Customer Reviews

Moon Handbooks Nicaragua

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joshua Berman & Randy Wood have not left a pueblo unexplored nor a beach missed. IF you are going visit only Nicaragua, this is the guide to take with you. If, perchance, you will visit other countries as well, then my first choice is "Footprint's Cental America Handbook"

Every city, town and beach I visited in Nicaragua was covered. I found their recommendations for accommodations, food and other service in the guide to be "right on". In our technology connected world the authors have the web addresses and/or email addresses for most hotels (not the hostels). Great.

Very important for those planning to study Spanish in Nicaragua, this guide has a great rundown of most of the schools in various cities. This section is a must read before selecting a school (I speak from experience).

I do need to point out the poetic license that is taken by the authors. The authors describing place with magniloquent words, that when the guide is held up to the reality of the place it is not half as wonderful as they say. Their writing on Leon is a great example. They write that being in Leon can give you an "exotic feeling" like the "one gets by walking down the cobble stone streets by colonial buildings". If and when you visit Leon you will be there a long, long time looking for that feeling and that street of cobbled stones. Maybe they meant "asphalt streets with pot holes".

Although the guide is copyrighted 2003 I found that information regarding new hotels, restaurants and bars stopped at or around 2000. However, the authors introduction section (economy, government etc.) is through 2001. Do note, the upper priced hotels (over $100) only get the mention of their name

And how do you make a very good guide - GREAT!? Well, more maps and better maps, especially of Managua, would be a great place to start. The guide has information about many sites of interest with corresponding maps to help you navigate. Also, there is NO section that recommends books or videos. There is no list of foreign embassies to help a traveler locate their embassy in Managua. Finally, the crime is rising in Managua, but only in Managua, and the guide does not address this.

These things said, I still strongly recommend this book. This guide and the excellent 'In Focus - Nicaragua' (see my review) should be in your hand before you go.

Until this book came along, solid guidebook options on Nicaragua were limited at best. You've basically got three choices: Lonely Planet Central America, Moon Handbooks Nicaragua, and the Footprints guide. For anyone planning on staying more than a few days in Nicaragua, there is no question that this book will enhance your trip significantly. I recently spent three months travelling through Nicaragua and ended up ditching the other two guides b/c they lacked up to date material and were severely limited and outdated in their descriptions of where to stay, eat, and visit (basically the things that you really need to know). For those of you looking for a more local experience, or at least a way to get off the beaten path, this book will be a lifesaver. It is clear that these guys have lived in Nicaragua for a decent chunk of time. I'm tired of bashing on the other guidebooks, but there are many parts of the country that the other books fail to cover in any relevant detail or even mention at times.

As far as writing style goes, these guys are actually hilarious. I'm not looking for comedy in a guidebook (just solid info which they've provided in full), but it's a bonus to find a book which provides what you need and presents it in a way that's intelligent and amusing. Their list of fiestas patronales is a must have for those who have the time to stick around the country and check them out. I would also suggest picking up a copy of Waves (a free magazine published in Nicaragua for tourists) for more on what is going on in Nicaragua during a specific month. There's no question that Nicaragua has some amazing sites and incredibly friendly people, so it's nice to finally have a guidebook that allows people to enjoy the experience more fully. If you're heading to Nicaragua, this is your book.

It has been a source of constant frustration and for me over the years when browsing throught the Nicaraguan guidebooks available to note how innacurate and misleading they have been..... until now. I have been living in Nicaragua for 15 yrs and reveiewing the guidebooks all this time I had pretty much and despaired that I would see in print a fully fledged top notch guidebook. Sure I could nitpick about one ot two minor issues but this book is light years ahead of the other so called guides. It is the only one worth considering

I used to use the Lonely Planet Guidebooks for my travels in Central America. As good as they are, Josh Berman and Randy Wood's "Moon Handbooks: Nicaragua" is the class of the field.

The two have done an excellent job of researching, exploring almost every nook and cranny of this amazing country. It is very thorough and factually correct.

Beyond that, it is written with great respect for the land and its people, giving them the respect they deserve. They tell of the heroic struggle the Nicaraguans pass through every day, just to survive--and survive they do. The authors give the reader ample information the civic self-help organizations the people have created for themselves and their neighbors--and how to volunteer to help.

If you want to know the real Nicaragua, buy this book.

If you're going to Nicaragua then you have to bring this book. That's the simple truth --read the other reviews if you aren't yet convinced. The book is really well done, fun to read, interesting, much deeper and more insightful than any other guide book I've ever seen. I found myself reading it cover-to-cover, and I am not some kind of Guidebook Reading Guy.

Thanks Joshua and Randy for putting together this fantastic resource.

P.S. To whom it may concern: Go to Nicaragua and take a Spanish class. It is absolutely THE way to see this fantastic country. You'll learn Spanish, you'll get to know really interesting people (which really are the best part of Nicaragua), you'll have anm experience you cherish the rest of your life.

i have lived in nicaragua for 3 years working at The Bearded Monkey in Granada and have waited for a decent guidebook to come out. i am waiting no longer. this is the best guide by far. the attention to detail is second to none. it goes beyond the hot spots where every backpacker goes. any book will tell you where to stay in san juan del sur or leon, but this book will give you accurate details on places farther afield such as greytown and san juan del norte. it's obvious that these guys have been everywhere they have written about and they don't pull any punches. buy it and check out this incredible country.

I'm giving this book five stars because, despite the few short comings, you really couldn't expect anything better. Nothing is perfect, right? I've been in Nica. for two months and will be here another month and use the book all the time. This book covers every conceivable place you might want to travel in Nicaragua. While this 2002 edition is very slightly out of date (for instance, some places listed have closed, there are many more internet cafes now, etc.), I understand that an updated edition will be coming out in Fall 2005.
The authors outline great places to eat (and a good selection of places to eat, including attention to vegetarian concerns), places to sleep ranging from cheap cheap hostels to higher-end hotels. (However, note that this book is not meant for resort-hoppers. If you have lots and lots of money and want to stay at the best places in all of Nica and eat at fancy restaurants and aren't terribly interested in the life of the Nicaraguan people and just want a typical beach vacation, this probably will not be of help to you. That is not to say that this is for people who completely want to "rough it" but this is not geared toward the high-end crowd.) The book covers discos and bars for most cities where such things are present, and caters equally to the hiker/adventurer type and people (like me) who are not into hiking around volcanoes. Plenty of info on museums, attractions, ruins, and festivals. Includes information about bus stations and getting from city to city, although some are out of date so always double check.
I was also happy that the authors took into account the Nicaraguan people and customs and advocate (although not in a preachy way) ecologically and ethically responsible tourism.
The shortcomings of the book are that sometimes the authors make things sound a little better or more exciting or more beautiful than they actually are. I noticed another reviewer mentioned this as well, so it isn't just me. Another thing, although I am sure it is the interest of space, is that some places don't have directions or "addresses" (that is, the Nica equivalent of addresses). This is fine in a smaller town where you can just ask, but in bigger places, like Managua, neither your taxi driver nor a person on the street and maybe not even the tourism office (if it is open) will necessarily know the location of a small bookstore or cafe that the authors list. Personally, I could have stood for less info on the flora and fauna and ecological stuff, which I think maybe is not a huge interest to all readers, and that space could have been used for more details on the cities and locations. And just a small pet peeve, the one paragraph dedicated to liberation theology showed little understanding as to what the movement was and is about. However, don't take these few criticisms to mean that the book isn't great and well worth your money. I will buy the new edition just to read it, even though I won't be living in Nicaragua anymore when it comes out.

We recently got back from a vacation to Nicaragua and we would have been absolutely lost without this excellent guidebook.

Not only is the book a great resource for all your standard travel needs - hotels, restaurants, transportation and special sites, etc. - the book has a nearly overwhelming amount of history of Nicaragua, which was incredibly helpful in understanding what we were seeing during our travels. Wood and Bermon's writing style makes the guide readable, like any nonfiction history book.

Another thing that distinguishes this guidebook from most of the others that cover Central America is that Wood and Bermon recommend hotels and restaurants for all price ranges and types of travelers. These guys are pretty much the first to recognize that Central America is becoming/has become a destination for tourists of all ages and means.

This by far is the best Nicaraguan travel guide on the market. It puts the Lonely Planet (Central America on a Shoe String) to shame. I lived in Nicaragua for almost 3 years, and I know these guys have done their research. To know about most of the places they mention in the book, they would have had to them in person, because most of them are not tourist destinations, they are true Nicaraguan secrects. This book is not like most of guide books I've read (lonely planet). Where the authors just ask a few people for some names of places they liked then without even visiting them there selves write about how great they are. These guys got it all right, every little hot spot for food, lodging, hiking, and not to mention the night life.

If you are looking for something different in life, some adventure, a story to tell all of your buddies back home. Check out Nicaragua, you wont regret it and I promise you that this book will not only give you a better understanding of the history and culture of Nicaragua, but it will also insure that your adventure is both exciting and rewarding.

Thanks Randy and Joshue, for the great Book

When I visited Nicaragua, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the land and the generosity of the people. It's not just the land of Lakes and Volcanoes, it's also the land of Poets and Muralists. I was also overwhelmed by the difficulty of traveling without a proper guide book.
Finally there's a book with great maps, vivid descriptions, and witty advise. Nicaragua should be at the top of the list for travelers and this Berman-Wood book is an essential guide.
What really separates this book apart from other's of its genre is all the guidance on how to travel responsibly. Nicaragua NEEDS money from tourism - but ignorant tourists may end up contributing to poverty and oppression!
Use this guide for all travel in the region - and use it to help decide what coffee to buy in your hometown!