Rental car - 4x4 needed for roads?
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Dec 15, 2012 5:29 AM Last Post By: dollyd
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Rental car - 4x4 needed for roads?
Info:10 days in Nicaragua
Granada
Leon/Cerro Negro
SJDS
I'm getting a rental car. Do I need to get a 4x4 for the roads I'll go on? I read this should be starting the dry season. Trip starts end of December.
Thanks!
1
I rented regular autos for those routes during dry season; I didn't need 4x4. Most roads have lots of potholes, so you can't normally go very fast once off the main highway. Leon-Managua-Granada highway is pretty good shape.5
The roads at worst will be gravel. Though no need for a rental car for these areas, as you would not use it in Granada and Leon. And you are missing Ometepe, that is a big miss, skip SJDS, go to beach near Limon, 2 nights Granada, 3 nights Ometepe, and the rest Leon/Beach.6
Yes...definitely come to Ometepe Island. You can leave your car stored safely in a protected parking lot near the dock...cheaper..and use public transportation on la isla.7
I see I should go to Ometepe. I will work that into the plans. Thanks for the info on leaving the car parked near the dock, that question was going through my mind and then you answered it - thanks!Beaches near Limon? I checked the map and that's on the lake. Are there waves to surf there? It seems that would be on an oceanside beach.
8
If you are going to attempt to go around the old volcano on Ometepe, you need 4 wheel drive. If you are going to drive around on the dirt roads around SJDS, especially south, you will need 4 wheel drive as you will be going through streams, some of which can be deep. You will need the higher vehicle. if you stick to the main roads, it doesn't matter.9
Not all ferries to Ometepe are for cars, I think the last one is at 330pm. Get there early, its not a large ferry, a few cargo trucks and then a just a few spaces left. It would be cheaper to have a car to get around Ometepe I would think, but everything is slow there.End of December/January is Dry season, the SW of Nicaragua will be bone dry and brown, and very dusty on the coastal roads.
