A country-by-country guide to the current Covid travel restrictions in Central America. What requirements are there to enter each country? Compare your Central American country to its neighbors.
If you’re traveling, you want to know the rules and regulations to get into any given country, especially in these times when things change on a dime. We’re not talking here about curfews and restrictions once on the ground – in the case of Central America, we offer a country-by-country guide to those right here. No, here we talk about what you need to get in.
We’ve been updating this information since Central American countries began opening up to tourism in the summer of 2020, and we’ll continue doing so until all countries are back to pre-pandemic rules.
Most restrictions are gone in Central America, although some countries still cling on to mask mandates for god-knows-what reason. Our dream is to one day update this article with every country scrapping these useless mandates. But until then…https://t.co/lcbH7EvF4e
— Central America Living (@VidaAmerica) January 26, 2023
Belize:
Belize has no requirements or restrictions on anyone entering or leaving its territory. For continuous, up-to-date into on Belize’s entry requirements, bookmark this page from the Belize Tourism Board.
All remaining Belize travel restrictions are now eliminated. Travelers no longer need to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test to enter or leave the country.https://t.co/OT82cWbWx4
— Central America Living (@VidaAmerica) July 15, 2022
Guatemala:
Guatemala has no vaccination or testing requirements for travelers entering its territory. To keep up with Guatemala’s entry requirements, bookmark this page.
Guatemala joins Belize, Costa Rica, and El Salvador to become the latest country to eliminate all testing/vaccine requirements for travelers entering its territory. https://t.co/GIxjjCbA4T
— Central America Living (@VidaAmerica) August 15, 2022
El Salvador:
El Salvador has eliminated all testing and vaccination restrictions to enter the country.
Breaking: El Salvador eliminates all Covid travel restrictions effective immediately. No testing or proof of vaccine required to enter the country from now on. https://t.co/gKObIA6Tkc
— CentralAmericaLiving (@VidaAmerica) November 17, 2021
Honduras:
Travelers to Honduras must fill in an immigration online pre-check form within 48 of arrival in Honduras. They will receive a confirmation email which they should save. They should also print this email out and carry it around with them.
Unvaccinated travelers must show proof of a negative Covid test (PCR, antigen, or ELISA) taken within 72 hours of arrival. Vaccinated travelers (with full vaccination completed 14 days or more prior to arrival) don’t need to provide a negative Covid test.
Nicaragua:
Nicaragua no longer requires vaccinated travelers to provide a test to enter the country. Unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated travelers can enter Nicaragua as long as they have a negative (PCR only) test issued within 72 hours of arrival.
Last night, Nicaragua became the final country in Central America to eliminate Covid testing requirements for vaccinated travelers entering the country. Unvaccinated travelers still need to provide a negative test (PCR only) to enter Nicaragua. https://t.co/plnaJ44GGc
— Central America Living (@VidaAmerica) June 17, 2022
Costa Rica:
There are no Covid regulations or restrictions in place for travelers entering Costa Rica.
After two grueling years, most Covid restrictions in Costa Rica are now over. Here’s a quick rundown of what that means for people on the ground and for travelers entering the country.https://t.co/DzOFzMRX0o
— Central America Living (@VidaAmerica) April 1, 2022
Panama:
Panama eliminated all testing and vaccination requirements to enter its territory in September 2022. Entry requirements are now as they were pre-pandemic.
For an up-to-date guide to Panama’s entry requirements, bookmark this page from Tourism Panama.
This was just a brief overview of Central America travel restrictions at this time.
We’ll keep this updated as and when situations change – and we know it’s an ever-changing situation. If you’re in Central America, please feel free to advise us in the comments of any changing regulations so we can stay as up-to-date as possible in real time.
James Dyde is the editor of centralamerica.com. He lives in Escazu, Costa Rica.
