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funtravel · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 7

I'm moving to costa rica for a year and i plan on making a trip to honduras. how dangerous is it for a single young american women to be traveling through nicaragua?

John Hall · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:12 pm Post subject:

Don't recommend it at all. IMO, Honduras is actually more dangerous for you than Nicaragua, although both countries have a "machista" culture. It would be a much better idea to do this trip with a friend or two.

doreenp · Joined: 13 Oct 2003 Posts: 147

I have been living here in CR for three years, I have been mugged once on the street and robbed of my purse, while i was in the university and know of a few other teachers who have had similar experiences.

i have also been doing border runs to Nicaragua for over a year. i feel very safe and walk around at night in Granada more freely than i do here. After dark in CR it�s always a taxi but not in Granada. i also have some teacher friends who have taught in Granada and agree with me.

This is not to say that there is no crime in Nicaragua, that would be ridiculous.

You always have to be careful and make travel plans to arrive at a decent time to get accomodations, watch your possessions carefully and �don�t flaunt electronic items. I even take out the memory card of my camera if i�m carrying it. They can take my camera, but not my pictures.

by the way, i�m a single female, blonde, blue eyed and obviously a foreigner in Central America, i�m also 52 and have been traveling alone for years.

Don�t be afraid, be careful and enjoy this beautiful place.
cheers
d

funtravel · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 7

Thanks for the info. I have a hard time beleiving that Honduras is more dangerous. i have a friend that currently lives there and he says its as safe as any big city in the states...which isn't saying much i know. Are there numerous buses i can choose from and if so do you suggest a specific one.

doreenp · Joined: 13 Oct 2003 Posts: 147

I use Tica bus and Nica bus. They are usually pretty clean and reliable., well as reliable as anything is in Central America.

good luck
d

OleLarssen · Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 337

Tica and Nica bus have a very good reputation indeed.

Also, this danger discussion ... like doreenp said, don't be scared. When travelling there is always danger, but the likelihood of you getting hurt is minimal. Having your stuff stolen is much more likely, and not really dangerous unless you resist for some idiotic reason. To me, safety is something approached by simply not carrying anything valuable on me unless I really have to.

One thing that does annoy me, in regard to this danger discussion, is the Costa Rica Lonely Planet book. It looks like it's written by some never-travelled-before semi-hysterical American - hell, it has an arm-long danger and annoyances paragraph for Quepos! Don't believe everything that book says.