Travel Health and Safety in Nicaragua

Safety

Although Nicaragua is one of the safest countries in all of Latin America, you should always exercise common sense when it comes to your personal safety. Keep an eye on your personal belongings, lock your car, travel with other people, and don’t wander around alone late at night. Registered taxis ALWAYS have license plates with red borders. Most crime here is associated with alcohol consumption. Be extremely careful driving at night, especially on Sunday night when a lot of the country has been drinking.

Health

Wash vegetables and fruits before eating them and do your best to avoid drinking the tap water. Purified & bottled drinking water is cheap and easy to find. Most restaurants serve purified water and virtually all ice comes from a national distributor that manufactures only with purified water. Nicaragua is often hot and sunny so remember to use sunscreen and to stay hydrated. It is a good idea to consult the Mexico and Central America page of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for up to date health recommendations and vaccination information.

Medical Care

San Juan del Sur is equipped with a Health Clinic (Centro de Salud) that can address minor medical problems. The closest major hospital is in Rivas, but we highly recommend going to Managua if you are in need of serious medical attention. The most modern and reputable hospital in Managua is Hospital Metropolitano Vivian Pellas, providing excellent medical care in a state of the art facility. There are a number of pharmacies (farmacias) in San Juan del Sur that sell a wide variety of medications, first aid products, and toiletries. Most medicines are available without a prescription.

Hospital Metropolitan Vivian Pellas in Managua
From the USA or Canada: +1.305.396.2351
From Nicaragua: 255.6900