What's special about Nicaragua

I'm trying to decide whether to travel to Nicaragua.

Although prior to traveling there, I had heard very negative things about Guatemala- the high crime rate, the poverty, the general underdevelopment. It is now my favorite country in the world. Guatemala is pure magic. Traveling as a solo woman to Antigua and Lake Atitlan I felt totally safe. (of course, I was careful). I never felt harassed in the streets. The people were very friendly and honest. The architecture was beautiful. And excellent restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Plus, luxuary hotels full of charm at a fraction of the price you would pay anywhere else. And don't get me started on the natural beauty of Lake Atitlan. And lets not forget the beautiful crafts.

I also love Mexico. I'm fascinated by the Mayans.

Costa Rica and Cuba I did not like as much.

I'm more of a culture person, and I was bored by Costa Rica. The beaches in Costa Rica not the Carribean type beaches I prefer. I'm not a surfer. The towns super ugly. The crafts were tacky. Plus, it was uncomfortably hot.

Cuba: I couldn't take the constant street harassment. So many people trying to sell me something. As a solo woman walking the streets of Havana I was accosted and harassed. The architecture was beautiful, but in ruins. Some streets looked bombed out. The poverty and dirt were hard to take. Plus, no nice cafes, restaurants, stores, etc like in Antigua and Mexico. Food was repulsive. More culture yes, and beautiful beaches.

I'm considering going to Nicaragua, but I'm not sure I'll like it.

Is my impression correct that it lacks much culture; that there is a lot of poverty, children begging, starving street dogs, and that the beaches are more for surfers (Corn Islands too far). Plus, its hot as hell, and Granada is no Antigua in terms of beauty, cafes, restaurants, nightlife etc. On Youtube, the land in Nicaragua looks brown and burned out- not a lush green.

Am I wrong about Nicaragua like so many people are so wrong about Guatemala?

Thoughts?

If you loved Guatemala I am sure you would love Nicaragua - so many similarities. I am a senior solo budget traveler and I recently traveled from Cancun to Panama. I never saw children begging. There were starving street dogs in every country. I was there just prior to rainy season so it was hot and brown, I think those factors are determined by the time of year you plan to visit. I enjoyed Granada, just seemed to be a larger version of Antigua. The people were wonderful. Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador were my fav. countries.

I think you will need to go and see for yourself. They are both very different from each other and yet have some similarities.

Nica has tons of culture and yeah it can/will be hot as hell is the lower areas but head to Esteli, Matagalpa and/or Jinotega you'll have nice weather, cool nights and see beautiful nature and great hiking. The folks are incredibly friendly.

Leon was my favorite town, incredible place to explore and blows away Antigua, IMO, it's not as pretty but that's one of the many things that makes it special. You might like Granada more.

Ometepe is full of nature as well as the San Juan river area.

As for beaches, where did you go in CR? I loved the area around Jiquilillo, big wide open beaches and fun to play in, it's not the Caribe. Las Peñitas gets good comments on here.

It's a very safe country, cheap, fun and fascinating country, highly recommend it.
Starving street dogs are required by law in every Latin American country, part of the scenery.

Hey did you make it to Guatemala for the elections?

Nicaragua has lots to offer. Ometepe Island is a natural wonder. I would recommend Little Corn Island for beaches. The people are very nice and still rebuilding after the devastating war. Costa Rica has some of the best Caribbean Beaches of all but you have to go to the Caribbean side. I have never been to Cuba but I certainly would not stay in Havana!

No, I didn't make it for the elections in Guatemala. I chickened out at the last moment. I'm heading to Guatemala AFTER the elections- when things calm down a bit. I know I'm missing history in the making. Then I was planning on heading to Nicaragua.

I'm so happy to hear that the Guatemalan President stepped down and that he has been arrested. Guatemala and its people deserve an honest and competent goverment that will be for the people. Viva Guatemala! :-)

Thx for replies.

In Costa Rica I was in Manuel Antonio area.

I was not impressed by the beaches. In the park, the water was rough, with strong riptides. And the color of water was a dark green that didn't appeal to me. Although it was nice that it was surrounded by jungle with monkeys. But I prefer Carribbean beaches.

Adventureglo, did you like Panama?

I was thinking of also adding Belize and the Bay Islands of Honduras, but I haven't heard much about Panama. Except that the city is similar to Miami.

I love both Guatemala and Nicaragua. Nicaragua does not have the Maya ruins and the very visible Maya population like Guatemala does. But Nicaragua does have lots of culture, much more than Costa Rica. It does get very hot. Although there is often a lake or a beach nearby for cooling down and, as mentioned above, the northern highlands (Esteli, Matagalpa, Jinotega) are a bit cooler.

I love Leon, a great colonial city with churches, museums, murals. I like the market and the street food but Leon also has many restaurants and good nightlife. I like the volcanoes near Leon. And the beaches. Las Penitas is a fishing village with a nice beach and a nature reserve. But lots of waves, fun to play in but too rough for swimming. The beaches in Jiquilillo are deserted. It is a rural area. Very laid-back. Again, there are waves and people surf but we enjoyed our daily dips in the warm ocean a lot.

Leon feels more real somehow compared to Granada. Granada is pretty and compact, you can see the main sights in a few hours. I love the view from La Merced. Many day trips possible : Lake Apoyo, active volcano Masaya (they drive you right up to the steaming crater), volcano Mombacho (cloud forest).

Ometepe is an island composed of two volcanoes. It is dramatic and impressive. The volcanoes are visible from everywhere. The soil is fertile and there is lots of farming going on. The island has nature, wildlife, beautiful landscapes, nice beaches, natural reserves and rural communities. There is history too and you can see petroglyphs and statues.

The Rio San Juan is great for river life, rainforest and wildlife.

Go to the Northern Highlands for coffee, cowboys, mountainous scenery ,cloud forest, bird watching, hiking...

Nicaraguans love firecrackers. And if you are there for one of the many festivities it will most likely be noisy but very interesting as well.

We felt very safe, people are friendly, public transport works well to get around. Not many begging children. There were a few kids begging in Granada and Matagalpa. They wanted food and we shared our food on a few occasions.

There are many nice hotels and although some people are not fond of the local food we loved the gallo pinto, plantain, yucca, cabbage salad, vigoron, indio viejo, tres leches... and we loved the street food. But in for example Granada and Leon you can find all kinds of great restaurants as well.

The best crafts are probably found at mercado Roberto Huembes in Managua. Masaya has a crafts market but it is very touristy. Masaya does have great hammock makers and San Juan de Oriente is known for pottery. Matagalpa is known for smooth black ceramics.

For lush and green go in November/December, right after the rainy season.

In Costa Rica I was in Manuel Antonio area.

Well, you hit one of the most overrated places in CR, heck in CA, I didn't care at all for MA, the beach or the NP, it's also a tourist pit.

The Caribe side of CR is beautiful, one of the best strips of the Caribe in CA, IMO, From Tortuguero all the way down to Bocas is outstanding jungle, beaches, wildlife and fewer people.

Yes, if you have the time Bay Islands are great, especially if you dive but even snorkeling is outstanding.
Don't forget about the coolest town in CA, Copan, outstanding beautiful town with tons to do, great people.
Lago de Yojoa is another fantastic place, really beautiful and great easy birding.

Adventureglo: why El Salvador ? I haven't been. It's on our list!

I was wondering why you didn't go to the Caribbean then?

I did go to the caribean- I went to Cuba!

But I didn't enjoy Cuba. Too many hustlers on the street. I was constantly harassed. Everyone is always trying to be your "friend," and there are the comments by men to single women walking alone. Even in the museums, the security people would ask me if I had gum or pens to give them. At one museum, one of the guards asked me if I would give her the jean jacket I was wearing. The poverty is heartbreaking. I never experienced this type of hustling in Mexico or Guatemala.

And it was sad to see a beautiful city in ruins. The restaurant, cafes, etc are not "real" in the sense Cubans cannot afford them. They were for tourist for the most part. And food was terrible.

The beaches were great though!

We love Cuba. People are friendly. Yes, some have become used to tourists giving them stuff. But they are not that poor. The poorest people in Guatemala and Nicaragua are much poorer than the poorest people in Cuba. Don't forget that Cuba provides everyone with food (not much, but enough to survive on). Housing, electricity and water are cheap to almost free. And there is free health care and education.
The problem is that tourists think the Cubans are very poor and that they can't get certain things (and there are of course shortages now and then) and so they give gifts to the hotel workers and the kids and the guides and to everyone they meet. The result is that especially in places heavily visited by tourists you get asked for stuff. There are long discussions about whether we do them any real favours when we hand out dollar store gifts and give them our clothes...

We liked the food. It is not special but we like rice, beans, plantains, onions, peppers, garlic, chicken and pork. I also liked their cheese, fish and all kinds of fruit I had never tasted before.

The beaches can be great but I also liked Santiago de Cuba (although hectic and polluted) and especially Trinidad (beautiful colonial city). We often rent a scooter or car and go exploring. As soon as we go off the beaten path we are not asked for stuff any more. There is some great hiking as well. And the music... amazing.

By the way in Nicaragua if you are a young woman there will be catcalling or kissy-kissy noises from some men.

I spent a week in Santa Ana El Salvador. Casa Verde was the best hostel I have stayed in anywhere in the world. People here were so friendly. By the third time I walked past the young fellow on the corner selling shoes he would greet me, as did the three men with big guns standing guard outside what I think was a cooking school. I went to two performances at the restored National Theater, and often just spent time sitting on a bench in the park area of the main square. Loved riding the local buses. I do not speak Spanish, but people on the buses always made some attempt to communicate, and it was amazing how much we managed. I went to El Tunco, its just a little surfing town, beaches not great, but again, pleasant people. Thinking about it now, the people were the reason I enjoyed it so much.

It sounds like you spent your time in Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast when you wanted Caribbean beaches. Then you go to Cuba and expect the Capitol city, Havana to be relaxed and clean. Almost all of the capitol cities in developing countries are not places where I would want to spend very much time. This is a fact that most people know about. It sounds like you are placing the blame elsewhere for your own poor planning.

You don't go to Costa Rica for culture, you go for nature, wildlife, bio diversity, National Parks and great beaches. Not to say there is not indigenous peoples and areas to explore, its just not on most visitors radar. The Pacific coast overall is developed and geared to travelers/tourist, sun seekers, adventure seekers and surfers.

The Caribe side offers a more authentic opportunity to immerse in a afro culture, though in Tortuguero the majority of the residents are actually Nica's. But its still a interesting afro community that is tight knit and rich in traditions.

The indigenous indians of various tribes live throughout the caribe slopes of Chirppo and La Amistad NP. Even when rafting the Rio Pacaure, it can afford one a possible sighting of these reclusive indians living off the land, wearing loin cloth and carrying spears for food gathering..

Nicaragua on the otherhand is the opposite, its not the beast beaches and the parks not super well managed or tourist friendly like CR, but the culture is more traditional for sure, as CR is rather liberal in comparison, especially when you consider the religion, gay life and the flirtatious nature ingrained in the society. Nicaragua is rustic, in a good way.

Nica's are not like smile and say hello, as CR, they are humble, hard working and keep to themselves, but are wonderful people that are the salt of the earth IMO.

Nature wise, I have not done enough there to compare to CR, but if I could go tomorrow for 10 days, my focus would be the Rio San Juan/El Casstillo areas, and also Corn Islands...itching to check out that coast.

The other area that is off the beaten path and I hear great things about is the north, and Estelli area...time is most peoples enemy for getting up and around here...

Nicaragua is great, not as rich culturally as Guatemala, but its not fair to compare them either. If you have 2 weeks, Nicaragua would be a good time of non stop fun IMO.

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Thank you for all the kind and helpful replies.

Nicaragua here I come ...! :-)

Good and be sure to skip El Salvador, anyone who has been to Cuba and describe it as you do, we don't need here in beautiful El Salvador!

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