What's the best way to get around in Managua, Nicaragua?

The best way to get around in Managua is by car. The transport system here in Managua is not like in the States where there is a map of the bus routes. The buses here don’t have sign boards so you have to know them by number. For example, if you are going to the market, you need to catch a bus with route number 111. If you are a tourist who just arrived, I wouldn’t recommend taking the bus at all because it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know where you are going...

The best way to get around in Managua is by car. The transport system here in Managua is not like in the States where there is a map of the bus routes. The buses here don’t have sign boards so you have to know them by number. For example, if you are going to the market, you need to catch a bus with route number 111. If you are a tourist who just arrived, I wouldn’t recommend taking the bus at all because it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know where you are going and you don’t know where the bus routes go. I personally got lost when I started taking a bus here in Managua.
 
Buses get really crowded during rush hours to the point when they don’t even stop at bus stops any more because they can’t take in any more passengers. But the good thing about taking buses is that they are really cheap. It’s usually only US ten cents for a bus ride. Buses are usually used by the working class.
 
You can also take cabs here in Managua. Cabs can take you to where you’re going quickly and it’s more convenient. But people nowadays tend to be more cautious in taking cabs because there have been some robbery incidents that happened in cabs. It’s not like in the States where you hop in a cab and they only take you and not get any more passengers along the way. Over here, the driver will still look for passengers even if you are already in their cab. So sometimes, thieves take this opportunity to rob passengers, and there were even incidents where the cab driver was the one stealing from passengers. Even local Nicaraguans are cautious. They recommend that when you take a cab, it is best to take note of the cab's license plate just in case. This doesn’t happen that often but it has been a cause of concern for people here in Managua who take cabs as a means of transportation.
 
Having said this, I personally think that the best way to get around in Managua is by driving a car because if you have a car you can go from one place to another easily and you know where you are going. There can be some traffic jams because the streets are small but it’s not like traffic jams in the States where there’s really a long line of cars. The highway that connects Managua, Granada, and Masaya is being expanded to accommodate more traffic.
 
Walking is only advisable if you know that the neighborhood you are walking in is safe. You can have morning walks or run for exercise. But walking to go to work or vice versa is not advisable because Managua is too big and it’s kind of dangerous to walk at night.