Border Crossing By Land; Ecuador and Peru

As of July 2014 the process of crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru (and vice-versa) is quite simple and safe. It is no longer necessary to receive entry and exit stamps in separate buildings. Nor is it necessary to cross the infamous “No-man’s land” pedestrian bridge.

Border crossing by land, from Ecuador into Peru, can begin in either Machala or Huaquillas. Larger cities in Ecuador (Guyaquil, Cuenca, Loja, etc.) will pass through one, or both of these cities.

From Machala
Find the CIFA bus terminal downtown (on Av. Guyas at the the intersection with Av. Bolivar) and buy a ticket for Tumbes or Piura. Both Tumbes and Piura are medium-sized cities with plenty of connecting busses. CIFA has busses departing daily at 11am, 4pm or 8:30pm, and they should cost $5 to Tumbes and $10 to Piura. (Note, this reviewer rode the 11am bus). Plan on arriving 15 minutes early in order to get a good seat.
The bus will take a 1.5 hour ride to Huaquillas then wait at the terminal for 20 minutes. Use this time to buy some water or snacks. Once at the Huaquillas terminal the bus destination will read ‘Piura’. The bus will pass through Tumbes on it’s way to Piura. Even if you plan on getting off the bus in Tumbes to find a connecting route, you will board the Piura-bound bus.

Your first sight upon entering Huaquillas

From Huaquillas
Find the CIFA bus terminal at Av. Santa Rosa and Av. Machala. Buy a ticket for Piura, which should depart at 12:30pm or 5:30pm daily. The ticket will cost about $9. Even if you plan on exiting the bus in Tumbes, your correct bus will still read “Piura” as the destination. This is because the bus will continue on to Piura after passing through Tumbes.

After the bus leaves the bus terminal in Huaquillas it will take a short (15 minute) drive to the immigration building (CEPNA). The new CEPNA buildings are located on a guarded compound, safe from the thieves and pickpockets of the past. Travelers bound for Perú will enter the CEPNA Perú building and travelers bound for Ecuador with enter the CEPNA Ecuador building.

The Piura-bound bus will park outside the CEPNA Peru building and let all passengers off. At that point all passengers are required to fill out a Peruvian immigration card. You will find the paper work on a set of long tables just outside the CEPNA Perú building.

Filling out immigration cards at CEPNA Peru

When you finish filling in your paper form, go inside and stand in the line for your exit stamp from Ecuador (Salida del Ecuador). After receiving your exit stamp you then wait in line for your Peru entry stamp (Ingreso al Peru). These two lines are literally next to each other at one large desk.

CEPNA Perú desk

Once you have your Peru entry stamp, exit the building and stand outside. There is a small shop to buy lunch or snacks, as well as a few information boards while you wait for the other passengers to collect their stamps. A full bus can take up to 45 minutes for immigration officers to process, and more time if other bus companies are also present.
After all the passengers have received their stamps, the bus conductor will call everyone back to the bus (usually by honking the horn). The bus will then drive over the border and into Peru, safe from any pickpockets or thieves common on the pedestrian bridge. The whole area is surrounded by a security fence, and it actually quite bare.
(Note; this process works identically in the opposite direction, only passengers will use the CEPNA Ecuador building.)

Very safe, clean area

Around two or three kilometers past the border the bus will pull over along the side of the road at a police check. One officer will enter the bus while drug sniffing dogs quickly check the cargo department. The police officer on board will randomly ask passengers for their passports, in order to check that they have their entry stamps. The same is true for travelers in the opposite direction (from Perú into Ecuador)

Peruvian police officer randomly checking passengers’ visas

In another 30 minutes the bus will reach Tumbes. Here you can depart at the CIFA station for connecting busses to major cities in the south (Trujillo, Lima, etc) or continue on to Piura. Along the route to Piura the CIFA bus also makes a stop in Máncora.

Price
$5 to $10; depending on distance between origin and destination.
Time
Machala-Tumbes: 4 hours
Huaquillas-Tumbes: 2 – 2.5 hours