Hey there fellow travelers, Mark here with the Walters Room. Today we're outside of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
We're going to talk about some things you should know before you come to Nicaragua
Because a lot of people, I mean, our ideas of Nicaragua are the IRN Contra Fair, the Sandinistas, and all these kind of things
And the thing is, is Nicaragua is really starting to develop as a travel destination for a few reasons
One, there's great beaches here, the volcanoes to check out, the islands in Lake Nicaragua, going to Granada to see the colonial city of the air
There's a lot of cool stuff to do around the country And the thing is is a lot of people are used to going to Costa Rica, which is really developed and it's starting to get a little pricey
So it's trying to come to Nicaragua, which is a lot cheaper vacation So what I want to do is just give you some
Kind of helpful tips about things you should know before you do come here to Nicaragua because it is worth visiting
But there's some things you should know and one of the things you want to look at is You know what part of the country should we go to or where should we go
Look you've got the you've got Lake Nicaragua this huge lake in the southern part of the southern part of the country
and in there there's the double volcanoes that you can go check out the Ometepe or Ometepe
Island which you can go see there that's really kind of cool the southwest you got San Juan del Sur
which a good surfing spot to go there it's like a little surf town you go to the beaches to the
north and south and try to do surfing or maybe you want to do some sport fishing stuff like that
you've got Granada which is probably the most popular place for people to go when they do come
here to uh to Nicaragua because all the colonial cities and you can go see the volcanoes and there's
a volcano by there where you can actually if the weather is right you can actually still see the
lava down there so it is kind of a cool thing to do or you can go to the east let's buy Granada
you can go up to Leon and see that but the thing is it's mostly you're going to stay on the west
the southwest and west part of the country Managua the capital it got destroyed an earthquake in the
70s and a lot of the stuff wasn't rebuilt so maybe not the best place to check out so but definitely
go to other places like Granada, Leon, things like that. If you're looking to go to the east part of the country, it's a little difficult to get
there because of all the forests, the mangrove forests and stuff like that. Probably the only big place you want to check out if you're looking at the east part of
the country is the Corn Islands. Now that's really cool. But aside from that, you're going to be sticking towards the west
Anyway, I want to get that out of the way. So when you come here to visit Nicaragua, one thing you need to know is you do need to
know some Spanish because the tourism industry here is very in the nascent phase, the very
beginning of the phase because Costa Rica has gotten so expensive that now people are coming
here for that cheap vacation in Central America and so one thing you need to know is like I said
you need to know some Spanish the hola hi gracias thank you por favor please you know how to buy a
ticket these things have become very very important because what I've seen is is the people says they
don't speak much English here at all anywhere I mean in the bigger cities some of the tourism
stuff will but if you're going to the rural areas english is almost non-existent and so if you speak
a little bit of spanish with them the people open up and they feel more comfortable talking to you
and that's one thing we noticed like really you could see the people like kind of tense then we'd speak spanish with them and then they're like oh okay i'll be glad to help you out well the people
have been very nice here so i just want to let you know spanish is a must now when you're looking at
coming here i've said look this is a pretty cheap vacation especially compared to costa rica
hotels here i would say 25 to 35 a night you can get a decent a small hotel room but a decent hotel
room you know a couple beds and a place to put your stuff so you know and you can go obviously
higher prices and go to resorts and kind of like bungalow cities and stuff like that but
25 35 bucks you can easily get by in a nice little hotel um going out to eat here is super cheap you
know you go to the market for breakfast and have like a meal at the market two dollars go to a
restaurant, maybe it's four or five dollars for a meal. And that's the thing is coming here is super
super affordable. Transportation, lodging, food, which is really nice. And you might want to ask
yourself well how do I pay when I here Look in the bigger cities and some of those things you can use credit card occasionally but it very much a cash society here And you can pay in cordobus that the local currency or dollars okay They exchange it right there You know you can pay that way Now the thing is if you going to be
just paying with dollars, a lot of the stuff is actually really, really affordable. So instead of
paying the 10 cordobus to use the bathroom in the market and in San Juan del Sur, you're going to
pay a dollar, okay? So if you want to, you know, here's small things you're buying, it's best to
paying cordobus bigger stuff you can pay in dollars no problem and we've had no problem either
way um but just know that finding atms outside the bigger cities or towns is a little bit more
difficult so make sure you bring cash when you're here and you might be worried well mark is it safe
to bring cash there if you're going to some of the tourist places like granada or leon or on the
omatepi island and stuff like that i know i'm saying it wrong but it's a really cool place you
got to check out i would have cash with you the p it's relatively safe here obviously you want to
You want to keep your eyes open, lock your stuff up in your hotel room. If they have a safe, definitely use that
If they have a lock up at the front desk, you want to use those things. And break your cash up into different groups
So I have some money with me. I have some money in my bag. My wife has some money with her, money in her bag
And then the boys, they have a little bit of money in their bags too. So even if we get something stolen, we have other cash out there
Now in terms of the Cordoba, the currency here, you'll see it will be a C with a dollar sign next to it for the Cordoba
Just know you're going to stick with the bills most of the time and then the 10 and 5 Cordoba coins is usually what you're going to be using
So you have that. And if you're going to tip here, you can tip in dollars or you can tip in Cordobas
It's okay. Usually tipping here is about 10% on your bill when you eat
You want to leave a couple dollars a day in your hotel room for the staff that cleans that up
If you're going to go on some of these excursions or you're taking transport, like a hired transport
usually they expect to tip about 10% of what you paid. So if you've had a $30 private ride, you're going to tip like $3 on top of that
You'll see some of the bars and restaurants, they'll just have a tip jar. You can just put it in there because you're paying cash anyway, so you can just throw it in there extra
So there is that. Now with that money, what are you going to buy? Now when you come to Nicaragua, one of the things you've got to realize is your souvenir shopping
it's not developed souvenir shops so much here. Yeah, you go to Granada, you'll have that
But if you're around the country, there's some basic things you'll see. T-shirts. But the thing is, you're looking at simple T-shirts, maybe a mask you can buy here
You can get cigars. They're very popular to take home. And you can take those home. And a lot of
cigar enthusiasts say the Nicaraguan cigars are actually better than Cuban cigars. It's just that
they're not illegal. So you can have those. So there's those things you can buy. And the thing
is, when you're looking at going to the stores, they're usually open from 9 or 10 until 6. They
might close at random times. But, you know, in the main towns, usually 9 to 6, then things kind
of really shut down. So make sure you're doing your shopping earlier in the day. Also Sundays
man, Sundays, the city, the country just kind of stops. Okay. Public transport is less. Okay
Shops are closed, things like that. So get everything done before Sunday. All right
Now kind of talking about the transports, I said, Oh, it's a little bit slow on Sundays
Overall transport here in Nicaragua, you got, you got a few options. One, there is the chicken bus
I know everybody says chicken bus. Why are they called the chicken bus? Yeah, yeah, there's really chickens in there
No, really. There might be a chicken or a goat or like when I was in the last one I was on, there's a whole aisle of patins
of bananas in there and then all they, you know, taking the beer bottles as well
And it is a very much an experience to take the chicken bus around Nicaragua
And if you're going to be going long distances, those local buses, they're super cheap
So like for an hour ride or hour and a half ride, you're only going to pay like one dollar
Okay, it is really really cheap. We took a half hour ride yesterday. It was 30 cents. It was 10 quarter bus
Okay, so you have that and the thing is it can be quite an experience
So if you going to be taking those buses do pack lightly You cannot have a lot of stuff there And these buses you see here they the old yellow school buses from the U
They just repainted them a lot of times or sometimes not so much to make them here
And you will have that. And you do have limited space there. So don't be bringing those big suitcases and try to use a chicken bus
It's not going to happen. Have the smaller backpacks, stuff like that. Now, if you don't want to take the chicken bus, but you should at least once
It's quite the experience. you can take the express buses which go faster and stop less often um they do cost a bit more
you can hire drivers or private private drivers or private um shuttles and stuff like that they
will cost more so for example uh what i saw was the you know three dollar bus ride that i was
looking at to go to granada was a fifteen dollar you know uh shuttle ride and then when i had a
group of people, it was like $30 per person in our own little private car. And so you have these different kind of prices
out there. And a lot of times how you're going to decide your transport is really on time. Because when you take the
chicken buses, they literally stop all the time. And if you see one going down the road, just wave. There are bus stops
but they'll stop anywhere. So you just wave them down and get on. And so it takes a lot longer when you take those chicken
buses, the express buses, they stop too, but stop less often. So you're usually a little bit better off in speed
And if time's really of an essence, do get that shuttle or do hire a private driver kind of stuff to get you there
Because if you're only here for a week or so, maybe you don't have time to spend all that extra time on the buses
So you do want to take care about that. Also, with the taxis here, you might be a little shocked
Because when you get in a taxi here, they might let other people in. Because you're not paying for the whole taxi
You're paying for your seat in the taxi. Okay? Okay, so make sure if you want to have that taxi just to yourself, tell them I want to
pay for the whole taxi and so you will pay more once you get the whole taxi to yourself
Okay, now other stuff you might want to know about in terms of internet, Wi Fi phones
we've got I mean, I've got AT&T and my normal Samsung phone here
And we've had connection pretty much everywhere gone. We've had 4G actually quite a few places to we've seen lots of Wi Fi lots of free internet
internet cafes and even in the small medium sized towns. you are going to be okay with that. And also, if you just want to get a chip, when you cross the
border in from Costa Rica or you fly in, people will be selling you phone cards for here. So you
can just get a new chip. And if your phone's unlocked, you can just put it in your phone and do that. Now, the next thing we got to talk about is the water here in Nicaragua. You do not drink
the water in Nicaragua. Do not drink the water. You'll see big tubs of water, big jugs of water
in your hotels and stuff like that. That's the water you drink. That's what you should brush your
teeth, these kind of things, all right? Don't drink the tap water because you can get very sick
Also, you want to pay attention when you're going out to eat. Is the food prepared and cooked all the way through? We haven't had any problems with that, but you do want to have a heads up on that
Some other kind of safety things to look out for, like I said, you know, make sure you're locking
your stuff up. Always pay attention when you're on the buses. Make sure you're watching your stuff
okay? You want to check in your things, things like that. We haven't seen too many problems in
Nicaragua, but it does happen. Also, the beaches here are fantastic, and it's a great place to
learn how to surf. But you want to make sure somebody is watching your stuff, because if you
just leave it on the beach, I mean, it's not just in Nicaragua that happens. That happens in Brazil
that happens in the U.S., that happens in lots of places. So you do want to pay attention for that
Now, another safety thing I would say is, notice how red my face is. I was wearing 70, 70 SPF. The
sun here we're near the equator it is super strong i had 50 on my body and 70 on my face and i still
got red so you do want to be really safe for that okay so do be careful with the sun when you are
here also the mosquitoes can be a bit frustrating let's say so do bring some bug spray or some of
those bracelets to keep the bugs away if you got little kids i do recommend that because yes there
will be bugs bothering you when you are here and the thing is let say you do get a little ill you you drink the water or you eat something bad you just have tummy troubles anyway When you go to the bathroom here the toilets it normal toilets no worries But remember you do not throw the toilet paper into the toilet
There'll be a basket next to the toilet and you throw the toilet paper there. Because the pipes here really can't handle the toilet paper as well
So put it in the bin next to the toilet. Another safety thing you got to watch out for is the heat
I mean, here on the coast, you can tell with the wind and everything. I mean, I've got two wind socks on my microphone, by the way
And it's not that windy here on the coast. The heat you don't notice as much because the wind but when you go in inland
Man that heat can be oppressive. So do stay hydrated with a bottle of water
Not just the tonya but with other things because the heat can be really really tough. Okay, especially for the little ones now
Let's what about the plugs. What about the electricity here the electricity and the plugs are just like in the u.s
It's the two, you know flat insert things here and you'll see the little dot on the bottom
You don't always get the bottom dot, but most of the time it's at least two ones like this
Not the European two-circle ones, but the U.S. two-flat ones. You want to have that
And it is also the U.S. currency. The U.S. current for electricity coming down here
So you should be prepared for that. But if you're coming from the U.S., your plugs, like my Samsung plug, boom, right in the wall
No problem whatsoever. And then the last thing I want to talk about is the food here
What are you going to eat when you're here and drink when you're here? Look, I'm not going to lie to you
You will eat rice. You will eat beans. You will eat beans. You will eat rice
You will eat that a lot. So for breakfast, you have gallo pinto, which is rice and beans stirred together
kind of fried up a little bit with scrambled eggs or some kind of egg. And then at lunch, you'll have the same gallo pinto with, you know
rice and beans with maybe chicken. And then dinner, you have rice and beans with meat. It can get a bit tiresome sometimes
But just know, rice and beans is a big thing here, okay? The fruits here are fantastic
You have a lot of fruit and fruit juices. One thing I recommend is maybe have a fruit mixed with milk, kind of batido or a liquido
like a milkshake. Those are always really good. The thing is here, the street food is fantastic
And the thing is a lot of the street food only comes out at about 5 or 6 o'clock at night
at the park or at the beach or something like that. You'll see them roll them out with their wagons
Oh man, if you can have the Naca Tamales. It's in a plantain leaf, okay
It's made with corn, cornmeal on the outside. I've made with tuna fish or onion and rice, of course
And the other things inside, you've got to have one of those. Also makes for a quick snack to have when you're here
Empanadas are a nice little snack to have here as well. There's all kinds of good little tasty treats to have
If you're near the coast, the fish is always good. If it's a fry-up or a grill-up or something like that, you will do very well here
And the thing is, the food here is very nice and it's very refreshing. But it is very basic and you will have a lot of repetition
so I have seen tourists like when we went to San Juan del Sur you could tell that people have been
Nicaragua for a while because all of a sudden there was pizza place an ice cream place like pizza let's go they're so excited for an hamburger let's go because you do get a little
overdone with the beans and rice anyway oh of course you want to know what you need to drink
here obviously not the water dude all the international sodas you're used to they have
those here and some local stuff as well but the two beers you have here there's Tonya and Victoria
Tonia is a really smooth beer. That's the one I really like. Victoria has just a slight bitter flavor to it, but it's still decent
So those are the two beers you're going to get everywhere in the country. And then, of course, you want to have rum
And Flor de Caña, that's the rum from here in Nicaragua. You should have some of that
Anyway, I hope this helps you know a little bit more about what you should do or what you should be ready for when you come to Nicaragua
If you want to learn more, you know, how to tip in Nicaragua. We went through that, though. But if you want more information on that, the shocks in Nicaragua
the don'ts of Nicaragua, things like that. We have that all on our website at waltersworld.com
It's also on our YouTube channel. And we really appreciate your likes and subscriptions
whether it's here on YouTube or it's on Facebook or it's on Twitter or Instagram
Just find Walters World and you'll find us there. So I'll say adios de Nicaragua or bye from Nicaragua
Have a good time