Nicaragua or Columbia?

The main differences are, Nicaragua is far far smaller than Colombia, for getting about via easy bus rides or taxi hires, and, it really has no cosmopolitan cities, as Colombia has major cities, and lastly, Nicaragua is poor, poverty stricken, high unemployment country with little tourist infrastructure in comparison. I have not been to Colombia, but from what I know. Safety is all relative, I dont know which is safer, my guess would be Colombia...

If you have never been to either, I would go to Colombia. It is a bit more expensive but it offers so many things to see, visit and do it is hard to explain. You can fit 9 Nicaraguas inside of Colombia.

If your time is short, I would go to Nicaragua, you can do a lot in the time you have. Colombia is huge, so you may lose time travelling unless you stick to one region. Why not visit Colombia when you have more time?, like 4 to 6 weeks.

#3 is spot-on 2 1/2 weeks is way too short to go all the way to Colombia but enough for the highlights of Nica.

Unless you're trolling the backstreets in search of drugs, safety shouldn't be a concern in either country.

Colombia, hands down.

"...in this respect it sounds like Nicaragua in general is a bit safer?"

No, absolutely not. But if you use your head, find out from reliable people where to go once you are in the country, and don't go hiking alone, you should do okay in either country. I'd say, based on personal experience, Colombia is safer overall, and maybe even friendlier. Don't concern yourself with the posters who are suggesting that you avoid Colombia because it is too much to see in only two weeks; you never said you wanted to see the entire country, after all. You could go to one region; Manizales and Coroico, in the Coffee Belt (Eje Cafetero), come immediately to mind, for example. There you will find everything from interesting rainforest hikes, to pleasant savannah, to snow covered volcano all within hours of each other and all within a few hours west of Bogota.

I want to rephrase. I mean to say not to concern yourself that Colombia is to big to see all of it is only two weeks. I do NOT mean to say that you should disregards the posters who say that! They have well-intended advice, which I simply happen to not agree with.

Sorry for the faux pas.

2 1/2 weeks is definitely not too short of a time for Colombia... you can easily hit Carta, Bog, and Med in that period, or focus it all on one region and get deeper (remember that Nicaragua can fit into Colombia several times over). Plus there are plenty of very cheap flights to Colombia, and domestically as well; Nica is more limited.

There is no such thing as a "bit" safer and it's best to get rid of those pretenses. Both countries present reasonable risk for being pickpocketed or mugged on the street. Pretty much the exact same precautions should be used in both. Colombia has a far more developed tourist and police infrastructure, so for just walking around it's plenty safe. One of the most noteworthy dangers in Nicaragua, which has been mentioned many times on this board (easily searchable till someone at the Beeb panicked and flushed the archives), are shared taxi-type robberies. If a pregnant, adorable, crying, or elderly woman randomly asks you to share a ride with her in Managua... the answer better be no.

Final note, people don't "troll the backstreets" for drugs in these countries these days. In Colombia, they're sold and offered quite openly as personal possession has been largely decriminalized. Obviously, avoiding them is generally the safer choice.

2 1/2 weeks is definitely not too short of a time for Colombia... you can easily hit Carta, Bog, and Med in that period, or focus it all on one region and get deeper (remember that Nicaragua can fit into Colombia several times over). Plus there are plenty of very cheap flights to Colombia, and domestically as well; Nica is more limited.

There is no such thing as a "bit" safer and it's best to get rid of those pretenses. Both countries present reasonable risk for being pickpocketed or mugged on the street. Pretty much the exact same precautions should be used in both. Colombia has a far more developed tourist and police infrastructure, so for just walking around it's plenty safe. One of the most noteworthy dangers in Nicaragua, which has been mentioned many times on this board (easily searchable till someone at the Beeb panicked and flushed the archives), are shared taxi-type robberies. If a pregnant, adorable, crying, or elderly woman randomly asks you to share a ride with her in Managua... the answer better be no.

Final note, people don't "troll the backstreets" for d-r-u-g-s (<---yes this word is "censored" by TT) in these countries these days. In Colombia, they're sold and offered quite openly as personal possession has been largely decriminalized. Obviously, avoiding them is generally the safer choice.

Security is moment-to-moment everywhere and there are never any guarantees, but I traveled in January and February in Managua, Granda and its environs, and San Juan del Sur without running into anything remotely gamey except the Municipal Market in Granada and crowded dance floors at a couple clubs in SJS. In 20 days you can't see much, and there isn't as much to see in Nicaragua because it's smaller than Colombia -- so if you're the kind who buys the big loaf of bread because it's on sale and then winds up feeding half of it to the pigeons, go to Colombia.