Nicaragua Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Nicaragua.
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Guide
Nicaragua shares the CA-4 pool with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and more than 90 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, EU nations, Australia, and most of Latin America, enter visa free for a stay that is typically quoted at 90 days. Leaving for one of the other three CA-4 countries does not restart the clock, since they share the same allowance, only leaving the bloc entirely, to Costa Rica or Panama for example, begins a fresh count. After using the full 90 days across the CA-4 region, travelers need to leave for 72 hours before they can re-enter.
At Managua's Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, sources describe a 10 US dollar cash fee for a tourist entry stamp, valid for the same 90 days, though this guide's sources noted some inconsistency with land border crossings, where the stamp is sometimes described as free, so confirm the current fee at your specific entry point. A 3 dollar exit tax applies on departure, sometimes already included in an airline ticket and sometimes not, depending on the route.
Border crossings
- Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, Managua
The main air gateway, where the tourist entry stamp fee, cash, US dollars, is collected alongside the standard CA-4 documentation.
- CA-4 land borders with Honduras and Costa Rica
Crossing into Honduras keeps you inside the shared CA-4 pool, while crossing into Costa Rica exits it entirely and starts a fresh visa free count on your next CA-4 entry.
Transit routes
- Bring cash in US dollars for the entry stamp
Ten dollars is the figure most consistently cited for airport arrivals, worth having on hand rather than assuming a card works.
- Plan your CA-4 versus non-CA-4 border crossings deliberately
Whether a border crossing resets your clock or not depends entirely on which country is on the other side.
Entry point notes
- The 90 days is shared with three neighbors
The same CA-4 pool that applies in Honduras and El Salvador applies here too, track your cumulative time across all four.
- A 72 hour break outside CA-4 resets the count
The practical way to get a fresh 90 days after using up the shared allowance.