Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

The Instituto Nicaraguense de Turismo, or INTUR, has offices in all the country's main cities, though some are better than others and only a few have English-speaking staff. The ministry's two websites www.intur.gob.ni and www.visitanicaragua.com are written entirely in Spanish, with very limited information, but they boast some gorgeous images. INTUR's main office is in the Hotel Crowne Plaza in Managua (1c Sur; tel. 505/254-5191). They also have an office across the road, 1 block west of the Plaza Inter Mall (tel. 505/222-6610). In both you will find a pretty good selection of maps and guides.

For other travel-related info, try the following websites:

• www.nicaragua.com: This is a slick, well-presented site with very good English-language articles and overviews of all the main regions. It is, however, limited regarding hotel information, since it primarily functions as a booking service.
• www.vianica.com: This is an excellent website with information on the entire country -- it goes further than most travel sites by giving out actual phone numbers and websites of hotels and restaurants.
• www.nicaliving.com: Nicaliving is a website by and about expats living in Nicaragua. Though the information can be a little hit-and-miss, it's worth checking out for its blogs, to see what the issues of the day are.
• www.marena.gob.ni: This is a government website listing all the national parks and protected areas within the country. It is entirely in Spanish.