Chicken Bus Fear - Should You Catch One?
To get around Central America without wheels of your own, you have two options: chicken buses, or tourist shuttles. Many travellers are nervous of chicken buses and choose to pay very high prices for shuttles, but you don't need to!
Here is my list of reasons for shaking off the chicken bus fear and taking the wild ride with the locals:
- Chicken buses are cheap! The general price for an inter-city chicken bus is about $1-2 per hour of driving. For example, the bus between Leon and Managua that takes around 2 hours generally costs 50-60 Cordoba or $2, while the minimum shuttle price is $9 for the same amount of time!
- There's snacks on chicken buses! Nicaragua in particular has a thriving network of people dedicated to selling fresh food on chicken buses. Whether you want some fresh baked corn bread, donuts with treacle sauce, coconut bread, hot tamales, pineapple pastry popcorn, sweets or just some fruit and veg, the chicken buses have it all. The vendors board the bus and walk up and down shouting their wares and their prices are always very reasonable.
- Chicken buses and shuttle buses have the same kind of drivers and seats. Either way you'll have no leg room if you're over 5'4" and a driver who thought Fast and Furious was an instruction manual. The only real difference here is that shuttle buses won't cram three adults into a seat meant for two children!
- DJ Driver is usually pretty good on the chicken buses, especially if your taste happens to be "mashup of Reggaeton, Cumbia and Ranchero music with Western hits from the last 40 years thrown in". It adds to the vibe if nothing else.
- Despite the rumours, chicken buses are safe. You should definitely take precautions against pickpocketing, especially in Guatemala, but all you have to do is be travel smart. That means keeping valuables deep in your bag or in a secure pocket or belt and keeping small bags on your lap. Your bigger bags are usually safe with the ayudantes, but if you insist they will let you take them into the bus with you for extra peace of mind.
- Chicken buses are fun! Something about bombing down the road in a souped up school bus with the engine roaring, surrounded by the hubbub and colour of local life with A+ views of the countryside is exhilarating. There's just nothing like it.
There are only a few situations where I would recommend against a chicken bus:
- You need to travel by night. Chicken bus terminals can be dodgy after dark, especially in the capital cities, so travel in the daytime is recommended.
- You don't have much time. Shuttles are most convenient for people who are short on time, as they usually organise their trips around the times most convenient for tourists. Chicken buses to most large towns will leave regularly, but transfers can take time if you need to make them. That said, I would ask a local about how long it would take on the chicken bus before booking a shuttle if this is your only problem.
- You need to cross a border. Border crossings can be a pain in the arse at the best of times, and trying to navigate an unfamiliar bus network on the other side of a border adds extra stress to an already stressful day. If you only need to travel short distances on either side of the border you should be fine, but if it's a long way, I would take the shuttle.
Here is my list of reasons for shaking off the chicken bus fear and taking the wild ride with the locals:
- Chicken buses are cheap! The general price for an inter-city chicken bus is about $1-2 per hour of driving. For example, the bus between Leon and Managua that takes around 2 hours generally costs 50-60 Cordoba or $2, while the minimum shuttle price is $9 for the same amount of time!
- There's snacks on chicken buses! Nicaragua in particular has a thriving network of people dedicated to selling fresh food on chicken buses. Whether you want some fresh baked corn bread, donuts with treacle sauce, coconut bread, hot tamales, pineapple pastry popcorn, sweets or just some fruit and veg, the chicken buses have it all. The vendors board the bus and walk up and down shouting their wares and their prices are always very reasonable.
- Chicken buses and shuttle buses have the same kind of drivers and seats. Either way you'll have no leg room if you're over 5'4" and a driver who thought Fast and Furious was an instruction manual. The only real difference here is that shuttle buses won't cram three adults into a seat meant for two children!
- DJ Driver is usually pretty good on the chicken buses, especially if your taste happens to be "mashup of Reggaeton, Cumbia and Ranchero music with Western hits from the last 40 years thrown in". It adds to the vibe if nothing else.
- Despite the rumours, chicken buses are safe. You should definitely take precautions against pickpocketing, especially in Guatemala, but all you have to do is be travel smart. That means keeping valuables deep in your bag or in a secure pocket or belt and keeping small bags on your lap. Your bigger bags are usually safe with the ayudantes, but if you insist they will let you take them into the bus with you for extra peace of mind.
- Chicken buses are fun! Something about bombing down the road in a souped up school bus with the engine roaring, surrounded by the hubbub and colour of local life with A+ views of the countryside is exhilarating. There's just nothing like it.
There are only a few situations where I would recommend against a chicken bus:
- You need to travel by night. Chicken bus terminals can be dodgy after dark, especially in the capital cities, so travel in the daytime is recommended.
- You don't have much time. Shuttles are most convenient for people who are short on time, as they usually organise their trips around the times most convenient for tourists. Chicken buses to most large towns will leave regularly, but transfers can take time if you need to make them. That said, I would ask a local about how long it would take on the chicken bus before booking a shuttle if this is your only problem.
- You need to cross a border. Border crossings can be a pain in the arse at the best of times, and trying to navigate an unfamiliar bus network on the other side of a border adds extra stress to an already stressful day. If you only need to travel short distances on either side of the border you should be fine, but if it's a long way, I would take the shuttle.
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