Routes · Regional dry van from Costa Rica
Central America by road: five routes, one carrier.
From Costa Rica we run dry vans to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama, with a waybill (carta de porte) and customs transit (in-bond). Each route has its own page with kilometers, border crossings, legal weight, indicative days and documents.
Road routes from San José
Open the planner →Pick your route: five destinations from Costa Rica
All routes leave from San José (GAM) and, between them, go through five cargo crossings: Peñas Blancas, El Guasaule, El Amatillo, La Hachadura / Pedro de Alvarado and Paso Canoas. The northbound ones share the road and split off country by country.
Each card leads to the route page: map, legs with their kilometers, border crossing cards, the weight limit that governs, bans and the list of documents.
Costa Rica – Nicaragua
Via Peñas Blancas.
San José – Managua: approx. 440 km, 2 days, indicative.
Peñas BlancasSee the routeCosta Rica – Honduras
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
San José – Tegucigalpa: approx. 790 km, 2–4 days, indicative.
San José – San Pedro Sula: approx. 1,000 km, 3 days, indicative.
Peñas BlancasEl GuasauleSee the routeCosta Rica – El Salvador
Three border crossings, one carrier.
San José – San Salvador: approx. 920 km, 3–6 days, indicative.
Peñas BlancasEl GuasauleEl AmatilloSee the routeCosta Rica – Guatemala
Four border crossings, one DUCA-T.
San José – Ciudad de Guatemala: approx. 1,210 km, 4 days, indicative.
Peñas BlancasEl GuasauleEl AmatilloLa HachaduraSee the routeCosta Rica – Panama
One border crossing, two clocks.
San José – Panama City: approx. 850 km, 2–3 days, indicative.
Paso CanoasSee the routeRoute planner
Another origin or another destination?
Kilometers, border crossings, days and documents on one screen.
Pick two points on the network, from a port to a capital or from one capital to another, and see the route on the map.
Build your routeFive routes, one table: kilometers, border crossings and days
To compare at a glance. The kilometers are approximate and the days are a reference range, not a promise.
| Destination | approx. km | Days | Border crossings |
|---|---|---|---|
| ManaguaCosta Rica – Nicaragua | 440 | 2 days | 1Peñas Blancas |
| TegucigalpaCosta Rica – Honduras | 790 | 2–4 days | 2Peñas Blancas and El Guasaule |
| San Pedro SulaCosta Rica – Honduras | 1,000 | 3 days | 2Peñas Blancas and El Guasaule |
| San SalvadorCosta Rica – El Salvador | 920 | 3–6 days | 3Peñas Blancas, El Guasaule and El Amatillo |
| Ciudad de GuatemalaCosta Rica – Guatemala | 1,210 | 4 days | 4Peñas Blancas, El Guasaule, El Amatillo and La Hachadura / Pedro de Alvarado |
| Panama CityCosta Rica – Panama | 850 | 2–3 days | 1Paso Canoas |
Last reviewed: September 2026. Approximate distance along the main freight route, calculated on open mapping data (OSRM/OpenStreetMap, queried on September 30, 2026); rounded to 5 or 10 km; not an official figure from any road authority. The days are one-way travel days stated by truckers’ associations or by an operator: never a service commitment. View the 9 sources (some in Spanish)
OSRM on OpenStreetMap, route calculation (queried on Sep 30, 2026); JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 1, Table 3.8: travel days stated by truckers’ associations; IDB (2026), terms of reference CR-T1310, Peñas Blancas border crossing; JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 2: alignment of the Pacific Corridor and the Canal Seco; DSV Panama, overland freight transport (current as of Sep 30, 2026); DSV Costa Rica, Costa Rica–Guatemala overland service (current as of Sep 30, 2026); JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 2, References 3 and 4: measurements of procedures at border crossings; JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 1, section 3: border crossings and statements by truckers’ associations; SIECA/JICA (2023), Plan Maestro Regional Indicativo de Movilidad y Logística, apéndices (archivo 2), secciones 9.3 y 9.5.2.
From Ciudad de Guatemala: three corridors, for reference only
For anyone planning cargo between Ciudad de Guatemala and its neighbors: the same data, measured the same way. They are reference corridors, with no route page. For GoTruck, Guatemala is a destination for the regional dry van that leaves Costa Rica.
| Destination | approx. km | Days | Border crossings |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Salvador | 285 | 3 days | 1La Hachadura / Pedro de Alvarado |
| San Pedro Sula | 410 | On request | 1El Florido |
| Managua | 790 | 4 days | 3La Hachadura / Pedro de Alvarado, El Amatillo and El Guasaule |
Last reviewed: September 2026. Approximate distance along the main freight route, calculated on open mapping data (OSRM/OpenStreetMap, queried on September 30, 2026); rounded to 5 or 10 km; not an official figure from any road authority. The days are association statements, not a service commitment. View the 7 sources (some in Spanish)
OSRM on OpenStreetMap, route calculation (queried on Sep 30, 2026); JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 1, Table 3.8: travel days stated by truckers’ associations; JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 1, Tables 3.8 and 3.9: travel days stated by truckers’ associations; JICA (2017), Informe Final vol. 1, section 3: border crossings and statements by truckers’ associations; SIECA/JICA (2023), Plan Maestro Regional Indicativo de Movilidad y Logística: corredor Puerto Quetzal – Ciudad de Guatemala – San Pedro Sula; SIECA/JICA (2023), Plan Maestro Regional Indicativo de Movilidad y Logística, apéndices (archivo 2), secciones 9.3 y 9.5.2; SIECA (2021), Metodología de medición de velocidades en el Corredor Pacífico.
Between El Salvador and Guatemala, not every crossing works.Las Chinamas / Valle Nuevo does not take loaded trucks (JICA 2017; SIECA/JICA Master Plan 2023); cargo crosses at La Hachadura or at San Cristóbal.
How to read each corridor
Ciudad de Guatemala – San Salvador: five notes
- Reference route: CA-9 Sur, Escuintla, CA-2 Oriente, Pedro de Alvarado / La Hachadura and Sonsonate.
- Alternate route: via San Cristóbal (CA-1) instead of La Hachadura: approx. 280 km.
- One-way travel days stated by truckers’ associations (JICA, 2017): FECATRANS/ATI from Ciudad de Guatemala and Salvadoran associations from San Salvador, 3 days in both directions. It is not a service commitment.
- Approximate breakdown: Guatemala 163 km, El Salvador 122 km.
- The 3 days stated in 2017 cover the full process with daytime-only operation, and predate the trade facilitation measures between Guatemala and El Salvador.
Ciudad de Guatemala – San Pedro Sula: five notes
- Reference route: CA-9 Norte, Río Hondo, CA-10 through Chiquimula, CA-11, El Florido, Copán, La Entrada and CA-4.
- Alternate route: via Corinto (CA-9 Norte and CA-13), the most used integrated border post (PFI) according to SIECA, instead of El Florido: approx. 430 km.
- Approximate breakdown: Guatemala 224 km, Honduras 188 km.
- The SIECA/JICA Master Plan (2023) defines this corridor via El Florido; which crossing heavy trucks currently prefer is not verified.
- The 4-day figure was read by column position in the JICA table and is pending a visual review; there is a statement only in the Guatemala → San Pedro Sula direction.
Ciudad de Guatemala – Managua: six notes
- Reference route: Escuintla, Pedro de Alvarado / La Hachadura, San Salvador, El Amatillo, the stretch across southern Honduras, El Guasaule and Chinandega – León.
- Alternate route: via San Cristóbal (CA-1) instead of La Hachadura: approx. 780 km.
- One-way travel days stated by the Guatemalan truckers’ associations FECATRANS/ATI from Ciudad de Guatemala (JICA, 2017). It is an association statement, not a service commitment.
- Approximate breakdown: Guatemala 163 km, El Salvador 316 km, Honduras 130 km, Nicaragua 177 km.
- There is only one time statement for this pair, in the Guatemala → Managua direction.
- The association statements date from 2017, before the DUCA (2019), and appear to be rounded up.
Need another pair of cities? The route planner calculates any combination on the network.
How to read this data: approximate is not a promise
- Kilometers. They follow the main freight route and are calculated on open mapping data; they are not an official figure. They change with the exact loading and delivery points, the border crossing and the detours in force.
- Days. They are one-way travel days stated by truckers’ associations or by an operator. They depend on customs processing, border hours, traffic restrictions and the weather.
- Border crossings. Each route uses the crossings that heavy trucks go through. Hours change on holidays and in peak seasons: they are in Central America border crossings.
- Weight. On a route through several countries, the strictest limit governs. The table by country is in Weights and dimensions by country.
- Bans. Bans and restrictions on heavy trucks change every year. Each route page lists those of its countries, with the validity of the data.
Before you schedule the cargo.Confirm the route and the transit time with your GoTruck contact. What each trip includes is in Regional dry van.
Before you leave: border crossings, ports and planner
A route almost always starts or ends at a port, and it is decided at a border crossing. These cards complete the plan.
Reference
Central America border crossings
Posts, hours and notes for each cargo crossing.
See the border crossingsTool
Route planner
Kilometers, border crossings, days and documents on one screen.
Open the plannerPort · Costa Rica
Moín and Limón
Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
See the portPort · Costa Rica
Caldera
Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
See the portPort · Guatemala
Puerto Quetzal
Pacific coast of Guatemala.
Reference profileSee the portPort · Guatemala
Santo Tomás de Castilla
Caribbean coast of Guatemala.
Reference profileSee the portBefore you pick a route: five answers
Which countries does GoTruck’s regional dry van reach?
From Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras (Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula), El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama, with a waybill (carta de porte) and customs transit (in-bond). Each destination has its own page with kilometers, border crossings, legal weight, indicative days and documents.
Which is the longest route, and how many border crossings does it have?
San José – Ciudad de Guatemala: approx. 1,210 km and four border crossings (Peñas Blancas, El Guasaule, El Amatillo and La Hachadura / Pedro de Alvarado). Alternate route: via San Cristóbal (CA-1) instead of La Hachadura: approx. 1,200 km. The detail is on the route page.
Are the transit days on this page a commitment?
No. They are one-way travel days stated by truckers’ associations or by an operator, and they are shown as an indicative range. The actual time depends on customs processing, border hours, traffic restrictions and the weather. The time for your shipment is confirmed with the quote; how it adds up is in Transit times.
Where does cargo cross between El Salvador and Guatemala?
Las Chinamas / Valle Nuevo does not take loaded trucks (JICA 2017; SIECA/JICA Master Plan 2023); cargo crosses at La Hachadura or at San Cristóbal. The hours of each crossing are in Costa Rica – Guatemala and in Central America border crossings.
What if my cargo does not leave from San José?
Build the route in the route planner: it calculates kilometers, border crossings and legal weight between the region’s ports, capitals and crossings. With that result, request the quote.
Know where it is going? Get a quote for the route.
Tell us the origin, the destination and what you are moving. We reply with equipment, route and price.