Land: Mountains, rivers, islands, coast, and volcanoes.
 

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Administrative divisions: 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas.

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Legal System: republic

Population: 5,785,846

Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%.

Religions: Roman Catholic 58.5%, Evangelical 21.6%, Moravian 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 1.7%, none 15.7%.

Language: Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8%.

Time Zone: utc-6

Telephone Codes: 505

Internet Country Codes:.ni

Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands.

Custom/Visa: A valid U.S. passport is required to enter Nicaragua.  Although there is a bilateral agreement that waives the six-month validity passport requirement, U.S. citizens are urged to ensure that their passports are valid for the length of their projected stay in the country before traveling.  U.S. citizens must have an onward or return ticket and evidence of sufficient funds to support themselves during their stay.  A visa is not required for U.S. citizens; however, a tourist card must be purchased for $5 upon arrival.  Tourist cards are typically issued for 30 to 90 days.
 

A valid entry stamp is required to exit Nicaragua.  Pay attention to the authorized stay that will be written into your entry stamp by the immigration inspector.  Failure to do so will prevent departure until a fine is paid.

There is also a $32 departure tax.  Many airlines include this tax in the price of the ticket.  If the tax is not included in the ticket, payment can be made at the airline counter upon departure.
 

Per Nicaraguan law, individuals should exit Nicaragua with the same passport with which they entered the country.  Dual national minors who entered Nicaragua on their Nicaraguan passports will be subject to departure requirements specific to Nicaraguan children under the age of 18, even though they may also be citizens of other countries. 
 

According to Nicaragua’s Laws for Foreigners, foreigners must be in possession of a valid identity document at all times while in Nicaragua and may be required to show it to Nicaraguan authorities upon request.  Acceptable identity documents are: (1) a permanent residency card, (2) temporary residency card, or (3) valid passport or travel document accompanied by an entry stamp.

In June 2006, Nicaragua entered a “Central America-4 (CA-4) Border Control Agreement” with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.  Under the terms of the agreement, citizens of the four countries may travel freely across land borders from one of the countries to any of the others without completing entry and exit formalities at Immigration checkpoints.  U.S. citizens and other eligible foreign nationals, who legally enter any of the four countries, may similarly travel among the four without obtaining additional visas or tourist entry permits for the other three countries.  Immigration officials at the first port of entry determine the length of stay, up to a maximum period of 90 days.  Foreign tourists who wish to remain in the four-country region beyond the period initially granted for their visit are required to request a one-time extension of stay from local Immigration authorities in the country where the traveler is physically present, or travel outside the CA-4 countries and reapply for admission to the region.  Foreigners “expelled” from any of the four countries are excluded from the entire “CA-4” region.  In isolated cases, the lack of clarity in the implementing details of the CA-4 Border Control Agreement has caused temporary inconvenience to some travelers and has resulted in others being fined more than one hundred dollars or detained in custody for 72 hours or longer.

 
Location: Nicaragua, the largest of the Central American countries, has an area of 129,494 sq km (49,998 sq mi), which includes the area covered by the waters of Lake Nicaragua (about 8,000 sq km/3,089 sq mi) and Lake Managua (about 1,025 sq km/396 sq mi). Comparatively, the area occupied by Nicaragua is slightly smaller than the state of New York. The country has a length of 472 km (293 mi) N–S and a width of 478 km (297 mi) W–E. Bounded on the N by Honduras, on the E by the Caribbean Sea, on the S by Costa Rica, and on the W by the Pacific Ocean, Nicaragua has a total boundary length of 2,141 km (1,330 mi), of which 910 km (565 mi) is coastline.

Exchange: Nicaraguan Gold Córdoba (NIO) = 100 centavos. Notes are in denominations of NIO500, 100, 50, 20 and 10. Coins are in denominations of NIO5 and 1, and 50, 25, 10 and 5 centavos.

Health/Water:
Before visiting Nicaragua, you may need to get the following vaccinations and medications for vaccine-preventable diseases and other diseases you might be at risk for at your destination: (Note: Your doctor or health-care provider will determine what you will need, depending on factors such as your health and immunization history, areas of the country you will be visiting, and planned activities.)

To have the most benefit, see a health-care provider at least 4–6 weeks before your trip to allow time for your vaccines to take effect and to start taking medicine to prevent malaria, if you need it.

Even if you have less than 4 weeks before you leave, you should still see a health-care provider for needed vaccines, anti-malaria drugs and other medications and information about how to protect yourself from illness and injury while traveling.

CDC recommends that you see a health-care provider who specializes in Travel Medicine.

If your travel plans will take you to more than one country during a single trip, be sure to let your health-care provider know so that you can receive the appropriate vaccinations and information for all of your destinations.

Be sure your routine vaccinations are up-to-date. Check the links below to see which vaccinations adults and children should get.

Routine vaccines, as they are often called, such as for influenza, chickenpox (or varicella), polio, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), and diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) are given at all stages of life.
 

Routine vaccines are recommended even if you do not travel. Although childhood diseases, such as measles, rarely occur in the United States, they are still common in many parts of the world. A traveler who is not vaccinated would be at risk for infection.

Diseases from food and water are the leading cause of illness in travelers. Follow these tips for safe eating and drinking:

·             Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially before eating.  If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand gel (with at least 60% alcohol).

·             Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles.  Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. 

·             Do not eat food purchased from street vendors.

·             Make sure food is fully cooked.

·             Avoid dairy products, unless you know they have been pasteurized.

Diseases from food and water often cause vomiting and diarrhea. Make sure to bring diarrhea medicine with you so that you can treat mild cases yourself.

Electricity: 120V/60Hz (USA Plug).

Popular Beers: Nicos (as folks from Nicaragua are generally known) have developed a taste for some of the worst beers sold in the world. You can buy Bud in Nicaragua. You can buy Corona. You can even buy Brahva from Brazil, or Bahia from Honduras. I do believe that there must be some kind of law that prohibits beers above the 2-star quality level from being imported to Nicaragua because Lord knows, I haven't seen yet one single good import. Lots of trashcan fodder for folks who know nothing of good beer, but nothing that a discriminating palate would recognize as potable.

Food Specialties: The Nicaraguan culinary art dates back to the pre-Colombian times, as you can tell by the names of the most known plates. Back then, during colonial times, the peculiar, creative, and varied Creole menu was the result of the union of these two races. In this type of food, ranging from soups and meats to a diversity of sweets, interesting ingredients are used.

Since its origin, the fundamental basis of Nicaraguan gastronomy has been corn. Thus, its wide usage and derivatives constitutes the culinary inheritance left by indigenous tribes that lived in the area. This fact explains the similarities between the typical Nicaraguan food and those of other countries in the Central American region and Mexico. We all were sons of corn.