Nicaragua
 

hello everyone,
i will be entering Nicaragua, coming from costa rica. any stories, best routes? what to do ....what not to do?.....good places to go and see.......any and all advice is welcome, and of course if you are there and want to take a ride together....great.
dave

Nicaragua routes & hotels
 

Nicaragua has been doing much to promote tourism the last several years, the Panam Highway /CA1 is now smooth pavement and secondary paved roads too are very good. As it is now the rainy season I would avoid any unpaved routes. For nice ,inexpensive hotels check out San Juan del Sur 16km off the PAnam just 24km after you leave Costa Rica. Make a point of visiting Granada at the north end of Lago de Nicaragua, very picturesque lake resort where Hospedaje Raymon on CalleCentral on the shore is inexpensive, and Hotel Seville is a very nice little 5 - room place on 2a Calle Norte close to the plaza.
Your choice of routes then is either Panam via Esteli ( hotels) to the border and to Danli Honduras ( hotels) thence Tegucigalpa (hotels) or Nic 12 via Managua ,Leon and Chinandega (all with hotels) which runs along the coast plain with a view of a row of smoking volcanos in dry season. In rainy season these may be hidden in cloud much of the day. Nice route though, and you wind up back on the Panam at Choluteca Hon.
No doubt your next question will be on Honduras, soooo....
From Choluteca either take Panam /CA1 through El Salvador or go up to Tegucigalpa and the highland routes to Guatemala .Hotels enough in the towns en route. Special note for the short cut CA7 from Siguatepeque to Santa Rosa de Copan: last time there this was still largely unpaved up to San Juan , gravel and sand with some sections clay based. In the dry season this is a very neat mountain route but I would avoid it if any chance of rain exists as the clay would be awful greasy, unless you are a real dirt - bike enthusiast and want to be slipping,sliding and dragging the bike around.
A bit more shameless self promotion, my guide booklet covers these routes too.

guide book
 

sounds great......id like to get the guide book.....sounds usefull.......i will send you a pm with a toll free number to call me or you can give me your contact number through pm.
thanks, dave

I would like to have the book too. I'm moving to Nica in a few weeks...

Righto, check your PM file onder user options. Best wishes

Got your PM...it wouldn't let me PM you back because I'm a FNG. I'll send the money out today, Is there any way you can email it after you get the money...for time sake?

Clay