Nicaragua is stepping back into the spotlight as one of Central America’s most intriguing destinations, and the latest wave of airlift and vacation product is about to push it firmly onto the travel map. New capacity from Sunwing Vacations in partnership with WestJet, fresh routes from Avianca, and expanded service from United Airlines are converging to create a powerful new web of connectivity into the country. For travelers in Canada, the United States and across the region, this coordinated growth is a genuine game changer for how easily, affordably and flexibly they can reach Nicaragua’s colonial cities, surf beaches and volcanic landscapes.
Sunwing Vacations Puts Managua on the Winter Sun Map
For Canadian travelers, the most visible shift comes from Sunwing Vacations, which has confirmed Managua, Nicaragua as a new sun destination in its 2025–2026 winter program. Beginning December 18, 2025, Sunwing and sister brand WestJet Vacations Quebec will offer weekly nonstop flights from Montreal to Managua, operated by WestJet every Thursday through April 9, 2026. The seasonal service anchors a broader move by the tour operator to deepen its footprint in Central America while still leaning into the packaged, all inclusive model that has long defined its success.
Sunwing is positioning Nicaragua as an “exclusive” escape for Quebecers, highlighting the mix of adventure and relaxation that sets it apart from more familiar Caribbean and Mexican options. Packages are expected to focus strongly on Barceló Montelimar, a large-scale all inclusive resort on the Pacific coast that allows tour operators to package beach downtime with excursions to cities such as Granada and León, or day trips to volcanoes and cloud forests. For winter-weary Canadians, the appeal is straightforward: a single booking, one charter-style flight, and curated ground arrangements in a country that still feels undiscovered.
The new Managua route is part of Sunwing Vacations’ first full winter operating entirely on aircraft flown by WestJet. The move gives the brand more flexibility with capacity while benefiting from WestJet’s operational network and service standards. In practical terms, that means stronger schedule reliability, coordinated connections from regional Canadian airports into Montreal, and a more consistent onboard product, all of which help de-risk a destination that may still be unfamiliar to many travelers and advisors.
Avianca’s New Routes Turn Managua into a Regional Hub
While Sunwing focuses on bundled holiday packages, Avianca is steadily reshaping how independent travelers, business passengers and diaspora communities move through Central America. In February 2025 the Colombian carrier announced two new routes from Managua: a daily service to Fort Lauderdale and multiple weekly frequencies to San José, Costa Rica, both scheduled to start in May 2025 on Airbus A320 aircraft with 180 seats.
These routes significantly increase the number of nonstop options in and out of Nicaragua. Fort Lauderdale delivers an additional South Florida gateway complementing Miami, and gives travelers a competitive alternative to ultra-low-cost carriers on the route. The new San José flights stitch Managua into one of the region’s busiest transit nodes, opening one-stop connections deeper into Central and South America without having to route through the United States. For Nicaraguans, the additional capacity means more choice and potentially lower fares; for visitors, it makes multi-country itineraries combining Costa Rica and Nicaragua far easier to execute.
Avianca’s expansion is not a standalone move. It follows the airline’s broader investment in its North and Central American network, with Florida emerging as a strategic bridge between Latin America and major U.S. source markets. By adding Fort Lauderdale–Managua on top of existing links such as Miami–San Salvador and Miami–Guatemala City, the airline is building a lattice of routes that travelers can mix and match, tailoring trips to specific beach areas, colonial cities or adventure hubs. Managua is no longer a dead end; instead, it is one of several nodes in a network that rewards flexible, inquisitive travelers.
United Airlines Deepens Nicaragua Access Through Houston
United Airlines, long a dominant player in Central America from its Houston hub, has also been quietly strengthening its ties to Nicaragua. The carrier reinstated daily nonstop service between Houston and Managua in January 2023, restoring a key link that had been suspended during the pandemic. It then went a step further by reintroducing a second daily frequency on the route in March 2024, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with both First Class and Economy cabins.
That double-daily schedule out of Houston is strategically important. George Bush Intercontinental is United’s primary gateway to Latin America, connecting onward to dozens of destinations across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, as well as onward to Europe and Asia. For Nicaraguans traveling for work, study or visiting friends and relatives, the added frequency significantly improves connection options, particularly for early-morning departures and same-day returns. For inbound leisure travelers, it increases the availability of mileage seats and promotional fares while reducing the risk of long layovers if a flight is delayed.
United has also been expanding its overall Central American reach from Houston, adding routes and extra frequencies to cities such as Guatemala City, San Salvador and San Pedro Sula in the 2025–2026 winter schedule. As those services ramp up, the Houston–Managua flights plug into an even thicker mesh of regional connections, giving travelers the ability to assemble complex itineraries that might involve, for example, arriving in Nicaragua and departing from another Central American country after an overland journey. This kind of network depth turns Managua from a niche endpoint into a practical cog in a multi-stop adventure.
Sunwing, Avianca and United: A De Facto Alliance for Travelers
There is no formal three-way alliance between Sunwing Vacations, Avianca and United Airlines focused on Nicaragua. Yet for travelers, the practical effect of their coordinated growth looks very much like a virtual partnership. Sunwing provides risk-free, one-stop packages from Canada directly to the beach; Avianca knits Managua more tightly into the Central American and Florida web; and United delivers robust U.S. connectivity and long-haul links via Houston. The combined result is that Nicaragua becomes easier to reach, to combine with other countries, and to sell in both retail and wholesale travel channels.
For North American travel advisors, this ecosystem solves several longstanding challenges. One of the obstacles to promoting Nicaragua has been a lack of airlift at convenient times and price points. Packaged charter-style flights from Montreal reduce the entry barrier for first-time visitors, while scheduled services from Houston and South Florida offer flexibility for repeat travelers and independent explorers. Advisors can confidently propose Nicaragua to different customer segments, from families wanting predictable resort stays to couples looking for an off-the-beaten-path but accessible getaway.
From the airlines’ perspective, Nicaragua fills a valuable niche in Central America’s portfolio. Costa Rica has long been the region’s flagship eco-tourism destination, while Panama and El Salvador have gained prominence as airline hubs. Nicaragua, with its relatively undeveloped coastlines and limited large-scale resort infrastructure, offers room for growth without cannibalizing established markets. As carriers juggle capacity in the wake of low-cost competitors’ retrenchments, a country that can support both adventure tourism and value-focused all inclusive stays looks increasingly attractive.
What the New Connectivity Means for Travelers on the Ground
In practical terms, the surge in routes translates into faster, smoother journeys and more varied itineraries. A traveler in Montreal can now fly directly to Managua on a Thursday, transfer by road to a Pacific resort for several nights, then continue north along the coast to surf towns and fishing villages before looping inland through colonial Granada and volcanic Lake Nicaragua. From there, they might cross by land into Costa Rica and fly home via San José on Avianca or United, never having to backtrack to their original arrival point.
For U.S. travelers, Houston’s strengthened role as a Latin American super-hub multiplies options. A family from Denver or Chicago could connect through Houston onto one of United’s daily Managua flights, spending a week in Nicaragua before continuing onward to Guatemala City or San Salvador. Similarly, Floridians now have a choice of airlines and airports when heading to Nicaragua, with Avianca’s daily Fort Lauderdale–Managua service complementing existing Miami options and creating competition on price, schedule and onboard product.
This newfound connectivity also makes it easier to tailor trips to specific interests. Birdwatchers and nature lovers can use the country as part of a broader migratory corridor itinerary, following species from Guatemala’s highlands through Nicaragua’s lakes and forests and south into Costa Rica. Surfers can chase swells along the Pacific coast, knowing there are multiple exit points at the end of their trip. Cultural travelers can string together the colonial cities of Antigua in Guatemala, León and Granada in Nicaragua, and San Salvador, moving mostly overland but dropping into the air network whenever time is tight.
Implications for Nicaragua’s Tourism Industry and Communities
Behind the route maps and seat numbers lies a deeper story about how Nicaragua wants to position itself in the regional tourism economy. Increased capacity from Sunwing, Avianca and United signals growing confidence among industry players that demand is there, or soon will be. That confidence is already spurring tangible investment on the ground, from new internationally branded hotels in Managua to upgrades at established beach resorts and the development of new excursion offerings aimed at packaged and independent guests alike.
For local communities, particularly in coastal and rural areas, more airlift can mean a pipeline of jobs and microbusiness opportunities, from guiding and transportation to crafts and culinary ventures. However, it also raises questions about environmental management and cultural preservation in destinations that have, until now, largely evolved at a modest pace. Operators and hoteliers who have long marketed Nicaragua’s low-key, uncrowded feel will face the task of accommodating more visitors while maintaining the authenticity that attracted those visitors in the first place.
Government agencies and private-sector tourism boards are likely to respond with enhanced marketing efforts targeted at Canada and the United States, emphasizing not just beaches but also volcano boarding, coffee culture, colonial architecture and freshwater island life on Lake Nicaragua. The timing aligns neatly with the ramp-up in flights. As air seats come on line for the 2025–2026 winter and beyond, Nicaragua will be far better positioned to compete with long-established favorites in Mexico and the Caribbean for a share of the season’s sun-seeking travelers.
Central American Connectivity Enters a New Phase
The implications of these changes stretch well beyond Nicaragua’s borders. The region as a whole is experiencing a recalibration of air service as traditional legacy carriers, low-cost airlines and hybrid models jostle for position. United’s expanded winter schedule from Houston into Guatemala City and San Salvador, Avianca’s continued Florida build-out, and Sunwing’s commitment to new Central American destinations are all part of a larger shift that makes the isthmus more interconnected than ever before.
For travelers, that means Central America is increasingly easy to treat as a single, diverse destination rather than a set of isolated countries. The emergence of reliable north–south and cross-regional routes allows for fluid movement from one country to another, with Managua now functioning as one of several logical gateways instead of a disconnected outlier. As capacity grows and competition intensifies, fares are likely to remain attractive, particularly in the shoulder seasons, opening the door to longer, slower, more immersive trips.
In this context, the combined efforts of Sunwing Vacations, Avianca and United Airlines represent more than just a few new lines on a route map. They mark a pivotal moment in Central American connectivity, one in which Nicaragua moves from the fringes of mainstream tourism into its dynamic core. For travelers willing to look beyond the usual suspects, the door to one of the region’s most compelling destinations is not just open; it is, at long last, wide ajar.