Bluefields: Getting there & around

Bluefields Airport is located about 3km (1.4mi) south of the city center, and a taxi there will cost you very little. La Costeña (tel: 822 2500) and Atlantic Airlines (tel: 822 1299) both have daily flights to Managua and Big Corn Island; La Costeña also flies to Bilwi.

The international port is in El Bluff, with cargo ships that you could theoretically take you to Prinzapolka and Bilwi, but not San Juan de Nicaragua. The municipal dock has collective pangas (small boats) to El Rama and Laguna de Perlas, larger boats to the Corn Islands, and private pangas . The smaller docks behind the market also have private pangas , from where you may be able to hitch a ride to Rama Key. Both Impresa Vargas (tel: 572 2247; Municipal Dock) and Impresa Jipe (tel: 572 1879, 607 3702; Market Dock) offer private pangas seating eight people to Laguna de Perlas, Sandy Bay Sirpi or the Corn Islands, among other destinations. A four-hour fishing trip for up to six people, not including equipment (which can be easily arranged), can also be chartered. Several independent operators offer similar deals.

Most public boats leave from the municipal dock to the Corn Islands (4hr or 10hr, depending on the ferry you catch); El Bluff (30min); El Rama (2hr); Laguna de Perlas (2hr); and Sandy Bay Sirpi.

Bluefields is an easy town to get around, and most of its sites are accessible by foot. However, taxis are also readily available (and affordable), and are certainly your safest option at night.