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Nicaragua is a country in Central America. It shares its southern border with Costa Rica. Nicaragua is just like its southern neighbour a popular tourist destination. Tourism to Nicaragua is growing quickly as more and more people discover that the country can offer all that Costa Rica offers but at a lot lower prices. Nicaragua is a very good destination for those who want to visit a tropical paradise without breaking the bank. To you want to go on a luxury vacation, do not worry, Nicaragua offers some of the best luxury resorts in South and Central America.
Where?
Nicaragua is located in the centre of Central America. It is located to the south of Honduras and to the north of Costa Rica. The country shares a sea border with El Salvador. The ever more popular Caribbean island of corn island is a part of Nicaragua.
Nicaragua borders both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans.
Why?
There are many reasons why you should visit Nicaragua. The country offers cheap accommodation and cheap food while at the same time offering world-class surfing, stunning landscapes, fantastic nature, active volcanoes, Lake Nicaragua, great fishing, fantastic beaches and so on.
Everybody can find something to doing Nicaragua.
Getting there
Getting to Nicaragua is very easy. A large number of airlines offer daily flights to Managua. The capital of Nicaragua. Once you are in Managua, you can easily get anywhere else in Nicaragua. Managua is located in the centre of the country, and you can get to the most popular tourist destinations in less than 2 hours by car.
The price of an airline ticket can vary, but you can usually find a return ticket from the US for less than USD 500. Spirit Airlines is a budget airline that offers very cheap flights.
You can also choose to fly to Costa Rica and then take a bus up to Nicaragua. A bus ticket is about USD 30
Money and currency
The currency in Nicaragua is the Cordoba, but most stores, hotels, and restaurants will accept USD. It is very rare to find any place that does not accept USD, but the exchange rate can be unfavourable in small stores and in the countryside. The USD/Cordoba exchange rate is currently 1:36. Ie you will get 36 Cordoba for each USD. The exchange rate is pegged against the USD and allowed to depreciate about 5% a year. This means that the USD might be worth more when you are reading this.
If you live in another country using another currency, then the exchange rate of the USD will set the rate for the cordoba. The exchange rate for the USD is set on the Foreign exchange market. The forex market is a market where bank, financial institutions, international companies, and retail brokers buy and sell currency. This trading sets the exchange rate and determines how much your money will be worth when you go to Nicaragua. The forex market is also a popular way for day traders to make money day trading.
Hotels
Nicaragua offers hotels in all price brackets. There are a lot of cheap hotels around and it is easy to find nice cheap hotels to live in. The selection of hotels is large in most tourist destinations and most towns have at least one hotel even if they are off the beaten track and receive very few tourists.
There are several large chain hotels in Managua including Hyatt, Best Western, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza.
There are several luxury resorts that you can choose to live in. Mukul is the most exclusive of these resorts. They offer luxury living, a private golf course and a private airport for you to fly into.
Food
Food is cheap in Nicaragua. There are street vendors that will sell you food that will cost you less than USD1. You might, however, want to buy several different things to get full and it is better to expect to pay USD 2-3 per meal if you eat street foods.
Restaurants are more expensive. Most meals will cost you 7-10 USD but there are restaurants that are a lot cheaper. The food in most restaurants is simple with a lot of fried options. Vegetarian options can be harder to find but you should be able to find something if you visit a couple of restaurants. Note that rice and French fries sometimes is fried in pig lard.
Nicaragua is not an option for someone looking for good food. There are some good restaurants but the general standard is low with simple fried dishes made from local ingredients.
Investing in Nicaragua
Nicaragua offers a lot of investment opportunities. The labor cost is low and the incentive to start a business is good. Business tax is also very low. It is not hard to find ways to make money in the country if you are willing to invest money and work hard.
A lot of foreigners choose to invest in the tourist industry but there are many other industries that have a lot of potential.
It is also common that foreigners chose to invest in vacation rentals in the hope that the prices will go up to levels similar to those in Costa Rica. This seems to be a likely scenario within the next ten years and properties in San Juan del Sur is already close to the prices in Costa Rica.
There is no proper stock market in Nicaragua and it is therefore not possible to invest in Nicaraguan companies without making a direct investment. Binary options have become more and more popular in Nicaragua but they are traded through foreign brokers and the trade has no association to Nicaragua.
The country has large deposits of gold and is a large exporter of coffee.
