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Please Help...What is the cheapest flight departing MGA?
Submitted by DJ James on Sun, 2010/02/07 - 12:23.
Hello All, I am stuck in Mexico City because COPA AIRLINES will not let me board the plane to Nicaragua because I purchased a one way ticket and I do not have a return ticket or onward destination Itinerary! I purchased my ticket from ORBITZ.COM for a one way from TJ stop over in Mexico city, and Panama and than arrive in Managua. The website did not say anything, nor did they say anything when i boarded in TJ. Now I am screwed because they only way they said I can board is if I purchase a ticket out of Managua which is $400 dollars each. I am moving to Nicaragua and planned on getting my residency process started the day i arrive. I have all my paperwork needed however that was not enough for the Airlines. I didn't know you must have a return flight or a purchased ticket leaving Managua.
Does anyone have any suggestions? or cheapest solution? Anything would help at this point...I am sitting in the airport stressing out...
Thank you, James
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Six Months on Passport Necessary ?
This from the US Embassy: ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A valid U.S. passport is required to enter Nicaragua. Although there is a bilateral agreement that waives the six-month validity passport requirement, U.S. citizens are urged to ensure before traveling that their passports are valid for the length of their projected stay in the country. U.S. citizens must have an onward or return ticket and evidence of sufficient funds to support themselves during their stay. A visa is not required for U.S. citizens; however, a tourist card must be purchased for $5 upon arrival. Tourist cards are typically issued for 30 to 90 days.
Still a good idea to have extra time on your passport, you could always get hit by a truck, this is the kind of nitty thing that costs you a fast $20 at the border if you drive or bus in and don't have the full 6 months. My wife is at the Fed Bldg in LA getting hers renewed as I write this. It's $120 if you expedite it and they make you come back the next day to pick it up. Used to be able to get it done same day. You have to have proof of need (they accepted an itinerary showing flight dates).
Like the damaged currency thread, things are definitely not the same outside of the US, Canada and Europe -and they are getting tighter. $5 or $10 used to work wonders when offered to the "concerned" official in Mexico and CA.
Great thread, I agree with whoever suggested re-organizing the site so we could quickly ckeck latest travel info, current RE for sale, maybe something like this:
http://www.xertech.org/
This site is a tremendous resource in any case, kudos to the admistrator and the posters!
It is all about Luck ....
You will not believe this....So to follow up on my post I was held up in Mexico City because I didnt have the onward ticket ya? So we spent $$$ to purchase the cheapest ticket we can find.... So the next morning we go to check in, and the AGENT for COPA NEVER ASKED ME FOR THE ONWARD TICKET!!! Can you believe this?! the agent was a lady and happened to be pregnant, We made nice commments to her.
As for The day before we happened to be unlucky and got the supervisor eho must hate gringos and was by the book and asked for the onward ticket and basically had the power to do so the lesson here folks is YES you do need the onward ticket, however they do not varify it and if you are LUCKY you may not even need it.
For anyone in the future either purchase the return ticket as a refundable fare or make a fake document.
Somebody (a member of this
Somebody (a member of this forum) at one time posted the specifics and the sources. It was very clear that not only the passport validity requirement, but also the return/onward ticket requirement were waived for US citizens. I am sure of that part, but I can't remember the topic or the poster. I will say, however, that I have flown on one way tickets on American (many times), Continental (one time), and Grupo TACA (one time). For the last 6 years at least, I have only bought round trip tickets when the fares were too cheap to pass up.
Copa Mexico
Copa is often considered a bigger stickler than other airlines, especially Mexico-Panama-Colombia. There were many similar stories on Mexico travel pages last summer-fall. One (risky?) way around the problem is to use an online ticket vendor, on an airline other than the one you intend to "dupe": do everything you would normally do to buy the online ticket, but just before the final "purchase" mouse click, stop, and print the related page/screen (this should cover name, seat, dates, etc.); if there is a notice at the top or bottom indicating you "have not yet purchased..." the ticket, simply cut that off. Ideally, you would do this beforehand where/when there is no pressure or time constraints, make it look good, and simnply carrying it along for "insurance". Use this form as onward ticket evidence. I know of three people, separately, who did this later last year - and it worked. They were right where you are, and using the same airline.
Again, Many Thanks for everyones input, I have fixed the problem
I ended up purchasing $165 one-way fare from MGA to Florida. I have my print out and will be able to board tomorrow moring. MJT that is a great idea, I wish I would have read your post before I purchased the Tickets. That would totaly work, because it is just to show the person at the ticket counter. They are not immegration. Another Idea I thought of after I read your post was you could allways buy a REFUNDABLE ticket and than just get your refund after you arrive into the country that requires a return flight. Hopefully this blog can help someone in the near future if they have to go through what I did.
Cant wait to jump in the ocean and wash all this away than attack my CONTAINER PROBLEM with the customs. I will post another blog about that....
until than...ALohA and GRACIAS to everyone.
Return ticket.
From what I've been told, the rule for a return ticket is from the airlines. Not immigration. If you fly here one way, go bust and get deported, the airline that flew you in is responsible for flying you back out at their expense. They are just covering their arses. Not sure why they have a 6 month rule on your passport. I myself think it's a good idea. Getting an expired passport renewed in a foreign country is a pain in the ars these days. Another trick I've heard of is reserving a return ticket online with the carrier you are flying a week before your flight here. It will show up on their computer system at the airiport and your ars is covered. If you go the refundable ticket route be in for a 15 day wait on your money. Also the refund process is down in downtown MGA at the airlines main office, not at the airport. Your refund will come in the form of a check and that's another pain in the ars. Pura Nica, Bobby
If you are still planning on going to Nicaragua
There is a bus that goes from Mexico City down to Managua, with several stops. My husband used King Quality from El Salvador to Managua and found it very comfortable. The cost from El Salvador to Managua was about $120 U.S. Here's some information:
From Mexico City you can travel to Oaxaca and Chiapas to the Guatemalan border. To Chiapas, the most direct route is to Tuxtla Guiterrez: 1,000 kilometers, 17 hours, with U.N.O. From there, several Mexican bus companies including Ticabus have connecting buses to Tapachula (400-kilometers, seven hours) on the Guatemalan border.
Linea Dorada (www.lineadorada.com) runs an unbelievably comfortable bus service from Tapachula, Mexico to the Guatemalan capital (253 kilometers, five hours).
From Guatemala City the Ticabus (www.ticabus.com) runs all the way to Panama City, connecting through all the capitals in between: San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, Managua, and San Jose. You can break it down into different legs or make the whole journey straight through with a couple of overnight stops in the capitals.
Melva International (3 Avenida 1-38, Zona 9, Guatemala City, 331-0874) makes the 268-kilometer trip between Guatemala City and San Salvador, El Salvador with eight buses a day. The trip takes about five hours. From San Salvador to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, King Quality (Bolv. Comunidad Economica Europea, Tel. 225-5415 in Tegucigalpa) runs two daily ejecutivo buses for the 9-hour trip. From Tegucigalpa to Managua, Nicaragua, Ticabus or Transnica remain the main modes of transportation, with numerous daily departures which take. 8 1/2-hours.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE....
I am really thankful for this website FYL....your da BEST! Thank You all for your responses as well...
As for my situation... I am looking into the "throw away" bus ticket option now. . . COPA AIR put me on tomorrows flight so if I can book the ticket and print a confirmation of this I will be OK. Does anyone have any other bus companies?
...About the new law....It is true apparently you must have the passport for at least 6 months and a return flight or a onward itinerary from Nicaragua.
...I can not turn around and go back to USA. For 1 my container is already in Nicaragua wich is an entire other nightmare with customs that I must get there ASAP to avoid them keeping all my container. For 2, I am so over AMERICA It will drain me to have to turn around and go home. . .
If you don't mind...
Would you keep us posted on what happens with your container and your residency? I'm wondering how this is going to work out for you, because I would love to ship my container next week, if ACNUR releases my husband with asylum. My lease is up in March, so I'm trying to avoid staying here past then and paying on a month to month basis for a house that is too big for me now.
Do you NEED a return bus ticket?
My husband didn't. But you will have to check into the CA-4 countries and he didn't as a Salvadoreno, so that may explain it.
If you are stuck in Mexico City
I agree, with FYL that the bus is your best option. But if they have a Spirit Airlines in Mexico city, that service offers the cheapest flights I've found.
You can also go to the U.S. consulate and ask for help. You should know that you may need to return to the U.S. if you don't have all your documents the exact way the Nicaraguans want, and you won't be able to work until they grant you residency with a cedula, so if you are light on funds, you may want to go back to the U.S. and get everything done before you move there. You can take a bus back to TJ and that might be your best option.
UPDATE: Spirit Airlines only flies out of Cancun in Mexico. And you should know that it may take up to 90 days for Nicaragua to grant you a cedula, if they do. Is going home an option?
Which question?
The question I saw was "COPA is jodiendo El Gringo" What is the cheapest way to get them to let me get on their airplane. While there are relatively cheap flights out of MGA to El Salvador, CR, ..., the bus option seems easy and sufficient.
Not sure what you mean.
I was addressing this:
"Does anyone have any suggestions? or cheapest solution? Anything would help at this point..."
I interpreted that as "What do I do now to correct this?" I may have misinterpreted it though.
I'm no expert and I admit that. I do know that my husband had a similar experience when he was trying to fly to Managua on Copa. They allow you to purchase a one-way ticket, but when he went to board the flight in San Salvador they turned him away for the same reasons. We tried to argue it, but they were firm. That is why he ended up taking a the King Quality bus. We learned that one-way tickets are only for people going to the country of their residency, not people trying to obtain residency. But they really should tell people that before they let you purchase the flight. Lesson learned. Fortunately, I purchased a refundable ticket for my husband and I'm hoping this man has the same to help him now. I stand corrected.
The problem is that it is a
The problem is that it is a standard requirement to have a ticket out of the country as a condition of entry, just like the requirement to have a passport good for at least 6 months from the date of entry. What Phil is saying is to look at buying a throwaway ticket from Managua to any other place outside Nicaragua. The cheapest one to any destination will do. The only thing I don't understand is why they are requiring this, when both of those requirements (6 months on the passport and a ticket out) are waived for US citizens.
That's another suggestion. Make sure they know that this requirement is waived for Gringos. It is easily verifiable.
OK, That's crazy
When I moved to CR, I bought a round trip because it cost less than a 1-way. But, this is crazy. The cheapest return option is bus. TicaBus is about $20 a capital so to Mexico should be around $60. They have a web site.
Ticabus to san jose is cheap
the other routes are much pricier. usd 70 from esteli to cd Guat.
¨Latin America devours its revolutionaries¨ -Simon Bolivar
thanx for the heads up
years ago I flew one way to Managua without any problems, so its nice to know that Taca is a pain in the rear. Other than avoiding Taca, someone might also consider buying a bus ticket from MGA to San Jose as proof of forward passage, but I think the best policy is to just get a round trip ticket in the first place.
I suspect that someone moving here without extensive experience here is going to be going back to the states for one reason or another. Partly this is because of my experience here, and partly because of my experience in the states of living 30 years in "retirement, vacation, back to the land" areas in the US. People come and go at an amazing rate for a variety of reasons.
Why may you be traveling to the states within a year?
1) You may not like it here.
2) You may run out of money.
3) You may get bored
4) you may get sick or injured
5) you may want to see friends and relatives, who somehow don't like third world vacations.
6) You may have family emergencies up north. Grandkids are good for this.
7) After a good rest, you may want to pursue some opportunities not available to you here. A little tough during a recession, but that depends on you and the opportunities.
8) You may find opportunities here and need to go north to recapitalize.
9) you may want to play tourist in the US. I really would like to see Virginia.
10) you may just want to get away periodically to clear your mind. (Although CR or Panama works for this too)
11) you might want to stock up on camping goods to make your life more comfortable.
12) you might have to go back to patch up your documents for immigration,
Anyway, it sounds very romantic to cast away all your ties, but I think most foreighners should plan on a trip back to the states the first year. Get a round trip ticket, at least to miami or houston.
¨Latin America devours its revolutionaries¨ -Simon Bolivar
Disagree on Taca
I have had people come o to vist fro Miami three times in last 3 months on Taca through El Salvador the the experience was great. Not supporting Taca just adding some real life balance.ZZT