Travelling & Living in Beautiful Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a beautiful country packed with amazing scenery, happy people and unique environments. We loved living & travelling around Nicaragua. Initially we lived for four months in the amazing colonial city of Granada. We then moved south to the beach at Playa Gigante in Rivas for a month. We also spent time in San Juan del Sur and the other amazing colonial city of Leon.

Initially we intended to permanently live in Nicaragua but as time went on we realised that it wasn’t as stable as we would like it to be. A combination of political instability & residency/visa challenges changed our mind. Sadly we didn’t get to explore it all before we headed off to check out the potential of living in Paraguay

Expats in Nicaragua

Even though there are expats living all over Nicaragua the highest concentration are based in Granada & San Juan Del Sur. Granada seems to attract more American retirees. San Juan Del Sur (and it’s outlying beaches) are where you will find more Canadians and generally more families. So if you are hankering to hang out with other expats those are the places to head. Consequently those are the more expensive places to live in Nicaragua, especially San Juan Del Sur.

Travelling Around Nicaragua

Nicaragua is geared up for tourists so it’s an easy place to get around. The local buses are safe to travel on, although sometimes they can be a bit crowded! Nobody gets left at the bus stop in Nicaragua!

There are local taxis and numerous tourist shuttles that you can book. Generally drivers are quite well behaved in Nicaragua and the main roads are of a high standard. Driver & shuttle recommendations are easy to find on expat forums on Facebook & Whatsapp.

Rental cars are also available and are a viable option too as the main road network is good. Managua can get a little loco (crazy) but it is the capital so it has the highest density of cars & people. Oh and some horses too.

Buying a Car

If you aren’t a resident or national of Nicaragua buying a car is technically not possible. There is a ‘workaround’ though and many people use this option to buy a car while they are in Nicaragua. Here’s more info here on how that works. We spent quite a bit of time looking for a car to purchase but found the prices were high and the quality was low. Many expats buy from other expats who are leaving so it’s always a good idea to look/post on expat forums first as the easiest option.

Be aware that used cars may have had an accident and been ‘repaired’ if you are thorough you can spot this. Good mechanics are like ‘chicken lips’ so ask around the expat community to find a reliable one.

International Buses & Shuttles

We travelled from San Jose, Costa Rica on Ticabus . It was a comfortable & cost effective option and we had no border dramas. Ticabus can also be booked online – it takes a bit to work out the process but it’s doable.

There are also numerous private & tourist shuttles that travel between Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador & Guatemala. Here are a few options Bigfoot, Roneey We have used both Ticabus & tourist shuttle and prefer Ticabus as it’s much more comfortable as it’s a large coach with good air conditioning and room to spread out.

Travel Tips

• Always agree on a price for the trip before getting in to a local taxi.
• When travelling on a public bus/microbus/shuttle you only pay the ‘ayudante’ which in English means ‘assistant’. They will move through the bus collecting fares from the passengers. If you pay with a higher denomination bill they may not give you your change straight away. They will return with it later so don’t panic. If it is a smaller shuttle type bus you pay the driver.
• Timetables for local buses can be a bit hit & miss, quite often they go when they are full.
• This is a great resource for local and international bus transport information in Central America Centrocoasting. Granada doesn’t have a central bus station, the buses leave from different parts of the city dependent on their destination – you will find detailed information on where the different buses leave from on Centrocoasting.
• Join Expat FB & Whatsapp groups or ask the local’s for recommendations for shuttles and private taxi drivers. Often you will see posts offering space on private shuttles that may fit your schedule.
• There is no Uber in Nicaragua!

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