Money, cards and ATMs in Nicaragua

The currency

• The cordoba (NIO) is the currency, and it depreciates against the dollar in a managed, published way - so a rate quoted in a guidebook is always slightly stale.
• US dollars are accepted almost everywhere for tourist services, and change comes in cordobas.
• Bring clean US dollar notes. Torn, marked or heavily folded notes are refused, including at the border for the arrival tax.
• Small denominations. A hundred dollar note is a problem outside a bank.

Cards

• Cards work in Managua, Granada, Leon and the larger hotels and not much beyond.
• Cash rules everywhere else, absolutely on Ometepe, the Corn Islands and in markets.
• Take out cordobas in the cities before heading anywhere small - island cash machines run out, and there are places with none at all.
• This is the country where "private hospitals require immediate payment, typically in cash" is the FCDO's own phrasing. That is a reason to hold a reserve, not just a card.

Costs

• Nicaragua is the cheapest country in Central America by some distance, and food, transport and accommodation all reflect it.

Tipping

• 10% is often added in restaurants. If not, 10% is right.
• Guides and boat crews are tipped in small notes.