Nicaragua

Is Nicaragua safe to visit?

It depends less on where you go than on who you are. For a tourist in Granada, León, San Juan del Sur or on Ometepe, street crime is moderate and most trips are uneventful. But Nicaragua is run by a government that UN investigators say has committed serious human rights violations against critics since 2018, and the US State Department rates the country Level 3, reconsider travel, mainly because of the risk of wrongful detention.

We score Nicaragua 52, just above Belize (50) and above Honduras (45), but well below Costa Rica (62). The score reflects political risk, weak health care and roads more than street crime. Confidence is low: the government has stopped publishing reliable crime data, and the last UNODC homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary, 11.4 per 100,000, is from 2021.

The political risk

In 2018 security forces and allied armed groups put down mass protests with lethal force. The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua has since documented arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, unfair trials, expulsions, entry bans, confiscation of property and the stripping of nationality, and found that some of these acts amount, at first sight, to crimes against humanity. Its February 2026 report verified 75 enforced disappearances, nine of them still unresolved, six deaths in custody since 2018, and 452 people stripped of their nationality by court order. By the end of 2025 more than 342,000 Nicaraguans were seeking asylum abroad. The government does not answer the group and stopped cooperating with the UN Human Rights Council and its mechanisms in February 2025.

Most of those targeted are Nicaraguans, but the US lists the kinds of people the government has gone after, including NGO workers, teachers and students, religious and charity workers such as missionaries, journalists, business representatives and former US government staff. It says foreigners face a higher risk of detention and harassment, that laws are applied arbitrarily to those seen as opponents, that some US citizens have been barred from leaving, and that detainees can be held for years without due process.

What this means in practice:

• Do not join or film protests, or show the blue-and-white flag in a political way. Foreigners can be detained or deported for any political activity.
• Expect your phone and social media to be checked at the border, and think about what is on them.
• Leave the drone at home; drones are illegal.
• If you work for an NGO, church or media outlet, or are a dual national, ask your own government for advice first. A January 2026 constitutional change banned dual nationality.

The UK has no embassy in Nicaragua; British travellers get help from San José in Costa Rica.

Crime against visitors

The US says most crimes against foreigners are opportunistic, such as bag snatching and pickpocketing, and that violent crime, including robbery, sexual assault and murder, can happen anywhere. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary names markets, bus stations, the area around the old cathedral in Managua and poorer parts of towns as places not to walk after dark.

Taxis are the main trap. Express kidnappings, where victims are driven to ATMs and held until they pay, have involved unauthorised taxis. Use radio taxis or authorised ones with red plates, check the driver's ID on the dashboard, do not get into a cab someone else called for you, and avoid the colectivo minibuses. Change money at banks or with identified changers outside them, not on the street.

Roads, volcanoes and the coast

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 13.6 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, lower than in Honduras (18.5) or Costa Rica (15.5). Driving standards are low, buses and taxis are poorly maintained, some drivers are drunk, and the main highways between cities have no street lighting. Do not drive at night outside Managua.

Nicaragua sits on a line of active volcanoes, Masaya, Cerro Negro, Telica, San Cristóbal and Concepción among them, and is exposed to earthquakes. The hurricane season runs from June to November. On the Pacific side, strong currents have drowned swimmers and there are no lifeguards. Divers off the Corn Islands should know that the nearest hyperbaric chamber is in Puerto Cabezas, about five hours away by speedboat.

Health care

The US says comprehensive care is available only in Managua, which has one internationally accredited hospital; clinics elsewhere lack basic supplies, and medical evacuation may be the only option for serious cases. Tap water is not safe to drink. CDC recommends malaria tablets for some areas, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists dengue and Zika. Buy insurance that covers evacuation, and bring enough of your medicines, since UK prescriptions cannot be used locally.

How we scored it

Conflict (45), health (45) and natural hazards (45) are the weakest factors. The conflict score is not about war but about the state: arbitrary detention, disappearances and the US Level 3 advisory. Road safety (59) is scored on WHO's 2021 estimate of 13.6 deaths per 100,000. Petty crime (58) and violent crime (55) are moderate, though the homicide figure is five years old and cannot be checked against current data.