Moon Nicaragua (Moon Handbooks) Paperback – February 5, 2013

My girlfriend and I just got back from an amazing 25 days exploring the vast wild beauty of Nicaragua and we probably opened this book at least twenty times every day. We've been travelling internationally for five years using loads of guides-- Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Frommer's, Rough Guides, Rick Steve's, etc.-- and this is probably the most mileage we've ever got out of a guide.We did Managua, Masaya, Leon, 'snowboarded' down the Cerro Negro volcano, surfed for days in San Juan del Sur, hiked to the summit of Maderas mountain on the impossibly picturesque Isla de Ometepe island, explored both Big Corn and Little Corn islands, and swam in the moonlight in the warm clean waters of a volcanic-crater lagoon the Laguna de Apoyo (I've already secretly decided we're going back to that lagoon for our honeymoon-- shhh don't tell my girlfriend).This guide made the planning super-easy and it helped to make the trip itself fun, smooth-sailing, always exciting and unforgettable. Travelling in Nicaragua can sometimes be a little chaotic and disorienting to be honest (but that's part of the fun); however, this guide helped us to quickly figure things out and to navigate the country efficiently and comfortably. The book is really well-rounded in that it gives you all the info you need if you want to have a more comfortable 'first-class' kind of experience (fanciest hotels and more touristy options), but it's also got everything you need for a more authentic, adventurous and off-the-beaten-path kind of trip. We did a more 'roughing-it' backpacking trip for the first three weeks, and then met up with my girlfriend's parents in Managua for the last four days where we did more conventional and comfy things as a group based on the guide's suggestions.The great thing about this guide is that it effectively balances the most important practical info for how to get around and get things done alongside wider cultural and historical commentary about the country. The problem I find with most guidebooks is that they seem to be too much of one or other: either highly practically focused but lacking a sense of broader cultural context, or really informationally dense but impractically abstract and out-of-touch with the reality of travel. By contrast, this guide strikes a really effective balance between practical info and commentary: My girlfriend is adorably nerdy and likes reading all about the history and culture, so she was opening it ten times every day to read from it and lecture me about the region's history and politics, and then I'd wrestle it away from her so that I could figure out the important practical stuff like where we should eat and what's fun to do (hey, opposites attract!).You can tell the writer really lives in Nicaragua and knows what it takes to hustle your way through situations (the "Tips for Travellers" section is invaluable)-- 'resident authorship' is something that tends to distinguish the best travel guides from the ones written by mere visitors who just drop in for a month or two of research, get a paycheque and then leave. At the same time, the expat author brings an outsider's perspective by including commentary (in "Background" and at the start of each regional chapter) that answers exactly the sort of questions a first-time visitor would have ("What's all this graffiti about FSLN?" and "Why is there so much rubble in certain parts of Managua?"). (Answers: (1) the FSLN are the ruling political party (socialists); and (2) there was a devastating earthquake in Managua in 1972 but the country's economic and political challenges have impeded it from properly rebuilding the city until very recently).The notes in the book (glossary, research notes, recommended other readings and viewings) are superbly done, and we actually followed up on a couple of these recommended other sources when planning our trip. The 8-page basic phrase guide at the back was really helpful and I was delightfully surprised that I'd mastered pretty much all the phrases by the end of the trip ("Una cerveza, por favor!" being the most important sentence to know).Another commenter mentioned something about Lonely Planet versus this book. I can't speak directly for the quality of the Lonely Planet 2009 guide-- we skimmed it along with the other options at our biggest local bookstore before deciding that we preferred this one. But I will say that when we met up with my girlfriend's parents at the end of our trip in Managua, they were travelling with two guides, Lonely Planet and I think the other one was Footprint; we gave them our Moon guide upon leaving and they referred to all 3 guides for their ten days in Nicaragua before heading on to Costa Rica. Girlfriend's mom says all the guides were good but they ended up using our Moon guide for most of their trip (the girlfriend had filled it with notes and bookmarks and recommended it) and it also proved excellent for them.Nicaragua is a truly spectacular place and as a country it has just the right balance of raw natural beauty along with sufficient infrastructure/development/amenities by which to comfortably enough travel around, eat good food, stay in places and enjoy the experience. For this reason it seems to be really taking off as a popular destination especially among hip globetrotting 25- to 35-year-olds (but hey, adventurous fiftysomethings like my girlfriend's parents apparently can also have the time of their lives!). While there we got the sense in a few places (like San Juan del Sur) that things are really starting to stir in terms of tourism development and investment both locally and from abroad. Some are suggesting that it will become "the next Costa Rica" over the decade, but for now it seems to be sort of a secret amazing destination (especially the Corn Islands) among savvy travellers. The suddenly growing popularity of Nicaragua is probably why Lonely Planet is coming out soon with a new guide and there will probably be a whole bunch of other guides coming out in the next year or two.For now, though, you can't go wrong with this guide. If you've heard about Nicaragua and are thinking about going, don't think twice, just go for it-- you'll have the time of your life. Get this guide, start planning your trip now, throw this book in your backpack or suitcase along with sunglasses and a sturdy pair of running shoes, and "Buen Viaje, amigo!"

I typically get the competitive country books with more detail colored pictures and, I think, good history etc. I knew of Moon and decided on this manual for our Nicaragua trip. We began at the Corn Islands for scuba and found the Moon information informative and up to date. During our idle time I read thouroughly on the history, customs, do's and dont's. On to Managua - hired a taxi for a city tour - again, Moon covered the city well - not a lot of history needed to go into detail about. Masaya National - volcanic park, Los Pueblos Blancos - good Moon coverage of these areas, the Masaya artisan markets, hardly worth haggling on prices although we visited in May, the beginning of their 'off' season and incredibly good prices. We were able to squeeze a visit to Grenada as our driver said we had time. Moon got us thru the city, a last minute bonus that we hadn't read up on. We stopped at the main square as suggested, hired a horse/carriage for a half hour tour of the city that turned into 45 minutes of the main streets that make up Grenadas history back to 1524 - a great ride that we wouldn't have done without Moons' advice. My Moon edition of Nicaragua is well worn and will be considered for our furture adventures handbook. Well done - barvo.

As a traditional user of Frommer and Fodor, I found Moon Nicaragua to be very refreshing in the manner in which it approached Nicaragua. Moon doesn't gild the lilly, and its prose says it like it is (or at least, as I hope it will be, since I travel to Nicaragua in three weeks). Moon doesn't have as much depth as Frommer and Fodor on accommodations; but since I'm more concerned with organizing my travel in the country, and the hotels have been addressed, this was fine. One deficiency is that the handbook is a little thin on organized tour operations from Managua to Leon and Granada; but, hopefully, once there, this won't be a problem. Also, Moon's handbook is devoted soley to Nicaragua, which isn't universally the case with its competitors, and it was recently revised.

I believe by the time they are published all travel books have hotels and restaurants that have changed prices, closed or turned into some other type of service. So while that is expected I rely on the author(s) to at least verify the information they are making a buck off of. Example: I ended up at a hostel in Managua the night before a flight in an area that is and has been known as a high drug traffic area, (not known to me). All night long the house? next to Dulce Sueno in Barrio Martha had quick 3-5 minute car and pedestrian traffic. I was told by the hostel security under no circumstances to leave until morning.This hostel was given high reviews in the Moon Handbook of Nicaragua. There were many cases where it was apparent the author hadn't bothered to visit (relying on previous book?). Lonely Planet hasn't published a book on Nicaragua since 2009, the Moon was published in February 2013 and the info was better in the Lonely Planet. I think LP are publishing a new book for the summer. If you're going to Nicaragua I recommend the LP edition-even if it's the 2009 version. Will be glad to answer questions written in the comments link. Nancy

I purchased this book after listening to a Nicaragua podcast interview with one of the founders of the Moon travel guides. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed by what I found in the book itself. It's a fine guide, but certainly no better than Lonely Planet (cannot compare directly for Nicaragua, but just in terms of the general setup and information.) The maps were a bit challenging to figure out without any clear legend - I found myself flipping back and forth through the chapters to figure out where I was going on the map.

1 The font in this book is too small and I could not make out the maps without a magnifying glass.2 There is no accommodations listed near that Mayoreo bus station in this book but I found Hotel Levoyageur about 4 blocks away for $20 US . Google maps shows it.3 Abbreviation COTRAN is not listed which I found much later mean bus terminal.

Von den großen Reiseführerverlagen wird zu Nicaragua nicht wirklich viel geschrieben, deshalb griffen wir zum uns eher unbekannten Moon Guide.Im Prinzip waren die Infos OK, aber irgendwie fehlte so einiges. Manche Ortsbeschreibungen sind ziemlich oberflächlich. Unterkünfte und Restaurants auch nicht immer aktuell. Und wegen des fortlaufenden Texts finde ich die Gliederung nicht wirklich übersichtlich. Wir haben relativ viele Infos vor Ort nochmal eingeholt, weil wir uns etwas unsicher gefühlt haben.Gut fan ich die allgemeinen Teile, Landeskunde, allgem. Infos etc.

The illustrations inside are mostly in B & W.However, since it's a country less visited than Costa Rica (for example),it gives excellent descriptions of what to expect.Also, the English is at a basic enough level that I left it behind with the family we were visiting there.They can use it with other English-speaking visitors or may now visit some areas of their own countrythey haven't explored yet.

In Ermangelung anderer Nic-Reiseführer ist das Buch ok. Die Beschreibungen sind für kritische Europäer manchmal zu euphorisch, z.B. wird ein Markt als authentisch und interessant beschrieben, in Wirklichkeit handelt es sich um eine Ansammlung von Touristen-Nepp. Sieht man aber die Amis vor Ort, dann versteht man es.

This book was used everyday on our recent trip to Nicaragua! It looks well used now. Great write-ups on certain tourist destinations. Could have better, more detailed maps would be the only suggestion, and reason I didn't give it 5 stars!

Well written and very thorough.Could use better maps.