General Information for Expedition: Nica
Location: Rural fishing village of El Transito, of the Nagarote area, Nicaragua, approximately 73 KM west of the airport (Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA)), in the capital of Managua.
Accommodations: Our main facility is a 4-bedroom 3-bath beach house, in a private beach community. With additional housing being other rented houses or small hotel accommodations. Showers, flush toilets (a luxury in rural Nicaragua), and filtered water on site are included.
Activities: During our free time, activities will include going to the beach, exploring, swimming in local tide pools, the beach house pool, hiking and trips to the market! Surfing (lessons available at a very reasonable cost), boogie boarding, fishing, snorkeling, hiking, and other related activities are also available.
Trip Length: Varies by trip. Contact your uReach trip coordinator.
Travel: In most cases, participants will arrange their own travel to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA) with the assistance of their assigned uReach trip contact. We are here to help. uReach can arrange group ticketing when necessary, but this can be more expensive. Tickets should only be purchased after clearing travel times with us.
Participants will be picked up by uReach staff for ground transportation to El Transito on the Pacific Coast. Travel to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport can be arranged by air from all major US airports.
Important: No Visas are required by Nicaragua, but each participant must carry $10 (USD) for the entry fee.
Currency: American dollars are accepted everywhere and small bills are most useful. Nothing larger than a $20 bill will be accepted at most places – one’s and five’s are much better. Please note ripped, damaged or written on bills will not be accepted, as the local banks will not accept them from merchants. All change will be received in Cordoba (Nicaraguan currency). Please be conservative about the amount of money brought on the trip. A soda or bottled water costs about $1.00. There is no place that will be able to take credit cards or debit cards, and there is no local ATM available once you leave the airport in Managua. Individuals are encouraged to bring spending money for extra meals, snacks, shopping, etc. $50-200 is usually about right, depending on what you might want to buy.
Language: Spanish is the official language and a few people speak a little bit of English. You can learn some key Spanish phrases here.
Climate: The climate is very typical of Central America with hot days, warm nights, and high humidity. Summer temperatures average (low/high) 94/85F, winter averages a89/60F. It’s frequently breezy to windy at the beach, with the temperature of the Pacific Ocean about 70-78o. It is humid, so be prepared to sweat. Wearing light breathable clothing is the best way to cope with this.
Travel Documents: At the time of this writing, the requirements for entering Nicaragua and coming back into the U.S. are: ALL trip participants MUST have a U.S. valid passport (or passport from another country and a valid U.S. travel visa), or a US passport card.
uReach will keep all documents in safe keeping for unaccompanied minor travelers.
What’s included in the price of the trip: You trip cost includes ground transport from Managua Airport (unless otherwise specified), all meals, purified water, construction materials/tools for projects, trip leaders, recreational activities and leadership training.
