renting a car in nicaragua??

[sandy]

I'll be going to Nicaragua for a week in September. Has anyone had experience renting a car there? SHould i rent a car or use local buses to get around? Or, is it possible to hire a driver. I'll be going to the area around Matagalpa, granada and montelimar. Any advice would be appreciated.

[risitodeplata]

Renting a car is like renting one in the U.S. With budget and toyota rent a car a driver is $10 a day extra. Just make sure you get unlimited or enough miles with the rental. There are rental places at the airport and at some hotels, but you have arrange for the rental online or with a travel agent also.

[nen]

i wondered how did it go and were the rates like here in the states anything additional when renting a vehicle .. I 'll be renting one for a couple a days to get around ... any suggestions .. is it better to do it online .. ?

Originally posted by sandy
I'll be going to Nicaragua for a week in September. Has anyone had experience renting a car there? SHould i rent a car or use local buses to get around? Or, is it possible to hire a driver. I'll be going to the area around Matagalpa, granada and montelimar. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Marcoxx99]

I have rented cars twice in Nicaragua without problems. The only problem is with the traffic police. They seem to target rentals and cars from other countries. They ALWAYS seem to find something to give you a ticket for. Most of the time, they want to take your license, so be careful when driving especially wear seatbelts, and don't change lanes when in a traffic circle. Speeding shouldn't be a problem because all their radar dectetors don't work.
I found out the name of the head of the traffic police and use his name when stopped. I forget the name, but have it written down somewhere and will post it when I find it.

[Belinda]

We rented a jeep recently and drove through many regions in Nicaragua. Renting a car is without problem and really the best to explore the country. We originalle tried renting through argusrental.com - they have very good prices with an "all-inclusive"-type of rental, the price include all fees, taxes and specially all insurances. This is very very important there, don´t rent a car without or to less insurance!
Because they didn´t have a jeep ready in Managua, we have had to switch to rent with Dollar. They are also not the most expensive company, but be aware of the deposit!! We have been charged USD 1200,- just for the deposit!!! This we didn´t find in any other latin country we have been to - they charged the deposit to our credit card! But not with "blanko-receipts" - no, they really charged the deposit, so our credit card "frame" was decreased by this 1200,- USD, which was very bad...The of course canceled the charged deposit when we gave back the car, but because we didn´t have so much cash with us the last days, it was hard...

If you have some other questions, don´t hesitate to ask!

[dalekathy]

I'm 50 and my teenage son and I will be travelling to Nicaragua in March/April 2012 for some father son time together. I've driven in Mexico. I was just wondering if it would be too much a risk to drive around NIC without having much experience. We like to explore but also don't want to take too many risks. We want to see a volcano, go hiking into the jungle, go fishing, snorkeling and generally see the country and people. Any suggestions?

Dale

[tenguereche]

You sure will have a wonderful time in Nicaragua!! Plenty of nice places to visit by yourself but better enjoyed wth that special person in your life. Relax, have fun and enjoy the ride!!! NIcaragua is waiting for you to make you feel like you are in Paradise