And why it is not really that much like Costa Rica!
Topping pretty much every travel ‘place to travel in 2017’ list has been the wild west of Central America – Nicaragua. We have loved to read all these posts, as for the last four months we have been slowly checking off all the ‘must-see’ places in the country. We could not agree more with all the statements about what an incredible place it is to visit. However, most people resort to calling it very similar to Costa Rica, they may say Costa Rica 10 years ago, but even then it is not accurate at all.
First, why should you visit Nicaragua? Majestic mountains & volcanoes, yup. Beautiful lakes, yup. Awesome surf, yup. Caribbean islands, yup. Canyons, waterfalls, coffee, rum, cigars, all a resounding yup. Realistically, Nicaragua has something for absolutely every traveller in the world to love unless you only enjoy snow and temperatures below freezing. It truly is a magical place and we will most definitely travel back here at multiple points throughout our lives. So why isn’t it like the dreamland of Costa Rica that travellers from all over the world have come to love?
Well first off, it is cheaper…kind of. Accommodation prices in Nicaragua are actually very similar to that of Costa Rica (if you ignore the ultra-luxury resorts, and even they are starting to filter in to Nicaragua), but hostels, hotels, AirBnB’s and the lot are pretty much on par and so are transportation costs. What is cheaper in Nicaragua are food and some drinks (ie. Flor de Caña). Where you do save a lot of money is on excursions and National Park fees.
Bringing us to the next point, there aren’t many National Park fees because there aren’t that many national parks. They also do not preserve the nature they try to protect nearly as well in Nicaragua. Costa Rica has plenty more practice doing this, as Nicaragua is still a fledging in the tourism world and the hefty park fees you pay in Costa Rica do get used for the preservation of the environment. There are still many beautiful landscapes and places to visit in Nicaragua, however there is not nearly as much wildlife abundant due to the lack of preservation.
The final point for this post is that Nicaragua really is as we said earlier, the Wild West. Things are chaotic, hectic, and take forever to get done. It isn’t a perfected travel destination where things are down to a science. If you haven’t seen the Wild West side of Nicaragua you have missed most of the country. We strongly encourage two things:
- Get out of the ‘top 5 things to do’ in Nicaragua list and experience more of it for yourself and you will be so glad you did.
- Don’t just travel with your head stuck in the Lonely Planet travel guide. If you don’t look up, you may get hit by a car, bus or horse-drawn carriage.
Love always,
AL + Ian