Guatemala: Pedro de Alvarado > El Salvador: La Hachadura

S D
10 hours ago
2 min read

Beware of a combined BC insurance/registration document (if you're from BC...)

Oct 2025 |

Here's details on the fast and easy border crossing from Guatemala to El Salvador on a BC-registered T7.

From Antigua, I rode about 4 hours to the Guatemala border. I arrived around 2:00pm. This is not a major crossing, so there are not alot of trucks, vehicles, people - no lines at all.

Departing Guatemala was easy, the immigration and customs offices are in the same building. I parked my bike beside the immigration counter, there were some armed guard there to keep an eye on it. There were no touts on arrival, only a money changer. I stamped out at immigration, then went to the customers office on the other side of the building. I didn't have copies, so I had to walk 100m outside the border office and get copies made. The whole process took about 30 minutes. One non-aggresive tout appeared mid way through the process and helped me with some translation, so I slipped him $5 when I finished. I don't recall if I needed to pay a fee when I departed Guatemala.

After a ride through no-man's land, I came to the El Salvador side, where I was stopped on the road by a immigration officer who spoke perfect English. He took my passport and directed me to the customs office, where it was all smiles. The place is very clean and well maintained. I handed my docs to an officer and waited 20 minutes and I got everything back. El Salvador is becoming known for its digital savviness, and one good example is the paperwork provided - a single document with thumbnail scans of my personal and moto docs (not multiple, different sized papers that are easy to lose). There were no fees for entry (if I recall properly).

The whole Guatemala exit and El Salvador enter took about 90 minutes.

Documents used at Guatemala side: