1

"would it really be cheaper to hire a taxi each day"? "Many of you advice sticking to taxis, claiming it to be cheaper and easier" You already gave the answer to your question..!

2

with all due respect, that wasn't so helpful. a claim is not exactly a price! i have stated where i'd like to go, and i'm wondering if it could really cost less than $20 to have a taxi all day driving around, for example, los pueblos blancos. or around the area around masaya. if you perhaps have that information, i'd be quite happy to have it, thank you!

3

from my experience i would use the bus system. they have shuttle buses that are fine and also at times you get to take a ride on the chicken bus but thats part of the experience.masaya market is only 20 minutes away but go to the old market frist,something to see. taxi's would be my 2nd choice.as for granada it self,take a stroll around people are really nice and there is lots to see,even the horse ride might be nice.

4

I see no need to rent a car there, you can use e taxi, local bus, Paxeos, rent a bike or walk, be careful though, walking/riding has its safety issues outside town for a foreigner. Car Renault best for e north of Nicaragua whee it's great distances and busses fewer and far between.

5

On two previous trips to Nicaragua I rented a car, as I visited both Leon and Granada both trips, plus some places outside of Managua. For just the Granada area the taxi idea seems preferable.

6

thank you all for your responses. does anyone have an idea of what a taxi might cost in the area around granada, say for 6-7 hours one day?

7

It depends on how many places you want to go, etc.

If you are going one or two places a day, and staying in each place for a few hours, it would be easy and cheap to get a taxi / bus around cause you are ultimately just taking two or three trips a day.

if you were going 10 places a day and want to see a lot of places by driving slowly and doing drive throughs / drive by's and you would want to rent a personal driver and have a taxi on hand for 12 hours a day, you may be better off just renting a car.

you can get everywhere in town on buses for less than a dollar. You can get around town for a dollar or two in a taxi. You can easily get on a bus from town to town for a buck or three depending on how far you are going.
Buses and taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap. plus you can sit back and let them deal with the traffic etc.

however, if you take them, you are at the mercy of their timetable and routes. Obviously, renting a car will give you the most freedom to come and go when you want and go where you want, and at the pace you want.
it just depends on how you want to travel and what your timetable/comforts are.

8

if you don't mind the bus system it will be a lot more affordable considering how the places you are not too far away from Granada. hiring taxis is typically more expensive in comparison to renting a car in my opinion. if you hope to have a cab drive you from point A, B,and C and expect the driver to wait for you, it will add up. Cabs normally charg a cheap small car for budget goes for about $25 a day and are really economical on gas. so if you plan on doing trips around masaya, volcanlo mombacho, volcano masaya, penas blancas, laguna de apoyo, mirador catalina,....rent a car! it will give you mobility, freedom from the bus schedules, cut travel time to half, and you won't have to worry about cab scams and high prices. budget rental is normally the cheapest. do your homework and you may be surprised to find that it is cheaper to rent rather than pay several cabs.

9

thanks for all these new and informative responses. i did take a look at budget rent-a-car, but it's hard to do all the homework without knowing cab prices. i'm leaning toward the convenience of a car for a few days. the rest of our trip we'll be doing by bus!