Should You Rent a Car Visiting Nicaragua 🇳🇮 2024

[@lougarou8431]

My wife and I rented a vehicle from a local company in Granada and loved the experience. Wasn't that expensive and the vehicle (Toyota Corolla) was in good working order. It saved us so much time and hassle that I would recommend it to everyone. As Scott mentioned it will be a bit more expensive but if you're on schedule then it will pay off. Our next visit will be in Feb/March 2024 and this will be our first of many visit to buy property. Having the flexibility to drive to different towns/cities is crucial for our trip.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

@lougarou8431 do you have the name or info on the local company?

[@lougarou8431]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Hi Scott, the company's name is Armadillo Nicaragua. The owner (Peter) is a Dutch expat and was a pleasure to deal with. They are based out of Granada.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Awesome, thanks!

[@lougarou8431]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog With all the Amazing information that you provide us, you are most welcome! :-)

[@TruthSeekingAlways]

The more I watch this channel the more research I go and do on Nicaragua and now have a month trip booked and me and my small family are looking to possibly move there one day. Love the channel

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Thanks!!

[@enough1494]

I thought I could rent a car for long trips to see Nicaragua! But, love the local transport idea and walking for every day life! Getting so excited! 😆

[@enough1494]

Well, nope, driver is the only way or local trips on local transport! Thanks, super informative video, as always!

[@lauravaldivia9481]

Last year we visit Nicaragua and we rent a car at the airport. Very easy we had the car for 10 days and we went a lot of places.❤

[@rafanicoya7585]

FYI if you're in Chinandega there's a rental agency in Hotel Farallones( Avis, Budget) they are available Monday thru Saturdays, closed on Sundays.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Oh, I'm in there all of the time. But I never go inside, I eat at Dragonfly in their parking lot all of the time. That's good to know. I'll try to film in there, that's very handy for Nicas, not too handy for tourists.

[@jedredle]

they put you in jail if in an accident regardless of who is at fault, hire a driver ALWAYS!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Just to be clear, he means that IF you have a serious accident that causes grave bodily harm, all parties are kept in jail until fault is determined. So he is correct, under very specific conditions everyone goes to jail. But it's ONLY until fault is determined and/or restitutions are made. It's not a jail sentence, it's just a holding cell to make sure you don't make a run for it before seeing the judge (which expats are famous for doing.)

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Definitely a major reason for hiring a driver. Even just a night in jail really sucks when it is disrupting your vacation time.

[@DonPortilloSV]

I got into an accident last month close to Rivas. The police was very professional. Small collision... make sure you get the full coverage Insurance.

[@cassandratartter9935]

My family and I want to go to Esteli to look at land and check out where we might want to buy land. My husband is originally from NIC, but has lived in CR since he was 11. We were thinking about renting a car to have freedom to see little pueblos, do you think this would be the best option?

[@joycerenderosnarvaez3145]

I’m so sad that I didn’t see this before renting in Managua. I went to Managua recently and on quick search and after many calls I ended up renting with Rent a car My Car located in Managua and it was the biggest mistake of my trip, a total headache and extra charges up to $80 afterwords, so I’m not invited to rent again and just want to warn others from renting at this place and also considering that driving in Nicaragua is very stressful bc of what is mentioned in this video and the car rental is extremely expensive

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

I'm sorry it ended up being a bad experience. But it's true, so much to go wrong and a driver is so cheap.

[@everthsotelo2403]

Thanks for the great information. I am going to Nicaragua by the end of march. If I am driving from Leon to Ocotal, do I need a 4x4 truck or can I get by with a regular Toyota Yaris?

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Leon to Ocotal is major highways the entire way typically. Ocotal sits on the Panamerican Highway and Leon sits on the Panamerican Bypass / Alternative (the main highway goes through Esteli to Honduras / the bypass goes through Leon to El Salvador) and so your on "better than US roads" the whole way. At no point are you going out of the way or anything. That's the main arteries of the country.

[@graduategemologist4814]

What is the Shim Shay bus? (spelling), Mr. Miller rattle that off fast and I did not quite get the exact spelling of the name of the bus. Thanks.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Iximche (like the old capital of Guatamala)... facebook.com/SchuttleIximcheTourOperador/

[@patriciaflaherty]

Poking around on the Internet I've found that some places only rent cars with manual transmissions so be sure to do your research to make sure you know how to drive the car you're renting 😊.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

That's true in nearly the entire world. Europe, Latin America, Asia... basically all rentals (and basically all cars) are manual. Automatic is only the norm in North America.

[@tjbailey3609]

What do you think the price for a driver for a week would be?

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

For a full week, probably between $700 - $1,000 plus expenses.

[@calvinreeves]

They will inspect your car very carefully when you return it - make a video of all damage before you leave the lot. Don’t forget the roof…

[@Michael_McKenna]

Scott, what is a good choice for schooling in Leon? My daughter is in 8th grade. Thanks

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Are you looking for the traditional Spanish based schools that are widely available? Or an English based school? We homeschool here so don't use any ourselves.

[@Michael_McKenna]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog We are here in Leon now, we were looking at home schooling. Is it an online home schooling or you just download the curriculum? Thank you

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

We do a mix. It's not all one thing. We switch things up as the kids grow and change how they learn. And we get what we like from different sources. Like they don't like the English classes from their main curriculum, so we do them from another source. So right now, my kids primarily do a curriculum that has videos of teachers, but they aren't real time and they don't interact with other students. I recommend this a lot because it allows you flexibility to leverage living abroad a lot more.

[@calvinreeves]

The car rental agencies in the MGA airport refused to recognize my Chase Sapphire as primary insurance and insisted the law required I purchase the add on insurance.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

That sucks. Scams are common with car rental agencies. Any specific agencies you dealt with?

[@calvinreeves]

I reserved a 4x4 through Alamo. When I questioned the local franchise agent about the insurance requirements, their tone suddenly changed to ‘No car for you!’ - they said they were unable to rent me a car because I did not agree to the terms. I suspect they did not have any 4x4 vehicles in inventory. I went to E.C. Rent a Car and was able to rent a Suzuki Jimmy with ‘platinum’ insurance for less than the Alamo price with no insurance. When I returned the car, they found a dent on the roof - but they couldn’t stick me with it because I had the upsell insurance. We stayed at a resort near Limon #1 - a regular car would not have survived the dirt roads, hills and water crossings, we were glad to have the Jimmy.

[@everthsotelo2403]

@@calvinreeveswhere is limon #1? Is that in Managua or Leon?

[@calvinreeves]

@@everthsotelo2403 it is next to El Limón Dos 😄 Both are down on the coast, just inland from Playa Popoyo and Playa Santana

[@smatthews337]

Do you have any recommendations for a private driver?

[@calvinreeves]

Also be aware that buying gas in a smaller town might be from someone with jerry cans, not a filling station with pumps. Expect to pay around $1.50 per liter, so around $6/gallon.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Have you seen this recently? I've been here in and out since 2015 and have lived and worked in some tiny towns and have never seen this once in nine years. There are nice, modern gas stations all over the country now. Maybe out in the autonomous zones?

[@calvinreeves]

This was in November - I was told to look for 'se vende gasolina' signs. We found one at a small market and were directed around the back, where an elderly couple filled our car with a funnel attached to a garden hose and an assortment of anti freeze and windshield washer containers as well as plastic pop bottles. I explained to my wife how incredibly dangerous this is due to the volatile fumes.

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

wow, haven't seen that in years. Obviously once you get super remote and don't want to drive (or are out of gas) to a station and there is no gas station, you'd be in the same boat in the US or France or China. Were you out in the jungle? All of western Nicaragua is well serviced with stations now, there's no big gaps that I'm aware of. But in the east, it's the wild, um, east.

[@calvinreeves]

it was in El Limón Dos, just outside a large resort and inland of Playa Popoyo. Close to the Costa Esmeralda Airport (ECI). Nearest town is Rivas, around 45 minutes.

[@kimberlydell8966]

are there uber drivers of the like to get from managua airport to hilton double tree to collect the rental? and is it best to rent and reserve ahead of time? any tips much appreciated! traveling with my elderly mother to visit my daughter in popoyo & would like to have wheels to explore a little!

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

There is no Uber or anything like that in the country. There are only taxis. Always use InDriver to call a taxi in Managua.

[@patriciaflaherty]

I need air conditioning especially if i was traveling for more than an hour b

[@ScottAlanMillerVlog]

Most taxis have AC. Although being from New York, I find that even the public buses get so much air that even here in the hottest part of the country I don't need AC on them.

[@patriciaflaherty]

@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I need ac...and a dishwasher 😁.