Ecuador to Peru Border Crossing at Aguas Verdes
There are two main border crossings between Ecuador and Peru: La Tina connecting Macará, Ecuador to Sullana, Peru and Aguas Verdes connecting Huaquillas, Ecuador to Tumbes, Peru. This article details the crossing from Ecuador to Peru via Aguas Verdes. For some excellent information about the Tina border, check out Along Dusty Road’s post here.
We had so, so much trouble finding any information about the Aguas Verdes border crossing online, let alone anything up-to-date. There are some conflicting accounts out there. Is it easy? Is it safe?
Short answer: relatively, to both.
To save some extra cash, we decided to complete the journey in pieces from Cuenca - Huaquillas - Ecuadorian exit point/Peruvian entrance point - Tumbes - Máncora. That journey is detailed below, which should make things much easier. However, it is also possible to complete the journey on a single bus that will wait for you on the border. This is both more expensive and much easier.
Update September 2019:
Some comments have noted that the through bus prices have dropped! You may be able to find a bus from Cuenca all the way to Máncora for around $18. We would highly recommend this simple solution if you can get it!
However, this post will still be helpful to give you an idea of the border crossing logistics or help out if the bus tickets sell out or if you’re only interested in a part of the journey.
We had absolutely no trouble at the border, even crossing in the middle of the night, without the luxury of a through bus. However, we did receive some warnings from taxi drivers to be careful, and the busses had more security than we were used to. Take this route with caution, especially if you don’t speak Spanish.
Below is the full story, which will walk you through the trip from Cuenca to Máncora. Keep in mind we completed this trip in July 2017. As always, things change.
Cuenca
We highly recommend going to the bus station in person the day before your trip. There’s just no way to guarantee bus departures ahead of time, and the route does sometimes sell out. Rest assured, there are options for both day and night busses for this trip. At our time of crossing, the border was open 24 hours.
You’re looking for the Terminal Terrestre, which is located to the north east of the city center, close to the airport. We walked from our hostel, which has the benefit of being completely free, and should take less than 30 minutes.
Inside the terminal, you’ll see tons of stalls hawking destinations. You’ll need to ask someone for the counter selling tickets to Máncora. Be careful you don’t end up going to Macará, as the pronunciation is similar.
We found two counters selling tickets, but there may be more or less at your time of departure. Now you must make the big decision: take a through bus all the way to Máncora, which at time of writing was $30 per person, and complete the journey in about 7 hours OR divide up the trip into parts like us and save about $13 per person.
If you’ve decided you want to save some cash (or are just curious about the journey), read on!
The same companies that sell busses to Máncora also sell busses to Huaquillas. We had little success bargaining (but it’s always worth a shot) and payed $8 per person for this first leg. Instead of fussing over which bus company to choose, we simply picked the cheapest option, which is usually our suggestion in South America.
We showed up to the bus station 30 mins before our 10:00 PM bus, paid the 10 cent terminal fee (make sure to check this, as sometimes there are student discounts!), and boarded the bus. Here there was a bit of extra security, as everyone on the bus had their picture taken before we pulled out.
The bus ride was comfortable enough, though the roads are bumpy so don’t expect to get a great night’s sleep. The journey should take between 4 and 5 hours.
Cost:
City Center - Terminal Terrestre: $0 per person
Cuenca - Huaquillas: $8 per person
Terminal Fee: 10 cents per person
Total: $8.10 per person
Timing:
City Center - Terminal Terrestre: 30 min walk
Cuenca - Huaquillas: 4-5 hour bus
Total: 4 hours and 30 minutes - 5 hours and 30 minutes
Huaquillas
We arrived in Huaquillas’ small bus station at about 2:30AM. Taxis go to the border all night, but we chose to wait in the bus station until about 4:00AM for security reasons. This will also ensure you can get an onward bus to destinations in Peru after you cross the border. You are allowed to stay in the bus station, which is really a small house, all night, but it’s sticky and uncomfortable. Still, you can doze for a couple hours as long as you hang on to your bag.
Here comes the confusing part. Instead of taking one of the taxis that comes hawking at the station, you’ll want to walk the five minutes to the border. As long as you’re careful, this should be relatively safe as it’s populated and there are street lights. You’ll exit the station to the right, turn left through a small market, and jog to the right again. Just keep asking for ‘la frontera.’
The crazy thing is, once you arrive, you’ll realize that you have to take one of the taxi’s there to the Ecuadorian exit point/Peruvian entrance point, about 15 minutes in the opposite direction, before crossing the actual border.
We made friends with two Argentians whose native Spanish made things much easier. Be careful with the taxis, as they will try to rip you off. We paid $5.00 for the whole taxi, which we split with our new friends. At this point, you can keep paying in dollars or change over to soles.
We would recommend changing a SMALL amount of bills, as you’ll need the soles further along in your journey. Remember that it’s always, always cheaper to get money out of an ATM in the local currency, though, especially if you’re travelling with Charles Schwab. However, hawkers will give you a fair conversion (as long as you know it - check the goddamn google) because dollars are very desirable. ATMs won’t be convenient until you get to Máncora.
Cost:
Bus Station - Border: $0 per person
Border - Exit/Entrance Point: $5 per taxi, $1.25 - $5 per person
Total: $1.25 - $5 per person
Timing:
Bus Station: 0 - 3 hour wait
Bus - Border: 5 minute walk
Border - Exit/Entrance Point: 15 minute taxi
Total: 25 minutes - 3 hours and 20 minutes
Border Checkpoint
The border complex is well-designed and pretty efficient. At the time of writing, it was open all night and well lit, although the workers were all drooling on their desks when we arrived. It took us about 20 minutes, but we’ve heard stories of it taking up to an hour.
For US citizens, there’s no exit fee from Ecuador. We received 90-day visa-free travel - so there’s no fee and you don’t need to do anything in advance except have a valid passport (updated September 2019).
There are also taxis waiting for onward travel right there, and a handy sign indicating the official prices to a variety of destinations. We decided to share a taxi to Tumbes, which cost $10 for the whole thing. It was an easy drive and took about 40 minutes, including a stop by the police to check that we had the proper documents.
Cost:
Ecuador Exit Fee (US Citizens): $0 per person
Peru Entrance Fee (US Citizens): $0 per person
Border - Tumbes: $10 per taxi, $2.5 per person
Total: $2.5 - $10 per person
Timing:
Border Crossing: 20 minutes - 1 hour wait
Border - Tumbes: 40 minute taxi
Total: 1 - 2 hours
Made it to Peru! Check out some of the country’s best nooks and crannies.
(and honestly lots of other places too)
Tumbes
The last leg!
Because you’ll be arriving in a taxi, as soon as you get out at Tumbes, you’ll be pounced upon by hawkers. It’s fine to take one of their offers of a collectivo, as long as you ensure you’re paying a fair price. There are also options for busses, if that’s what you’re into, although it might mean waiting for a departure. Just ask for ‘el autobus a Máncora,’ and they’ll point you in the right direction. It’s only a five minute walk, and tickets might even be a few soles cheaper (but this depends on your bargaining skills).
We paid using soles for the first time here. It cost 15 soles for a seat in a collectivo leaving immediately, although this price is definitely up for offer. We slept the entire 2 hour journey.
Cost:
Tumbes - Mancora: 15 soles per person
Total: 15 soles per person
Timing:
Tumbes: 0 - 1 hour wait
Tumbes - Máncora: 2 hour collectivo
Total: 2-3 hours
Máncora
The collectivo will drop you off right in the middle of town. Ask the driver to let you know when to get off, because there are a lot of stops. Just say ‘Me diga cuando estamos en Máncora’ or simply ‘Máncora?’ and gesture questioningly.
Total Cost: $16.45 - $27.7 per person (at 31 cents to the sole)
Total Time: 7 hours and 50 minutes - 12 hours and 50 minutes
The whole journey took us about 10 hours and cost us $16.85 per person, which means it took 3 hours longer than the through bus alternative (a lot of which was spent waiting in the Huaquillas bus terminal) and saved us a little over $13 per person for the prices we were quoted at the bus station.
So, would we do it again? Yes, as long as we were ready to give up a night of sleep. We vastly prefer night buses (Why not save time and a night of accommodation?), but this is definitely a rough night-time journey. If we would have had more info, like you now do, it would have made the journey much less stressful! It would also be a good idea to consider whether you’re travelling alone or in a group. If you can’t split the taxi, this version costs almost as much as the bus. For us, though, it worked pretty splendidly.
Why not check out some of our other articles to see what you could do with that $13 you just saved?
Have you crossed the border between Ecuador and Peru? Let us know if our guide was helpful, offer updates, and suggest improvements in the comments below!
