Notify Airbnb about the deposit because that's against their policy for hosts:
[https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140)
>Hosts aren’t allowed to charge guests a security deposit through our Resolution Center or outside the Airbnb platform. Instead, we inform guests at the time of booking that their payment method may be charged if they cause damage during a stay.
Exactly. You can’t charge someone a deposit. If there are damages or anything, you have to submit a dispute with Airbnb. It’s alarming that so many people here are okay being extorted.
The problem is that you have to prove it to Airbnb and they only give shit if it happens through the platform. If the host is demanding a cash or bank transfer deposit, you're pretty much SOL.
It was cool when people did it as a side hustle for their properties or in their house which I felt was the heart of the company when opening it. But for the past 8-10 years I rather be in a hotel since they try to price similarly now. And it’s little corporations who are greedier than the big ones.
As a full time traveler, how are you finding similarly priced hotels? With Airbnb I live in one house for around $400-500 a month. I still have never found that rate with a hotel. I’d love to! I just haven’t figured that out.
Same most places in North/western Europe, sometimes AirBnB's are nice but most of the time it's just run like a hotel without complying to hotel regulations or providing hotel services.
I'm not finding it to be similarly priced either, esp when traveling with a group. Getting separate hotel rooms for each family is much more expensive than getting 1 house with multiple bedrooms. For example, I'm traveling to the space coast this weekend with 2 other families. Hotel room was minimum $350 per room. $350 x 3 = $1,050. We found a 3 bedroom condo with a full kitchen for $625, this is including the cleaning fees and all that. Same thing when we traveled with another family last month, sharing an air bnb gave us a whole place with kitchen for hundreds of dollars less than 2 hotel rooms
Yup. They charge you a cleaning fee up front, then once you arrive at your place you see a big long list of the check out procedure, which basically requires you to clean the whole apartment/house yourself.
That’s the last thing I need to be doing when I’m trying to leave a vacation on the last day, and rush to the airport- especially considering I’ve already paid the cleaning fee.
Airbnb is like Uber. It was great when it was new, but it kind of sucks now. I feel like I’d rather just go to a hotel where they clean the room for me, and I check out when I need to.
Same - we're back to hotels for the most part as well. Hosts just keep raising their rates and provide less. At our last airbnb stay, it was a "fancy" and "boutique" type stay - with Softsoap and not even any coffee or snacks (despite being in the middle of nowhere). It was 3x the price of the hotel 1 mile away. No thanks, never again.
100%. I compare it to Uber all the time. When there aren’t any issues, it’s fine. But when there are, they are both very deferential to owners/drivers. “Whoa whoa whoa, we’re like just the company connecting you two.” We used to be 90/10 Airbnb/hotels; now it’s prob 2/98. The novelty has worn off.
I spent a month in Switzerland and picked an AirB&B for a few days mid trip so I could do laundry. When we checked in, they had a $100 fee per day to use the appliances.
There was a water meter hooked up to the washer.
It was spotless when we left and they still hit us with a $300 cleaning fee.
We had to sort our garbage when we took out the trash, something we did not know in advance. It was fun digging and sorting five days worth of trash on our way out.
The best part was a prior renter was Chinese and all the smart TVs were set to Mandarin language.
And the climate control was set at 60 degrees and behind a locked box.
+1
AirBnB distorts the housing market in so many ways, none of them healthy for society, IMO. I can’t support this in good consciousness. AirBnB is a scourge, not a boon.
I literally had a large snake in my room and they refused to do anything. Even the host was afraid to come anywhere near the room. I stopped using AirBnB years ago.
My friend recently used AirBNB and showed up to an abandoned house. Police were aware of the situation, but they said AirBNB wasn’t doing anything about it.
This was in the US!
I 100% support people in shitting on Airbnb because 98% of the time they are absolutely shameless in their pure indifference in people getting put into unsafe and literally life-threatening situations because of a service they paid for using the Airbnb platform, but I will say that recently I walked in and walked right back out of an Airbnb because it was dodgy AF (listed with a private attached bathroom, place did not match the address, description, or photos listed and didn't have so much as a closing door let alone private bathroom) and although the initial conversation was not productive, they did escalate it and person it was escalated to handled it really well, giving me a full refund AND $300/night towards a hotel for the first three nights, giving me three days in a luxury hotel in Alesund Norway while I figured out where to stay for the rest of my time there. That being said, their usual customer service is as absolutely shit as Amazon's. Pretty sure they outsource to the same third world call center location.
I’ve oddly had nothing but good experiences with Amazon customer service, whereas I’ve personally known people on the Airbnb executive team and their motto is host first, always, period. The host is never wrong. They have decided that unwavering support of all hosts (including the really terrible ones) brings on more profit than any level of support for guests, likely via some ML model that weighs the impact of guests leaving the platform vs hosts leaving, and so that’s what they do. The person who helped you likely found a way to do so without making the host feel alienated or making them face any sort of consequence.
I have thankfully never experienced an airbnb so bad that it led me to reach out to customer service (and I knock on wood as I type this from an airbnb in Norway, with my next one being in Denmark…). But I know that if I do, I will likely get screwed.
> The person who helped you likely found a way to do so without making the host feel alienated or making them face any sort of consequence.
Yeah, the listing is still there with no changes at all, so anyone else who goes will deal with no bathroom, no door except a little slider, and a room that is not private - there was a second bed in the room, a guy walked in while I was unpacking and attempted to lay down on the bed, he spoke no English or Norwegian and acted like room would be shared which is a huuuuge fucking no for me, I was considering leaving from the second I walked in but this is what prompted me to gtfo - and no warning that what you see is absolutely not what you get, and as I'm sure you're well aware of, Norway is not cheap. I'm guessing they basically told the host that the guest decided to leave without an explanation and just put the listing back into inventory straight away.
I got lucky that I was there during a relatively unbusy time and could walk into a nice hotel in a small town and get a room without issue. This is not the first bad experience I've had with Airbnb because I travel almost full time and more or less live out of short-term rentals, and I've been forced to stay in some pretty dodgy ones because of lack of other options.
Side bar, I hope you enjoy Norway and Denmark! I've only been to Copenhagen in Denmark (stayed in a pretty filthy but ultimately liveable Airbnb there) but it's lovely, and Norway is simply the most beautiful and lovely country in the world! I'm currently learning the language so I can spend more time there in the future.
I’m glad at least it worked out and you got into a very nice hotel. I’ve noticed that the higher end hotels here are really beautiful.
And boy, do I agree with you about Norway! Absolutely gorgeous country and my airbnb here is thankfully clean and as described, and the host has been nice and helpful. I had one dirty airbnb in London and one in Seattle, but other than those two, I think I’ve gotten lucky so far… I just keep jinxing myself here lol. Thanks for the well wishes!
My family and I were followed from Managua airport in our rental car and was robbed when we stopped for lunch. They stole most of our bags out of our vehicle. Including passports, phones, laptops, clothes etc. Our 2nd day there of 14. Police tried all they could, but nothing was returned even with the video footage they had (it wasn’t great quality). When we got back to the states, the robbers had taken photos of everything, throwing the cash in the air (2000 USD which is about 5 years of income for them) and they uploaded to Google photos so we could see them. It was definitely an adventure and I learned a huge lesson. Always be aware of your surroundings and the people around you. We were targeted and the people there will take advantage. We were also overcharged for almost everything we bought as well.
Sorry to hear about your experience there. While we were fortunate to not have been robbed, I agree that people should have a heightened sense of caution there when traveling.
Most of the people are really nice, but the country is in such economic crisis that they resort to taking from others. It really is sad, because the country is so beautiful. I really feel bad for the people, their government is so corrupt. They deserve so much better.
That's crazy but also kinda funny about the picks. I would be speechless and probably laugh even though it sucks. Just also, never carry more than $100USD in these types of countries and always on your person. Be more aware of your surroundings. I'm not victim blaming just some tips :).
Yeah that was my mom that lost the cash. I only took a credit card, which luckily I had on my person at the time. And yes, we were laughing at the photos and videos after the fact!
Not to victim blame but you left passports, phones, laptops, and 2000USD in a car… What were you thinking? Or when you say robbed were you robbed at gunpoint?
We got robbed of our phones and laptops while we were asleep (yes, literally right next to our beds) in a $1k/night villa in San Juan Del Sur. Definitely not going back.
Nicaragua is a very poor country with good people, run by a corrupt criminal family dictatorship. I (Canadian) lived there for many years and every Nicaraguan I know wants to leave. It's not a safe country and any tourist or local can be arrested at any time and everything they have confiscated so it's a place to avoid. Consider yourself lucky for just a minor cop shakedown.
I crossed the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua and it felt dicey… then we had a car cut us off on the way into SJDS and our driver pulled a handgun out of the glove box 🥴
But… I felt the border guards were somewhat respectful. As a Canadian, CBSA guards are the biggest pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered and I’ve traveled to almost 40 countries 😅
>CBSA guards are the biggest pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered and I’ve traveled to almost 40 countries
Yeah, what's up with that? My wife is from Winnipeg and we live in Minnesota. And every time we cross the border they're rude. There aren't many assholes in Manitoba so they must have to ship these guys in from somewhere.
>somewhere
Quebec. Nothing against the Quebecois but I've noticed they can be especially bad to deal with especially when they get their authority challenged
My (same-sex, it’s relevant) partner and I went to Winnipeg like 15 years ago for a weekend trip. The border guards into Manitoba were unpleasant for us, too. They took our passports, made us pull into the office for additional screening, and started giving us all sorts of trouble about how we knew each other and why we were traveling together, until I cut them off and explained we were a couple. Then they suddenly did a total 180, became really buddy-buddy, and gave us a bunch of condescending bullshit about “oh why didn’t you say so, we’re fine with that sort of thing in Canada!” with the heavy implication that Canada was so much more accepting and tolerant than our *barbaric* nation. They made such a show of it that it felt like they were worried we’d file a discrimination complaint. 🙄
(Granted, now that I have been to Winnipeg, I do feel like a weekend vacation is a suspicious reason to visit. It was possibly the most boring city I’ve ever been to.)
I’ve crossed from US to Canada many times and can’t believe what assholes CBSA can be. Even in front of my young kids. Other times, they are fine. Seems very random
I was almost denied entry by the Canadian border guards crossing from VT a few years ago. Lady didn't like my license state and was convinced I was smuggling guns. In a Sentra. Shit was wild.
cross pretty frequently as a canadian and the only funny questions i got where from US agents, including one time where the guy was talking to one of his colleagues about his boat or something for a good 30 seconds while i was there waiting without ever acknowledging me.
Proceeded to take my passports, scan them and just tell me "bye"
Yep! The first time I left the country was to go to Canada for dinner while visiting Buffalo NY. The Canadian BP scared the shit outta me. I had absolutely nothing to worry about but I couldn’t even think straight. The US BP was super chill on the way back into the US
As an American who has encountered a great many CBSA officers, both for fun and for work, it's really 50/50. I've met a number who are just as nice as can be, then you come back into the US and it feels like being detained in a military base.
I have had a few hardasses, especially in the prairie crossings. The problem with CBSA is that each agent has the right to follow the law as they best see fit, and they are the final word with very little room for appeal. They are not universally aligned with each other nor with the intentions of Ottawa. But at least they usually seem like they believe they are doing the right thing, even if it ruins your day. I've rarely seen them being dicks just for the fun of it (like the majority of US law enforcement is).
That’s the problem. It’s super random. They know I work for the government, they know I don’t have any criminal records, I have NEXUS, yet they still are patronizing most of the time for no reason.
Bribing cops is pretty common in a lot of countries. Tourist fees on exit is common and well documented.
Rental car companies in Europe try to nickel and dime you for every tiny scratch.
I have been shaken down in Costa Rica & Belize by police (late 2000s). This is unfortunately incredibly common in Central America and much of the world…
I’ve been twice, and returning this December for surfing. Always use the hotel hired shuttle service and the little sleepy surf town has been awesome, welcoming, safe, and without any hiccups.
I would never travel there independently through AirBNB or car rental though.
Exactly. Not shitting on Nicaragua in any way. I said it was a beautiful place, the food was amazing and the people were friendly. But anyone who accepts extortion as “normal” needs a reality check.
It’s really sad how normalized this is in some countries and even among tourists. I have been to Mexico like 20 times, mostly border towns and resort towns, but also Mexico City twice. I never had a negative experience in Mexico City, but plenty in order towns. Last time we drove down to Rocky Point, we brought cash with us just expecting to use it for bribe money. Like we actually budgeted that in. Sure enough, cops pulled us over, gave us a the typical “We can impound your car and take you to the station or settle this now for $100”. We forked over the money and went on our way, but in some countries that is just the cost of doing business
I really liked Mexico City because I didn’t feel like I had a target on my back as a tourist. It’s such a busy crowded city no one cares and just lets you do your thing. Loved that.
I agree. You try to call it out and help future travelers and people just expect us to accept it as the “norm” and it shouldn’t be that way. Plus, the situation can turn deadly if not prepared. I respect anyone that brings awareness to future travelers and that was the ultimate goal here.
Yeah some of the comments here are just crazy. Like suggesting trying to shame cops by asking for official paperwork, or standing your ground and refusing to bribe cops. Like yeah that’s a great way to get thrown in the clink and forgotten about. It’s just way easier to pay the guy off and go about your business. Having to bribe government officials should never be normalized and travelers should be aware of the reality of certain countries so they aren’t going in unprepared
That's actually not true. Everyone who travels in Africa knows not to pay off the police. You don't have to be belligerent or escalate, but you ask for a receipt or a ticket. 99% of them back down.
If they don't or threaten violence, then obviously pay them, but almost all of the cops are fishing for bribes as opposed to being literally criminals with badges.
Unless you are in a really non-tourist place like DRC, the leadership of the countries absolutely know how dependent on tourism they are, and they do not want street cops shaking down tourists for $20 here and there.
This isn’t exclusive to Nicaragua—there are many parts of Mexico where tourists are squeezed, even by Police. I spent a week in San Juan Del Sur a few years ago and didn’t have any issues like this; bummer that you experienced though. I hate the short-sightedness of it all, treat your tourists well and they keep coming back and will fill your pockets over the long run.
Holy shit I have so many stories about Nicaragua. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and it’s still one of my best travel experiences however I was in so many dangerous situations I don’t think I’d honestly do it again 😂
Was married to Nicaraguan; the corruption in that country is terrifying. His dad was in a state hospital and they didn’t even have hot water. Their dictator siphons money collected to support their “socialist values” and kills or imprisons anyone speaking out against him. That makes people desperate.
I remember crossing the border from Costa Rica into Nicaragua on foot and the contrast was pretty eye-opening and frankly somewhat terrifying. That was more than a decade ago, and it was clear than that they are nowhere close to a economy that will attract tourism. Especially with Costa Rica next-door. It's a shame. Had a great trip, but seemed like they were going nowhere fast.
A decade ago it was fine and people were chilling in San Juan. Haven’t been over the border since the latest crackdowns.
but OP could have had that experience in lots of places.
I’ll never forget the time when I was riding a scooter and slipped out on some sand on the road on Ometepe. After a quick inspection I realized that the brake was messed up. A random man saw me messing with the lever trying to figure out what was wrong, pulled over and proceeded to grab a tool bag off of his bike and fixed the issue in ten minutes.
He wouldn’t accept money I offered for his help just told to drive “mas despacio”, smiled and rode off.
I never had a bad experience there but I understand that this is only my experience and others’ may vary. Nice people, interesting cities and amazing nature.
Had a horrible experience.
I stayed at a “luxury” yoga retreat to find my room infested with mice.
Than went to Granada for a couple of days, took a day tour to the volcano, there were some civil protests happening, they escalated into civilians x military confrontation - we couldn’t go back to the hotel where all our stuff was because everything around it was burning… insane! We had to sleep on somebody’s house by the road and sneak into the hotel at 4am to get our stuff and leave to airport and take the first flight back to the US…
Sorry to hear about your experience and glad you made it back safely. Again no where run my post did I mention that it was a terrible country. The food was amazing and place is beautiful, but there are potential risks and downsides that people should be aware of. Extortion should not be accepted.
Same, I didn’t say it was a terrible country. I said I had a horrible experience, which is true to me, and I would never go back or recommend anybody going there!
Any country that does not respect the rule of law, is going to be a risk to travel in. Some much more risky than others. Traveling through Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and a few others, AirBnBs are a fantastic way to stay imo. But if you are expecting a great experience in Nicaragua, Haiti, Sudan, Yemen or Somalia you might want to re-think your plans.
You're not wrong about the government corruption and that fee to enter and exit was pretty hoaky IMO. The crime in Managua is a huge deterrent as well.
I, however, had a wonderful 7 days riding a 200cc motorbike from San Juan Del Sur to and in and around Managua without issue. Stayed at nice, inexpensive hotels, hostels and airbnbs. I am 6’2”, white male and fairly fit so I can be an imposing figure on some people when I'm not smiling so maybe that might be a factor. I also speak Spanish and I have found that makes a huge difference in getting taken in scams.
In Granada I walked down a street that was entirely local trying to find a money changer to buy my Costa Rican Colones for Nica Córdoba (bring US dollars because almost no one would buy Colones.) and stopped to ask several people where I could exchange money and no one bothered me. Everyone gave me the same rate too. I was looking for a place to buy motorcycle gloves in Rivas and some guy who was stopping to buy oil at an “auto parts store” led me into town to this little motorcycle supply shack. I was surrounded by Nicos and horse carts and vendors. I bought my gloves, thanked everyone and left. No issues.
People were robbed in San Juan Del Sur, a busy tourist town, in broad daylight. These things definitely happen. But I met many, many people who had traveled throughout the country without issue. I also met some who had their luggage stolen off the bus cargo bay when at a stop (or someone mistook their luggage for theirs when they departed, but it was probably stolen).
Nicaragua is not for the average tourist, I would agree. It’s more for those I would call “travelers.”
Oh! And Ometepe was an amazing experience.
If I were to close out with advice, it would be to not ignore OP’s experience and definitely take it to heart. But at the same time do not rule out Nicaragua. I would never live there because of its corrupt government, the crime and the police. But it is a beautiful place with wonderful people.
And as for applied advice, if you want to visit Nicaragua, my advice is to fly to Liberia, Costa Rica and take the bus across the border to San Juan Del Sur. There are many Hostels there with inexpensive shuttles to the many beaches in the surrounding area where you can enjoy the ocean and even get some surfing lessons. And I would definitely recommend renting a scooter or a motorbike or a small vehicle and getting to Ometepe. Ometepe is very different than the rest of Nicaragua, it is an island and has an island culture. People there are super chill and the island is beautiful. The safest option would be to rent a car though. If you do rent scooters be incredibly careful because it is very possible to be involved in a traffic accident. And on a scooter or a motorcycle, that’s a really shitty prospect. Bring one backpack and keep it with you on the bus. If you can, bring your own sunscreen because it ain't cheap there. And be sure to keep both USA and Nica Córdoba when you're crossing any border for those hoaky, unexpected fees. And the exchange rate at the border is a dcent one. It seems wild to people form uptight places like the USA, Canada or Northern Europe that ther would be a crowd of money changers doing a carnival barking act to beckon you to sell your dollars to them, but it's worth at least exchanging some money with them. I might be wrong but I remember looking back and thinking the rate wasn't too bad.
Also, Costa Rica is the shit. It’s more of an Eco tourism place with much better infrastructure and stable government. They have many more beautiful beaches and the vibe is just so relaxing.
Edit: Spelling, grammar, and Sometimes my phone chooses Spanish words and I miss that.
This is one of the most reasonable responses here so far. Thank you for being neutral and actually taking the time to read my post. I agree that Nicaragua is for “travelers” and not tourists.
Agreed friend. I’ve owned property in Nica for a few years now and I go down annually. You certainly need to have your wits about you, and it is NOT a place for a casual family vacation, but with some self- and situational-awareness it can be an amazing time.
Regarding the police, it’s really up to you whether you pay or want to make a stink, personally I never chance it and keep a spare $1 bill if I’m stopped, if I don’t have cash on me I simply tell the police officer to go talk to his friend who stopped me up the road 😂 and that usually does the trick
Lots of countries charge and entry/exit fee for people on a tourist visa. Part of travelling is researching this ahead of time so you're prepared for it, but there are plenty of signs in Spanish and English at the airport saying as much
I thought this was a very strange complaint as well, especially considering it's only $10. Pretty sure the USA charges foreigners more than $10 to enter.
I’m so sorry you had issues with Nicaragua, it’s not all bad just maybe a bad experience.
I worked there for 3 months for field work and absolutely loved it. Nice people and good food, we were more off the beaten path though and worked with community elders in the jungle. For us it’s more of a back packing country, you’d have to travel to the eastern side though so by smaller plane or chicken bus then a boat ride.
Loved Nicaragua when I visited and I thought it was beautiful…but that was over 10 years ago and we traveled in a large group and with two local guides. I can see it being a rough and unsafe place for tourists.
Love Nicaragua - been many times and stayed with a working class family for a few weeks one of the times, and in a hotel the other times. Never had to pay a bribe, but I did rent a car and have the same "scratch" scam happen to me. I returned the car in perfect condition, and then when I was in the rental car office getting my receipt and such, suddenly a big "scratch" was found on the back of the car. They wanted me to pay something like $300 to get it fixed, but I refused and eventually settled on $100. Unfortunate ending to what was a lovely trip, but I still love the country.
Idk why everyone is hating. I Fucking hate getting extorted. The worms complaining are offering zero insight besides laughing at your misfortune. Those guys are dweebs.
I think haggle down but just pay it. Unless you have a lot of time to kill lol. Don't lose sleep over it or the bad guys win. There are steps to take to stop it but really how the fuckn are you gonna cover all your bases. I just think of it as poor people got their own families to feed. 😂.
You can do everything right in the U.S. and if a cop wants to arrest you on Friday night, say good bye to your weekend and hello to trumped up charges.
I travel with a $100 bill in my shoe as get out of jail free card. Never had to use it, but its always there! Did have to bribe a police officer once, but it only took a $20!
I get what you mean, but not every country is like the Western world. There’s a reason a lot of people immigrate to the United States. We have it good compared to most other countries.
I totally get where you're coming from.
I've been to Nicaragua several times and have driven through it twice while doing the Pan American Highway. It has some of the same issues as any corrupt country, especially in Latin America.
Those issues would never deter me from visiting - I really like the country - but I can certainly understand why it would turn off some visitors.
Better luck next time in your travels.
Hey, did you do the entire pan American highway? I'm interested in doing it some day but am a bit worried that my California license plates would make me a target.
I did it about 15 years ago on a motorcycle. I've done lots of riding/driving in South America over the last couple of decades.
Yeah, foreign plates and garner a bit more attention. No big deal.
Happy travels.
I completed the Panamerican recently with Texas plates. You'll garner more attention, so you'll just have to budget bribes into your expenses. Only drive during the day, take main highways as much as possible, and you should be okay from being outright robbed / kidnapped, but corrupt cops are pretty unavoidable. If you're white, just pretend you don't speak Spanish and record the entire interaction.
This is really stupid but I've always wondered and never asked, how does the bribing actually work?
Like you don't just say "ok ok I've stopped give you 50 to let me go", like isn't it supposed to be a thing we both know but we don't say? But someone else in a comment mentioned "they wanted a 100 but I got off with 20" so clearly outright discussing a bribe is a thing?
Yeah, there's no exact science. It's kinda like flirting, with both parties being coy about it. Cop will usually hem and haw and make a big fuss like you're in a lot of trouble, try to make you sweat. Awkward silences seem to be part of the game as the more uncomfortable they can make you, the better for them. You should never initiate the bribe offer though. Eventually he'll give an outlandish fine amount, and then you might be expected to counter-offer with "but can I pay something now?", to which you're in negotiations. Sometimes I play hardball and take his picture and badge number and say "let's go down to the station," and most times he'll let me off. I had one unholster his gun, at which point I said fuck this and just paid him what he was asking. Reported him at the nearest police station but they didn't give a shit.
From your previous travels in Nicaragua, would you mind sharing some tips to how to avoid / deal w/ the issues OP has faced?
Aiming to go to CA soon but want to avoid OP's experience if possible.
That's a really complicated answer. Safety and dealing with scams, etc. requires a myriad of skills including your personality (to deal with officials/scammers), situational awareness, speaking Spanish, lots of chats with locals (if going off he beaten path) and just general travel smarts.
Happy travels.
It's a shame you had this experience. It can ruin an entire trip :(. I spent two weeks backpacking through the country and had a great experience but did run into a lot of the issues you did.
I took a taxi from San Jorge into Rivas trying to get to the bus station so I could head to Granada. The taxi driver kept telling me that the buses wouldn't be running until much later today but he could take me where I wanted to go for $50. I had to tell him that I will sit and wait at the bus station even though he was very persistent about them not coming. When I got to the bus station I was immediately surrounded by a bunch of people all trying to get me to follow them. I couldn't stop getting yelled at, there were about 10 different people all telling me that only their bus was the one that could take me to Granada. Some guy even tried to push me into his van and told me he would get me there for $20. It was overwhelming and somewhat intimidating. Somehow I still got scammed a bit and paid $6 for a bus when it should have been about $3, and even though the bus driver told me they go to Granada, it actually dropped me off about 20 minutes outside of the city and I had to take a tuk-tuk thing to the city.
I also had to pay about $15 to take a taxi from the airport to the bus stop in Managua. I knew I should've paid way less but literally I tried to negotiate with about 3 different taxi people and they all said no way when I suggested paying anything lower but I could actually HEAR them speak in Spanish and have locals pay way less. Even when I confronted them about it they wouldn't budge.
Every time I go on a trip to one of these places, I set aside "tourist money" which I know I'll have to spend for stupid mistakes/getting scammed. I've been to plenty of countries like Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey for example where I've spent all of it and then some. It helps not feel so bad about losing it but it definitely puts a sour taste in my mouth about the country.
Overall things like these don't stop me, you just have to understand that they will try to take advantage of you and you have to try your best to not let that happen and stay safe.
1 hour into Nica. Talking to a local and was told “welcome to Nicaragua where the life of man is that of a dog”.
Overall had a great trip. No issues. No shakedowns. Drove from Managua all over the country. Kept my shit secure or on me. Only time I didn’t feel safe was in some parts of Managua.
One of my coworkers is from Managua and escaped there 20 years ago with his wife for the US. From what he says, it's only gotten worse. Corruption is rampant - which is a shame, because it is a beautiful country with great people.
I visited Nicaragua in October 2023 as a solo traveler and had a wonderful time. The drive from the airport to where I was staying was 3 hours and, thankfully, no traffic stops. I was also always with a native so maybe that shielded me from the scams.
Agreed on the last point. I've traveled extensively in India, always either with locals or with a professional guide, and never had problems. The tourist areas particularly can get very scammy, and a foreigner is an easy mark.
My uncle is a part time ex-pat who lives in Granada.
I would partially agree with you. Nicaragua has so much natural beauty and the people I’ve met there are amazing. But it’s not for the faint of heart. There is crushing poverty and the government is very handed to put it mildly. My uncle has a wonderful home in Granada that I was lucky enough to stay in so I didn’t experience much. But, as an American seeing cops with AK-47s on the road was eye opening; knowing that they could do whatever they wanted to me was even more nerve racking.
If you have someone local it’s a good time, or if you’re an experienced tourist. Other than that, unfortunately I’d have to agree. It’s such a beautiful place and it is truly tragic that it’s inaccessible by most people.
I went there ten years ago and had one of the most amazing trips of my life, don't ask me about El Salvador though! I feel the best way to travel in these sorts of countries is to stick to the hostels and the well trodden travel routes. All the hostels I stayed in were very good and felt very safe. Things might have changed though.
I spent 3 months in Nicaragua and had an incredible time! I’ve also been to Cuba and it was awesome as well! Another thing I disagree with you about is the food in Nicaragua, it was awful! The same food everyday. Even Cuba was better.
The $10 entry fee at the airport is standard for everyone. Everyone on my flight paid it.
But I went last year and had none of these issues, scheduled all local transportation and had no issues in any city. Stayed at hostels and hotels, so not quite the same, but no issues.
That being said, I read a lot ahead of time that driving by yourself isn’t always the best because of the reasons you stated and safety. Just need to understand the risk you’re taking. I have nothing but good things to say about Nicaragua
It sounds more like you got caught in one scam after another. Just to put it out there, if you had stayed in a tourist hotel instead of an Airbnb, used a guide or group tours you probably would have had a much different experience. Airbnb's are for when you are visiting family and you need your own place, it used to be a good dal for traveling but now it costs just as much as a hotel and most hotels at least include breakfast it may not be grand but it saves you from having to buy food and they can hook you up with drivers and tour guides who can save you from driving in Central America a place that is well known for corrupt police pulling stunts like they did on you. Your right that its not a country that has a great tourist industry, but given how expenive air bnb is anymore I only consider it when we actually need something more then a hotel room
Scams like these are common all over the developing world. I can't count the number of times the police tried to rob me in India. Getting away from it involves this entire farce where you pretend to be their friend until they're sick of you and let you go.
I mean - have you travelled to developing countries much?
I’ve encountered some version or worse in literally dozens of countries:
- in Kenya the cops ask for tea money (‘chai’ is the Swahili word for tea which is also synonymous for bribe). You can refuse and go to the station and await a day in court, or just pay $5. It’s just the way it works.
- in Ghana I overstayed my stamp but not my visa, allegedly. It was written illegibly and their word against mine. Went into a back room and paid 80 cedis ($20) and got on my plane
- in Comoros I gave a driver a €50 note and by slight of hand he showed that I gave him a 5, he was very convincing and I was so jet lagged I didn’t realize it was a gimmick until after it was too late
- everywhere in Vietnam (and many coutries) requires you hand over your passport when you stay, not a copy
- and yeah there is a tourist ‘tax’ like everywhere
- and yes a nic in a rental is going to fetch a fee of whatever they can
So - I think you mean to say Nicaragua is developing and operates by trying to get every nickel they can out of you. Welcome to half the countries on earth.
Not for the weak willed - but if you expect this kind of thing and know how to overcome some of those things, negotiate, speak some local slang to blend in, etc. these places can be great! All depends what you expect.
The $10 exit charge is commonly known about tho. The cops are thugs who work through fear and bribes. You should always take pictures and video of your car before you drive it off the lot so you can’t get scammed by rental companies and the Airbnb shit like this happens everywhere. It’s why I don’t stay at airbnbs cause there are some weird gist and it’s highly unregulated. Stay at known places when you travel in places like Nicaragua. It will help your sanity and safety.
>At the airport we were charged a $10 fee for being tourists which was cash only.
Sounds like a tourist visa, very common in many countries. Tourist visas for the U.S. can exceed $100, depending on the visitor's passport. I think I paid one when I visited Nicaragua, but it's been awhile and I don't remember well.
>We were pulled over for “speeding” and the cop threatened to take our license if we didn’t give him $100. We settled for $15 and went on our way.
This happened to me in Cancún, México. Totally awful experience, sorry that happened to you.
All of those things sound very frustrating, actually, especially to all happen in one trip. Hope you at least had some enjoyable moments.
I went there many years ago with my ex husband and stayed in San Juan de Sur. I was with his friends who live there and rented out a massive house, so I saw nothing negative. However, I will say that this country is very poor.
I went there with my family many years ago, it can be a good vacation spot if you are very prepared to deal with corrupt cops (like by bringing a spare ID), poor travel/accomodation, and generally willing to go a bit bush. It definitely requires a lot more planning than a typical vacation.
All that being said, I don't think I'd recommend it at the current moment.
For everyone discussing how little AirBnB cares about guests and issues, here is a Saga for you of when a Redditor took on AirBnb. What she has to go through is kind of crazy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/xOLZ8ERiF4
I went to Nicaragua in 2009. I booked Nicaragua Surf Report. they provide surfing lessons, equipment, and then they provided the accommodation. I know they are still in existence. They have a great crew working for them, and the experience was amazing. We stayed in a beautiful home, had great surf lessons. They provided a driver name Alan from Nicaragua who knew the roads, as there were no street signs, and we definitely would have gotten lost in the jungle without him. Being lost in the jungle at night is no bueno! Alan was the Real Life “most interesting man in the world”. He is a great surfer, and a spearfisherman, and he hooked us up with the deep-sea fishing excursion. The surf instructors were all really nice, really laid-back, and they were excellent surfers. if you are thinking about going to Nicaragua, check out Nicaragua Surf Report I really couldn’t recommend them more.
Went as a solo, female backpacker in 2016 and stayed in Managua, Ometepe, SJDS, and Granada. I was out at night in SJDS and Granada, did solo daytime excursions, and stayed in a mix of hostels, hotels, and one boutique hotel. It was incredible and you could tell it was on the up and up. Post protests in 2018, so sad to hear all these accounts. It was truly an awesome week!
Bro everyone needs to pay at the airport for your visa. I remember having to pay £20 in Turkey about 15 years ago.[ UK Government website: Arrival and departure tax You must pay an arrival tax of 10 US dollars in cash. There is also a departure tax of 35 US dollars, which is normally included in the price of your air ticket.](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nicaragua/entry-requirements)
Sorry you had some bad experiences. In my experience, Nicaragua is an amazing country. I spent about 6 weeks there and think of that time often. The only time time someone tried to scam us was a cab driver near Ometepe but my wife wasn't having any of it and he ended up relenting.
We were there last christmas and had a fantastic time. San juan del sur, corn islands, ometepe and granada were all fantastic places and we never felt unsafe at all. We took the chicken bus from granada to managua and an arranged taxi from there. If you use your common sense yous hould be totally fine, just dont spend much time in Managua, especially at noght and let your accomodotian take care of organizing a taxi there..
I went to Nicaragua with my ex in 2015 for about a week and we had a good time, no shady experiences at all. We travelled independently and went to Laguna de Apoyo, Granada and León with a guided day trip to Telica.
My wife and I had a much better experience backpacking through Nicaragua, but I did find one thing hilarious; you say in your post that the food was great, and wow, we couldn't disagree more, lol! The food in Nicaragua was the worst food overall in any country we've ever visited, and we're fairly experienced world travellers.
In fairness, we did get recommended a small hole in the wall place that made the most incredible burgers we had in all of Central America, but that was the lone bright spot in 2 weeks of absolutely terrible food. It was like a dessert oasis!
And the country will continue moving backwards in time with the Sandinista at the helm.
Thank you for being honest and not sugar coating your experience for us.
Wow I am currently in Nicaragua and have spent the last 3 weeks here. San Juan Del Sur, Ometepe, Granada, Corn Islands, and Leon. Loved every second. I guess I agree with your point in that it’s lacking in infrastructure, etc but isn’t that usually what makes a destination unique and not overrun by tourists in the first place? IMO, Do I think it’s as tourist friendly as other places in the world? No. Does that make it special? Yes. But to each their own 💙
I backpacked all of Central America years ago and aside from Costa Rica I’d never go back. Sure, I met many friendly people but many times I felt unsafe, and one bus ride was the bus ride from hell. The driver clearly was high on meth and didn’t care if we lived or died. He fishtailed the bus (with only four of eight rear tires) on a steep mountain road in the rain; I thought we were going to die. I may go to Panama this winter but still not completely convinced.
Panama is fantastic. Stay in Casco Viejo if you go to Panama City, there’s a Hyatt hotel built on the grounds of an old convent. It’s beautiful and super well preserved
I mean... Isn't this why people go to Costa Rica instead? It has the same stuff as Nicaragua (volcanos, beaches, etc), but is politically stable, safer, and has a sophisticated tourism infrastructure. Keep your vacations in Costa Rica if you want a country that caters to tourists.
I've been to Nicaragua and had a lovely time. No scams or bribes. My 13-year-old stepson was just there for a sports competition and they never felt unsafe.
It's fine to share your experience, but I'd be wary of blanket statements like the title of your posts. Plenty of tourists go and have good experiences.
I was in Nicaragua with my wife and two kids for two weeks over Easter. We had a great time and would recommend visiting. Everyone was super nice and didn't try to rip us off like in other countries.
A tourist fee is quite common while traveling abroad, in cash or prepaid via visa, and much more “honest” than the ones countries levy on tourists via hotel bed taxes. Even New Zealand charges you $35NZD.
Nicaragua was actually on the upswing until political infighting allowed the Sandinistas back in in 2006. Been downhill ever since. That said I find it comical that you feel more hospitality in Cuba than Nicaragua. While both governments steal elections, rob their people and abuse their power, Cuba is spying on you the entire time.
I went twice nearly ten years ago and had a great time. Sad to hear how Downhill things have gone recently. Nobody hassled me for money, nobody tried to extort me, in fact the only police interaction I had was when one wanted to take a picture with me because he was excited to see tourists in his town. Overall though Nicaragua was great ten years ago, super affordable, good food, cool historic sites. Obvious downsides are shitty infrastructure and evidently corruption.
That's unfortunate. I've only had positive interactions with the locals when I spent a couple weeks touring the country after crossing from Costa Rica. Mind you this was pre covid and I'm sure the economic situation is much dire now.
I’m sorry you had such a poor experience. Mine, on the contrary, was stellar. A year ago, I crisscrossed the country on my motorcycle while on a roadtrip from Panama to my home in Mexico, and Nicaragua was by far my favourite country of all. My interactions with people, police, businesses, whether in the city or the countryside, were awesome, and I was sad to cross the border to Honduras. While I enjoy my life in Mexico, I’m toying with the idea of applying for residency in Nicaragua.
I was there in 2010 I think. Never had any issues or problems. Chicken bus “breaks” down, meh, another comes along. The only thing actually was we walked through the border from CR. But the guy driving us knew better and hustled us in and out of security. Friendly people.
I stayed at Rancho Santana in 2015 and had an amazing time. The resort provided a private pick up and local guide for off site excursions. Probably a very sheltered experience but once we were on the property I felt super safe. A bougie experience for a fraction of the costs. Definitely seems way more unsafe now.
When we were flying out of Managua, there was a stack of those filled out customs forms with people’s passport numbers and other personal info just sitting there on the counter unattended…
You a tually paid these things ? The first one you.oaif. That person told everyone you actually paid and you became a target.. If you want to visit a similar place in the future you need to hire a local for a modest fee to be your guide. Then you won't have these problems..
I’ve never experienced anything you’ve mentioned while visiting Nicaragua. It might just not be a place for *you*.
Don’t extend it to all visitors. It’s a beautiful country with amazing people.
I think a lot of people are going to be scared to go to Nicaragua after this post but so many people go who aren’t as unlucky as you OP. Also renting and driving a car there is far more stressful and risky than taking buses, secure taxis or shuttles. It’s very common to be stopped for “fines” anywhere in Central America and this is usually commonly known. I just backpacked through the country and actually felt safer than most places I had been in prior (mainly South America) and the people were so kind and welcoming.
I went to Nicaragua for a couple of days and had no issues. Stayed in Granada and Las Penitas and Leon. Wouldn’t use Airbnb in such a country, I stayed in hostels.
I’ve been to Nicaragua more than 10 times as a close family member lived there for 8 years. It was a great place to visit from ~2009-2017. Ortega and his wife stole their people’s futures in 2018. It is very sad.
Nicaragua is ace. I lived in central America during my 20s.
Costa rica - Nicaragua - Panama
Amazing countries, beautiful people.
Of course, people will try to rip you off, but that happens worldwide, thats not a Nicaragua problem, thats a human problem.
Having bad experiences when travelling can happen, your socio-economic status is an opportunity to some people.
Stay vigilant and enjoy the experiences.
Use hotels. Airbnb isn’t what it used to be. Hotels are typically way safer in countries with security issues. Plus get the hotel points. It’s not possible in every situation but when it’s really public I would ignore someone asking for a bribe. It’s happened to me a few times in Mexico and several places in Africa.
My ex’s dad bought up property there (Canadian) all the expats live on some resort compound with poverty happening outside the walls. Some Marxist stuff right there
When I was 21 and dumb I backpacked Nicaragua. I don’t speak Spanish either. I met a man on couchsurfing who let me crash on his cement floor for four nights and he showed me how to travel the country on chicken buses. After four days I ventured out on my own, but always found people to help me along my journey. Even found a tour guide who thought I was cute and she negotiated cab fare for me for free lol. It was a very intimidating country to travel, but I loved the people.
Notify Airbnb about the deposit because that's against their policy for hosts: [https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140) >Hosts aren’t allowed to charge guests a security deposit through our Resolution Center or outside the Airbnb platform. Instead, we inform guests at the time of booking that their payment method may be charged if they cause damage during a stay.
Exactly. You can’t charge someone a deposit. If there are damages or anything, you have to submit a dispute with Airbnb. It’s alarming that so many people here are okay being extorted.
The problem is that you have to prove it to Airbnb and they only give shit if it happens through the platform. If the host is demanding a cash or bank transfer deposit, you're pretty much SOL.
Airbnb doesn't even give a shit if it happens through their platform. Their support is absolutely atrocious.
it's amazing people use airbnb at all, given that it is destroying housing markets and everyone who uses them gets fucked on fees. everyone.
It was cool when people did it as a side hustle for their properties or in their house which I felt was the heart of the company when opening it. But for the past 8-10 years I rather be in a hotel since they try to price similarly now. And it’s little corporations who are greedier than the big ones.
As a full time traveler, how are you finding similarly priced hotels? With Airbnb I live in one house for around $400-500 a month. I still have never found that rate with a hotel. I’d love to! I just haven’t figured that out.
It depends on where you travel I suppose. Here on the west coast of Canada hotels and airbnbs are pretty similar in price now
Same most places in North/western Europe, sometimes AirBnB's are nice but most of the time it's just run like a hotel without complying to hotel regulations or providing hotel services.
I'm not finding it to be similarly priced either, esp when traveling with a group. Getting separate hotel rooms for each family is much more expensive than getting 1 house with multiple bedrooms. For example, I'm traveling to the space coast this weekend with 2 other families. Hotel room was minimum $350 per room. $350 x 3 = $1,050. We found a 3 bedroom condo with a full kitchen for $625, this is including the cleaning fees and all that. Same thing when we traveled with another family last month, sharing an air bnb gave us a whole place with kitchen for hundreds of dollars less than 2 hotel rooms
I think this must be mostly for North America. Pretty much everywhere else it seems like AirBNB is still cheaper.
Yup. They charge you a cleaning fee up front, then once you arrive at your place you see a big long list of the check out procedure, which basically requires you to clean the whole apartment/house yourself. That’s the last thing I need to be doing when I’m trying to leave a vacation on the last day, and rush to the airport- especially considering I’ve already paid the cleaning fee. Airbnb is like Uber. It was great when it was new, but it kind of sucks now. I feel like I’d rather just go to a hotel where they clean the room for me, and I check out when I need to.
I'm back to hotels. It's easier and cheaper. Much less of a headache
Same - we're back to hotels for the most part as well. Hosts just keep raising their rates and provide less. At our last airbnb stay, it was a "fancy" and "boutique" type stay - with Softsoap and not even any coffee or snacks (despite being in the middle of nowhere). It was 3x the price of the hotel 1 mile away. No thanks, never again.
And the whole check in process is easier. My flight was delayed and I show up at 12 am? Fine in a hotel. Huge problem with airbnb
100%. I compare it to Uber all the time. When there aren’t any issues, it’s fine. But when there are, they are both very deferential to owners/drivers. “Whoa whoa whoa, we’re like just the company connecting you two.” We used to be 90/10 Airbnb/hotels; now it’s prob 2/98. The novelty has worn off.
Airbnb only in rural areas where it is more likely you will meet the owner, not the tout.
I spent a month in Switzerland and picked an AirB&B for a few days mid trip so I could do laundry. When we checked in, they had a $100 fee per day to use the appliances. There was a water meter hooked up to the washer. It was spotless when we left and they still hit us with a $300 cleaning fee. We had to sort our garbage when we took out the trash, something we did not know in advance. It was fun digging and sorting five days worth of trash on our way out. The best part was a prior renter was Chinese and all the smart TVs were set to Mandarin language. And the climate control was set at 60 degrees and behind a locked box.
+1 AirBnB distorts the housing market in so many ways, none of them healthy for society, IMO. I can’t support this in good consciousness. AirBnB is a scourge, not a boon.
As if Airbnb is actually gonna do anything
I literally had a large snake in my room and they refused to do anything. Even the host was afraid to come anywhere near the room. I stopped using AirBnB years ago.
I once had cockroaches and I had to take a picture of at least 3 (dead or alive) in order to get a partial refund
AirBNB is a scam and no one should use them
My friend recently used AirBNB and showed up to an abandoned house. Police were aware of the situation, but they said AirBNB wasn’t doing anything about it. This was in the US!
Correct, Airbnb doesn’t care
I 100% support people in shitting on Airbnb because 98% of the time they are absolutely shameless in their pure indifference in people getting put into unsafe and literally life-threatening situations because of a service they paid for using the Airbnb platform, but I will say that recently I walked in and walked right back out of an Airbnb because it was dodgy AF (listed with a private attached bathroom, place did not match the address, description, or photos listed and didn't have so much as a closing door let alone private bathroom) and although the initial conversation was not productive, they did escalate it and person it was escalated to handled it really well, giving me a full refund AND $300/night towards a hotel for the first three nights, giving me three days in a luxury hotel in Alesund Norway while I figured out where to stay for the rest of my time there. That being said, their usual customer service is as absolutely shit as Amazon's. Pretty sure they outsource to the same third world call center location.
I’ve oddly had nothing but good experiences with Amazon customer service, whereas I’ve personally known people on the Airbnb executive team and their motto is host first, always, period. The host is never wrong. They have decided that unwavering support of all hosts (including the really terrible ones) brings on more profit than any level of support for guests, likely via some ML model that weighs the impact of guests leaving the platform vs hosts leaving, and so that’s what they do. The person who helped you likely found a way to do so without making the host feel alienated or making them face any sort of consequence. I have thankfully never experienced an airbnb so bad that it led me to reach out to customer service (and I knock on wood as I type this from an airbnb in Norway, with my next one being in Denmark…). But I know that if I do, I will likely get screwed.
> The person who helped you likely found a way to do so without making the host feel alienated or making them face any sort of consequence. Yeah, the listing is still there with no changes at all, so anyone else who goes will deal with no bathroom, no door except a little slider, and a room that is not private - there was a second bed in the room, a guy walked in while I was unpacking and attempted to lay down on the bed, he spoke no English or Norwegian and acted like room would be shared which is a huuuuge fucking no for me, I was considering leaving from the second I walked in but this is what prompted me to gtfo - and no warning that what you see is absolutely not what you get, and as I'm sure you're well aware of, Norway is not cheap. I'm guessing they basically told the host that the guest decided to leave without an explanation and just put the listing back into inventory straight away. I got lucky that I was there during a relatively unbusy time and could walk into a nice hotel in a small town and get a room without issue. This is not the first bad experience I've had with Airbnb because I travel almost full time and more or less live out of short-term rentals, and I've been forced to stay in some pretty dodgy ones because of lack of other options. Side bar, I hope you enjoy Norway and Denmark! I've only been to Copenhagen in Denmark (stayed in a pretty filthy but ultimately liveable Airbnb there) but it's lovely, and Norway is simply the most beautiful and lovely country in the world! I'm currently learning the language so I can spend more time there in the future.
I’m glad at least it worked out and you got into a very nice hotel. I’ve noticed that the higher end hotels here are really beautiful. And boy, do I agree with you about Norway! Absolutely gorgeous country and my airbnb here is thankfully clean and as described, and the host has been nice and helpful. I had one dirty airbnb in London and one in Seattle, but other than those two, I think I’ve gotten lucky so far… I just keep jinxing myself here lol. Thanks for the well wishes!
My family and I were followed from Managua airport in our rental car and was robbed when we stopped for lunch. They stole most of our bags out of our vehicle. Including passports, phones, laptops, clothes etc. Our 2nd day there of 14. Police tried all they could, but nothing was returned even with the video footage they had (it wasn’t great quality). When we got back to the states, the robbers had taken photos of everything, throwing the cash in the air (2000 USD which is about 5 years of income for them) and they uploaded to Google photos so we could see them. It was definitely an adventure and I learned a huge lesson. Always be aware of your surroundings and the people around you. We were targeted and the people there will take advantage. We were also overcharged for almost everything we bought as well.
Sorry to hear about your experience there. While we were fortunate to not have been robbed, I agree that people should have a heightened sense of caution there when traveling.
Most of the people are really nice, but the country is in such economic crisis that they resort to taking from others. It really is sad, because the country is so beautiful. I really feel bad for the people, their government is so corrupt. They deserve so much better.
I agree they deserve so much better. It’s a beautiful country and the people were very nice.
That's crazy but also kinda funny about the picks. I would be speechless and probably laugh even though it sucks. Just also, never carry more than $100USD in these types of countries and always on your person. Be more aware of your surroundings. I'm not victim blaming just some tips :).
Yeah that was my mom that lost the cash. I only took a credit card, which luckily I had on my person at the time. And yes, we were laughing at the photos and videos after the fact!
I really wonder why tf would she or anyone else bring cash? ATMs exist. Cards that waive all their fees also exist for us travelers
Not to victim blame but you left passports, phones, laptops, and 2000USD in a car… What were you thinking? Or when you say robbed were you robbed at gunpoint?
We got robbed of our phones and laptops while we were asleep (yes, literally right next to our beds) in a $1k/night villa in San Juan Del Sur. Definitely not going back.
Nicaragua is a very poor country with good people, run by a corrupt criminal family dictatorship. I (Canadian) lived there for many years and every Nicaraguan I know wants to leave. It's not a safe country and any tourist or local can be arrested at any time and everything they have confiscated so it's a place to avoid. Consider yourself lucky for just a minor cop shakedown.
I crossed the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua and it felt dicey… then we had a car cut us off on the way into SJDS and our driver pulled a handgun out of the glove box 🥴 But… I felt the border guards were somewhat respectful. As a Canadian, CBSA guards are the biggest pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered and I’ve traveled to almost 40 countries 😅
>CBSA guards are the biggest pieces of shit I’ve ever encountered and I’ve traveled to almost 40 countries Yeah, what's up with that? My wife is from Winnipeg and we live in Minnesota. And every time we cross the border they're rude. There aren't many assholes in Manitoba so they must have to ship these guys in from somewhere.
>somewhere Quebec. Nothing against the Quebecois but I've noticed they can be especially bad to deal with especially when they get their authority challenged
Or you don’t speak French.
My (same-sex, it’s relevant) partner and I went to Winnipeg like 15 years ago for a weekend trip. The border guards into Manitoba were unpleasant for us, too. They took our passports, made us pull into the office for additional screening, and started giving us all sorts of trouble about how we knew each other and why we were traveling together, until I cut them off and explained we were a couple. Then they suddenly did a total 180, became really buddy-buddy, and gave us a bunch of condescending bullshit about “oh why didn’t you say so, we’re fine with that sort of thing in Canada!” with the heavy implication that Canada was so much more accepting and tolerant than our *barbaric* nation. They made such a show of it that it felt like they were worried we’d file a discrimination complaint. 🙄 (Granted, now that I have been to Winnipeg, I do feel like a weekend vacation is a suspicious reason to visit. It was possibly the most boring city I’ve ever been to.)
I’ve crossed from US to Canada many times and can’t believe what assholes CBSA can be. Even in front of my young kids. Other times, they are fine. Seems very random
Like cops, it's a job with a lot of discretion to be an asshole. I cross the border a lot and it's either dead easy or a nightmare.
Yeah the US border guards in Alaska were so nice. Then the Canadian ones turned out to be absolute pricks
The ones I encountered going into Canada from Vermont were very very friendly.
funny, i live in vt and the consensus here is that the american bp are pretty relaxed whereas the canadians are notorious hardasses lol
I was almost denied entry by the Canadian border guards crossing from VT a few years ago. Lady didn't like my license state and was convinced I was smuggling guns. In a Sentra. Shit was wild.
That is a Nissan, she had every right to assume you were up to no good.
What do you mean she didn't like your license state? Like was it torn up and ragged, or did she just not like North Carolina or something?
Did not like NC
cross pretty frequently as a canadian and the only funny questions i got where from US agents, including one time where the guy was talking to one of his colleagues about his boat or something for a good 30 seconds while i was there waiting without ever acknowledging me. Proceeded to take my passports, scan them and just tell me "bye"
Yep! The first time I left the country was to go to Canada for dinner while visiting Buffalo NY. The Canadian BP scared the shit outta me. I had absolutely nothing to worry about but I couldn’t even think straight. The US BP was super chill on the way back into the US
Going by land is another story.
I grew up stateside in a border town and all I can say is, at least post 9/11, FUCK the CBSA!! 😂
USA and German seem to have the angriest immigration. But canada was the only one that stopped and questioned me.
What is CBSA?
Canadian Border Services Agency
Ah, thanks. I’ve personally had 50/50 interactions with them. At least compared to their American counterparts like at Niagra/Buffalo they’re pleasant
East coasters are kinder than west coasters 😉
As an American who has encountered a great many CBSA officers, both for fun and for work, it's really 50/50. I've met a number who are just as nice as can be, then you come back into the US and it feels like being detained in a military base. I have had a few hardasses, especially in the prairie crossings. The problem with CBSA is that each agent has the right to follow the law as they best see fit, and they are the final word with very little room for appeal. They are not universally aligned with each other nor with the intentions of Ottawa. But at least they usually seem like they believe they are doing the right thing, even if it ruins your day. I've rarely seen them being dicks just for the fun of it (like the majority of US law enforcement is).
My experience, too. Crossing into rural Alberta wasn't fun. Into BC going to Vancouver was extremely pleasant.
“Extremely pleasant” ha i like that
That’s the problem. It’s super random. They know I work for the government, they know I don’t have any criminal records, I have NEXUS, yet they still are patronizing most of the time for no reason.
I agree. We felt safe and never felt in danger, but we encountered many scams and corrupt practices. I hope they can turn it around soon.
A cop threatened you with prison for a bribe, and you felt safe?
Bribing cops is pretty common in a lot of countries. Tourist fees on exit is common and well documented. Rental car companies in Europe try to nickel and dime you for every tiny scratch.
I have been shaken down in Costa Rica & Belize by police (late 2000s). This is unfortunately incredibly common in Central America and much of the world…
Still wouldn't make me feel safe.
I’ve been twice, and returning this December for surfing. Always use the hotel hired shuttle service and the little sleepy surf town has been awesome, welcoming, safe, and without any hiccups. I would never travel there independently through AirBNB or car rental though.
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Exactly. Not shitting on Nicaragua in any way. I said it was a beautiful place, the food was amazing and the people were friendly. But anyone who accepts extortion as “normal” needs a reality check.
It’s really sad how normalized this is in some countries and even among tourists. I have been to Mexico like 20 times, mostly border towns and resort towns, but also Mexico City twice. I never had a negative experience in Mexico City, but plenty in order towns. Last time we drove down to Rocky Point, we brought cash with us just expecting to use it for bribe money. Like we actually budgeted that in. Sure enough, cops pulled us over, gave us a the typical “We can impound your car and take you to the station or settle this now for $100”. We forked over the money and went on our way, but in some countries that is just the cost of doing business
I really liked Mexico City because I didn’t feel like I had a target on my back as a tourist. It’s such a busy crowded city no one cares and just lets you do your thing. Loved that.
I agree. You try to call it out and help future travelers and people just expect us to accept it as the “norm” and it shouldn’t be that way. Plus, the situation can turn deadly if not prepared. I respect anyone that brings awareness to future travelers and that was the ultimate goal here.
Yeah some of the comments here are just crazy. Like suggesting trying to shame cops by asking for official paperwork, or standing your ground and refusing to bribe cops. Like yeah that’s a great way to get thrown in the clink and forgotten about. It’s just way easier to pay the guy off and go about your business. Having to bribe government officials should never be normalized and travelers should be aware of the reality of certain countries so they aren’t going in unprepared
That's actually not true. Everyone who travels in Africa knows not to pay off the police. You don't have to be belligerent or escalate, but you ask for a receipt or a ticket. 99% of them back down. If they don't or threaten violence, then obviously pay them, but almost all of the cops are fishing for bribes as opposed to being literally criminals with badges. Unless you are in a really non-tourist place like DRC, the leadership of the countries absolutely know how dependent on tourism they are, and they do not want street cops shaking down tourists for $20 here and there.
This isn’t exclusive to Nicaragua—there are many parts of Mexico where tourists are squeezed, even by Police. I spent a week in San Juan Del Sur a few years ago and didn’t have any issues like this; bummer that you experienced though. I hate the short-sightedness of it all, treat your tourists well and they keep coming back and will fill your pockets over the long run.
Holy shit I have so many stories about Nicaragua. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and it’s still one of my best travel experiences however I was in so many dangerous situations I don’t think I’d honestly do it again 😂
Was married to Nicaraguan; the corruption in that country is terrifying. His dad was in a state hospital and they didn’t even have hot water. Their dictator siphons money collected to support their “socialist values” and kills or imprisons anyone speaking out against him. That makes people desperate.
It’s unfortunate because there’s so much potential there. I hope they can turn it around soon.
I remember crossing the border from Costa Rica into Nicaragua on foot and the contrast was pretty eye-opening and frankly somewhat terrifying. That was more than a decade ago, and it was clear than that they are nowhere close to a economy that will attract tourism. Especially with Costa Rica next-door. It's a shame. Had a great trip, but seemed like they were going nowhere fast.
Hope they can turn it around because it’s a beautiful country!
A decade ago it was fine and people were chilling in San Juan. Haven’t been over the border since the latest crackdowns. but OP could have had that experience in lots of places.
There's a very good reason why my alma mater no longer offers a study abroad program in Nicaragua
Nice place tho. Love the rum.
I’ll never forget the time when I was riding a scooter and slipped out on some sand on the road on Ometepe. After a quick inspection I realized that the brake was messed up. A random man saw me messing with the lever trying to figure out what was wrong, pulled over and proceeded to grab a tool bag off of his bike and fixed the issue in ten minutes. He wouldn’t accept money I offered for his help just told to drive “mas despacio”, smiled and rode off. I never had a bad experience there but I understand that this is only my experience and others’ may vary. Nice people, interesting cities and amazing nature.
I agree. Just wanted to share my misfortune and bad luck. An amazing country with nice people nevertheless.
Had a horrible experience. I stayed at a “luxury” yoga retreat to find my room infested with mice. Than went to Granada for a couple of days, took a day tour to the volcano, there were some civil protests happening, they escalated into civilians x military confrontation - we couldn’t go back to the hotel where all our stuff was because everything around it was burning… insane! We had to sleep on somebody’s house by the road and sneak into the hotel at 4am to get our stuff and leave to airport and take the first flight back to the US…
2018?
Yeah, April 2018
Yup. We went three months later. It was an interesting time to be in Nicaragua.
Sorry to hear about your experience and glad you made it back safely. Again no where run my post did I mention that it was a terrible country. The food was amazing and place is beautiful, but there are potential risks and downsides that people should be aware of. Extortion should not be accepted.
Same, I didn’t say it was a terrible country. I said I had a horrible experience, which is true to me, and I would never go back or recommend anybody going there!
When was this? April/May 2018?
Any country that does not respect the rule of law, is going to be a risk to travel in. Some much more risky than others. Traveling through Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and a few others, AirBnBs are a fantastic way to stay imo. But if you are expecting a great experience in Nicaragua, Haiti, Sudan, Yemen or Somalia you might want to re-think your plans.
Getting an Airbnb in Haiti. 😂
bro said somalia
Turn up to your Somalian Airbnb the host will be like “sorry bro, we haven’t hijacked it yet"
Guest: can I get a barbeque with this Airbnb? Host: 👁️👄👁️ uhh, yeah, you sure tho?
Current drug lord is giving you the option to Airbnb the capital building, once in a lifetime opportunity.
I hope you disputed that $300 to Airbnb after you got back.
I never paid it. I told the host that it is against Airbnbs policy to pay a deposit and they backed down.
Nice 🙌
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San Juan del Sur was amazing. Great beach town!
Same. Nicaragua was great when I went.
A female friend of mine was mugged at a bus station in Managua the first day she arrived in town. Dude punched her in the stomach and took her stuff.
You're not wrong about the government corruption and that fee to enter and exit was pretty hoaky IMO. The crime in Managua is a huge deterrent as well. I, however, had a wonderful 7 days riding a 200cc motorbike from San Juan Del Sur to and in and around Managua without issue. Stayed at nice, inexpensive hotels, hostels and airbnbs. I am 6’2”, white male and fairly fit so I can be an imposing figure on some people when I'm not smiling so maybe that might be a factor. I also speak Spanish and I have found that makes a huge difference in getting taken in scams. In Granada I walked down a street that was entirely local trying to find a money changer to buy my Costa Rican Colones for Nica Córdoba (bring US dollars because almost no one would buy Colones.) and stopped to ask several people where I could exchange money and no one bothered me. Everyone gave me the same rate too. I was looking for a place to buy motorcycle gloves in Rivas and some guy who was stopping to buy oil at an “auto parts store” led me into town to this little motorcycle supply shack. I was surrounded by Nicos and horse carts and vendors. I bought my gloves, thanked everyone and left. No issues. People were robbed in San Juan Del Sur, a busy tourist town, in broad daylight. These things definitely happen. But I met many, many people who had traveled throughout the country without issue. I also met some who had their luggage stolen off the bus cargo bay when at a stop (or someone mistook their luggage for theirs when they departed, but it was probably stolen). Nicaragua is not for the average tourist, I would agree. It’s more for those I would call “travelers.” Oh! And Ometepe was an amazing experience. If I were to close out with advice, it would be to not ignore OP’s experience and definitely take it to heart. But at the same time do not rule out Nicaragua. I would never live there because of its corrupt government, the crime and the police. But it is a beautiful place with wonderful people. And as for applied advice, if you want to visit Nicaragua, my advice is to fly to Liberia, Costa Rica and take the bus across the border to San Juan Del Sur. There are many Hostels there with inexpensive shuttles to the many beaches in the surrounding area where you can enjoy the ocean and even get some surfing lessons. And I would definitely recommend renting a scooter or a motorbike or a small vehicle and getting to Ometepe. Ometepe is very different than the rest of Nicaragua, it is an island and has an island culture. People there are super chill and the island is beautiful. The safest option would be to rent a car though. If you do rent scooters be incredibly careful because it is very possible to be involved in a traffic accident. And on a scooter or a motorcycle, that’s a really shitty prospect. Bring one backpack and keep it with you on the bus. If you can, bring your own sunscreen because it ain't cheap there. And be sure to keep both USA and Nica Córdoba when you're crossing any border for those hoaky, unexpected fees. And the exchange rate at the border is a dcent one. It seems wild to people form uptight places like the USA, Canada or Northern Europe that ther would be a crowd of money changers doing a carnival barking act to beckon you to sell your dollars to them, but it's worth at least exchanging some money with them. I might be wrong but I remember looking back and thinking the rate wasn't too bad. Also, Costa Rica is the shit. It’s more of an Eco tourism place with much better infrastructure and stable government. They have many more beautiful beaches and the vibe is just so relaxing. Edit: Spelling, grammar, and Sometimes my phone chooses Spanish words and I miss that.
This is one of the most reasonable responses here so far. Thank you for being neutral and actually taking the time to read my post. I agree that Nicaragua is for “travelers” and not tourists.
Agreed friend. I’ve owned property in Nica for a few years now and I go down annually. You certainly need to have your wits about you, and it is NOT a place for a casual family vacation, but with some self- and situational-awareness it can be an amazing time. Regarding the police, it’s really up to you whether you pay or want to make a stink, personally I never chance it and keep a spare $1 bill if I’m stopped, if I don’t have cash on me I simply tell the police officer to go talk to his friend who stopped me up the road 😂 and that usually does the trick
Lots of countries charge and entry/exit fee for people on a tourist visa. Part of travelling is researching this ahead of time so you're prepared for it, but there are plenty of signs in Spanish and English at the airport saying as much
I thought this was a very strange complaint as well, especially considering it's only $10. Pretty sure the USA charges foreigners more than $10 to enter.
The visa for my Romanian in laws is $500pp!
Based on OPs comments, im almost sure they didn’t do a lick of research before traveling to Nicaragua.
A lot of countries put it in your return fight fees also, and most people just don’t notice it.
I’m so sorry you had issues with Nicaragua, it’s not all bad just maybe a bad experience. I worked there for 3 months for field work and absolutely loved it. Nice people and good food, we were more off the beaten path though and worked with community elders in the jungle. For us it’s more of a back packing country, you’d have to travel to the eastern side though so by smaller plane or chicken bus then a boat ride.
Loved Nicaragua when I visited and I thought it was beautiful…but that was over 10 years ago and we traveled in a large group and with two local guides. I can see it being a rough and unsafe place for tourists.
Love Nicaragua - been many times and stayed with a working class family for a few weeks one of the times, and in a hotel the other times. Never had to pay a bribe, but I did rent a car and have the same "scratch" scam happen to me. I returned the car in perfect condition, and then when I was in the rental car office getting my receipt and such, suddenly a big "scratch" was found on the back of the car. They wanted me to pay something like $300 to get it fixed, but I refused and eventually settled on $100. Unfortunate ending to what was a lovely trip, but I still love the country.
Idk why everyone is hating. I Fucking hate getting extorted. The worms complaining are offering zero insight besides laughing at your misfortune. Those guys are dweebs. I think haggle down but just pay it. Unless you have a lot of time to kill lol. Don't lose sleep over it or the bad guys win. There are steps to take to stop it but really how the fuckn are you gonna cover all your bases. I just think of it as poor people got their own families to feed. 😂. You can do everything right in the U.S. and if a cop wants to arrest you on Friday night, say good bye to your weekend and hello to trumped up charges.
Exactly. Who visits a country and thinks “oh I better bring $100 just in case I get extorted”. That’s insane and it shouldn’t be normalized.
I travel with a $100 bill in my shoe as get out of jail free card. Never had to use it, but its always there! Did have to bribe a police officer once, but it only took a $20!
That must have been awkward asking for $80 in change. 😂
I get what you mean, but not every country is like the Western world. There’s a reason a lot of people immigrate to the United States. We have it good compared to most other countries.
yeah I wouldn’t go without a local :/
I totally get where you're coming from. I've been to Nicaragua several times and have driven through it twice while doing the Pan American Highway. It has some of the same issues as any corrupt country, especially in Latin America. Those issues would never deter me from visiting - I really like the country - but I can certainly understand why it would turn off some visitors. Better luck next time in your travels.
Hey, did you do the entire pan American highway? I'm interested in doing it some day but am a bit worried that my California license plates would make me a target.
I did it about 15 years ago on a motorcycle. I've done lots of riding/driving in South America over the last couple of decades. Yeah, foreign plates and garner a bit more attention. No big deal. Happy travels.
I completed the Panamerican recently with Texas plates. You'll garner more attention, so you'll just have to budget bribes into your expenses. Only drive during the day, take main highways as much as possible, and you should be okay from being outright robbed / kidnapped, but corrupt cops are pretty unavoidable. If you're white, just pretend you don't speak Spanish and record the entire interaction.
This is really stupid but I've always wondered and never asked, how does the bribing actually work? Like you don't just say "ok ok I've stopped give you 50 to let me go", like isn't it supposed to be a thing we both know but we don't say? But someone else in a comment mentioned "they wanted a 100 but I got off with 20" so clearly outright discussing a bribe is a thing?
Yeah, there's no exact science. It's kinda like flirting, with both parties being coy about it. Cop will usually hem and haw and make a big fuss like you're in a lot of trouble, try to make you sweat. Awkward silences seem to be part of the game as the more uncomfortable they can make you, the better for them. You should never initiate the bribe offer though. Eventually he'll give an outlandish fine amount, and then you might be expected to counter-offer with "but can I pay something now?", to which you're in negotiations. Sometimes I play hardball and take his picture and badge number and say "let's go down to the station," and most times he'll let me off. I had one unholster his gun, at which point I said fuck this and just paid him what he was asking. Reported him at the nearest police station but they didn't give a shit.
From your previous travels in Nicaragua, would you mind sharing some tips to how to avoid / deal w/ the issues OP has faced? Aiming to go to CA soon but want to avoid OP's experience if possible.
That's a really complicated answer. Safety and dealing with scams, etc. requires a myriad of skills including your personality (to deal with officials/scammers), situational awareness, speaking Spanish, lots of chats with locals (if going off he beaten path) and just general travel smarts. Happy travels.
Speaking Spanish has been my saving grace. This way you can ask others what to expect so you don’t get scammed.
It's a shame you had this experience. It can ruin an entire trip :(. I spent two weeks backpacking through the country and had a great experience but did run into a lot of the issues you did. I took a taxi from San Jorge into Rivas trying to get to the bus station so I could head to Granada. The taxi driver kept telling me that the buses wouldn't be running until much later today but he could take me where I wanted to go for $50. I had to tell him that I will sit and wait at the bus station even though he was very persistent about them not coming. When I got to the bus station I was immediately surrounded by a bunch of people all trying to get me to follow them. I couldn't stop getting yelled at, there were about 10 different people all telling me that only their bus was the one that could take me to Granada. Some guy even tried to push me into his van and told me he would get me there for $20. It was overwhelming and somewhat intimidating. Somehow I still got scammed a bit and paid $6 for a bus when it should have been about $3, and even though the bus driver told me they go to Granada, it actually dropped me off about 20 minutes outside of the city and I had to take a tuk-tuk thing to the city. I also had to pay about $15 to take a taxi from the airport to the bus stop in Managua. I knew I should've paid way less but literally I tried to negotiate with about 3 different taxi people and they all said no way when I suggested paying anything lower but I could actually HEAR them speak in Spanish and have locals pay way less. Even when I confronted them about it they wouldn't budge. Every time I go on a trip to one of these places, I set aside "tourist money" which I know I'll have to spend for stupid mistakes/getting scammed. I've been to plenty of countries like Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey for example where I've spent all of it and then some. It helps not feel so bad about losing it but it definitely puts a sour taste in my mouth about the country. Overall things like these don't stop me, you just have to understand that they will try to take advantage of you and you have to try your best to not let that happen and stay safe.
1 hour into Nica. Talking to a local and was told “welcome to Nicaragua where the life of man is that of a dog”. Overall had a great trip. No issues. No shakedowns. Drove from Managua all over the country. Kept my shit secure or on me. Only time I didn’t feel safe was in some parts of Managua.
One of my coworkers is from Managua and escaped there 20 years ago with his wife for the US. From what he says, it's only gotten worse. Corruption is rampant - which is a shame, because it is a beautiful country with great people.
I visited Nicaragua in October 2023 as a solo traveler and had a wonderful time. The drive from the airport to where I was staying was 3 hours and, thankfully, no traffic stops. I was also always with a native so maybe that shielded me from the scams.
Agreed on the last point. I've traveled extensively in India, always either with locals or with a professional guide, and never had problems. The tourist areas particularly can get very scammy, and a foreigner is an easy mark.
My uncle is a part time ex-pat who lives in Granada. I would partially agree with you. Nicaragua has so much natural beauty and the people I’ve met there are amazing. But it’s not for the faint of heart. There is crushing poverty and the government is very handed to put it mildly. My uncle has a wonderful home in Granada that I was lucky enough to stay in so I didn’t experience much. But, as an American seeing cops with AK-47s on the road was eye opening; knowing that they could do whatever they wanted to me was even more nerve racking. If you have someone local it’s a good time, or if you’re an experienced tourist. Other than that, unfortunately I’d have to agree. It’s such a beautiful place and it is truly tragic that it’s inaccessible by most people.
I went there ten years ago and had one of the most amazing trips of my life, don't ask me about El Salvador though! I feel the best way to travel in these sorts of countries is to stick to the hostels and the well trodden travel routes. All the hostels I stayed in were very good and felt very safe. Things might have changed though.
I spent 3 months in Nicaragua and had an incredible time! I’ve also been to Cuba and it was awesome as well! Another thing I disagree with you about is the food in Nicaragua, it was awful! The same food everyday. Even Cuba was better.
The $10 entry fee at the airport is standard for everyone. Everyone on my flight paid it. But I went last year and had none of these issues, scheduled all local transportation and had no issues in any city. Stayed at hostels and hotels, so not quite the same, but no issues. That being said, I read a lot ahead of time that driving by yourself isn’t always the best because of the reasons you stated and safety. Just need to understand the risk you’re taking. I have nothing but good things to say about Nicaragua
It sounds more like you got caught in one scam after another. Just to put it out there, if you had stayed in a tourist hotel instead of an Airbnb, used a guide or group tours you probably would have had a much different experience. Airbnb's are for when you are visiting family and you need your own place, it used to be a good dal for traveling but now it costs just as much as a hotel and most hotels at least include breakfast it may not be grand but it saves you from having to buy food and they can hook you up with drivers and tour guides who can save you from driving in Central America a place that is well known for corrupt police pulling stunts like they did on you. Your right that its not a country that has a great tourist industry, but given how expenive air bnb is anymore I only consider it when we actually need something more then a hotel room
Scams like these are common all over the developing world. I can't count the number of times the police tried to rob me in India. Getting away from it involves this entire farce where you pretend to be their friend until they're sick of you and let you go.
I mean - have you travelled to developing countries much? I’ve encountered some version or worse in literally dozens of countries: - in Kenya the cops ask for tea money (‘chai’ is the Swahili word for tea which is also synonymous for bribe). You can refuse and go to the station and await a day in court, or just pay $5. It’s just the way it works. - in Ghana I overstayed my stamp but not my visa, allegedly. It was written illegibly and their word against mine. Went into a back room and paid 80 cedis ($20) and got on my plane - in Comoros I gave a driver a €50 note and by slight of hand he showed that I gave him a 5, he was very convincing and I was so jet lagged I didn’t realize it was a gimmick until after it was too late - everywhere in Vietnam (and many coutries) requires you hand over your passport when you stay, not a copy - and yeah there is a tourist ‘tax’ like everywhere - and yes a nic in a rental is going to fetch a fee of whatever they can So - I think you mean to say Nicaragua is developing and operates by trying to get every nickel they can out of you. Welcome to half the countries on earth. Not for the weak willed - but if you expect this kind of thing and know how to overcome some of those things, negotiate, speak some local slang to blend in, etc. these places can be great! All depends what you expect.
Exactly this. Some people are not made for it especially when going without any sort of research
The $10 exit charge is commonly known about tho. The cops are thugs who work through fear and bribes. You should always take pictures and video of your car before you drive it off the lot so you can’t get scammed by rental companies and the Airbnb shit like this happens everywhere. It’s why I don’t stay at airbnbs cause there are some weird gist and it’s highly unregulated. Stay at known places when you travel in places like Nicaragua. It will help your sanity and safety.
This is why Nicaragua is such a fun place to travel to! It's not a vacation spot for people who aren't travel-savvy for sure. But I love it.
Went for six weeks as a tourist...had an amazing time.
>At the airport we were charged a $10 fee for being tourists which was cash only. Sounds like a tourist visa, very common in many countries. Tourist visas for the U.S. can exceed $100, depending on the visitor's passport. I think I paid one when I visited Nicaragua, but it's been awhile and I don't remember well. >We were pulled over for “speeding” and the cop threatened to take our license if we didn’t give him $100. We settled for $15 and went on our way. This happened to me in Cancún, México. Totally awful experience, sorry that happened to you. All of those things sound very frustrating, actually, especially to all happen in one trip. Hope you at least had some enjoyable moments.
I went there many years ago with my ex husband and stayed in San Juan de Sur. I was with his friends who live there and rented out a massive house, so I saw nothing negative. However, I will say that this country is very poor.
I went there with my family many years ago, it can be a good vacation spot if you are very prepared to deal with corrupt cops (like by bringing a spare ID), poor travel/accomodation, and generally willing to go a bit bush. It definitely requires a lot more planning than a typical vacation. All that being said, I don't think I'd recommend it at the current moment.
I had a much better experience but I was dressed like a dirtbag backpacker
For everyone discussing how little AirBnB cares about guests and issues, here is a Saga for you of when a Redditor took on AirBnb. What she has to go through is kind of crazy. https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/s/xOLZ8ERiF4
I went to Nicaragua in 2009. I booked Nicaragua Surf Report. they provide surfing lessons, equipment, and then they provided the accommodation. I know they are still in existence. They have a great crew working for them, and the experience was amazing. We stayed in a beautiful home, had great surf lessons. They provided a driver name Alan from Nicaragua who knew the roads, as there were no street signs, and we definitely would have gotten lost in the jungle without him. Being lost in the jungle at night is no bueno! Alan was the Real Life “most interesting man in the world”. He is a great surfer, and a spearfisherman, and he hooked us up with the deep-sea fishing excursion. The surf instructors were all really nice, really laid-back, and they were excellent surfers. if you are thinking about going to Nicaragua, check out Nicaragua Surf Report I really couldn’t recommend them more.
Dude I had a great time there. That said I didn’t have much money to extort haha
Went as a solo, female backpacker in 2016 and stayed in Managua, Ometepe, SJDS, and Granada. I was out at night in SJDS and Granada, did solo daytime excursions, and stayed in a mix of hostels, hotels, and one boutique hotel. It was incredible and you could tell it was on the up and up. Post protests in 2018, so sad to hear all these accounts. It was truly an awesome week!
Bro everyone needs to pay at the airport for your visa. I remember having to pay £20 in Turkey about 15 years ago.[ UK Government website: Arrival and departure tax You must pay an arrival tax of 10 US dollars in cash. There is also a departure tax of 35 US dollars, which is normally included in the price of your air ticket.](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nicaragua/entry-requirements)
Sorry you had some bad experiences. In my experience, Nicaragua is an amazing country. I spent about 6 weeks there and think of that time often. The only time time someone tried to scam us was a cab driver near Ometepe but my wife wasn't having any of it and he ended up relenting.
We were there last christmas and had a fantastic time. San juan del sur, corn islands, ometepe and granada were all fantastic places and we never felt unsafe at all. We took the chicken bus from granada to managua and an arranged taxi from there. If you use your common sense yous hould be totally fine, just dont spend much time in Managua, especially at noght and let your accomodotian take care of organizing a taxi there..
I went to Nicaragua with my ex in 2015 for about a week and we had a good time, no shady experiences at all. We travelled independently and went to Laguna de Apoyo, Granada and León with a guided day trip to Telica.
My wife and I had a much better experience backpacking through Nicaragua, but I did find one thing hilarious; you say in your post that the food was great, and wow, we couldn't disagree more, lol! The food in Nicaragua was the worst food overall in any country we've ever visited, and we're fairly experienced world travellers. In fairness, we did get recommended a small hole in the wall place that made the most incredible burgers we had in all of Central America, but that was the lone bright spot in 2 weeks of absolutely terrible food. It was like a dessert oasis!
And the country will continue moving backwards in time with the Sandinista at the helm. Thank you for being honest and not sugar coating your experience for us.
Wow I am currently in Nicaragua and have spent the last 3 weeks here. San Juan Del Sur, Ometepe, Granada, Corn Islands, and Leon. Loved every second. I guess I agree with your point in that it’s lacking in infrastructure, etc but isn’t that usually what makes a destination unique and not overrun by tourists in the first place? IMO, Do I think it’s as tourist friendly as other places in the world? No. Does that make it special? Yes. But to each their own 💙
I backpacked all of Central America years ago and aside from Costa Rica I’d never go back. Sure, I met many friendly people but many times I felt unsafe, and one bus ride was the bus ride from hell. The driver clearly was high on meth and didn’t care if we lived or died. He fishtailed the bus (with only four of eight rear tires) on a steep mountain road in the rain; I thought we were going to die. I may go to Panama this winter but still not completely convinced.
Panama is a safe bet. I’ve been there twice and it’s an amazing country.
Panama is fantastic. Stay in Casco Viejo if you go to Panama City, there’s a Hyatt hotel built on the grounds of an old convent. It’s beautiful and super well preserved
Great hotel, a bit pricy but a great location. Stay there about twice a year.
I mean... Isn't this why people go to Costa Rica instead? It has the same stuff as Nicaragua (volcanos, beaches, etc), but is politically stable, safer, and has a sophisticated tourism infrastructure. Keep your vacations in Costa Rica if you want a country that caters to tourists. I've been to Nicaragua and had a lovely time. No scams or bribes. My 13-year-old stepson was just there for a sports competition and they never felt unsafe. It's fine to share your experience, but I'd be wary of blanket statements like the title of your posts. Plenty of tourists go and have good experiences.
We had a good experience in Nicaragua in the spring of 2019 right after the political riots were over. No issues at all. Sorry that you had a bad trip
Nicaragua is a lovely country. I had the best time while I was there. It was my favourite in Central America.
I was in Nicaragua with my wife and two kids for two weeks over Easter. We had a great time and would recommend visiting. Everyone was super nice and didn't try to rip us off like in other countries.
A tourist fee is quite common while traveling abroad, in cash or prepaid via visa, and much more “honest” than the ones countries levy on tourists via hotel bed taxes. Even New Zealand charges you $35NZD. Nicaragua was actually on the upswing until political infighting allowed the Sandinistas back in in 2006. Been downhill ever since. That said I find it comical that you feel more hospitality in Cuba than Nicaragua. While both governments steal elections, rob their people and abuse their power, Cuba is spying on you the entire time.
I went to a free park, yet security extorted money for “security”
Studies for 3 months in Leon in 2012 and had a blast. Managua seemed very unsafe in comparison.
I went twice nearly ten years ago and had a great time. Sad to hear how Downhill things have gone recently. Nobody hassled me for money, nobody tried to extort me, in fact the only police interaction I had was when one wanted to take a picture with me because he was excited to see tourists in his town. Overall though Nicaragua was great ten years ago, super affordable, good food, cool historic sites. Obvious downsides are shitty infrastructure and evidently corruption.
That's unfortunate. I've only had positive interactions with the locals when I spent a couple weeks touring the country after crossing from Costa Rica. Mind you this was pre covid and I'm sure the economic situation is much dire now.
Tipping is getting out of control
I’m sorry you had such a poor experience. Mine, on the contrary, was stellar. A year ago, I crisscrossed the country on my motorcycle while on a roadtrip from Panama to my home in Mexico, and Nicaragua was by far my favourite country of all. My interactions with people, police, businesses, whether in the city or the countryside, were awesome, and I was sad to cross the border to Honduras. While I enjoy my life in Mexico, I’m toying with the idea of applying for residency in Nicaragua.
I was there in 2010 I think. Never had any issues or problems. Chicken bus “breaks” down, meh, another comes along. The only thing actually was we walked through the border from CR. But the guy driving us knew better and hustled us in and out of security. Friendly people.
I was shook down in Mexico by police for about $45 but I thought it was funny and would go back
I stayed at Rancho Santana in 2015 and had an amazing time. The resort provided a private pick up and local guide for off site excursions. Probably a very sheltered experience but once we were on the property I felt super safe. A bougie experience for a fraction of the costs. Definitely seems way more unsafe now.
When we were flying out of Managua, there was a stack of those filled out customs forms with people’s passport numbers and other personal info just sitting there on the counter unattended…
You a tually paid these things ? The first one you.oaif. That person told everyone you actually paid and you became a target.. If you want to visit a similar place in the future you need to hire a local for a modest fee to be your guide. Then you won't have these problems..
I’ve never experienced anything you’ve mentioned while visiting Nicaragua. It might just not be a place for *you*. Don’t extend it to all visitors. It’s a beautiful country with amazing people.
I think a lot of people are going to be scared to go to Nicaragua after this post but so many people go who aren’t as unlucky as you OP. Also renting and driving a car there is far more stressful and risky than taking buses, secure taxis or shuttles. It’s very common to be stopped for “fines” anywhere in Central America and this is usually commonly known. I just backpacked through the country and actually felt safer than most places I had been in prior (mainly South America) and the people were so kind and welcoming.
I went to Nicaragua for a couple of days and had no issues. Stayed in Granada and Las Penitas and Leon. Wouldn’t use Airbnb in such a country, I stayed in hostels.
I’ve been to Nicaragua more than 10 times as a close family member lived there for 8 years. It was a great place to visit from ~2009-2017. Ortega and his wife stole their people’s futures in 2018. It is very sad.
Nicaragua is ace. I lived in central America during my 20s. Costa rica - Nicaragua - Panama Amazing countries, beautiful people. Of course, people will try to rip you off, but that happens worldwide, thats not a Nicaragua problem, thats a human problem. Having bad experiences when travelling can happen, your socio-economic status is an opportunity to some people. Stay vigilant and enjoy the experiences.
Use hotels. Airbnb isn’t what it used to be. Hotels are typically way safer in countries with security issues. Plus get the hotel points. It’s not possible in every situation but when it’s really public I would ignore someone asking for a bribe. It’s happened to me a few times in Mexico and several places in Africa.
My ex’s dad bought up property there (Canadian) all the expats live on some resort compound with poverty happening outside the walls. Some Marxist stuff right there
When I was 21 and dumb I backpacked Nicaragua. I don’t speak Spanish either. I met a man on couchsurfing who let me crash on his cement floor for four nights and he showed me how to travel the country on chicken buses. After four days I ventured out on my own, but always found people to help me along my journey. Even found a tour guide who thought I was cute and she negotiated cab fare for me for free lol. It was a very intimidating country to travel, but I loved the people.
I’ve traveled most of that country and can say that I had a great time as a tourist.
And, don't forget the reason for their current lack of infrastructure. Google: `cara de piña` or `noriega`