The best of Nicaragua: how to spend two weeks

Nicaragua embraces backpackers with volcanic views, colonial cities, incredible surf beaches, Caribbean seas and cloud forests. Nicaragua straddles both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts giving travellers options of diving in warm turquoise Caribbean waters and wild black sand surfing beaches. This wonderful country in the centre of Central America is boarder by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. It’s a relatively cheap country and it’s very easy to get around with reasonable shuttles or dirt cheap chicken buses. You won’t need to do any ten hour buses to get from one place to the next.

Getting there

If you come via air you will fly into Managua airport where you will be able to get buses to your next destination.

Coming from El Salvador? Hop on a small boat from Potosí.

Coming from Honduras or Coasta Rica? You can get local chicken buses or a Tica bus, which is a bus company that run coaches through Central America. We came from D&D brewery in Honduras all the way to San Juan del Sur in one day. We got a taxi to a petrol station to meet the Tica bus at 5am. The Tica bus met us at 6.15am somewhere between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. We changed bus in Tegucigalpa and started the journey to the terminal in Managua. The bus stopped in Leon and the logical logistical place to start our two weeks in Nicaragua would have been Leon in the north but we love a sesh and couldn’t bare missing out on St Patrick’s Day Sunday Funday in San Juan Del Sur, down the very south. At 7pm we finally landed in Managua and haggled a taxi driver down to $60 from $80 to bring us on the two hour drive to San Juan Del Sur. The bus journey didn’t actually take too long, it was a five hours of driving from Tegucigalpa to Leon but we spent almost 3 hours between immigration and emigration. It was the most painful boarder cross yet. The slowest most inefficient part is exiting Honduras. Excruciatingly slow, we were hedging bets on how long we would be queuing for and Will got it bang on at 1 hour 45 mins. The next part was to get back on the bus, drive for 200m, get off the bus, take your bags off and carry them through Nicaraguan immigration and get back on the bus. Otherwise the buses are really comfortable, like a fridge but I welcomed being slightly cold, have wifi and recline. The tickets can be bought online and cost $40 from San Pedro Sula to Managua. At 10pm we finally arrived in San Juan Del Sur, the home of the imfamous Sunday Funday pool crawl, good nights and bad decisions.

San Juan Del Sur: 4 nights

San Juan is a surf town on the Pacific coast in the south of Nicaragua. Most people head here for the pool crawl party, Sunday Funday. Make sure you don’t miss this! It’s a cute town with loads of nice restaurants, bars, cafe and good surfing. There is always a party in SJDS, but particularly from Thursday to Sunday. Saturday is a quieter night as people are saving themselves for the next day. Sunday kicks off with beer or rum for breakfast, I chose mimosas cause I’m classy, along with a decent feed before the pool crawl commences at 12.30 pm at Pachamama hostel. The pool crawl has four destinations on its itinerary, finishing back in the town in the little hours of the morning. Tickets cost $20 but you get them half price if you stay in Pachamama which I’d recommend. Other than partying, sunbathing and surfing there isn’t a whole load to in San Juan but there is a great view point of the town from Christ of the Mercy. Its about a 30 min walk up a steep hill from the town. The best time to go is definitely for sunset and it costs $2 to get in.

Spurge on a day in Treecasa: Treecasa is a gorgeous secluded hotel about a 25 min drive from the town. It is very spenny for a night, around $250. If that’s out of your budget you can catch the free shuttle they run to the hotel and hang out for the day for $15 which is redeemable against food and drink here. We were meeting friends who were guests here so we didn’t actually have to pay in so free day out.

Getting to and from (without being f**ked over):

San Juan is an easy 45-minute chicken bus from Rivas. On our way to SJDS from Ometepe, the taxi driver in San Jorge told us that the last bus to SJDS left at 16.30 (it was now 16.40) and we would have to take a taxi but he could give us a good price. We said ta but no, and decided to see for ourselves if there was a bus leaving Rivas bus station to SJDS. Another taxi dirver tried the same trick with us at the station and we thought he worked with the buses. Thankfully a bus was about to pull out of the station and we hoped on. The bus set us back 30 cordoba ($1) compared to a $15 taxi.

From Managua or Granada: hop on a chicken bus for $2 to Rivas and change buses there for SJDS. If you’re going to Leon or Granda shuttles run from most of the hostels for $20 to Leon and $15 to Granada.

Where to sleep

Pachamama is a great party and sociable hostel with a pool, good bar, kitchen (bit grimy though), free pancake breakfast and half price Sunday Funday tickets. Casa Ora and Naked Tiger also looked great but Naked Tiger is way out of town and requires a shuttle to get into town so we decided against it for that reason.

Where to eat

• Republica: they do great burgers and salads here and happy hour drinks are 40 cordoba (€1) so you can’t go wrong. They also do a menu dedicated to post-drinking munchies which runs after 10pm.
• The taco shop: This establishment seems to be constantly open and is a cheap and tasty option at any time of the day for tacos, burritos or quesadillas.
• Kiss me: great gelato
• Smoothie time: make your own smoothie and add in coconut cream. Can’t miss this place with the surf board out the front.
• Dale pues: look no further for your Sunday Funday hangover cure. The bagels and fries and dip are a solid shout. Also had their veggie burger and was decent.
• Simon says: lovely vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurant with a cute courtyard out the back. They cater for meat eaters too and have healthy options. They do a buffet brunch on weekends which is good value.

• Lost in translation: amazing thin based pizzas that should probably do for two meals but we were hangry so we smashed one each. Slightly pricier at $12 but worth it. Try the maple pizza, if Canada were a pizza it would this.

Leon and Las Penitas (3 nights)

Leon is Nicaragua’s second largest city and the culture and political capital of Nicaragua. It’s home to some of the countries most beautiful historic buildings and the revolution that shaped Nicaragua as we know it today. I covered Leon in a previous post https://irishontherun.com/things-to-do-in-leon/.

Things to do

1. Throw yourself down an active volcano on a piece of wood. CNN have ranked volcano boarding as the second most daring, thrilling things to do, after flying a fighter jet for a mere $70,000. Pennies sure! If you dont have a spare 70K lying about you can try number 2 for $30 in Leon. Volcano boarding in Leon is a great way to pass a morning or an afternoon. It’s an easy enough 45 min to an hour hike up the volcano followed by a 30 second descent down the active volcano Cerro Negro. The last time Cerro Negro erupted was in 1999 and apparently, this type of volcano erupts every 20 years so if you’re heading this year, perfect timing. The record speed down the volcano is 95 kph so fairly bloody quick. I booked it through my hostel BigFoot, they were epic. If you book through them you get a free nights stay and a beer at the end and some class photos of you either creaming yourself (like me) or clutching for dear life to a piece of rope attached to a piece of wood. Good craic.

2. Go on the free walking tour. My ears perk up at this stage into my trip when I hear the word free. The free walking tour goes at 9 am, 12.30pm and 4 pm from beside the cathedral and lasts about two hours. It’s free but it’s only sound to give the guide a few dollars for walking around in that heat and sharing their knowledge.

3. Climb the cathedral. This is a must do in Leon. The white cathedral is the largest cathedral in Central America and definitely the most beautiful cathedral I’ve visited. For $3 you can climb to the top of the cathedral and walk on the white roof, taking in the views of Leon and the backdrop of the volcanos. Leon is the second hottest city in Central America. The opening hours are Mon-Sat 8.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.00.

4. Hit the beach for sun and surf. Las Peñitas beach is about 30 mins on a chicken bus from Leon. We got a taxi to El Mercandito at 40 córdoba each and then got the bus to Las Peñitas for 16 córdoba. We stayed in Surfing Turtle Lodge for two days in hope of being able to release baby turtles into the sea but nature didn’t allow, they only had eggs in the hatchery at the time of our visit. But you could be lucky and let the little guys into the sea which is fairly special.

Where to eat:

• Street food– cheap and great local food.
• Batidos Pitaya– amazing smoothie bowls and smoothies. If you give them a review on TripAdvisor you’ll get your next smoothie for free. Winning!
• Pan y Paz- nice desserts and sandwiches, albeit on the pricer size and small portions. Great veggie panni though with goats cheese.
• Kiss me– ice cream

Where to sleep:

We stayed in Bigfoot Hostel and did the volcano boarding through them. I stayed in Bigfoot in Antigua too and really like this hostel. It’s a bit of a party hostel and very social. It has a little pool which is needed to cool off in and the rooms are air-conditioned, at least two of the dorms are. I got the second night for free with the volcano boarding so I’d recommend them.

Poco a Poca hostel and Via Via hostel came well recommended also.

Granada (3 nights including the Treehouse Hostel)

Granada is Nicaragua’s oldest and most beguiling city. It has a beautiful charming colonial town, it definitely stole my heart and became my favourite city in Nicaragua. It’s quaint cobblestoned streets lined with fairy lights and bright coloured buildings are post card perfect.

Why I loved Granada was there is so much to do in a short distance from the town and the other tourists hotspots are easily reached in a few hours from it by public bus or shuttle bus.

Things to do in Granada

1. Wander around the town finding buildings that match your outfit. The colours are so vidid and the streets are so pretty its hard not to like Granada.

2. Climb the Cathedral of Granada. Wherever you are in the city, this iconic yellow cathedral can be easily picked out. You can sit in the round windows and look out at the cit for $1 and it takes less than 5 minutes.

3. Watch the sunset from the bell towers of Igesia La Merced. Easily the bets views of the city and the sunset.

4. Take a boat around the Islets de Granada. Just on the outskirts of the city center, 365 islands are scattered around Lake Nicaragua. The boat tour takes you to see monkey island, private and public. You can even rent one of the islands for $300 a night, the house on the island sleeps 10 people so $30 ain’t bad to rent an island for a night. The views of Mombacho Volcano were incredible from the boat. I paid $15 and was the only one on the tour. It takes about 3 hours door to door.

5. Watch a lava lake spit out of a crater. Masaya Volcano at night is a must do from Granada of Laguna Apoyo. It takes about 2.5 hours in total and costs between $15-25. Our tour was from Laguna Apoyo and was $25 but we heard of people doing it from hostels in Granada for as little as $15. The lava lake can be seen from above the mouth of the crater. It is fairly specatcular as the sunsets and the colour of the molten firey lava takes over illuminating the national park.

6. Take a day or overnight trip to Laguna Apoyo. This serene lake is a 20-minute drive from Granada and some of the hostels run a shuttle service for the day to the lake but if you have time I would definitely stay a night. We stayed at Paradiso Hostel which was $8 a night for a dorm bed and included free use of the kayaks. It’s such an amazing place to chill out and relax. Food is excellent there too.

Getting to the lake is fairly easy by public bus. Catch any bus from Granada going to Managua and ask to be dropped to the entrance to Laguna Apoyo. From here catch a chicken bus going towards Masaya, again just say you’re going to the lake and the driver will tell you where to get out. it’s a nice 45-minute walk down to the lake with incredible views. Or you could be lucky like me and be offered a lift down. All in, getting to the lake cost me 0.50c. Beats the $15 taxi.

Other then kayak, read a book in a hammock and catch some sun there isn’t too much to do at the lake. Mirador de Catalina is a worthwhile taxi or bus to. There is no direct bus here so I caught a bus from the top of the hill of the lake and walked the rest of the way. Took about 2 hours in total but I love getting those steps in. A tuktuk back cost 40 cordoba.

7. Spend a night in a tree house. The Treehouse hostel is just 15 minutes drive outside of Granada. It is definitely the coolest place I’ve ever stayed in. It is an actual treehouse which you’ve to climb up to. Not the safest after a bottle of rum but I heard of no casualties during my time there. Waking up to the sound of howler monkeys in the jungle is fairly special. I stayed in the dorm for $9 but here is the view from the private treehouses where my friend splashed out on. Make sure you get there for a Friday night for the jungle rave. All night rave in a treehouse, in the jungle. Pretty cool.

Where to sleep

I stayed in the Townhouse hostel in the center. It cost $5 a night in a dorm and had a great pool and a kitchen. Only thing was it said on hostel world it provided free breakfast, it does not. They did my laundry cheaply for me and run free shuttles for guests to and from the Treehouse hostel, their sister hostel.

Where to eat

• Street food– try vigoron at least once in Nicaragua. A decent feed will set you back $3. Not bad.

• Pita Pita– great lebanese food. Stuffed pitas, falafel plates loaded with salad and hummous. Although a bit on the pricer side. Lunch cost me $9.

• Garden Cafe– incredible food and although a bit spenny, well worth a visit. They have a book swap in the cafe, a nice court yard outside and a shop selling clothing and accessories hand made my women in Nicaragua. Healthy and hearty options available and smoothies that are a meal in themselves.

Ometepe Island (3 nights)

Isla Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanos, Conception and Madras. While its not a massive island, there is no way you could explore it all on foot or by push bike like I had previously thought.

There is a public bus service that runs around the island but not all that often, especially on the weekends so the easiest way to explore it is on a scooter or quad bike.

It’s very unique and not how I had imagined. It’s very rural and no real towns apart from Moyogalpa. Everything is quite spread out around the ring road. The good thing about the island is that it has one road going around the perimeter of the island so it’s difficult to get lost.

Getting there

Ferries leave hourly from San Jorge to Moyogalpa or to San Jose del Sur. Moyogalpa is much larger and the biggest of the towns on the island. The public chicken buses all start and end here. But can take 1 and a half hours from Balge or Santa Cruz and don’t go all that regular, especially on the weekends. But if you time them right they are the cheapest way of getting around. We got a taxi from the ferry to the hostel which was in Balgue for $20 in total or $5 per person. That’s the standard price and you won’t really get much cheaper.

From Granada: we caught the busiest chicken bus I’d ever been on to Rivas for $2 which took about 1.5 hours and then took a taxi to San Jorge. Don’t pay more than 20 cordoba each for the taxi to the ferry in San Jorge. That’s the standard amount but we were ripped off on the way by our taxi driver. He saw the sweaty faces and could smell the exasperation after that horrendously overpacked chicken bus and realised we’d pay whatever to have our backpacks off and into a taxi. In total. The journey cost $4. Cheaper then the alternative $15 shuttle.

Things to do

1. Cool off in Ojo de auga-This is a natural spring pool filled with crystal clear water from an underground river that comes from volcano Maderas. It costs $5 to enter and has a Tarzan swing. Perfect place to chill out and cool off after hiking volcanos.

2. Rent a scooter. Although the island isn’t huge, it definitely requires wheels with an engine to explore it. We rented a scooter for $20 for the day and split it between two. Aoife didn’t trust my driving (wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that) after I drove us to the first stop and took over for the rest of the day. Thought I did great for my first time on a scooter. An exact quote whilst going down a hill was “you know you can use the breaks down here too”. Noted.

3. Watch the sunset at Jesus Punta Maria- everyone loves a cold beer and a good sunset and this is one of the most beautiful of all the sunsets so far (I know I keep saying that but they just keep getting better). There is a perfect view of both volcanos from this point as the beach juts out into the lake. It is about a 30-40 minute ride back on a scooter from Santa Cruz and Balgue so beware you’ll be driving back in the dark but well worth it.

4. Climb a volcano– there are two volcanos you can climb in a day from Ometepe. The smaller Madras or bigger Conception. Volcano Conception is the second largest in Nicaragua and is definitely not as easy climb but not as difficult as I had read. Madras can take about 6-8 hours round trip and I was told Conception takes 8-10 hours round trip. As I like a challenge I decided if I’m going to bother climb one it might as well be the bigger one.

At 7 am I headed off on the back of a motorbike with Juan. Juan said he was my guides cousin and would bring me to meet my guide for the hike. You cannot do Conception without a guide. I tried to rally around people from the hostel to do the hike with me but came up with nothing so it was just myself and the guide, Hector.

Hector does this climb a few times a week and looked like he’d fit in more on a golf course with his smart work trousers on. I think Hector was trying to set a PR that day. As we started the hike he told me I was “a big strong girl”, probably thinking I wouldn’t be out of place on a mound with a shot out in my hand. I think he meant it as a compliment so I responded with – gracias, mi mucho gusto ejercicio (I like exercise). The word Hector was looking for was athletic, I’m telling myself that anyways.

The climb was steep and the ground was uneven and required a lot of bear crawling towards the end. I watched Hector scale the rocks like a spider monkey whilst I stumbled up like a drunk seal missing my footing from time to time. There was minimal chat from Hector, he was in a hurry home for lunch I reckon. Which was fine by me. I’d brought a boiled egg and 4 oreos with me for the day so was also aiming to be back for lunch.

It’s fairly windy at the top so you need a jacket once you pass half way. The last 20 mins are just like rock climbing, on all fours. The view from the top is non-existent if it’s cloudy which was the case but you can look into the crater at the top which is cool. We made it to the top in 2 hours 45 minutes. 20 minutes quicker than the previous day when two lads from the hostel did it. Secretly chuffed I could tell them I did it quicker. One of the lads really fancied himself as an all-round fitness doer. The views of Ometepe on the way down were incredible and running down the volcanic ash part was the best bit of the hike. We made it down in 2 hours 15 and just about in time for the 12 pm bus back. The bus doesn’t go all the way to Balgue so Hector stuck out his thumb and a random fella on a motorbike pulled over. Hector gestured at me to get on the back, no helmets necessary and told the guy to bring me to the hostel. As you can see organised tours are a lot looser in Nicaragua. The hike cost $25 and it comes down the more people that go on it. Poor Hector climbing a volcano for $25 was all I was thinking. I made it back to the hostel by 1 pm and am baffled at how it supposedly takes 10 hours to complete.

You go through a few micro climates on the hike. I found it amazing how one minute I was slipping on mossy, damp paths grabbing hanging branches to save myself like Tarzan and the next I was on all fours bear crawling up volcanic rocks.

5. Relax on the beach. The nicest beach by far on Ometepe is in Santa Cruz. The nicest beach by far on Ometepe.

6. Hike to San Ramón waterfall– I didn’t actually check this out as I was here in dry season and was told there is only a piddle of water if even coming out of it so I didn’t bother but supposed to be nice if it’s not dried up. The entrance is $2 in.

Where to sleep

El Pital– this chocolate hostel was my first choice but it was sold out. Luckily we met the owner of the hostel on the ferry on the way over and he sorted us with Lucky Crab hostel close by. El Pital has a lovely area outdoors to chill in, it’s on the lake and serves the best chocolate bombs. At $5 it’s definitely one of the best places to stay on the island.

Lucky Crab– dorms are a bit cramped, good kitchen and nice area to chill out on hammocks. Paid $6 a night here in a four person dorm which was so much better then the 8 person dorm.

Where to eat

• Bamboo- just across the road from The Lucky Crab. They do homemade baileys which is delish and a good range of vegetarian and non vegetarian foods.
• El Pital– good breakfast here, forgot how much I missed oats! And the best chocolate treats and smoothies. I went for a chocolate bomb which rivaled The Ivy. It’s not cheap at $8 but I was full for the rest of the day.

Leaving Nicaragua for Costa Rica via public bus:

Our next stop was to Costa Rica. Very hungover and with little sleep post an epic Sunday Funday we opted to go via public bus to La Fortuna in Costa Rica. A shuttle is about $65 to La fortuna from SJDS and in total the public buses cost us $9.

There are a few different options we found online but when we arrived to the Costa Rican boarder were a non runner.

Heres how to go from SJDS to La Fortuna in Costa Rica for $9 in one day:

• Take the bus towards Rivas and ask the driver to let you out at the crossroads. This will take 20 mins. We left at 9 am but could have left a lot later to avoid the 3-hour wait at the border for the next bus.
• Here catch the bus going towards Penas Blancas. It will take about 30 mins.
• Go through Nicaragua emigration and get stamped out.
• Walk to the Costa Rican border which is a 10 min walk and show proof of exit. You must have a flight ticket showing you’re leaving or they won’t let you in! You can book an air ticket through Expedia.com and cancel it straight away. They have 24-hour free cancellation on all flights. Screenshot the confirmation email and cancel your flight. They prefer air tickets to buses so just be safe and book a flight out, and cancel it.
• We had to wait 3 hours for the next bus which was at 2 pm to El Tanque. The bus was only $5 but one of the worst journeys. To call it a road would be generous so it is 3 hours of bumping along a dirt track but that seems to be the story in general in Costa Rica so I’m learning.
• Bus from El Tanque to La Fortuna. Takes about 20 mins or less.

If you’ve time, patience and are on a budget it’s a fairly simple idiot proof way of getting to La Fortuna.

That puts an end to a fabulous two and a half weeks in Nicaragua, roll on Costa Rica!