San Carlos Getting there & around

Getting there & away

San Carlos is isolated from the rest of Nicaragua, unless you book a fairly pricey flight, take a nine-hour ferry, or suffer the bumpy 12-hour bus ride from Managua. But keep in mind that it's a smooth, 3½-hour, US$8 bus ride from San José, Costa Rica, to the border at Los Chiles; from there it's a gorgeous two-hour riverboat trip up the Río Frío to San Carlos. If you're coming from Costa Rica, consider starting your adventure right here.

Land

Bus

The road from Juigalpa to San Carlos is one of the worst in the country, and never recommended for casual tourists in rental cars. If you must, it's 4WD-only in dry season, and pack a spare tire - or two.

Buses (which are modified to deal with these conditions) take seven to nine hours to grind 100 bladder-bouncing kilometers from Juigalpa to San Carlos, and may not be able to make it in the rainy season. The one bathroom break involves bushes by a plastic-bag-strewn river - you go in the open or not at all. Buses leave from opposite the San Carlos market for the following destinations:

Juigalpa US$7, seven to nine hours, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12:40pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm

Managua US$10, 10 to 12 hours, 2am, 6:30am, 8am, 11:45am, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm

Nueva Guinea US$7, seven to nine hours, 4am, 11:50am, 2pm and 5:15pm

San Miguelito US$3, two to four hours, 1pm, 2:20pm and 4:30pm

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Boat

Your hotel or any tourist office can arrange private boats seating around six from San Carlos to the Islas Solentiname (US$110, one hour), Boca de Sábalos (US$160, one hour), El Castillo (US$180, 1½ hours) and San Juan de Nicaragua (US$900, seven hours).

Granada, isla de ometepe & san miguelito

Promises of a fabled 'fast boat' between Granada and San Carlos may have been fulfilled before you read this, but at press time your only option was the slow ferry. A private panga from San Carlos to San Miguelito costs around US$40 and takes about an hour.

Show up at the San Carlos ferry terminal, half a block from the market, for boats leaving at 3pm Monday and Friday to San Miguelito (US$2, two hours), Altagracia (Isla de Ometepe; US$6/3 1st/2nd class, nine hours) and Granada (US$6/3 1st/2nd class). First-class seats, on the upper deck, have padded chairs and access to the TV, which will be on all night. Stake out a sleeping spot early and don't forget your seasickness medication. Ferries return from Granada at 3pm Monday and Thursday, stopping in Altagracia (except during very rough weather) at 7pm.

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Air

The San Carlos airport is a 3km, US$1 cab ride from downtown San Carlos, but you can make reservations in town at the La Costeña office (283 0271; 7:30am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 7:30am-noon Sat). Flights leave for Managua (US$80/120 one way/return, 45 minutes) at 9:15am Monday through Saturday, 2:30pm Sunday through Friday. Flights leave Managua for San Carlos at 8:30am Monday through Saturday, 1:30pm Sunday through Friday.

Flights should be reserved as far in advance as possible, particularly during the rainy season, when the road may be closed. Get to the airport early, as flights are always overbooked.

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