Costa Rica or Nicaragua?
The practical differences, drawn from our own write-ups rather than from a brochure. We are not going to tell you which is better - they are different trips. What follows is what actually changes between them.
Places written up here 80 10
UNESCO listings among them 6 0
Cost level Mid-range Budget
Busiest month in our write-ups February February
Currency Colon (CRC) Cordoba (NIO)
Plugs and voltage A, B - 120 V A, B - 120 V
Everyday languages Spanish Spanish
Driving side right hand side right hand side
Region Central America Central America
Capital San José Managua
Costa Rica
Pura vida is a greeting, philosophy and customer-service standard all at once.
What we have written up
- Arenal Volcano mountain
- Bajos del Toro waterfall
- Barra del Colorado lake
- Barra Honda cave
- Barrio Amón old town
- Basílica de los Ángeles church
Worth knowing before you go
- Cards work widely; dollars accepted, colones given in change
- Tipping: 10% service is included by law; extra is kind
- Dry season December-April is high season everywhere
Nicaragua
Warm, poetic and family-first; strangers greet each other and conversation is the national pastime.
What we have written up
- Cerro Negro mountain
- Corn Islands island
- Granada old town
- León old town
- Masaya Volcano mountain
- Nicaraguan Cuisine dish
Worth knowing before you go
- Cordobas and US dollars circulate side by side - dollar notes must be crisp and untorn to be accepted
- Cash dominates outside the bigger towns - keep small cordoba notes handy
- Lunch is the main meal, and comedores serve cheap set plates around midday
Counts describe this site, not the countries: "places written up here" means how many pages we have finished, and it keeps growing. Currency, plugs and languages are practical facts and change rarely; check anything visa-related with the relevant official source before you book.