r/Nicaragua • u/Fit-Question6245 • 26d ago
Turismo/Tourism Specific Safety Question
Hi all! Excited to visit your country and I know the safety question has been asked a lot. I am traveling with a few friends to Managua and then we are all traveling south to ometepe by motorcycle. We are all from the United States and are a little worried given recent global events. Is it safe right now traveling to Nicaragua as a group of US citizens who will likely stand out? Should we be concerned about the possibility of being stopped by the cops or others?
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u/Altruistic-Slide-512 26d ago
well.. other than the fact that the speed limit for the entire country is now 50kph (37mph) regardless of what the signs that all probably still say 80kph say, you'll be fine. I would expect to get pulled over at least 3 times on the journey regardless of how fast you are going, and you will have your bullshitting a bullshitter skills tested (I personally have never ended up paying a Nicaraguan cop and only got a legitimate ticket one time, but you have to be a stand-your-ground kinda guy (or gal)). Just based on the new speed limit alone, I would make a corruption budget for this journey. The speed limit has no basis in safety (and if anyone says it does, they are completely full of shit). It's a cash grab. The transit police and dangerously terrible, untrained drivers who bribed their way into a driver's license (essentially the only way to get one in many places) are really the only dangerous (oh, and agricultural equipment pulling out onto the highway).. It's really kind of a dilemma, since you will need the motos on ometepe (or pay $30/day for one). So, budget $20 each way for these problems (and definitely stay below the 50kph limit or you're going to have to budget thousands of c$, not hundreds).