Nicaragua Travel Tips

Social Conventions
Dress is informal. Photography: Avoid photographing military sites or personnel.

International Travel:

Getting There by Air
The national airline is Nicaraguenses de Aviación (NICA), which is now a member of the Taca International Airlines (TA) (website: www.taca.com).

Departure Tax
US$25. Exempt are transit passengers leaving within 8 hours, and children under 2 years.

Main Airports
Managua International Airport (MGA) (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: Bank, bars, post office, tourist information, restaurants, duty-free shop, pharmacy and car hire.

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 (website: www.ticabus.com) and Transnica (website: www.transnica.com).

Overview
The following items can be imported into Nicaragua without incurring customs duty:
400 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 500 prepared sheaves of tobacco; 5l of alcoholic beverage; clothing, personal items and medicines for personal use; a camera or video recorder; a portable audio recorder and player; a portable computer; goods up to the value of US$500.

Canned or uncanned meats, leather and dairy products. A license is required for firearms.

Archaeological items, artifacts of historical or monetary value, and gold.

Internal Travel:

Getting Around By Air
Given the relative size of the country and the difficulty of some ground travel routes, internal flights are worth considering. La Costeña and Atlantic Airlines cover a wide range of internal routes.
Note: Managua International Airport charges an airport management fee of US$1.50 or local equivalent for travelers on domestic routes.

Getting Around by Water
A twice-weekly boat service runs between Bluefields and the Corn Islands. It is also possible to visit the 300 or so islands on Lake Nicaragua, which are very beautiful.

Getting Around by Rail
There is no passenger rail service at present.

Getting Around by Road
Lack of road safety is probably the biggest single hazard to travelers in Nicaragua. There is a network of 18,447km (11,463 miles) of roads of which 1749km (1087 miles) are paved. Traffic drives on the right. Bus: There is a service to most large towns. Booking seats in Managua in advance is advisable. Taxi: Available at the airport or in Managua. Prices should be agreed before departure. A map of each area in the city determines taxi prices. No tip is expected. Car hire: Available in Managua or at the airport. This is often the best way of traveling, as public transport is slow and overcrowded. Documentation: National licenses are only valid for 30 days.

Getting Around Towns and Cities
The bus and minibus services in Managua are cheap, but they can be both crowded and confusing.

Journey Times
The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Managua to other major cities/towns in Nicaragua.

	Road
Granada	1.00
Esteli	2.15
Matagalpa	1.45
Rivas	1.30

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