Nicaragua country information

Republic of Nicaragua
Area: 129,494 sq km
Population: 5,603,000
Population density: 42 per sq km
Capital: Managua

Passport & Visa

Passport Required?
British	Yes
Australian	Yes
Canadian	Yes
USA	Yes/1
Other EU	Yes
Visa Required?
British	No/2
Australian	No/2
Canadian	No/2
USA	No/2
Other EU	No/2

Passports

Passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:
1. nationals of the USA who only require a valid passport on arrival.

Passport Note

Nicaragua is party to the Central America Border Control Agreement (CA-4). Under the terms of this agreement, tourists may travel within any of the CA-4 countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) for a period of up to 90 days, without completing entry and exit formalities at border immigration checkpoints. (* see note tour.tk for more info). This period begins at the first point of entry into any of the CA-4 countries. Fines are applied for travellers who exceed this 90-day limit, although a 30-day extension can be made before the 90 days limit expires.

Visas

Not required by nationals referred to in the chart above.

Note: 2. All nationals referred to in the chart above can obtain a Tourist Card on arrival for approximately US$5 for touristic stays of up to 90 days provided they are holding valid travel documents and, in the case of business travellers, a letter from their employer and/or company in Nicaragua.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements.

Note tour.tk: although Nicaragua is part of the CA-4 agreement, you will still need to fill in several forms at the Nicaraguan border, when entering and leaving. You also have to pay an entry fee (tourist card) and administration costs, which amounts to US$10 in total per person.

Getting there

Getting There by Air

TACA (website: www.taca.com ) flies from Miami to Managua. Atlantic Airlines (website: www.atlanticairlinesint.com ) operates flights between Managua and several destinations in Honduras, as well as a service from Gran Cayman.

Approximate Flight Times

From Miami is 2 hours 30 minutes.

Main Airports

Augusto C Sandino International Airport (MGA) (Managua) (website: www.eaai.com.ni ) is 12km (7 miles) north of the city (journey time - 15 minutes). To/from the airport: Bus and taxi services run to the city. Facilities: Banks, ATM, cafe, post office, souvenir shops, duty-free shops and car hire.

Departure Tax

Included in the air fare. Transit passengers and children under two years of age are exempt.

Getting There by Water

Main ports: Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas and Puerto Sandino, which are served by shipping lines from Nicaragua, as well as Central American, North American and European countries.

Getting There by Road

The Pan-American Highway runs through Nicaragua via Esteli and Managua.

Bus: There are daily bus services between Managua and Tegucigalpa (Honduras), San Salvador (El Salvador) and San José (Costa Rica) (journey time - 9 hours). Services are provided by King Quality, Nicabus, Ticabus (tel: 222 6094; website: www.ticabus.com ) and Transnica (tel: 270 3133; website: www.transnica.com ).

Cycling & Maps

Cycling in Nicaragua
Nicaraguan roads are busy in and around cities and on major arterials. In general, there is a wide enough shoulder for cyclists to use and other road users are used to the non-motorised two wheeled form of transport being on the road. You will find many Nicaraguan cyclists not being happy with you overtaking them and they will push their little wheels around until their legs almost drop off to try and remain in front of you or stuck to your rear wheel.

Signage is few and far between: mainly at the start or end of reasonably sized towns and at major intersections. The distance readings are generally reliable to within a few kilometres. Off the main highways the roads disintegrate to rocky, potholed, washed away surfaces. However, even with the more concerted cycling effort, these pathways are a much more pleasant view of Nicaragua. People are friendlier, the countryside is cleaner and since there are hardly any other road users, you can swerve your way around the worst of the conditions. The only downside is the thought of possible attack from banditos, which the locals will have no qualms warning you about. It is up to you, but you will find yourself alone on these roads for considerably long periods of time.

In our humble opinion
We have travelled extensively on our bicycles in many places in the world rumored to be unsafe and found locals to be incredibly friendly and hospitable. With the exception of fundamentalist areas, often such untoward advertising comes from a few isolated cases making popular guidebooks and travel forums, tainting the region for the rest of its possible "tourist destination" existence. That said, when it comes to Nicaragua, neither Ali nor myself have ever felt so ill at ease cycling through a country before.

The older generation were pleasant enough, but on the whole the inhabitants looked particularly grumpy, especially in and around the bigger cities. This on its own is not enough to give an entire culture a bad name, but we also experienced people throwing rubbish in our direction; yelling obscenities and making some pretty rude gestures and noises at us. Furthermore, it was very obvious that people were not looking at us, but eyeing off our baggage and bikes. This is the first time on our world cycle tour that we have felt in the slightest bit uncomfortable. We took our intuition as grounds enough to get out of Nicaragua as quickly as we could.

Nicaragua Map
International Travel Maps
scale 1:755 000

Nicaragua/Honduras
El Salvador Map
by Reise Know-How
scale 1:650 000

rip & waterproof

Cost of living

Cost of Living in Nicaragua: all prices in Nigaragua Cordoba (NIO)

drinks and snacks			food: local markets; restaurants; and stores
water (drinking) water (drinking) juice juice soft drink (can) soft drink (bottle) soft drink (bottle)	1.5 litre 1gal (3.78 L) 200ml 1 litre 350ml 500ml 1.5 litre	11.00 17.00-24.00 6.00 27.50 10.50 10.60 18.50	bread loaf-white bread loaf-whole grain tortillas-wheat	480g 700g 10 pack-250g	23.50 31.00 14.50
			desayuna-local rest. vegetarian nacatamales comida tipico pizza-vegetarian	set meal one serving set meal med	30-40 15-20 40+ 180+
beer-local beer-local wine wine	350ml can 355ml bottle 1 litre cask 750ml bottle	15.25 15.00 90.50+ 105.00+	rice (white) pasta eggs tomato paste refried red beans	kg 200g per ½ dozen 113g 227g	25.75 7.00 17.50 9.50 13.25
tea coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee-ground	24 bags per cup 50g 454g	14.75 5-10.00 25.50 22.50+
milk soya milk yoghurt / curd cheese Magnum icecream	946ml 946ml 150g kg each	15.75 14.50 11.25 125.25 tba	potatoes onions tomatoes cabbage-large broccoli head cucumber	kg kg kg each each each	27.50 22.00 18.50 16.00 20.00 4.00
chip-lays cassava chips salted/sugar peanuts sultanas	184gg pack 170g 80g 125g	38.25 18.50 8.00 12.50	avocados apples pineapple bananas	kg kg each each	30.00 50-110.00 11.00 1.75
cornflakes chocolate museli bars biscuits-plain biscuits-chocolate	350g pack 198g block 6x22g 150g pack 94g pack	54.25 63.50 52.00 10.00 8.50	pineapple (can) oil (corn)	430g 450ml	42.75 22.50
			peanut paste jam honey	340g jar 305g jar 340g	49.00 24.50 40.75
* Majority of prices obtained from the supermarket chain: La Union in Leon
accommodation			personal
budget city hostel budget city hotel	60-115.00 per dorm bed 120-200 double with bath		deodorant - roll-on soap shampoo toothbrush toothpaste disposable razor toilet paper-small	70g 125g bar 250ml each 75ml 2 pack 4 roll pack	18.75 10.50 42.00 25.00+ 24.75 12.75 20.00
camping	not advisable and beside theere is little opportunity to find free land to pitch your tent on.
internet	10.00 per hour

* tba = price to be announced
* May 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 19.12 NIO
all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Nicaragaua. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury.

Source:www.exchange-rates.org

A couple of extra tips:

*	Bargaining for souvenirs or if you happen to be purchasing goods in bulk is generally accepted. Markets are another place where you can practice your haggling skills. Otherwise prices are fixed.
*	Tipping is not compulsory in Nicaragua, nor expected in local eating establishments. Some of the higher range hotels and restaurants may automatically add or even expect a tip of between 10 and 15%
*	Taxi drivers do not expect a tip and prices are determined before you accept the ride.
*	Sunday is considered a traditional day in Nicaragua and except for large chain supermarkets, most other stores will be closed. During the week, smaller stores also shut for siesta, whose time-span can change from place to place. Furthermore, they will quite often have their doors closed by 5pm in the afternoon.
*	Mostly: weights are in lbs; volume in gallons and pints, but road signage is in kilometres.

Accommodation

Depending where you are situated, hotels and hospedajes in Nicaragua vary in both quality and price. Budget accommodation is akin to the rest of Central America and it pays to have a checklist firmly placed in your mind when viewing a room. Don't be afraid to ask to see a second one if the first is not to your liking. Standards and facilities can differ greatly from room to room, even in the same establishment. Generally, there is more choice in bigger cities or those spots with tourist magnetism. As a rule, competition means the prices can be more reasonable while the standard just a tad better. That said don't expect too much for your money, if you are on a budget.

For information about Nicaragua, visit the simple but informative Vianica website

Camping in Nicaragua
Most of the countries open land is occupied by farmers and therefore fenced off, so it is almost impossible to pull off to the side of the road and pitch the tent. Besides that, security is not particularly good in Nicaragua and wild camping is probably not one of your safest options for accommodation. This applies to the whole of Central America and not specifically Nicaragua. If you were to find yourself stuck without a roof over your head, then the best alternative would be to ask a local in a village or small town with a bit of land attached to their house, though use your gut instinct. If things seem dodgy, then move on. Another possibility is to head straight to the local church. In general, they will help you out.

Acommodation we used while in Nicaragua (May 2009): (prices based on two people sharing)
Star system explained: from 0 to *** where 0 is a total disaster and *** is luxurious (and out of our price range)

City / town:	Name accommodation:	Our experience:	Price:	Stars:

El Crucero	Hotel Capri	total rip-off, but only hotel	NIC 400	½
Leon	Hotel Casa Vieja	cardboard walls, shared bath	NIC 180	*
Peñas Blancas	Hospedaje El Meson	not too bad	NIC 120	**
Somotillo	Hotel Nelson	can it get worse?	NIC 140	0

Food & drink

Situated in the heart of Central America, Nicaragua is another country not catering very well for the travelling vegetarian. Apart from utilising every conceivable liquid and bodily section from the cow, pig and chicken, the country boasts delicacies such as iguana, boa, turtle, and armadillo. Please note that the latter species are currently threatened with extinction.

Gallo pinto a mix of rice and beans plays one of the staple roles in the diet as do the many derivatives of the other fundamental to Nicaraguan cooking: corn. Tropical fruits are also consumed in large quantities, both as food items and served blended with water, milk or yoghurt in non-alcoholic beverages.

There are also other ingredients widely used in the Nicaraguan kitchen, mostly local, tropical products. Nevertheless, Nicaraguan culinary creativity is meticulous and open, which enables the utilization of ingredients used all around the world such as tomato, onion, garlic, flour, rice, orange, mustard and mayonnaise, milk and cheese, vanilla and cinnamon, and more.

There are strong cultural differences from one coast to the other and while the Pacific side is strongly influenced from the indigenous Mayan culture the Caribbean Coast places a strong emphasis on its Jamaican ties. Here, flavours such as cinnamon, ginger coriander and coconut feature heavily in the kitchen.

VEGETARIAN TALK - Spanish

Soy vegetariano/a = I am vegetarian m/f

No como...ni... = I don't eat...nor...
Yo como...y... = I eat...and...
No quiero...o... = I don't want...or...

carne = meat
cerdo or puerco = pork
pollo [poh-yo] = chicken
pescado = fish
huevos = eggs
leche = milk
lácteos = milk products
queso = cheese

vedura = vegetables
fruta (fresca) = (fresh) fruit

Quiero... = I want...
Quisiera un plato que lleve... =
I want a dish containing ...

por favor = please
gracias = thank you
de nada = you're welcome

Self catering is the vegetarians best option in Nicaragua and many hostels have a kitchen area available for guests to use. Good quality fruit and vegetables can be quite expensive and plentiful supplies are only found in the larger towns.

At the time of writing in 2009, HappyCow had just one listing: the upmarket Restaurant and Coffee Shop CocinArte in León.

Water is not considered safe to drink in most areas of Nicaragua, so it pays to have some form of water purification with you or drink only bottled water; which is inexpensive and available everywhere. Cerveza [beer] is also widely obtainable and Toña and La Victoria are the most well known brands, though Bufalo has become popular since its recent introduction on the market.

Why not try these for starters?

Nacatamal Vegetariano
Much larger than the Mexican tamale, the Nicaraguan tamal is corn masa [dough] filled with rice, and covered with potato, tomato, fresh mint, garlic and a few raisins. Wrapped in banana leaves, this typical meal has a unique flavour after being steamed for several hours. The vegetarian option often sees tofu, cheese or sietan substituted for usual the meat component.

Desayuno sin Carne: Gallopintos, Tostado, Huevos, Queso y Cafe
The typical breakfast of Central America, without the meat bit of course: rice, pinto beans, toast, eggs, cheese and some strong piping hot coffee: Perfect start to anyone's day.

Rice and Beans
As typical as Gallo Pinto: rice and red beans are prepared in exactly the same way, with the difference being that it is fried with oil from the coconut, giving the dish its distinctive flavour and texture.

Tostones
Also widely known throughout Central America as platanos fritos, these crunchy deep-fried plantains are a wonderful snack or side dish to any meal.

Quesillo
This Nicaraguan snack food is one of those fast pick-me-up meals available from food stalls and market areas just about anywhere in the country. Basically is is a tortilla filled with cheese and served with onions, vinegar and chilli, topped off with fresh cream and a sprinkling of salt.

Cajeta de Coco
Thin strands of yucca and coconut flesh caramelised in a candy syrup of coconut juice and dulce. Ooooh, how sweet!

Pastel de Tres Leches
Originally from Nicaragua but spread far and wide in Central and South American, this simple, but delicious dessert of sponge is as its name suggests, soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream and just as icing on the cake, topped with a crown of soft meringue.

Arroz con Piña
Pineapple and rice boiled until soft; cooled and blended with water; and strained. The liquid is flavoured with strawberry, a hint of vanilla and enough sugar until the desired sweetness. Over the rocks this is better than any cocktail you could imagine.

Gaubul
A refreshing blend of cooked green plantains (banana), milk, coconut water and a touch of sugar.

El Macuá
Recently voted in as the official Nicaraguan beverage, El Macuá is the delicious combination of light rum, guava and lemon juice sweetened with sugar.

Bike shops

Managua

Xtreme Sports
Carretera a Masaya Km 11 1/2 Mód # 3
Managua
Tel: (505)2550916

Climate

Road distances

Detailed distance chart from our trip through Nicaragua - May 2009 (km/alti)

	altitude (in metres) in brackets	accomm.:	km	total km
	H= hotel / posada . C= camping / trailer park . B= beach camp

Guasuala (border Honduras)	Somotillo	H	7	7
Somotillo	turn-off to Villa Nueva		13	20
turn-off to Villa Nueva	Chinandega	H	57	77
Chinandega	turn-off to Chichigalpa	H	11	88
turn-off to Chichigalpa	turn-off to Telica		19	107
turn-off to Telica	León (125)	H	10	117
León	turn-off to La Paz Centro (40)		26	143
turn-off to La Paz Centro	San Lorenzo (100)		25	168
San Lorenzo	turn-off to Montelimar (163)		12	180
turn-off to Montelimar	top climb (500)
top climb	turn-off to El Crucero/carr Sur (280)	H	7	187
turn-off to El Crucero	El Crucero (884)	H	17	204
El Crucero	Diriamba (560)	H	16	220
Diriamba	Jinotepe (550)	H	4	224
Jinotepe	turn-off to Granada (160)		20	244
turn-off to Granada	Nandaime (130)	H	2	246
Nandaime	Rivas (65)	H	45	291
Rivas	La Virgen (51)	H	10	301
La Virgen	Peñas Blancas (border Costa Rica, 75)	H	26	327