You decided you wanted to visit Nicaragua, and have heard really good things about it, you bought your tickets, planned your holidays, but all of the sudden it looks like a war zone in the news and now you are probably wondering, is it safe to travel to Nicaragua right now? This post is for you.
Even though I work in the tourism industry, what you are about to read is my most honest opinion and real facts, the purpose of this post is to give you information, so you can make your own decision.
Nicaragua is currently experiencing a political crisis, after the reform of the social security law, students and other sectors raised in protest in the main cities of Nicaragua. These protests were severely repressed by the police resulting in 63 deaths. Something that at least my generation has never experienced before.
After this, many sectors of society reacted with multiple pacific manifestations, that still go on every day until this day. And I don’t think is going to stop any time soon.
US government has issued a level 3 travel alert which means “reconsider travel”.
But you are here because you wanna know if it really affects your travel, and if it’s safe for you to be in Nicaragua right now.
I firmly believe that at any point of your travel you will not be in any physical danger related to political violence, you are a tourist in this country and not a real target for any of the sides. Unless you wanna participate on the protests, is safe to say that no, you are not in danger.
The situation it’s actually very calm in all the beaches, volcanoes (except the active ones, those you never know), lagoons, Ometepe, Río San Juan, Corn Island, Little Corn Island; nothing is really happening over there. In the bigger cities like Managua, Granada, Masaya, León, Matagalpa, Estelí, you need to be aware of where the “hotspots” are in case there is one, but no necessarily avoid visiting these places, just be aware.
What I think could be your worst case scenario, is getting your mobility compromised by a road block or something like that. Which actually happened to me at the peak of the protests. If you are in this situation execute common sense. If you are safe where you are, stay there. But keep in mind is your worst-case scenario.
I think you can still have a great experience in Nicaragua, especially if you are a fan of lonely beaches and want to learn about Nicaragua’s history in the making, it’s the perfect time to be in Nica.
I’ll keep this post updated in case the situation changes.
https://casaluciamanagua.com/is-it-safe-to-travel-to-nicaragua-right-now/