Countrywise
Flag of Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Colonial towns, smoking volcanoes and baseball as the national sport

01Free

The 30-second card

CurrencyNicaraguan Córdoba · C$ · NIOSource: Unicode CLDR · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
DrivingOn the rightSource: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Visa · United Kingdom passport
No visa needed · up to 90 daysSource: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
TippingService is usually already included in the bill.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Apps locals use
TaxiManagua: book a taxi online in Managua.
Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Cards or cash
Mostly cashMostly cards
Step 2 of 5: Cash pays for most things; cards are accepted only in some places.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Money in Nicaragua
Nicaraguan Córdoba · C$ · NIO
Keep about C$500 in small córdoba notes for buses, taxis and street food.
Bring US dollars in small notes: $100 and $50 bills are often refused outside banks.
Expect a 4–6% card surcharge at many hotels, especially in remote areas.
Restaurant prices can rise by 25% once tax and the voluntary tip are added.
Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗ Collect Nicaraguan Córdoba in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen
Public holidays in the next 12 months
Tue, 8 Dec 2026 · Immaculate Conception
Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day
Thu, 31 Dec 2026 · New Year's Eve
Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day
Mon, 1 Feb 2027 · Air Force Day
Thu, 1 Apr 2027 · Holy Thursday
Sat, 1 May 2027 · Labour Day
Thu, 27 May 2027 · Army Day
Mon, 19 Jul 2027 · Liberation Day
Tue, 14 Sept 2027 · Battle of San Jacinto
Wed, 15 Sept 2027 · Independence Day
Tue, 12 Oct 2027 · Indigenous Resistance Day
Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Nicaragua say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says
No travel warning
Calm ●
Caution
Serious
Don’t go
Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026
Official page
U.S. Department of State says
Reconsider travel
Calm
Caution
Serious ●
Don’t go

Level 3 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 13 May 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026
Official page
UK Foreign Office says
No advice against travel
Source: GOV.UK
Updated 10 Dec 2025 · Checked 24 Oct 2026
Official page

Scams to know

Express kidnapping in unlicensed taxis

Use radio or authorised red-plate taxis; check the dashboard ID and note the car number

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Taxi called by a stranger

Refuse any cab called for you by someone you barely know, and avoid colectivo minibuses.

Source: GOV.UK · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Routine shots, hepatitis A and B, chikungunya in the outbreak, typhoid or rabies for some; malaria in parts.
Vaccinations

Be current on routine shots; hepatitis A and B are recommended, chikungunya vaccine during the ongoing outbreak, and typhoid or rabies for some travellers.

Malaria
In some regions
Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.
Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026
Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use
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Must-see · 1Granada

Handsome colonial town; top draw for visitors and expats

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
Strange & surprising · #1

No trains run at all: the national railway closed in 1994 and was sold off as scrap.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
National anthem: Salve a ti. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗
2 World Heritage sites in Nicaragua, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List
05Free

Deep facts

Population
Population7 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age29.5 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy74.7 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
ReligionsRoman Catholic 44.9%, Protestant 38.7% (Evangelical 38.2, Adventist 0.5%), other 1.2%, (includes Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ), believer but not belonging to a church 1%, agnostic or atheist 0.4%, none 13.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2020 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Geography
Area130,370 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climatetropical in lowlands, cooler in highlandsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrainextensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoesSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).

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