Managua - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Price Smart (Costco equivalent) has all sorts of imported products. La Colonia supermarket has all household supplies you might need. Just don't buy your beef there. Go to Carne St. Martin where the quality is SOO much better. Nicaragua beef is great (except at La Colonia)! Vegetables and fruit can be bought cheaper at a local market (like Roberto Huembes). - Feb 2024
you can find just about anything here. There's a Costco-like store that carries Kirkland brand. Porta's carries Yuengling, Flat Tire, Sam Adams... Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda. I miss good butter. There's a french lady that makes butter, but it goes bad fairly quick unless you freeze it. Lemons are the one item you really can't get here. - Sep 2023
You can find pretty much anything you want here. PriceSmart is a Costco clone that has most of the same things as home. La Colonia is a high-end, Western-style grocery chain. We get all our fruits and vegetables delivered by a restaurant supply company for $10-15 USD per week. - Dec 2021
La Colonia is a higher end supermarket chain where most Americans do their shopping. PriceSmart, which is a warehouse store exactly like Costco, is also very popular. It even carries many Kirkland brand products. I was surprised by the lack of quality fresh vegetables (you will eat a lot of broccoli and cauliflower), but what Nicaragua lacks in produce is made up by the plentiful and delicious fruits available year-round. - Jun 2020
I was shocked at how much is available here. Pricesmart is a big box store like Costco and even has Kirkland products. They have large bottles of olive oil, U.S. laundry detergent, pet food, cat litter, soy milk, cereals, almond milk, and peanut butter. The regular grocery stores are very good, too. They have tahini, Asian food ingredients, etc. Local foods such as beans, rice, and produce are very affordable. Imported items are more expensive (nuts are very expensive). You can also shop in the local markets which are very affordable. You can find tofu at several places (Naturaleza, the Korean market, Ola Verde), but not in the grocery stores. - Apr 2018
There are two chain supermarkets with a decent, though not extensive, variety of groceries, mostly local with a smattering of US products. A PriceMart membership is a must for expats. It's similar to Costco and is the only place we ever found cottage cheese, real orange juice, cranberries, and certain types of cereal. The prices are roughly the equivalent of non-membership stores in the US. In general, buying local products will save you a lot of money. - Mar 2012
Many groceries are available here, though imports are expensive. We have a Pricemart (like BJ's, Sam's Club, ect) so we get more American products than I have seen in other areas. Veggies aren't great here. - Mar 2011
Groceries are inexpensive if you stay away from the imported goods from the U.S. which is typically overpriced two-to-three fold. Cleaning supplies and paper products are relatively expensive. - Apr 2009
Everything seems to be available at one time or another. Except for vegetables and meat, prices for imported items are comparable to European ones. - Mar 2008
Comparable to Washington, DC. - Feb 2008
