eSIM and SIM cards in Nicaragua

The local SIM

• Claro and Tigo cover the country and prepaid data is cheap. Take the passport to register.
• Coverage is good on the Pacific side - Managua, Granada, Leon, San Juan del Sur - and thin on the Caribbean coast and in the north.
• The Corn Islands have signal but not much bandwidth.

An eSIM instead

• Useful because the FCDO tells you not to use unauthorised taxis, and arranging a proper one from the airport needs a connection.
• Check the plan covers Nicaragua specifically; some Central America regional plans stop at Costa Rica.

A word about your phone

• Given that political activity by foreigners is illegal and broadly defined, it is worth thinking about what is visible on your phone before you reach the border - the way you would in any country where that rule exists.
• This is not a warning that phones are routinely searched. It is a reason not to be careless about it.
• Do not photograph police, military or government buildings. That is the standard rule anywhere with this legal framework, and there is no upside to testing it.

Wi-fi

• Granada, Leon and San Juan del Sur have plenty, and a small remote-work crowd to go with it.
• The Corn Islands and Ometepe are slow. Plan for that rather than around it.