Advice on Traveling with Cash, Credit/Debit Cards and iphones in Nicaragua

Travel tip 1- Always travel with cash!! You'll want to make an effort to keep small bills with you to pay taxi drivers, street vendors and bus attendants. Use your 500 cordoba bills at grocery stores and restaurants where they are more likely to have change. 

Travel tip 2- Jingling coins!! You'll need a small purse or bag for all the coins. Your pockets will fill up fast! 

Travel tip 3- Practice your rounding skills! Don't be surprised at grocery stores if they round up your total to the next cordoba or at least a multiple of 25. For example if your total is 312.48 they will charge you 312.50 cordobas or sometimes C$313.00. This is because there are only 10 cent, 25 cent and 50 cent coins. Pennies and nickels don't exist in this currency.

Travel tip 4- Credit/Debit cards take a back seat. Cards are accepted at some hotels, supermarkets and nice restaurants. However don't be caught off guard by not traveling with cash as well and make sure you ask if they accept cards before you plan on using one. Most cities have a bank street where all the ATMs are located. Ask for "la calle de bancos." 

Travel tip 5-  Lock your credit/debit cards up and do not travel with them whenever is possible! I suggest leaving your credit/debit cards at your accommodations if you are just traveling for the day and have a private room or a locker. My suggestions is always to bring enough cash with you for the day and only bring a debit card with you if you are going to the ATM to withdraw money. That way you don't need to worry about losing or getting your cards stolen, which is a huge pain in the butt! 

Travel tip 6- Download the app for your bank on your phone. A very useful thing to do before you travel is figure out how to freeze your accounts or alert your bank immediately. If your cards do get stolen, you’ll want to act quickly!

Travel tip 7- If you are traveling with an iphone or a mac you will want to log onto the icloud before leaving and activate “find my iphone” or “find my device."  If you don't register your device, it is impossible to use this helpful program to find your device if it is lost or stolen. 

Travel tip 8- Don't put any of these valuable things in outside pockets. While traveling it's common to want to put things like money and phones in easy to access spots in your bag because you are constantly getting them out and putting them away. Just keep in mind that it's also easy access for others!

Being Bilingual Changes Your Brain!

You may have noticed, as we have, how quickly children learn a second language compared to adults. It's inspiring to watch how children pick up new vocabulary words or use grammar correctly after hearing it just once!

Well adults, don't be too hard on yourselves...children are still able to use and change their brains in ways that are not available to adults. There is something known as the Critical Period Hypothesis, which explains how when learning a language as a child, you are able to use both the left and right side of the brain.

Watch this short 5 minute TED talk for more information about this interesting subject!
TED Talk- The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain

Then visit www.vayavolunteers.com to find out how you can volunteer to teach English to children in Nicaragua who at lucky to be in this critical learning period!

Also check out what we're doing in our classes!
VAYA's English Classes

Tips for traveling by bus in Nicaragua

Travel tip 1- Know before you go!! Make sure you know what bus station you are going to before you get on a bus or in a taxi. Most cities have multiple stations that service different areas of Nicaragua. They can be in completely different locations in the city and may be known as estación norte or sur. It may be hard to find the names of the bus stations online but if you say your destination, the taxi drivers will know which bus station to leave you at. For example if you are trying to go to Leon from Managua you would say, “La estación de bus a Leon.” 

Travel tip 2- It's up to you!! Use the restroom before you go to the bus station or wait until you arrive to your destination. The bus stations have hidden bathrooms that you can pay to use however because they are public restrooms you’d probably rather pay to not have to go into them. Do not drink a lot of liquids on the bus, travel with toilet paper always and if if you're worried about hygiene pack your own hand sanitizer or wipes. 

Travel tip 3- Recommended!! Show up for your bus 30 minutes early. Because most of the buses fill up fast, you’ll need to get there ahead of time to secure a seat. Otherwise you could be standing for a long time. You have to buy tickets for the expreso buses because they have assigned seating. There should be a desk at the bus station that sells the tickets. If they've sold all of the seats they will still sell tickets without a seat number, this means you will be standing in the aisle until someone gets off the bus and gives up their seat.   

Travel tip 4- This is a good one!! If you're hungry but running out of time, just get on the bus and wait for the vendors to come to you. They will walk up and down the aisles of the bus selling soda, water, breads, donuts, fruits and many other products. Most of the bags of food or drinks will cost between 10-20 cordobas. If you are getting a bag of rice, chicken and plantains or a quesillo it will be around 25 cordobas. 

Travel tip 5- Don't be overcharged! You should not have to pay extra to bring your bag on the bus. Occasionally bus attendants have been known to tell backpackers that they have to pay for their bag. Just tell them no and keep your bag with you. It is normal to charge extra for bikes or larger items they have to put on the top, usually 10-20 cordobas a piece. 

Travel tip 6- Nicaraguans are really helpful!! If you’re not sure exactly where to get off the bus or the bus doesn’t end at your location, sit close to the front or back of the bus so you can ask the bus attendant to tell you where your stop is. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can just say the name of where you are going and they will usually tell you when you’re close. 

Traveling in Nicaragua- Helpful Tips about Taxis and Buses!

Travel tip- When you get off a bus and are trying to figure out where to go from there it can be overwhelming how many people will approach you and ask you where you are going. We’ve learned that it’s best to push past these initial people and get out of the station area for a minute. Get yourself organized and make a plan and then you can ask a person or taxi how to get to the city center or your hotel. The initial mob will always be there if you can’t find someone to help you, you can walk back and talk to one of them. They will usually give you a quote that is very high so make sure you know what the taxi ride should cost you before you go. 

You should never pay more than 50 cordobas or $1.50 a person for a transfer in a taxi, Laguna de Apoyo has been the only exception we’ve found so far. 

Travel tip- Very often the bus stations are located next to the market areas. If you get a city map from hotel or tour office, the bus stations will not always be marked on the map but the markets will be. That’s a good starting point 

Travel tip- You do not pay the bus fare when you enter the bus. During the drive an attendant will walk through the bus and collect the money. The mini buses will stop halfway through the trip and collect the money from everyone. 

Travel tip- Certified taxis with have a license plate with red strips on the top and bottom. License plates for normal cars will not have red stripes and will have a blue shape of the country behind the plate number.