Renting a car

There really is no need to rent a car in Nicaragua like Costa Rica IMO, as you can get everywhere via a cheap taxi hire, paxeos or a bus, at least for the very popular areas of Granada, Leon, SJDS and Ometepe. Also, you dont really need a car in those places, as its easy to get around on foot, bike or taxi hire.

Also, roads are not marked well, though similar to CR, the police in Nica hassle and target gringos in rentals for infractions and bribes. In addition, should an accident occur, you are really up a creek as you are guilty to proven innocent, god help you if you injure somebody you can end up in jail until everyone is paid off...

Lastly, think about renting a car for the north, where its longer distances and infrequent busses makes more sense, and just taxi hire/paxeo and bus for the other areas....

Check recent reports in Trip Advisor. My buddy had a blow out last year in Nicaragua and damaged a another car and a building, and was basically shook down until everyone was happy, and sat in jail 1 night in Rivas...

I have driven/rented a car for many years when in Nicaragua. Overall, I would not disagree with Tico Tim's comments. As I have previously posted, after many years of never an issue driving in Nicaragua, I have now had one unpleasant police traffic stop/shake down near Leon, which caused me inconvenience to recover my driver's license. However, Alamo had a important role in this experience in providing car insurance documentation which inconveniently expired during my rental period. There seems to be much higher likelihood of a police "shake down" in the lowlands than in the northern highlands. I continue to both use buses and rent vehicles (as well as a taxi driver I use out of Esteli). Buses are so cheap and efficient that they should not be ignored. I guess I have not been macho enough to rent a 4 x 4 and have always survived with a little under powered 2-wheel drive car to access most of the typical tourist-oriented sites, but I only drive unpaved roads that I know well (and in dry season, which includes April) and avoid beach access roads like those around San Juan del Sur, etc, Suggestions to consider when renting a car, check to make you and agency agree on every dent and glass crack and that there was a car jack, etc. in the car when you rented it, make sure you have emergency triangle (some claim other safety stuff is needed at some police stops), be a super defensive oriented driver (to avoid cows, sleeping drunks, pot holes, crazy buses, etc.) and never drive at night, avoid driving in Managua unless you want an experience to relate and scare others for years to come (especially after dark driving). Good luck.

Hi Both,

thanks a lot for your replies.

We have booked a sedan with Budget.

I hope that I will not have any big issues with police officers. As i speak a bit spanish, il will probably help.

Thanks for the advices on at the rental agency.

Any great recommandation to visit in the north?

Police checks on major roads in Nicaragua is based upon interdicting illegal drugs, but with certain underpaid police has resulted in "created" infractions (claiming that front seat passenger did not have his seat belt on when clearly he did, etc.), which I have witnessed on various occasions but only had the one negative outcome mentioned above. Everyone has their own theories on how to best interact with the police in such situations. Speaking a "little" Spanish might hurt more than help,. If you are presenting a German or Scandinavian drivers license, for instance, I would consider speaking your native language profusely and smiling politely all the time.
When you ask for advice on the north of Nicaragua, there is the Pacific coast north lowlands or the northcentral highlands and I am not sure that you want the highlands when you state you want a lodge with a sea view. On certain clear days outside of Esteli on the top of el Tisey, I claim that you can see the sunset reflecting off the Pacific 130 k in the distance, but I do not believe that is what you are requesting. Others are better for Pacific info.

Here's another suggestion. The police always take your driver's license when you are stopped for what sometimes appears to be no reason. My son was driving our motorcycle with 2 other passengers the other day. He was stopped for having too many passengers on the moto. This is really ridiculous because I've seen many families of 4 or 5 on a moto. Also, there was a truck behind him filled to the brim with at least 20 people hanging off the sides...even a mother and baby. Anyway, he handed over his driver's license. The fine of 300 c. had to be paid at the bank the next day. Then, he had to find the same police officer that gave him the ticket in order to retrieve his driver's license. If he didn't pay the fine the next day, his driver's license would have been sent to Rivas, on the mainland. ( We live on Ometepe Island.) That would have been a big hassle. So, my suggestion is to always have two driver's licenses..maybe an expired one, and give the police officer the expired driver's license. We each have two driver's licenses, so we always have a backup in case one is confiscated. It may save you some trouble if you are stopped. Just a thought.

In addition to what Gypsytoes suggest, there is also from my experience the question of whether the police give you a yellow or a red citation. As I understand it, a more minor yellow citation means that you can keep your license, but are expected to pay the stated fine at the stated bank. With the more serious red citation (which I got for rental car insurance expired the day before), the license goes to the local/regional police facility where it can be retrieved after a couple days when you show the bank receipt showing you paid the fine. In the U.S., in order to have a second drivers license available, one would have to "lose" one and then get a replacement. In an earlier posting when this was all discussed, TT questioned whether one would want to abandon a driver's license into the Nicaraguan archives. I raised the question then whether driving in Nicaragua with an International Driver's License was another option for a second license in these situations.

What is not being discussed is whether/how to respond if the police make it clear that US$5-20 on the spot will make the situation go away and there are different points of view on this.

3 people on a moto/moped is unsafe, period, just because the poor locals do it does not means its smart, nor safe, like 20 people riding in the back of a truck, this how tragedies occur, and there are laws to curtail it, and fines to enforce it.

I got better things to do than waste time in bank lines paying fines, and tracking down police to get my DL back...good lord, what a drag. The police can say you did something that you didnt it, just to get a fine/bribe, so having 2 drivers license wont help in the end, giving them a expired one, may just result in more fines...LOL.

I have rented 4x4 vehicles several times. The Police thing is getting worse all the time. I carry an expired license. I have also rented taxis the last couple of times that I went. I paid 40 US to go to Granada from Managua with a stop in Masaya for Hamoocks. I found a guy named David in the lobby of the hotel Alahambra in Granada. He took us in his car to the beach to view Ometepe and to San Juan Del Sur for a daytrip, all in one day. This included a side trip to the Pueblo towns for a view of Lake Apoyo, a drink at Pelican eyes and a drive to the statue of Jesus in SJDS. Anywhere we wanted to go. All this for $60 and tip. You can hardly rent a good car for those prices and then you have to park it on the street. May be better to just get a cab or private car. Things like road blocks on the back roads by robbers in the SJDS area have incressed so I am becoming more sceptical about driving. If you do drive, there was a post by someone who said they put a NIca and FLSN flag in the window to distract from the fact that it is a rental car. Not a bad idea. There is always a road check at the end of the Masaya highway just before you turn to get into the city. Always.

Hi all !

Thanks again for all your comments and ideas about the driving liscence.

One thing that surprise me is that you all agree that is "hard" to travel around in Nicaragua with your own rented car. As I have not paid the car reservation, I am thinking about retracting myself...

I appreciated your comments about renting a taxi. It would leave us the hability to go everywhere without the troubles with the police (if they don't makes problems wenether they see toursit, even in a cab).

Bwiley8> I am also insterested in Esteli, so if you have any good adress to share, it would be welcomed :)

Thanks again for your answers, they are usefull !