Transportation in Nicaragua

Nicaragua transportation: basic advice on traveling economically in Nicaragua with a focus near Ometepe

Here are tips and links for traveling through Nicaragua with some instructions on traveling by the common "chicken busses." See schematic map below (not to scale) to help visualize public transport connnections between popular tourist locations. 

Here's a nice website for information on buses througout Nicaragua.

Click here for a detailed description of all nicaraguan transportation by Centrocoasting

Border Crossing instructions:

Here is a detailed blog post with photos about crossing the border from Liberia CR to Altagracia, Ometepe, but can be applied to any border crosser. Note: You can also follow the instructions in reverse to go south, but you only pay a $3 exit tax from Nicaragua and a $1 fee to enter the immigration building, so only $4 in USD is necessary for going south. 

Crossing the border with public transport Liberia to Ometepe (Altagracia)

Taxis (focus near Ometepe)

Taxis are a handy way to get around quickly in Nicaragua, but pricing can be quite variable for tourists and scams are unfortunately common. Here are some tips:
- If you speak only english, taxistas are likely to take advantage of you, so speak spanish if you can.
- Always arrange the price before entering a taxi, making sure to specify if the quoted price is in dollars or cordobas, and if it is per person or total for the ride (both common "scams" to confuse tourists).
- Scammy taxistas will target naive tourists at major bus terminals. Either ask a local what the correct taxi price is before negotiating, or walk away from the terminal, telling the taxista you are staying nearby and don't need a ride so they stop bothering you. Then, walk a block or two and see if you can find a taxi that will charge you less. This almost always works in Rivas, for example, where a taxi at the bus terminal will quote you $5 per person or more for a ride to San Jorge, but if you walk a few blocks east toward the gas station at the intersection to San Jorge, colectivo taxis charge a standard 30 cordobas (less than $1) per person.
- Colectivos may charge you more if you have bulky luggage, especially if it takes up space that otherwise could be a passenger. Colectivos rely on taking multiple passengers on their route to make enough money, so private taxis will always cost more. Colectivos are safe in most places except for some parts of Managua.
- Managua taxis can be very expensive and hard to negotiate a low price if you look or sound like a tourist, and there are many scams and occasional kidnappings in colectivos at nighttime. At night in Managua it is recommended to get a "secure taxi" which usually means calling a trusted taxi driver--you can ask trusted locals or restaurants or hotels for help with this. A few example taxi prices: 

• Rivas-San Jorge: C$30 in colectivo (Gas station 5 blocks east of bus terminal), or $5 private taxi

• San Jorge-Managua: $50-$70

• San Jorge-Granada: $40

• San Jorge-Penas Blancas border or SJDS: $20-$25 private taxi, Shuttle or shared taxi: $5 per person

"Chicken Buses"

For an authentic experience, local or regional buses are very economical in Nicaragua. They are sometimes called "chicken buses" since it is common to find produce or livestock such as chickens traveling with you. Usually converted schoolbuses from the USA, each bus is often its own company, so there are often no consolidated schedules. Many travelers try in vain to find schedules ahead of time and end up booking private coach buses, but this is not necessary unless you just want a more comfortable and more expensive ride with other foreigners. Chicken buses efficiently cover almost all routes possible in Nicaragua, usually every hour or more often on popular routes. Less popular routes may only have 1-2 buses per day and so it is required to ask a local the schedule; otherwise, schedules are rarely used or available. Just go to the stop, wait for the next bus, and hop on! You don't pay the driver on chicken buses; instead, an "ayudante" or "cobrador" will come by and charge you in cordobas (make sure you have small change - if you don't, it may take them a while to get you the proper change, so be patient if they take your large bill and don't immediately break it). Let them know your final location, and they should charge you the correct price. Occasionally they try to charge tourists more, if you are unsure, ask a local near you - also, make sure the ayudante is not whispering the price to you or charging only you when you first get on the bus. Bulky luggage may be put on top of the bus, which is usually secure. However, you should keep any valuables in a bag on your person, just in case, and avoid bulky bags if possible. They may charge you for luggage on the top of the bus--this should never be more than the bus fare itself. On rare occasions, people are scammed with their luggage put on top and then charged a large amount to release their luggage from being hostage.  To avoid this scam, negotiate the luggage price ahead of time or avoid bulky luggage. 

Chicken Bus Routes

See the schematic diagram at the bottom of the page for the most popular bus routes in Nicaragua with important transfer points highlighted. Note that this schematic is not to scale and does not include all locations. 

Chicken Bus prices

A surprising rule of thumb is chicken buses often cost around $1 per hour, no matter how fast or slow the route is, since slower routes are shorter but more difficult. Here are a couple bus price examples:

• San Jorge (Rivas)-Managua: 110 cordobas (2-3 hours)

• Rivas-Penas Blancas: 40 cordobas (45 minutes-1 hour)

Private coach buses:

For people with bulky luggage, or who want to pay more for a slightly more comfortable ride, there are numerous companies that do international routes.  Though the route may be slightly faster than a chicken bus, they are less frequent, and border crossings require waiting for the entire busload to cross through customs together, so it does not always save you time. Here are a few examples of private coach companies: 

• Nicabus

• Ticabus

• Transnica

City Buses:

City buses in Managua by law cost 2.5 cordobas, and are often 1/100 the price of a taxi. As the routes are very hard to understand, they are rarely utilized by tourists. If you want to be adventurous and save a lot of money, try rutas.mapnica.net for an interactive map, or use the Tipitapa buses and the #110 route in Managua that connect most major terminals. 

You pay the driver for a city bus. Some buses take cash, some take specific transit cards, and some both. Since transit cards are very difficult to get, a traveler hopping on a "tarjeta" route just needs to get a nicaraguan to swipe their card for them. We recommend handing a local at least 10 cordobas, which will get you on the bus and buy them an additional 3 rides. Watch your pockets, and don't travel with bulky luggage or valuables. Aside for occasional petty theft, city buses are very safe and a fun experience! The other challenge of city buses is knowing when to get on or off. Use a map app on your phone, ask a local to help you, or remember that certain routes that end in terminals are easy, for example, the Airport-to-terminal Tipitapa buses all end at the terminal, so there's no confusion. And you save yourself the price of a taxi. Going back to the airport, however, you need to know when to get off. But if you miss your stop, it only costs a five-minute walk or 2.5 cordobas to cross the road and hop on the next bus going back!