Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama; A Journey Through The Heart of Central America

Cerro Negro, Nicaragua

The joy of visiting Central America is in getting to experience so much diversity and uniformity all at once; the Spanish language that unites the region also changes subtly from Guatemala to Panama, the Caribbean cuisine prevalent across countries like Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, has its own distinct flavors in each country, while travel experiences also change dramatically from country to country.

Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica

Nicaragua, the ‘Land of Lakes and Volcanoes’, is exactly as its nickname suggests; teeming with majestic volcanoes and quiet lakes. One of the most famous volcanoes is Cerro Negro, a looming black mass just 10km from Malpaisillo. Here, atop the crater of one of Nicaragua’s most active volcanoes, travelers tear down the ashy slopes on top of a rickety wooden board. Just make sure to hold on tight, as the boards can reach up to 90km per hour!

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Costa Rica offers its own host of intrigue, not least for the spectacular biodiversity within the country. The country is said to be home to over 5% of the world’s biodiversity; some of which can be enjoyed at Corcovado National Park and Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Visitors to Costa Rica can explore the many natural parks, reserves and wildlife refuges that make up more than 25% of the land. One ‘must-do’ includes climbing to the top of Mount Chirripó to see both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea at once.

Panama marks the end of Central America, and
has a lot more to offer than just its famous canal. Bocas del Toro is an archipelago in the north of the country that never fails to tempt travelers to extend their holidays and consider early retirement. The islands are ideal for scuba diving, snorkeling and surfing, making Panama the perfect destination in Central America for beach-loving adventurers.

Before You Go... 

Pick up our Central America South GPS Mapset. This GPS map will give you turn by turn directions to your destination using a point of interest (POI), city point, and/or latitude and longitude, with the ability to preplan driving destinations before getting into your car.

The easy to follow instructions allow you to download and install the map into Garmin BaseCamp desktop software and transfer it to your Garmin GPS in minutes. This installable map is compatible with ALL Garmin GPS units .

It's like having your own personal travel guide with you on your trip!

Screen Capture from our Central America South GPS Mapset

Screen Capture from our Central America South GPS Mapset

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Many new map updates

In the recent months, we have updated many maps and added new maps to our portfolio of offerings. The maps updated are:

Guatemala

Honduras

Costa Rica

Belize

El Salvador

Nicaragua

Dominican Republic

Haiti

Barbados

Nevis & St. Kitts

Egypt

Nicaragua v1.1 Now Available (with routing)

We have updated the Nicaragua map with more map data and POI's as well as a routable version for those who would like a little extra help driving around the country. The map includes the following updates:

July 2009 v1.1

*Added over 200 new POI's including hotels, Playas, restuarants, Businesses, etc (7,500+ POI's)

*Added local roads into Managua & Grenada with many street names

*Added major roads throughout the country

*Improved road geometry to support auto-navigation version

*Improved lake geometry throughout country

*Improved Pacific coastline geometry

*Fixed international border drawing/display

Nicaragua GPS Map

Nicaragua GPS Map by GPSTravelMaps.com will give you turn by turn voice guide directions to your destination. Installs in minutes. 

Nicaragua Garmin GPS Map Update History

v 2.6 | July 2012

•  Navigation, routing, and searching improvements.

•  Incorporated customer feedback.

v 2.5 | May 2012

•  Added roads into Tipitapa.

•  Cleaned and added POI's throughout the country.

•  Added one ways into Managua and Tipitapa.

•  Improved Navigation and Searching.

v 2.4 | May 2012

•  Added various POIs and roads throughout Nicaragua.

•  Fixed search issue that required capital letters.

v 2.3 | February 2012

•  Added roads in Managua.

•  Improved Navigation and Searching.

•  Changed ocean shape for Central America Mapset.

v 2.2 | November 2011

•  Updated POI's in Managua

v 2.1 | October 2011

•  Fixed route to Bluefields.

•  Added roads into rural towns.

•  Improved navigation.

v 2.0 | September 2011

•  Added roads to Limay, San Francisco del Norte, Santo Thomas del Norte, Somotillo, Chinandega, El Viejo, Padre Ramos, Leon.

v 1.9 | June 2011

•  Added roads in and around Managua.

•  Added Points of Interest.

•  Improved accuracy of roads throughout Nicaragua.

•  Improved navigation throughout Nicaragua.

v 1.8 | December 2010

•  Added POI's to Managua, Masaya, Granada, Rivas, San Juan del Sur, Matagalpa, and Jinotega.

•  Added roads to Managua, Masaya, Granada, Rivas, San Juan del Sur, Matagalpa, and Jinotega.

•  Fixed routing throughout Nicaragua.

v 1.7 | October 2010

•  Added roads into Matagalpa, Esteli, Sebaco, Diriamba, Chinandega, Corinto and Jinotega.

•  Updated roads in Managua.

•  Improved navigation throughout Nicaragua.

•  Improved POI search throughout Nicaragua.

v 1.6 | March 2010

•  Added and modified POI's in San Juan del Sur and Managua.

•  Added Mercado polygons.

•  Added Managua golf courses.

•  Added country search support.

v 1.5 | March 2010

•  Improved POI search throughout Nicaragua.

•  Added street intersection search.

v 1.4 | February 2010

•  Added local roads into San Juan del Sur, Tola, Granada, Esteli, Rivas and Managua.

•  Added oneways into San Juan del Sur, Granada and Managua.

•  Fixed routing throughout the country.

v 1.3 | November 2009

•  Added all local roads into Rivas and Masaya.

•  Added additional roads into Leon and Esteli.

•  Improved road network in All regions of Nicaragua.

•  Added over 500 new commercial POI's into the Rivas, Masaya and Managua regions.

v 1.2 | November 2009

•  Added over 8,000 new road segments into the Managua region.

•  Added over 300 new commercial POI's.

•  Improved POI searching.

•  Improved road geometry.

•  Fixed routing on major roads.

v 1.1 | July 2009

•  Added local roads into Managua & Grenada with many street names.

•  Added major roads throughout the country.

•  Improved road geometry to support auto-navigation version.

•  Improved lake geometry throughout country.

•  Improved Pacific coastline geometry.

•  Fixed international border drawing/display.

v 1.0 | May 2009

•  Created original map.

•  Highways throughout Nicaragua.

•  Major roads throughout Nicaragua.

•  Local roads throughout Nicaragua.

•  Trails and dirt roads throughout Nicaragua.

•  Ferry lines.

•  Private boat line.

•  Rivers.

•  Lakes.

•  Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coastlines.

•  International boundary lines.

•  Over 6,000 points of interest.