Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Directory A-Z
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Accommodations
Ranging from five-star resorts to windowless shacks with shared latrines, you really have your choice of
accommodations in developed A-list destinations like Managua, Granada, León, San Juan del Sur and
the Corn Islands. Top-end places start to thin out a bit as you head for the interior.
Hotels in this guide are divided into categories according to price, then arranged by author preference.
Being that the majority of hotel rooms in Nicaragua have their own bathroom, we stipulate when the
bathroom is shared, except of course in dorms where the bathroom is always shared.
Absolute peak season in Nicaragua is really only two weeks or so - Christmas and Easter, when entire
towns book out and prices skyrocket. Outside that time, many hotels maintain prices year-round. If there
is a high season, it's somewhere between November and March - outside the rainy months. Prices in this
guide are for normal/high season, not absolute peak.
Budget
Budget hotels, sometimes called
hospedajes,
are inexpensive compared to the rest of Central America.
You can almost always get your own clean wooden room, with a window and a shared bathroom, for un-
der US$6 per person per night. Double that and you get a bigger room and a private bathroom; prices are
higher in A-list destinations, where there are always cheap dorm beds (US$8 to US$10) if you're travel-
ling on a shoestring. In less-developed regions, you may be using bucket-flush toilets and bucket
showers in this price range. Budget travelers should always bring candles and a flashlight (torch), just in
case. If there's no mosquito net, just ask.
Midrange
There's a good midrange option, with clean, modern rooms, private bathroom, 24-hour electricity, run-
ning water and a nice setting or neighborhood, in every major town. It tends to cost US$20 to US$35 for
a double; tack on US$10 to US$15 for an A-list destination. Solo travelers usually get a 20% discount,
tops, in this category. A 15% tax applies to hotel rates in the midrange and top-end categories.
