Getting to Nicaragua
Managua International Airport (MGA, tel: 233 1624-1628; www.eaai.com.ni), is located east of the Nicaraguan capital, is a small airport, accessible and expanding rapidly. Expect to find many tourists in the airport with long lines waiting to board the aircraft because the popularity of Nicaragua as a tourist destination is increasing day by day and Nicaragua airport remains small. Granada International Airport has two daily flights between Granada and San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica.
Managua is the center of Nicaragua’s main bus, with at least five international bus companies; four of them are very practical to reach the main tourist centers of Nicaragua on a budget. But you can take buses to the south of Costa Rica and Panama, from Granada, Masaya and Rivas, while Leon has several buses running to San Miguel and San Salvador to help you make the shorter journey between them. Buses leave from Estelí also connect to San Salvador, as well as points north and east of Nicaragua.
The border between Nicaragua and neighboring countries are relatively free of problems. International buses make all the arrangements for crossing the border. You also can take regular buses to the border of Nicaragua, walk a few hundred meters to the immigration office, make their entry formalities and connect with the bus service on the other side of the border. If you arrive by car or motorcycle to Nicaragua, have your papers in order. To expedite any border crossing, try your best to be dressed and act with respect and humility.
Nicaragua also has three crossing points along the river, all these steps are very picturesque: From San Carlos can go to Los Chiles, Costa Rica. From Waspam can go to Puerto Lempira, Honduras and Nicaragua from San Juan de Barra, Costa Rica.
Getting Around in Nicaragua
Most domestic flights are based on the Managua International Airport, the offices of domestic flights, sometimes chaotic are located west of the international terminal. Other terminals, many of which are just a dirt track outside the city are Waspam, Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas), Las Minas (Siuna, Bonanza and Rosita) San Carlos, Bluefields and Big Corn Island. There are two national carriers, Atlantic Airlines (tel: 222 5787; www.atlanticairlines.com.ni), and La Costena (tel: 263 2142; www.flylacostena.com).
International buses in Nicaragua are very comfortable but expensive. Regular buses are super cheap to travel, while the buses cost a little more rapid. While you should always try to buy tickets for international buses in advance, most local buses do not give you that option. There will have to pay to get on the bus, or after the bus starts moving. Buses are generally safe, although buses in the city of Managua are best avoided unless you are comfortable with a bit of urban chaos. It is always safer to take a bus or Direct Express, do not stop as often as an ordinary or routed.
The boats used to travel around the Lake of Nicaragua and throughout the humid Caribbean coast. The main routes by boat go from El Rama to Bluefields, on the Rio Escondido. For example the island of Ometepe (and its 500 islands sisters) can only be reached by boat. There are frequent ferries an hour from San Jorge, there are only twice a week service. There are also four-hour trip from Granada, which continue for nine hours across the lake to San Carlos and San Juan River, a region almost entirely navigable by boat. They are also used boats to travel from Bluefields, Bilwi and Waspam to San Juan del Sur. The water taxi is often the best way to go up and down the coast.
Bicycle hire and other transportation options are popular in Nicaragua.