10 days, 3 locations, too much?

No skis this time, it's our offseason! I'm pretty good at winter travel, still learning warm weather.

Thanks for the advice. My only concern with dropping Los Guatuzos for Ometepe is jungle "quality". My wife definitely has a David Attenborough inspired vision of what she would like to explore. Years ago she did a research trip (herpetology/snakes) through the Peruvian Amazon. I haven't spent much time in the rainforest.

In your opinion do Ometepe's cloud forests provide what she has in mind?

I will be in the Rio San Juan area as well this summer for the first time. I would also like to go to Los Guatuzos but it seams to be a bit difficult. There are only 3 or 4 boats a week, leaving San Carlos at 9ish in the morning. You have to plan your trip well and how many nights you want to stay there, as you are relaying on the boats. Does anybody knows on which days the boats leave San Carlos and Rio Papaturro?
Ometepe is great, I will go there for the 5th time. What I know from the island is not real jungle. There is Charco Verde with monkeys and snakes and agutis I saw, the Ojo de agua, a fresh water pool with monkeys in the trees. I supose the Rio San Juan area is more jungle.

Might want to take a look at Costa Rica, Tortuguero, mini Amazon, Cahuita ( nice NP ) and Puerto Viejo, maybe a day rafting trip on the Pacuare River, all doable in 10 days, all have excellent jungle and beautiful coast along Cahuita and PV. Maybe Drake's Bay for Corcovado, more expense involved.

Actually a lot of the area around the San Juan river is farm land or deforested, you have to take some of the side tributaries to get to good jungle.

I've yet to make it over to Los Guatuzos, but have been in parts of the Amazonian basin for knowing Ometepe's not it - for impressive as it is!

Here's a recent Trip Report, from a credible contributor, that includes both Guatuzos and Ometepe. Here's a related discussion and confirmation on Boat Schedules and Logistics. If you haven't already looked, there are other Guatuzos Trip Reports here found through a general search.

I've no idea how the schedules would match-up, but you might check to see what the Costeña flights are to San Carlos vs. the 6-hour bus ride for day #1 planned around boat schedule for getting to Guatuzos on day #2. If available and you could swing it, would be amazing to catch an early flight out of San Carlos back to Managua for catching an afternoon flight to Big Corn.

Incredible 10 days!!!

If I see a snake it get's whacked with a machete, not to mention spiders. Some stingrays do survive.

We originally were leaning towards Costa Rica, but discovered Nicaragua's tourism during our research. I didn't even know you COULD be a tourist in Nicaragua before this. My only hesitation with Costa Rica was that it might be overdeveloped (everyone I know seems to vacation there, including my less than adventurous mother in law). Nicaragua seemed like a more natural fit. That said, I'm reading up on the locations you posted. Nothing is set in stone and I'm willing to change any or every aspect of the trip.

I'm the real life Indiana Jones of snakes. Nope nope nope! I'll leave the snakes to my wife.

I don't know what the Peruvian attitude is towards snakes, but I'd have to imagine they were killed in populated areas if they were venomous.