of course, but I prefer to have my things with me at all times. I’ve been on buses where luggages have fallen off making a noise like a gun shot.

On the other hand, if you are adamantly opposed to or are unable to afford any of the cheap thrills mentioned above, you can opt to travel with Ticabus or King Quality, the latter with in-bus café serving food and drinks for a couple more extra bucks, so I hear.

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