Managua eSIM
In Managua you connect to Claro or Tigo, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 26 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Claro and Tigo
- Real speed in Nicaragua
- 26 Mbps median, 6 Mbps for the slowest tenth72 travellers across Nicaragua, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Managua
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $9.89 | $9.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $6.30 | $18.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $5.18 | $25.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $3.79 | $37.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $3.34 | $66.89 |
How Nicaragua compares across North America
- Speed rank
- 9 of 10 destinations we sell in North America
- Regional median
- 33 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 23 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Claro, Tigo
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Honduras, 28 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Belize, 24 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Granada, Managua
- tenth percentile
- 6 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 72 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (MGA)
- Airport
- MGA / MNMG
- Distance
- 11 km from the centre of Managua
Getting into Managua
- Managua city bus network (36 routes) and TransNica intercity coaches (MGA)
- Road transfer from the airport to downtown Managua (MGA)
Worth knowing about Managua
- Augusto C. Sandino is the only international airport in Nicaragua, so there is no alternative arrival airport in the country.
- Managua has no metro or passenger rail; a light rail scheme has been proposed but not built, leaving 36 city bus routes as the public network.
- The airport is only 11 km from downtown Managua and doubles as a joint civil-military field.
- The airport has a single asphalt runway 2,442 metres long and 45 metres wide at 59 metres above sea level. The field, immigration and customs all operate 24 hours.
- The airport lies in District 6 about 11 kilometres from downtown and is reached by the Carretera Norte, the Pan American Highway. The terminal has seven gates with jetways.
- Managua sits on the south shore of Lake Xolotlan at about 55 metres and climbs past 700 metres in the Sierras to the south. Four crater lagoons lie inside the city, the most central being Tiscapa.
- The 1972 earthquake destroyed the city centre, which was never rebuilt. Homes and businesses spread to the outskirts, so the historic downtown stays isolated from the rest of the capital.
- City buses are regulated by IRTRAMMA, a body of the Managua city hall, and run by private cooperatives under municipal concession on more than 35 active routes at a fare of 2.50 cordobas.
- Managua introduced the Tarjeta TUC, an RFID bus card, in July 2013 under a city concession to the company MPESO. After protests over card only payment, many buses took cash as well.
- TELCOR's public coverage map shows mobile signal for Claro, Tigo and Cootel and maps 2G, 3G and 4G only. No 5G layer is published on it.
- Freedom House recorded in its 2021 Nicaragua report that SIM card registration is not required and that authorities place no restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption.
- Freedom House reports that about 15 media outlet and university websites using the .ni country domain were blocked in March 2025.
- Nicaragua's mobile market is led in practice by two operators, Claro, owned by America Movil, and Tigo, held by Millicom.
- Tigo Nicaragua says prepaid self activation with a cedula applies to Nicaraguans. Foreigners activate by dialling *1070#, using the web activation page, or visiting a Tigo store or branch.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Nicaragua we cover
- Granada
- 39 km from Managua, nearest airport MGA