Now enough with Honduras, lets move on to the next: A 10 day itinerary for NICARAGUA
2018 protests and the political crises have stopped many tourists from visiting this beautiful country. Tourism is slowly coming back, still being the second most important income source of the country. However, many people suffer from poverty, cannot read and earn less than $7 a day. Even though you cannot neglect the truth and also should not, there are insanely beautiful sides to the country. I do recommend to inform yourself about the history and current situation of Nicaragua to raise awareness, as media, especially in Europe fail to do so. But let’s come to why you SHOULD come to Nicaragua: Volcanos, people and lakes would be the answer (and the following 10 day itinerary Nicaragua).
Nicaragua is simply beautiful. The biggest Central American country has over 16 volcanoes, many of them being active. You will be able to see lava, do exhausting hikes, enjoy beautiful views, eat a lot of Gallo pinto and fried chicken and, my favorite, platano.
Travel length: We spent about 10 days in this beautiful country, however, it is easy to extend up to three weeks or more.
Itinerary
Leon – Granada – Ometepe -> back to Leon for border crossing to El Salvador
3 days Leon – 2 days Granada – 4 days Ometepe – 1 day Leon
As aforementioned, we travelled to Nicaragua via an organised shuttle from La Ceiba, Honduras. The main airport to fly into would be Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Most public transport goes through Managua anyways, so it is easy to start the itinerary from there.
LEON
I personally loved Leon. Leon is a cute, not too big of a city where you can find great barbecue and local food, as well as rich culture and the perfect mix of a city and volcano and beach life. This is also a place where you can easily spend more days than the three we did.
Day 1
On the first day, we arrived midday and basically just walked around the city a bit. The center is not too big, so you can easily explore within 1-2 hours. We also needed some sleep and did some laundry, which I can, by the way, recommend to do just across Via Via Hostel. The white church next to the central market is very beautiful, from there I recommend to just stroll around.
Day 2
On the second day, we started slowly and visited a friends very beautiful second hand bookstore called Buho books. They also have postcards, one of the very few places which do. After that we went to the volcano boarding on Cerro Negro, definitely a must do!!! Drinks in the evening are good at Via Via hostel, after 10 everybody usually goes to a bar closeby.
Day 3
We did the free walking tour, with Leo, the tour guide. Also a MUST. We walked around the city a bit, went through the local market and tried food we have never tried before. We mostly learned about the history, development, current political situation and future perspective of Nicaragua and its people. The tour was very insightful, as I also think that Western media lacks to report about the political and economic situation of Nicaragua. Then we took the local bus (see more exact schedules below) to Granada.
Additional things to do:
There is many more things to do in Leon!
- Go on the white cathedral and enjoy the view!
- Mirador Bar 🙂
- Take the local chicken bus and go to the coast/beach for a day! (Inform yourself about the last bus, usually they do not go anymore as soon it gets dark)
GRANADA
Day 3
We arrived in the evening, it was raining heavily, so we went to bed early 🙂
Day 4
In the morning we explored the city a bit, the harbour is not too exciting but if you leave the main roads, you will find many cute houses and buildings. The main square is also very beautiful and for about $1 you can go on the church. There is also another main market, where you can find great vegetables and fruits, not too many souvenirs though. In the afternoon we then did the Masaya volcano to see the active crater including the magma! Also definitely one of the highlights!
We did the tour with our hostel for about 22$, however, you can easily organise it by yourself. Entrance is $10 and for public transport you will only pay about 2$ both ways. Just take the bus in the Managua direction and tell the bus driver where you need to get off.
Day 5
We decided to go to Laguna de Apoyo for a day. We simply booked it via our hostel, as this time the price difference was not too high (compared to private transport). The Laguna is great to have a chill day, however, if you are short on time, you can skip this, as you basically swim and do nothing the whole day 😀
Day 6: Off to Ometepe!
OMETEPE
Day 6
It probably took us around 5 hours with local transport and the ferry to get to the island. This is why we started our Ometepe experience in Moyogalpa! I actually liked and preferred that we stayed in Moyogalpa first and then moved to Balgüe, that way we could try more restaurants and rent scooters easily! (By the way: Moyogalpa is the place where you will arrive by ferry, it is the biggest city of the island. It is also good to know that you should not underestimate the size of the island, walking anywhere is basically impossible)
Day 7
Scooter day! Ometepe is great to rent scooters 🙂 Just be very careful, as many people become involved in accidents – there was a group of French people we met and did the day trip with and even though they were experienced, they had an accident just the day after!
For scooter rental I recommend Dinarte’s Rental! They have great reviews and everything went smoothly! I heard that many renters try to rip you off, but they were just super nice! Still take pictures and videos before you start driving to ensure you will not be made accountable for scratches. And then we just went around. We went to Ojo de Agua first, which is a 45 min ride and costs 5$ entry. It is a cute place to swim, but nothing too special. After that we went to Casa Margarita and had a coffee there. Beautiful view and can recommend a 100%. Just drive up the hill very carefully or walk, as the road is super super bad.
Day 8
We moved over to Balgüe. Very chill and relaxing day, with a bit of food and a lot of chilling in the hammock, also to mentally prepare for Volcano Maderas!
Day 9
Volcano Maderas! We decided to do the Volcano Maderas instead of Concepcion, because we heard Concepcion would be more difficult. Honestly, after doing Maderas, I am not too sure about it anymore hahahah. We started at 7am with our guide (highly recommend to do that with a guide!). We paid 13$ each and 3$ entrance fee, as we were in a group of 3 so it got cheaper. The whole trail took us about 7&a half hours with only a 10 min break, everything else was just walking, or maybe rather climbing. Here are my does and don’ts, I am not even sure if I would recommend this hike to anyone (maybe in the dry season, however, we were in the rainy season and it was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done, climbing 4 hours up, 1300 m in altitude, total of 21 km length, 3 and a half hours down, in order to see the lagoon in the volcano crater).
DO/DO NOT (for the hike):
- DO NOT go when its super cloudy and no signs of improvement, because then you do not see anything
- DO NOT go when its raining, the trail in the rain season is already muddy and I do not think I would have made it back down there if it would have been raining
- DO NOT go with bad shoes (I went with chucks, I slipped countless times and fell with all my stuff in the mud hahaha, so cannot recommend)
- DO go in the dry season, when you can make sure you have views
What you can expect (can only speak for during the rain season): To throw away your shoes after this hahah (See picture). At one point, because I have very bad lower back pain, I stood crying on top of the volcano, so I will definitely never do this hike again.
I do not want to scare anyone of you though. If you go your own pace, when its dry and you are an experienced hiker it can be fun. You walk through the rainforest most of the time, so you will even see monkeys, beautiful butterflies and other animals, possibly even snakes.
What is the difference to Concepcion, the other volcano on Ometepe you can climb on? I think it is even more climbing, however, the volcano is still active and does not have a lot of forestation – therefore you have views almost the whole time. The volcano is with approximately 1600 m also higher than Maderas with about 1300.
(Additional idea for Ometepe: There is a waterfall on the other side of Maderas, hiking in total takes about 3 hours, ask in the hostel on where to go exactly, organise transport or go by scooter.)
Day 10
We had the worst sore muscles, but we made our way back to Leon. Luckily, we were there on the 14th of August, the night before the Assumption of Mary, and as the whole country is very catholic, we enjoyed the great atmosphere in Leon. I can just recommend to check festivals of the countries before you go, so you do not miss any.
Food Recommendations:
Leon:
Street Food: There is good street food around the market. Midday you can find the local dish made of beef, yucca, onions and tomato (see photo) for about 4 Euros. In the evening, on the other side of the market, next to the white church, you can find a lot of barbecue. Trust me, Nicas know how to grill their chicken!!!
Desayunazo: Best breakfast place!! For about 4 Euros, you can get the breakfast sandwich (sooo good!), a cinnamon roll (sooo good to hahah) and free coffee refill! They have other good food too though!
Pan&Paz: Good French and not too expensive bakery, with breakfast/all day food options! And cute to sit in!
Sua Leon: A bit more expensive so we haven’t been, but its supposed to have good Mediterranean food.
Guardabarranco Cafe: Have not been either, but the coffee/frappuchino options looked amazing!
Granada: Granada has great food too!!!
Tostometro: A MUST! Banana (Platano Burgers) – you might be sceptical about it but it is actually DELICIOUS! Take the one with the fresh steak, its soooo good, about 4 Euros! (There is also veggie options)
Pita Pita: Great Pita. Take the Pita deal (vegetarian and meat options available) for 5$. It comes with one of the best pita/gyros ever + one drink included!
The Garden Cafe: On the more expensive side, but beautiful cafe with great coffee!
Tito’s Restaurant: Go there for the local plate and order the chicken, instead of a la plancha (normal fried with oil) as breaded fried. Best fried chicken!!!
Ometepe:
Moyogalpa:
Asados Nubia: I already mentioned good chicken in Leon, but trust me, this is honestly THE BEST. Like 2.5$ for a dinner and so so good! Get the melon juice for 0.7$ with it!
Sodita Regalo de Dios: Great place for breakfast! Around 100 Cordoba for a meal, plus 25 for a coffee with milk (3.5$ total). When we were there, they did not seem to be open, but just say hi and they happily open for you!
Belgüe: In Belgüe we cooked a lot as we missed many options but one good (and expensive place) was:
Cafe Campestre: Good coffee, good local chocolate for 1$, BEST Brownie (you have to try it!!!) and very good Chicken Mango Sandwich!
Accommodation:
Leon:
Coco Calala: Nice Airbnb with only 2-3 rooms, beautiful pool and good location. Also very cheap (30-40 Euros per night for 3 people). They also have a restaurant for breakfast and lunch, good vegetarian and vegan options.
Via Via Hostel: Very nice and social hostel!
Granada:
You basically have two options in Granada: De Boca en Boca Hostel or Hostel Oasis. Both are incredibly good, however, they differ a lot: De Boca en Boca is smaller, a bit more intimate/personal and has great hammocks and a beautiful chill area. If you go, try to get the 4 people dorm (I don’t know if there is more than one, but the one all the way through, its the best without bunk beds). Hostal Oasis is great too, probably more of a party hostel but also with more utilities, such as a pool, rooftop terrace and a little gym area.
Ometepe:
Moyogalpa: Hospedaje Central: Very cute hostel with a lot of private rooms and good and cheap coffee and smoothies. Nice hammocks and led by two very lovely old French ladies.
Balgüe: La Urraca Loca Hostel: Very cute and small hostel. Very clean, only one 8 people dorm and 2-4 private rooms. The cutest place under the roof for hammocks.
Transportation:
It is very safe to go around in Nicaragua by chicken bus. It is the cheapest way to do it and trips will rarely cost more than 1-3$.
This website is very useful: https://centrocoasting.com
Leon-Granada: To go from Leon to Granada you first have to go to Managua. In Leon, go by taxi to the bus station (40 Cordoba per person!) and find the mini van for 76 (without big luggage) or 100 (with big luggage) that goes to UCA Terminal Managua. The bus station is called Terminal de buses on Google Maps. As soon as you arrive in the UCA Terminal in Managua, just look for the next minivan or bus going to Granada. It is in the same station, so super easy!
Granada-Moyogalpa,Ometepe: To go from Granada to Ometepe, you can first take the chicken bus from Granada, Nueva terminal de buses a Rivas and take the bus to Rivas (has a fixed schedule so check with your hostel). From Rivas you can take a taxi (50 Cordoba MAX per person!!) To the ferry terminal and from there you can go by ferry.
Ometepe: On Ometepe, the transportation is not too great. Between Moyogalpa and Belgüe, there is one direct bus a day, that goes around 10ish in the morning and returns around 3ish. Besides that, there is always the possibility to organise a collective with your hostel, which should be around $5 per person.
Ometepe-Leon: From Ometepe, take back the ferry to the port San Jorge. Before leaving the ferry terminal, there is usually already a bus waiting to go to Managua. Take that bus and tell the driver that you will go to Leon afterwards so he can let you out at the right terminal. From there, take a taxi back to the UCA Terminal – the taxi should be a total of around $5.
Solo travel:
I can happily recommend to travel Nicaragua solo. Tourism is back on track and there are many cool hostels with many great people around. It is also comparably safe.
Additional things you could do:
- Comoto Canyon (more in the north, close to Honduras border, plan like 2-3 days for it, less touristy)
- San Juan del Sur (we skipped it because we heard it is very touristy and many parties, such as Sunday-Funday, but probably nice for a couple days at the Pacific coast)
- Corn Islands (must be very beautiful Caribbean islands, you can either go by local bus and ferry or fly to Big Corn Island directly, Small Corn Island is supposed to be better for staying there 🙂 )
Border crossing to El Salvador:
After Nicaragua, we went to El Salvador. In order to go there, you have to go back through Honduras. We also went for $50 with an organised shuttle, however, I assume it is also fairly easy to go by yourself.
Additional links
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovemarafee/?hl=de
Read my introduction here: https://travelmarafee.com
Find the Honduras itinerary here: https://travelmarafee.com/10-day-itinerary-honduras/
How did you like my 10 day itinerary Nicaragua?