Last Updated on September 13, 2018 by Jon Algie
I found a lot of misinformation while searching how to cross the border from Ecuador to Peru. I heard that it was one of the dodgiest border crossings in Latin America and that it was best to do it during the day – both of these are wrong. It is possible to travel all the way from Cuenca to Mancora (or to as far as Piura) on one comfortable bus for only $15. Here are all the details you need if you’re planning to take the night bus from Ecuador to Peru.
Booking a ticket in Cuenca
Make your way to “Terminal Terestre” in Cuenca to book your ticket. We went early in the morning and bought our tickets for the 10pm bus from Cuenca to Mancora. It costs $15 each (it might be a bit more to Piura). It was pretty easy; just make sure you have a copy of your passport. There are at least a couple of bus companies that do this route and from what I’ve heard they are all pretty similar.
Getting to the terminal at night
Cuenca seems like a pretty safe place but it’s always best to be careful when taking taxis at night in Latin America. We got the woman at our hostel to order us a taxi – it was under $2 for the short ride to the terminal from the old town in Cuenca. Try not to spend all your US dollars before you get to the terminal – there is a 10c platform fee!
The ride
The bus was comfortable and there was a good mix of locals and tourists on board. As always in Ecuador, be careful with your things. I got a bit sick on the bus ride; eating that huge Indian curry and drinking a few beers before a long journey probably wasn’t a great idea. We arrived at the border between Ecuador and Colombia at around 2am. A reader recently let me know that they had a whole heap of money stolen from their bag which was underneath the bus on this journey — it pays to be very careful with your valuables and, if possible, keep them on your at all times. It’s also a good idea to invest in a good lock and find a way to “protect” your bag even if you fall asleep.
The Border between Ecuador and Peru
The whole border process is handled in one small building – it was definitely one of the easiest border crossings we have experienced. It took around 45 minutes – I’ve heard if you cross this border during the day it can take hours.
Arriving in Mancora
We arrived in Mancora at around 5am and joined a group of fellow tourists in walking to Loki Del Mar, one of the few hostels that seemed open at that hour. The check in process was extremely slow – we waited around to be checked in for about 30 minutes until we finally left, frustrated and tired. The sun had come up so we walked around until we found another hostel that was open (Casa de Betty). A double room was 40 soles (Loki Del Mar was 90 soles!). It might be better to book a place in advance as walking around in the dark isn’t ideal, especially if you’re alone. Mancora is a nice town – the beaches are pretty good and the sunsets even better.
FURTHER READING: Mancora, Peru: Desert, Beaches and Sunsets
The night bus from Ecuador to Peru: Safe, Cheap and Comfortable
I can’t imagine a better way of crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru. The bus was cheap, safe and comfortable and the border process was easy. You could spend more money and take longer doing it (as I’ve read some people have done) but there’s really no point – for $15 you can cross the border between Ecuador and Peru in about 7 hours.
Looking to kill time in Cuenca before the bus?
Head to Cajas National Park! We spent the day there before the bus and it was great. The barren, high altitude terrain is home to lots of small lakes and weird looking cactus plants – it’s very different to anywhere else we went in Ecuador.
Are you planning on crossing the border between Ecuador and Peru? Would you take the night bus? Let me know!
Jon Algie
Latest posts by Jon Algie (see all)
- 10 Places I loved in Singapore as an Expat - August 20, 2024
- Jonistravelling in 2024 + a Vision for the Future - July 22, 2024
- Hotels VS Hostels VS Airbnbs: Which Accommodation Should You Choose? - June 24, 2024
Hi Jon
Really useful information except you don’t name the bus company that provides this amazing service. I’d love to know.
Regards
Val
Hey Val, I’m pretty sure it was Super Semeria, but there are a few companies that do this route and from what I’ve heard they are all pretty similar.
I don’t recommend Transportes Super Semeria S.A.
Took overnight bus from Cuenca to mancora, leaving the night of Sept 7, 2018. My Colombian girl’s cash and credit card were robbed from her bag below the bus, where she had it locked up with a small lock. The lock had been picked. Nobody had left the bus before us, the only time we stopped was for the long line at immigration. Thus, the drivers must’ve been in on it, or else turned other way while customs was going through bags. We never saw customs going through bags because the entire bus was in line for immigration, which is historically longer than normal with the Venezuelan crisis going on. She had 2.4 millones Colombian pesos robbed, which is $800, what she was trying to take with her for the entire trip (and had been unable to exchange in all the places we visited in Ecuador). We figured having things below the bus is safer than on your person when you’re sleeping above. Obviously not with this company!
Tomemos el bus entre Cuenca hasta mancora directo por la noche, saliendo la noche de Sept 7, 2018. $800 estaba robada de la mochila de mi novia con candado desde abajo del bus. El candado pequeño era forzado. Ningunos pasajeros dejaron el bus antes de nosotros porq fue directo desde Cuenca hasta mancora. Sólo paremos 3 horas para inmigración, no eran ningunas otra paradas. Ningunos pasajeros estaban presente durante la revisión de cualquier maletas abajos durante este tiempo, todos fueron a la fila. Entonces la gerencia era involucrado en este robo. Sus cosas no están seguros abajo aún si son los primeros a salir del bus!
Hey Ryan, sorry to hear about that, it’s the worst feeling when that happens! It’s a good reminder that this kind of thing can and does happen often in Latin America (and most other parts of the world I guess). I’d be very reluctant to keep anything valuable below the bus / anywhere you can’t see it but I understand not wanting to fall asleep with it on the bus either — tough situation!
Does this bus go through Guayaquil before heading to Mancora?
The one from Cuenca doesn’t but you can catch a bus from Guayaquil to Peru, probably to Mancora but I’m not 100% sure.
Thanks Jon!
Thank you for this info, its been very helpful to me in a sea on confusion and “scary stories” lol
No problem — it definitely isn’t a scary border crossing these days!
Useful post. Thanks! One question, how did the border crossing work? Did you stop at the border and get your Peru visa? Or did you have to arrange and get stamped before leaving Cuenca?
Hey Dawson, we just hopped off the bus at the border and got a visa there, it was really easy.
Hi,
I have got a question related to the border crossing from Ecuador to Peru, I did get my yellow fever vaccinations but I can not find any information anywhere if you have to show your vaccination report crossing borders, would you be able to shed some light on this topic?
Many thanks in advance
You won’t have to show the vaccination report. I just crossed in the middle of July.
Yeah, I can’t recall ever being asked for it in Latin America.
The only time you might need this is if you plan on taking a sailboat from Puertobelo, Panama to Colombia. One charter in particular requests you have it or you don’t get on his boat. Other than that scenario we have never been asked if we have it.
Hey Jon,
I have just arrived in Cuenca and as it’s a Sunday, I am having trouble finding out about options here. You mentioned that you went to Cajas National Park for a day. How did you do that, was it an arranged trip or is it possible to do it independently ?? Appreciate your help.
Cheers,
Dave
Hey Dave, I keep meaning to write a post about Cajas National Park! You can do it independently, just catch a bus from the bus station, takes around an hour from memory.
Hi jon,
is there a direct bus from guayaquil to chiclayo or lima? and time ‘( day or night) and travel time?
Thanx
Hey! Thank you so much for your information it was so helpful! We are planning to go to Mancora from Cuenca so this came in handy. I was wondering where you do the dollar exchange to soles? Is it at the border?
Hey Stace, thanks for the kind words! I think we may have changed it at the border but pretty sure we only had like $10 or something. You’d probably get a better deal if you wait and change it in town. Best not to be changing money too much though, as the changer will almost always get a better deal.
Hey Jon! Read your post many times in preparation for getting to Mancora from Cuenca in the next few days. Thank you for the advice! We will probably be following your footsteps to the tee.
Thanks Dharshana, let me know how it goes and if anything has changed!
Please update if you’ve done this, can’t find any recent information online and I’ll be doing this too in a few days. Thank you!
Hi Jon, thank you for this very useful blog. I just wanted to update that my partner and I did this journey the other night (Aug 2018) and it was just as you described and all very smooth an easy! We caught the 9.30pm bus from Cuenca (Ecuador) down to Mancora (Peru) with the Super Semeria bus service. The tickets were 20USD each. We bought them a day in advance as i think theyre popular. The bus was fairly comfortable- decent leg room and not too hot or cold. The toilet was in service and they provided a carton of juice and oreos free at the start. No noisy music but a film playing on a very bright screen and windy roads so not the best nights sleep. We arrived at the Ecuador side of the border at around 1.15am and that was super quick (the driver dropped us off just by the building). Then back on the bus for about 10min drive to the Peru border which took a while longer- we waited in the bus stationary for approx 30mins and had to queue in the building for our passport stamps for about 45mins. In summary we were back on the bus on our way to Mancora approx 3am and arrived in Mancora at approx 5am (there were tuc tuc drivers waiting if you needed a taxi although we just walked to our hostel). Note there were a few ATMs near where the bus arrived.
Would Definately recommend the bus- we were tired but it was a smooth quick journey (we queued for over 5 hours at the colombia-Ecuador border during the day and it was a much worse journey).
Hope this helps!
Hi Helen, thanks heaps for the update — glad to hear it’s still a smooth journey!
Hi Jon, thanks for the info on bus to Peru from Cuenca. I will be flying into Quito and ,after a month, want to bus out through Peru to Santiago. Can you tell me if I will need a bus ticket[ buy online?] in advance to prove I am not staying forever in Equador or will my flight ticket home from Santiago be sufficient? Id hate to be refused entry at Quito on arrival!
Hey Peter, I did a little research and it seems like most people don’t get asked but it still could happen. You’ll be more likely to be denied boarding by the airline, so if that’s the case you could quickly book a ticket (get to the airport early if you’re doing this) when / if the airline doesn’t let you board (or just take the hit and book a bus anyway). I’d say it’d be unlikely you’d get all the way to Quito and then have to return home. Let me know how it goes!
Hey Jon ~ I just now am getting a plane (in Philadelphia) to head to Ecuador. I know that I need to get a ticket for three months after my arrival. But, EVERYtime I go to a site to purchase, it refuses to allow me to buy a ticket. Do you know of a website where I can buy a ticket from anywhere in Ecuador to anywhere in Peru. I’m going to be in Ecuador for a long time (at Cocolandia pretty close to Zapatillo). Thanks, Dan
Hey Dan, are you trying to be a flight ticket? There was a website, I can’t remember the name though, where you pay like $10 and get a ticket that’ll work for customs etc. Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for! If you’re looking for bus tickets, maybe try busbud. Cheers!