cruisinred

Looking for some advice on renting a 4x4 and driving in Nicaragua.
We'll be staying at a rental house north of San Juan del Sur, and will definitely need a 4x4 to get around. The question is, is it better/easier to pick up the rental in Granada and drive down to SJDS (quicker/cheaper option) or take the shuttle to SJDS and pick up the car rental there (is this a safer option?)

For comparison, I've driven in Costa Rica in the rainy season. How would the driving in Nica compare?

Recommendations for car rental company?

Thanks

Lhotze

My advice is to rent the 4x4 at the Managua airport if possible. The roads from Granada etc to the West Coast are OK, but north is awful...Costa Rica is smooth compared to some of the East/West roads.

scubatv

cruisinred, are you still around? ScubaTV here, we chatted in our Self Drive Africa post (Bushlore 4x4), and some other stuff.

We're are thinking about Nicaragua this March/April 2010 and would like to "know what you know", because we don't the lay of the land yet.

What 4x4 company and house rental are you booking? Because we need the same.

Thanks again, Jon
[email protected]

scubatv

Also, per Rudynica's advice, we booked a Daihatsu Terios at Budget for seven days at US$451.00 total.

The US$451. includes a $7/day US$1,000 maximum coverage for accidents or stolen vehicle and a US$90. for mandatory coverage.

I like to pay full in advance to avoid "complications" at the airport.

Any thoughts about the airport pickup/drop off?

Regards, Jon

scubatv

Also, also. Is the Daihatsu Terios "strong enough" for our one week trot around Nicaragua?

sean420

I was in Nicaragua November-December and rented a car for part of the trip

The roads in Nicaragua re MUCH better than in Costa Rica. All the main roads well paved and without potholes. You will need the 4x4 to get to the beaches north of SJDS

Budget seemed to have the best rates - we rented from them in Granada and then returned the car to the airport at the end of our trip. There is a Budget location at the airport and it's pretty easy to get on the highway towards SJDS

We've also rented a Terios 3 times in Costa Rica and again in Nicaragua - it's small but comfortable for 2-3 people.

One thing to consider renting a car is dealing with the police.
We drove about 600km on our last trip and only got stopped once - I played dumb and acted like I didn't speak or understand much Spanish. Originally he said that he was going to take my license and it would cost $80 or I could pay the ticket right there for "only" $60. I know he was full of it so I just continued to play dumb and eventually I wore him down and gave him 100 cordobas ($5)
It's important is to keep only a small amount of money in your pocket with your license. I had my license, $8 in cordobas and a credit card. I just kept on telling him that was all I had.
If they do take your license, they will issue a ticket that is also acts a temporary license good for 30 days. You are supposed to pay the fine at a bank and then you have to go to the police station to get your license back. People told me not to even bother and just let them keep it. Nothing is computerized and they have no way of enforcing past infractions

Here in California you can get a replacement license for $22

scubatv

Alright, Sean, that was a great post. We can really use this information, thanks.