Customer Reviews

Moon Nicaragua (Moon Handbooks)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just returned from my first trip to Nicaragua. It was an amazing experience and the Moon Handbook was indispensable for both pre-trip planning and last minute changes in travel plans while on the road. The authors know and love Nicaragua, and it shows in their advice on where to go, what to do, and who to contact (e.g., Maverick's in Granada really had some great info). The authors also have a great travel forum and will respond to your travel questions very quickly ([...]). The only thing I would have liked is a table of approximate travel times from various destinations (for the next edition maybe?).

My husband and I went on a quick, two week jaunt through Nicaragua in November 2009. We focused almost exclusively on the Ometepe and Little Corn areas. We found the book to be very informative, as well as entertaining. The authors' sense of humor is dispersed throughout the book, making reading a pleasure. Their insights into the people, the culture, food, politics, etc. is invaluable. Things like hotel prices, ferry schedules, etc. tend to change on a rapid basis and may not always be accurate, but this is expected for guidebooks to any country. We are glad that we went with the Moon Handbook and have no reservations about recommending it to other travelers.

This book was very helpful, and I used it a lot while in Nicaragua. It is current (2008) and very up to date. If you are going to Nicaragua I would invest in this book.

We bought this book for our recent trip to Nicaragua. We spent two weeks there are by the end of that time, the book wasn't even something we looked at. It was a total waste of money and more importantly, weight that we had packed.
The maps are awful. AWFUL. Who makes a map that doesn't have a legend? Who makes a map that doesn't show a scale? Who makes a map that leaves out a huge section of road?
I'm not sure if the people who wrote this book even went to half the places they reviewed, because we didn't find much similarity in the places we stayed to what was stated in the book. There was a place that we booked three nights in which was stated as beachfront, but when we got there, we realized there were trees and about 100 meters of beach on which another building was sitting, completely blocking any view.
Their sections on "Getting There and Away" were especially bad, leaving out many options that we found available, and leaving out pricing (we would have liked at least a general guide of pricing).
The description of the towns, other than the major cities, was almost nonexistent.
I could have done a better job researching online as I went and saving the money and weight of carrying this thing around for two weeks.
I decided for the for the first time to try something other than the Lonely Planet, and I will never make that mistake again!

I'm almost always a Lonely Planet person, but for Nicaragua, I'll take the Moon Handbook over other guides any day. The authors really know their stuff, and the recommendations are spot-on. I don't do any of the more touristy stuff (volcano surfing?) but this book has a great mix of recommendations to appeal to all kinds of travelers. I particularly appreciate the info on volunteering and supporting local NGOs. My only issue (and the reason for 4 stars instead of 5) is the maps - they could definitely be improved visually, and when a place is recommended, it should be on the map! That's not a big issue though, especially as almost all towns outside of Managua are small enough that it's really easy to ask locals for directions. In general, I highly recommend this guidebook.

The Moon Handbook is the best reference for travelling and living in Nicaragua. The authors have a deep understanding of the country and they really know how to share their love of Nicaraguans. Travelling with this book is like having a dear friend show you around his home country. I've been living in Nicaragua for 10 years and I don't go anywhere without it. How do they find all these new places? How do they manage to keep everything so up-to-date? I don't know but I want to extend a big thank you to the authors.

As someone who has written extensively about Nicaragua--two novels and many articles--I am thoroughly impressed with the authors' knowledge about and love for this beautiful country. What's more, they share their passion with accuracy and humor. A person travelling to Nicaragua--or even living there--cannot ask for a better guidebook.

Moon Nicaragua is very well done, filled with valuable information as well as humorous anecdotes, descriptive language, and a good dose of history. We were a party of 9, and we hit Masaya, Laguna de Apoyo, Granada, Mombacho, Rivas and San Juan del Sur in a week. I used the book to plan our trip, book our 'hotels', and have an idea of what was available for eating and activities. The descriptions and information were pretty much spot on, and we had a wonderful, authentic trip. I will now be passing my copy on to another couple we met stateside that are looking to venture to Nicaragua. I highly recommend it, it was very informative and took a lot of the guess work out of what we wanted to fit in in a short period of time.
Thanks Joshua!
Blake Beyer

The maps were helpful and reviews generally spot-on, though there were a few descriptions that I thought could've been more helpful (but it's tough in a country with no street signs). Great guide compared to the competition.

This book is helpful for not just tourists. As an expat living in Nicaragua this book gets used all the time. It is very well written, the authors make it very fun to read and it is packed full of detailed information on not just the lay of the land, but also on customs of the people. If you are only buying one guide book, this is the one I would recommend.