Ometepe or Jinotega? Can only do one or the other in the time we have!

We will be visiting Papaturro for a few nights and then are a little undecided what to after. Ferry to Ometepe or fly back to Managua and bus it to Jinotega for a mountain excursion. My boyfriend and I are limited Spanish speakers, we have a week to do one more area. We are not into the party, like nature explorations and culture. I have heard it is a bit hard to get around Ometepe but my we could rent a motorcycle there . What are people's opinions please!!!! Thank you very much!

On Ometepe one may experience mountains as well as a large body of water.

I'd say Ometepe. That's the classic Nicaragua experience, and has the 2 mountains. It's not that it's hard to get around, but that the buses require a bit of preplanning. If you ask questions and time your bus trips accordingly, you can rent bikes to fill in the gaps, and have a great time.

Eddy! How you doin? Well OP, I guess that depends on what you're looking for or can tolerate. It's starting to get really hot in Nica and Ometepe will be pretty warm since it's pretty much sea level. Matagalpa and Jinotega are both in the mountains so considerably cooler. As well I would say for a sense of culture, or small town life the mountain communities are best.IMHO Have fun!

Omotepe has a limited bus service - two circles, north and south IIRC. We missed the last bus after climbing one of the volcanoes. Went to local shop and they phoned for taxi. Cost around $20 IIRC (this was 2007). You can also hire a bike.

I was in Ometepe last week(Wed-Sat morning) and will be in Jinotega on Monday or Tuesday. I'm 1.5 hours south in Matagalpa right now.

The ferry ride from San Carlos is long. That is the best word for it. And I hope I'm not insulting you when I say I assume you know it only runs Tuesday and Friday? I did it for the experience of it, and that is what it was. If you do take it, grab a deck chair when you the boat, don't bother with the air conditioned indoor seating, which is just padded benches. You're going to be on the boat for 10-11 hours. The deck chairs run $1.20. You want to grab them early, like right when you board, just take them, don't wait for an attendant to show up to distribute them, so you can get a spot along the railing, so you have a place to put your feet up. But after awhile, they get uncomfortable for sleeping, and you'll probably end up sleeping on the deck, like me and just about everyone else, so pack some sort of camping mat if you can. It is warm enough you shouldn't need a sheet. There was a really cool moment, when we docked at our 2nd stop, don't know the name of it, about 10pm, and there was a floating bar moored to the long pier. If I was younger, and didn't have to be places at certain times, I would've hopped off the boat, got a drink and waited around for the Friday sailing.

I stayed at El Porvenir, near Santa Cruz, about 7 miles from where the ferry lands. We arrived at 1am, and I had no trouble getting a taxi for $20, and since I had reserved the room via email, they had a security guard waiting up for me to show me to my room. There are a bunch of other places nearby, I just found El Porvenir because I emailed regarding Hotel Central in Altagracia and they share the same email address. I'm glad I did, as my bike ride into Altagracia showed it not to be much, and I am glad I spent time on that side of the island.

I didn't hike either volcano, as I wasn't in the mood and didn't budget time for it. I did hike up to the Mirador on Vulcan Maderas. One trail starts right from El Porvenir. I biked around for two days, first heading toward Balgue, then Altagracia, then Merida. Merida wasn't worth the ride, the other two were. Playa Santa Domingo is nice. The sand is hard packed enough you can bike on the beach. I ate lunch and watched cows and horses being driving down to the lake to drink and Semana Santa crowds swimming and playing baseball and futbol on the beach

I ended up not taking a bus because when I supposed to bus from Santa Cruz to Moyogalpa, it was Good Friday and the buses weren't running. So instead of waiting to the next day, or paying for an expensive taxi, I just walked the 17 miles. It was hot, but not that bad. I saw a nice bit of the island, very slowly. Buses run rarely on Sundays, if at all.

Moyogalpa was nice. The thing with Santa Cruz, Balgue, Merida, Playa Santa Domingo, is that they are tiny. El Porvenir removed from all of them, but their restaurant was fine for me. Playa Santa Domingo and Balgue have a clutch of restaurant.bars spread along the road, but Moyogalpa is a proper town with restaurants and other practicalities. I was only in Moyogalpa for a half-day, but I didn't mind it. I concur with LPs assessment of it as a "tourist ghetto" but a good base for excursions.

I'd recommend just making sure you get the bus schedule right and then basing yourself for a few days on each side of the island and renting bikes to get around. I'm not an island person, so a week would've been too long for me, but there looked to be plenty of excursions if you wanted to do that.

I can speak to Jinotega in a few days, but I'm really enjoying Matagalpa as a town and as a base for going further afield. I wish I had more than two-three days. I did the easy hike to the Mirador in Reserva Cerro Apante today, tomorrow is the bus to Selva Negra, a resort/private reserve just outside town with a cloud forest, and I might even stay through Monday to do one of the hikes I picked up directions for at Centro Girasol. They sound fascinating, and I could see some of the terrain I'd be covering from the Mirador, but they're 5-6 hours each. Staying an extra day would only mean 3/4 of a day in Jinotega, so I don't know.

As far as Spanish, I'm a bit above survival level, with occasional flashes of brilliance here and there, but I've gotten around okay. Ometepe was a bit better for English, Moyogalpa in particular, but it's not widely spoken as in Costa Rica. Here in Matagalpa, not at all in who I've encountered so far. In fact, I've only seen six obviously non-Nicaraguans here so far, after loads of them in Granada, Ometepe and Leon.

I can report back on Jinotega in a few days.

Wow, thanks for the details jrmacd! Please let me know what you think of Jinotega and all the other stuff you mentioned you are doing. Geez, wish we had just one more week then we could do it all. Guess Nica will always be there so maybe I'll return sooner than later. Decisions, decisions....Thanks to every one else too. Sounds like Ometepe is pretty awesome. I love volcanoes. I don't feel a need to hike them, I really like hiking in forests instead. Water always sounds delightful as well. Keep the replies coming folks! Gracias!

Ometepe is great!

Lots to do....beautiful nature,good laid back atmosphere.

As mentioned above..there are buses,or you can hire motorbikes or bikes easily enough.

Hi sassafrassstarfish - I don't think you would be disappointed spending a week in either of these regions, so might I suggest you come up with a plan for both? After Guatuzos y Papaturro, #3 raises a valid consideration: If the tropical heat usurps too much energy and motivation, Jinotega and the mountain air will be rejuvinating...to the point you might even appreciate having a light jacket for evenings, or an extra cover for the bed. Otherwise, save the mountains for another extended visit because Ometepe is a magical destination within a destination. Maderas is one of only two Nica volcanoes shrouded in Cloud Forest; definitely an adventure but there's no shortage of other places and things to keep you as busy or chillaxed as desired. Enjoy Ometepe or Jinotega to the max!

jrmacd - thanks so much for all the helpful details about taking the ferry between San Carlos - Altagracia, and your time on Ometepe! I am amazed and impressed you walked all the way to Moyagalpa!!! If you ever make it back, consider going beyond Merida on to San Ramón. Because of limited public transportation, this part is the least developed and visited - probably exactly why I like it. It's slow going on a scooter or bike, especially around the southern end between Balgue and San Pedro y Ramón but with all the hidden petroglyphs and other places to check out, well - you've got me ready for a nice long walk!

Please consider taking all the ferry and Ometepe information, including more names, prices, etc., and putting together a separate Trip Report so the info doesn't get lost or buried in this thread. sassafrassstarfish - hope you'll give us some trip reports, too. All these current, first-hand experiences for Nica are fantastic!

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I would say definitely Ometepe but take a taxi to St Jorge from the border and take the ferry from there. The only thing that I question is time. When are you coming. If it isn't for several months, Ometepe is the place. If you are coming now you may want to go to Jinotega. The reason being the amount of seismic activity that is happening is Nicaragua and not being mentioned in the states. LOTS of earthquakes around the country, pretty big ones. Parts of the country, including Mangaua are under red alert. Ometepe is an active volcano, not good right now. North would be safer.

Ometepe was quite tedious to get around and many of the sights were underwhelming. (waterfall, bathing springs, beach itself etc)
That said I had some good lake fish dinners there and met some nice people and the three nights passed nicely. The tours and treks filled the days in. Get a dorm in one of the fincas and you can live cheap and hang about for weeks, if that's your thing.
Yes you can hire a motorbike but then the dollars start racking up. I hiked Concepcion and have just posted about it.
It was nice for the open air and rural feel but I also wasn't that amazed by the place.
The port town was OK and I can see a case for staying there but then again the point of the place seemed to be the beach and lake.

Oh wow, I just looked up the seismic history and yeah there has been quite a bit of action going on. I don't even know what to say! I have never really experienced an earthquake. Are you down there right now? Thanks for the info!

Also, thanks to all who replied. I really appreciate your insight!

I am on the Caribbean side so I get none of that. We just get the news and updates from the embassy. Managua has been very active. Nothing in the last week or so but before that it was almost every day. There were also some to the west of Managua. Like I said, the embassy said Managua area is dangerous at this time. I myself would think twice about planting my butt on an island with an active volcano until further notice.