Itinerary Help - Nicaragua 10 Days in March (including 2 travel days)

I'm visiting Nicaragua for 10 days in March w/ my boyfriend and am having trouble developing an itinerary. I have a Moon travel book, and have been looking at thenicaraguablog.com which have both been extremely useful.

We're interested in doing light-moderate hiking (would be interested in a possible overnight camping), nice beaches w/ clear water for swimming, and small cities. This is a budget trip, so hostels and moderate priced hotels are ideal.

I'd love to make it the Corn Islands, but don't have the cash to dish out more for the flight over, and am hesitant to get in a tiny plane anyway. What are some good alternatives for nice beaches w/ good swimming (i.e., not strong currents)?

Also trying to figure out a good balance between taking public transportation and using a guide / trekking service.

Here's what I have so far:

DAY ONE
1:15 p.m. arrive in Managua, take Paxeos (or something else, if you have a better suggestion) to Granada

Spend the afternoon staying in the city, DAY TWO take a day trip out to ___ (fill in blank), stay in Granada.

Q: Is it worth it to spend night three at Laguna de Apoyo, or is this something that can be done from Granada?

DAY THREE + FOUR
Ometepe. (Too much time here? Suggestions for lodging?)

DAY FIVE
Travel to Leon

DAY SIX
Stay in Leon, day trip to ____ (fill in blank)

DAY SEVEN
Travel to Esteli (I've heard good things about this??) Lodging??

DAY EIGHT
??

DAY NINE
??
Would like to lodge somewhere ______ (fill in blank) a reasonable distance to Managua - somewhere we'd like to stay and spend the morning.

DAY TEN
Travel back to Managua for 2:25 p.m. flight. Use Paxeos again??

Thank you so much!

You can do Apoyo from Granada, it isn't that far.
Beaches and clear water for swimming are on the Corn Islands only. Pacific is too cold and currents are too strange for a nice swim. If you're really adventurous, you may think about Pearl lagoon. I just got an e-mail from someone who went from there to Oinoco for four nites and said it was rally nice. Carribean side is mostly unexplored and accomidations reflect this. The only exception to the rule is the Corn Islands.

Paxeos is a good service.
From Granada do a tour to Mombacho Volcano </a> nice trek, beautiful cloud forest on top with great views.
You can also do a 'combo' tour from Granada of Masaya Volcano , the market, the pottery town of San Juan de Oriente and the vista from Catarina of Laguna de Apoyo

Ramon is a licensed bi-lingual tour guide who is a friend of mine, contact him at granadatours@waytogonicaragua.com

There are plenty of swimming beaches on the Pacific water is warm.
I like Playa Gigante and Masachapa both safe swimming, presuming you're a competent swimmer!

Las Penitas is generally fine for swimming, I've swam there a hundred times, but don't swim if the waves are big and surfers are out or if the tide is 'in' going out!!
Ask at the hotels, don't swim alone, don't swim at night!

Esteli is worth an overnight stay, visit the cigar factory, best to buy are Padron, photograph the murals, Hotel Los Arcos is my choice, restaurant there is pretty good or eat at my friends aunties place, Ixcotelli for good 'tipica' food!

These guys can organize your trip into the reserve at Miraflor which I love!!

Thanks! I'm still debating whether or not to cough up the extra $ to go to Little Corn Island first for three nights / two full days, and then do: Granada, Masaya / Moybacho / Laguna de Apoyo, Ometepe, Leon / Cerro Negro, and finally Esteli / Miraflore, or just skip Little Corn, and spend more time at one of the above. What do you think? Is Little Corn worth it? The beaches look amazing, but I'm not so sure about the tiny plane and the boat from Big to Little. Also if it would just be cramming too much into ten days....

ps: do you know what Ramon's rates are? I emailed him, but haven't heard back yet.

Ramon will be out on a tour he usually checks his emails and replies early evening!
You could fit The Corn Islands in,
Beaches are lovely but the boat trip can be 'rough'.

2 days on Ometepe is definitely not too much time there, because you have to take a ferry out there, and depending from which port you leave, it can take a couple hours. And then once you're on the island, the buses are not very frequent and most of the roads are dirt and in poor condition, making travel slow. I would recommend going to Playa Santo Domingo on Ometepe because you can do pretty much everything from there (hike the volcanoes, go to Ojo de Oro - a natural watering hole, walk in the rainforest, etc) and there are lots of places to stay there. You can just arrive and ask to see a room and if nothing is available, just walk next door to the next hostel, very simple.

There are lots of nice places to go on the Pacific side, the water was warm when I was there. San Juan Del Sur is a little more built up, but nice anyway, and you can day trip out to some really nice, pretty beaches. You may have to walk a ways on the beach to get clear of all the people and surfers, but very nice. Have fun!

I'd spend 5 days in San Juan del Sur. You will probably find your time more enjoyable if you don't try to see to much. Maybe another 3 in Ometepe.

If you don't want to do the Panga to Little Corn, stay on Big Corn. Great beach at Picnic center. Defineately more built up then Little Corn but still very nice.

I have been in Nicaragua at differnet times of the year and have been at almost all of the mentioned beaches on the Pacific. Yes, some of them are good for swimming but I would NEVER say the water was warm.

well i lived in Costa Rica and the water on the Pacific here is almost exactly the same temperature. i don't think you'll be shivering with cold anyway!

I really enjoyed the overnight trek from Leon to Volcan Telica--using a great org of volunteers called Quetzaltrekkers, which donates the fees to a local street kids program. However, you don't have enough time scheduled for it...you would need about 3 days in the area. One day to see Leon itself, then the next day you meet @ 6AM, spend the night on the volcano, and get back to Leon around 2-3pm the third day. It's possible to get to Granada or a nearby beach the same evening, if you want to shuffle things around.

Thanks everyone!

We've decided it's too expensive for us to do the Corn Islands, so here's the new plan:

Day 1 - 3, Granada, Day 1 afternoon in city (we wont get there till 2pm), Day 2 and 3 day trips out of city

Day 4, Ometepe

Day 5 and 6, Miraflore Reserve (how long does it take to get here from Granada? Is it difficult?

Day7, Leon in afternoon, Day 8 day trip to Cerro Negro (?) or other Volcano and return to Leon for night (or perhaps do a day trip to one of the beaches. Is it worth it to do Cerro Negro if we do Mombacho / Volcano outside of Granada?) We're from New England in the US, and quite used to very cold water, so we're not too worried about that!

Day 9, travel back to Managua in am for 2:30 flight

Does this sound doable? Any comments / advice?

I'm thinking of staying in Bohemian Paradise in Granada. They seem nice, and relatively affordable. Was planning on Hotel Oasis but the reviews on Trip Advisor were awful! Thinking of El Canto on Ometepe, and Posada __ ?_ at Miraflore. Not sure re: Leon...

@ Chriscan: really? I've read that San Juan del Sur is dirty and crowded and not worth the trip??

If this looks like too much, what do you all think re: just doing Granada, w/ day trips out, Ometepe, and then Miraflore? The only thing is getting back to Managua for the flight home. Would prob need to stay somewhere closer to airport the night before - Mayasa?

Al of Nicaragua is dirty. If you want the wildness of Nicaragua but to be clean and civilized, go to Colombia.

San Juan Del Sur is most people's favorite in Nicaragua but most do go to the bank in their bare feet.

I actually thought it was much cleaner than the rest of Nicaragua but hey I'm just calling it as I see it. I will never go back to Nicaragua without going to San Juan del Sur. I even have a good friend living in Matagalpa but if I only had a week, I probably would tell him that he has to go to San Juan del sur to see me. Matagalpa is one of the best cities in central america if you like things a little rough and wild though.

Miraflor is a long way from Granada.
You can get there easier from Matagalpa!
The town of Matagalpa is a cowpoke town, nothing to see or do there, you go there to visit the coffee growing areas and forests like Selva Negra!~
Volcan Masaya is way more impressive than Cerro Negra IMO, also its hot as hell on that hike!
if you go at night what do you see??
And its quite a trek!!
Onetepe for a day??

Hey there,

We also hail from the New England area, early 30's and just got back from a ten day trip to Nica.

We spent the first 3 days in Granada and did day trips from there...then we went to Ometepe, we had planned to do 2 days there and ended up staying four ...this island is just magical and special...don't cheat yourselves by just going for a day. There's a ton of outdoor activities...you won't be bored.

We finished up in San Juan del Sur...it's an alright place but not great. It's a gritty sort of college spring-break, boozy atmosphere...lots of gringos... We still had a fun time but if we truly understood what sjds was going to be like...we would have went somewhere else for the last few days.

Hope this helps

SJDS is a good base for nearby beaches!!!!

If you're heading north to Esteli/ Miraflor you can go to Las Penitas on the way back via Leon.
An express- UCA- bus from Leon to Managua is about 2 hours, US2.

ya, your right 16 and the last time I was there was 4 years ago and I know it's popularity has exploded. I loved it because it taught me how to surf and I got way better at it than I had ever expected.

I vote for one night stay in Laguna de Apoyo. We have stayed in Monkey Hut and it was very nice. A bit crouded during the day but evenings and mornings were beautiful and very calm.

#16 Chriscan is a full of BS- Dont take the advice.

hahahaha
say what you mean Tim don't beat around the bush!

ouch

San Juan Del Sur is fine but it is a small community and too many expats for my taste. It's a quaint town and a nice spot to spend a night and see a sunset and enjoy a diner but, one day is enough. Granada is a great base to see several communities nearby. Buses are about .50 to the Pueblos Blancos of Diria, Diriomo, San Juan De Oriente and Catarina. Another .50 will get you to Masaya to take in the markets. You might want a cab ride to get up to Volcano Masaya though. I'd spent two days on Ometepe considering how much of your time will be travel. In Granada, Casa Silas B & B, and Hotel Terresol, both southwest of the central parque are comparable accommodation options. See vianica.com for reviews.

I'm not sure how you are planning to get from place to place, but if you are going to take the buses you should go to less places. The time you waste traveling between places will take up most of your vacation. We did a 10 day trip that you can find on here. We visited the Corn Islands, Granda, and Ometepe. I would contact nicaraguan adventures. They can give you a custom tour that really isn't much more than if you did it on your own. You can tell them what places you want to stay at and they will incorporate that in, but it makes traveling between places a lot easier.

Thanks Brothbart. I've since paired down our itinerary: we're spending 3 nights in Granada, 3 nights @ Ometepe, and 2 nights in Leon. We figured this would give us plenty of time in each location, and wouldnt be as much running around.

Planning day trips to Mombacho and Masaya while we're in Granada - still trying to figure that out. Ometepe,we're going to play by ear, but I'm interested in hiking the volcanos, Oja de Agua, and the Ramon Falls. In Leon, we're still debating between Cerro or a beach day, since we'll only have one a half days there and leave from Leon to the airport to end the trip.

Any suggestions for Granada day trips and must-see sights and also Cerro vs. beach day while we're in Leon? I've heard las Penitas is nice (thenicaraguablog.com and many others!).

Thanks!

Here is what we did with Nicaraguan adventures http://www.nica-adventures.com/

Wednesday, January 28 –
Our driver and tour guide (Enrique or Henri) picked us up at 9:00 am to take us on our day long tour. Our first stop was the Masaya Volcano, where they have a nice museum. After visiting the museum we walked up to the cross and around the volcano. We saw some great hawks and you could see a lot of the country side from up here. Enrique was telling us about the night tour they do where you can sometimes see lots of animals that aren’t around during the day and visit to the cave.

After hiking around the Volcano we visited the Markets where I picked up some hammocks ($20 each) and some fruit. We then went to Catarina, a town that over looks Laguna de Apoyo where we were supposed to hike to the previous day. After lunch we hired a local kid to take us down to the lake. It isn’t a bad walk down, but it is a little tough coming up. It was hot (middle of the day) and we ran out of water. So if you plan on doing this hike. Tip 1 start from the bottom. Tip 2 do it early in the day. Tip 3 bring plenty of water. It was a nice hike though. Saw some birds and monkeys. The water felt really good after the hike down. It took us about 1hr and 10 minutes down and 1hr and 20 minutes up. We paid the kid $15 for the trek. I think they normally get around $9.

After the hike we were pooped so we decided to go back to the hotel. That is the great thing about hiring your own guide. You can do what you want.

Thursday, January 29 – Our driver again picked us up at 9:00. We headed to the Mombacho Volcano. After waiting for the truck to drive us up to the entrance we headed off. On the way up we stopped off at a coffee farm. Where we had a taste of the coffee and purchased some a bag for $5. It is a nice ride up to the entrance; we saw some birds and monkey. I would suggest bring a light coat though because it can be windy and rainy and it a few degrees cooler.

There is also a nice museum here at the entrance to the Volcano. You have the choice to a easy 1 hour hike or hire a guide for a 4.5 hour hike. We decided to just do the hour hike. We were lucky in that we had great views. At times it can be very cloudy and you may not see anything, but we were lucky we could see the Las Isletas, the city Granada, Masaya Volcano, and Laguna de Apoyo. However, we were not lucky enough to see any frogs or the orange salamander though. We had to wait about 45 minutes for the truck to take us back down to the parking lot.

We then headed to Granada to have lunch. I can’t remember what the exact name was, but it was a Spanish restaurant with Mediterranean in it. The food was really good and they had great Sangria.

After lunch we headed for Las Iletas to go on our boat tour or the islands. This was great relaxing way to spend the afternoon. The tour was a bout 1.5 hours. We saw some the very impressive houses, Monkey Island, an island with these great birds with yellow tails. After the river tour we went back to our hotel and bid our tour guide Enrique farewell. He was a great guide. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

15 - I like the cowpoke town.. Have a drink at the Scorpio or the Campo. Things happen. I found the cockfights to be really fun there. I can see how it isn't for everyone though so I respectfully disagree with your opinion.

I was there the week before the last election. That was a funny trip. I got a ride from some Sandinistas who I was playing pool with in the back of a truck full of their red and black flags, people giving me the number 2 sign.

After that, in San Juan del Sur, I ended up in the back of another truck that decided to join the victory parade heading back to town from surfing. I didn't even know the guys I was surfing with were Sandinistas but we drove around for hours with people out in the streets cheering.

It was one of the coolest weeks of travel I remember.