Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a beautiful country and is quite possibly the most relaxing in Central America. The lifestyle here is ‘mucho tranquillo’ super chill. In the smaller towns where power cuts are frequent, the term “it’s Nicaragua” which is meant to put your mind at ease, it’s loosely similar to the kiwi saying, “She’ll be right.”

There are diversities in this small country ranging from the Caribbean influenced East to the colourful colonial cities and the perfect waves of the beach/surfer towns in the west lying on the Pacific Ocean.

Expats are found in all the strangest corners of Nicaragua etching out their own slices of paradise due to the country still being so cheap. Neighbouring the expensive Costa Rica and the dangerous Honduras, backpackers from around the world stall in Nicaragua to enjoy one of the best spots on the gringo trail.

*This blog was written in 2016, please note some things may have changed*

Transport

Utila/La Cieba, Honduras to Leon, Nicaragua

When we were finally ready to leave this beautiful island, we took the first ferry from Utila to La Ceiba at 6.45am. Once we collected our belongings we saw the man with a sign for Leon, this should be with Tornabe Shuttle Bus Company. The company advertises Free WIFI on- board, fresh fruit, movies and A/C.

Note the WIFI does not really work, only in big cities so don’t expect much.

On the website it states the shuttle bus could take up to 15 hours but lucky us we got stuck at the border and the ride took us 17hours! Our driver said they have recently had trouble at the border so it took longer than expected.

Leon to Granada

You will need to do this trip in 2 legs. There are no mini/chicken busses that will take you directly to Granada, instead you will need to change at Managua and get another chicken bus to Granada.

Head to the main bus station (this is around a 15-20 min walk from the centre), find a mini bus with “Managua” written on it. The buses run from early morning until 9pm at night, they will leave when full so you could wait up to 15minutes. Ask the driver the price and confirm the destination (UCA terminal – it is the last stop). Our journey to Managua took 1.5hours. The last stop is UCA terminal, the same terminal where you change to another minibus with Granada written in the front window. It will again leave once it is full. This ride had a lot more people crammed in and took around 50 minutes to Granada. We recommend getting off at Parque Central, it’s closer to all the gringo accommodations.

Alternatively you could catch a direct shuttle from Leon to Granada for $10US but what’s the fun in that?

Granada to Ometepe Ferry

This is a 3-leg journey to get to the island of Ometepe from Granada.

Head to the bus station to Rivas, here you will need to board the chicken bus with “Rivas” written on it. This will take 1.5hours. We left at 3pm from the bus station to Rivas and arrived at 4.30pm. There are no buses to San Jorge ferry terminal, a taxi should not cost more than $1-$2 and take 10 minutes (be careful as the taxi drivers always try to rip you off here). We made the last ferry at 5pm with only 10 minutes to spare. We bought tickets for the Lancha boat (smaller boat) to the main town Moyogalpa on Ometepe. The ferry ride takes just over an hour.

Once you arrive on Ometepe Island the buses are infrequent and being the last ferry there was no bus in site. We hired a scooter for both of us for 2 days and headed to our accommodation on the other side of the island. There are many scooter/bike shops in Moyogalpa, so you can shop around and find the best price.

Ometepe Island to Playa Gigante

We left the island on a Sunday meaning both the ferries and buses were infrequent. We caught the 11am ferry from the island back to San Jorge. This journey was on the bigger ferryboat. Once on the main land found another backpacker heading to Playa Gigante whom we spilt the taxi fare with as no buses were going direct from Rivas on a Sunday. We found a taxi for $20 and between the three of us paid C$190 each. The taxi ride took 30mins to get there.

Playa Gigante to San Juan Del Sur

Catch the chicken bus from Gigante bay at 7.30am; this is the only bus that runs each day so make sure you don’t miss it. This bus will take you to Rivas in 1 hour. Change in Rivas for a San Juan Del Sur chicken bus. This takes 40min.

Alternatively you can take a direct taxi for $20 and takes 30min.

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua to Monte Verde, Costa Rica

San Juan Del Sur to Nicaragua border

We got up early to catch the 8am shuttle to the town from Naked Tiger hostel (They offer free shuttles to town every 2 hours). We then hopped on any chicken bus going out, this usually goes once it is full. You need to take this bus to the main intersection in La Virgen.

Where you get off you need to cross the road and wait at the bus shelter for the next chicken bus going to Penas Blancas, this is the last town and will take you right up to the border.

Crossing the border to Costa Rica

Once at the border you will need to pay an exit fee, make sure you check the stamp and it is clear on your passport. The walk to the Costa Rican border is less than 1km long so it is easily done with your backpacks on. Check out our useful notes below that will save you money!

The entry is free into Costa Rica but make sure you organise your evidence to leave the country before otherwise they may sting you.

Note

1. Do not pay for the immigration slips from the people outside! Once you get to the Costa Rican border you can get them there for free.
2. When entering Costa Rica you need an outbound flight or bus, to show proof you are leaving the country. There are websites to generate fake flights out of the San José. We showed our tickets on the laptop as we didn’t have time to print them off and this worked fine.

Costa Rica Border to Monte Verde

At the border you can buy “Chicken” bus tickets at the stalls. These are the cheapest buses in Costa Rica and they are the nicest! It was like travelling in luxury for us. We bought a ticket from the border to La Irma. This journey is 3 hours and the bus stops on the side of the road. Once you get off walk across the road to the intersection and there will be a bus stop shelter and a road sign a little down the road that says Monte Verde. The last bus is around 3pm. This is why you start your journey early in the morning, as you never know how long it can take at the Costa Rican border.

Accommodation

Leon

Hostal El Jardin – The hostel has a very chilled/relaxed vibe compared to the big party hostel – Big foot. El Jardin is in the centre of town, walking distance to all the top attractions. The kitchen is really nice, the staff friendly and breakfast is included. The best free breakfast we have had on this trip, you can choose between 2 menus – Scrambled eggs and toast or pancakes with banana! The wonderful kitchen hands make it fresh to order and clean your dishes… oh the little things in life. The hostel, like it says in their name has a nice garden filled with hammocks that you can chill in. They can organise tours such as volcano boarding and shuttles. This is a cheap and cheerful hostel that we recommend staying in.

Granada

Hostel Libertad – Perhaps we should have read trip advisor before staying at this hostel with more negative feedback than positive. We had booked a private room and were taken around the corner to a separate building with no immediate access to the pool or kitchen. The room was large although the bathroom was more of an outhouse with an outdoor shower. The communal area had hammocks and was clean and quiet. We found nothing really special about this hostel.

Ometepe

The Lazy Crab Hostel – This was a hostel we had researched, heard good things and wanted to visit. The major problem with this hostel is the location. It will cost a 20USD taxi from port to the hostel each! We rented a scooter to explore the island and overcame the location issue that way. It’s a really great hostel with a lazy and relaxed vibe. Ometepe is the place you go to unwind, so the lazy crab was perfect. They had no rooms available when we arrived and instead put a bed in an open-air loft for us covered with a mosquito net. This fix it solution was meant to be only for one night but we liked it in the loft so much listening to all the animals at night that we asked to stay put!

Totally recommend and if you’re lucky they might put you in the loft. Book in advance because this place was sold out both nights we stayed.

Gigante Bay

Camino Del Gigante – This has been one of our favourite hostels in Central America; if you surf then this is the place. Camino Del Gigante is situated right on the beach and only 15 min or 45 min walk to some of Nicaragua’s notorious surf breaks. The hostel has a lot of activities on offer, booze cruises, Taco Tuesdays, Surf Lessons/Rentals, Scuba Diving and Rappelling. But bear in mind there is no ATM’s here so bring plenty of cash, you can pay for accommodation and bills over C$150 by card at this hostel. We loved it so much here we stayed 2 weeks volunteering. It was a lot of fun and in two weeks we made friends for a lifetime. Still not convinced? They have free yoga every morning at 7.30am, what more could you want? Get down there now!

San Juan Del Sur

Naked Tiger Hostel – An old friend from back home recommended us this place to stay. If you are looking to party Naked Tiger is amongst the best places to stay in all of Nicaragua. The hostel is situated on a hill behind the small town and beach, creating the perfect view of an amazing sunset going down behind the giant Jesus statue. They are also one of the four hostels to host the notorious Sunday-fun-day. If you stay here you get half price tickets. Being just out of town is no problem as the hostel also provides free shuttle service to and from town every 2 hours otherwise it’s a 40 minute walk (the food is just as good or better than anything in town). Naked Tiger Hostel has a really cool atmosphere, location and super friendly staff. We highly recommend staying here and making your Sunday-fun-day a spectacular one.

Check out our experience of Sunday-fun-day and see more on what it’s all about!

Granada

• Check out Masaya, an active volcano you can pop your head over and see real-life Lava!
• Go to the top of the bell tower for a great view of Granada
• Explore the colonial streets and enjoy the many colourful doors.
• Tree house is a unique party hostel just outside of Granada run by an Australian guy. It is literally in the trees and known for its awesome parties. If you are staying in Granada you can take free shuttles up to the tree house in the evening and they will take you back to the town once the party has finished.

San Juan Del Sur

• Experience the notorious party in Central America… Sunday Fun-day! Well known party which happens each Sunday in the town of Sun Juan, definitely line up your travel dates for this fun-day event. Check out our experience of Sunday-fun-day and see more on what it’s all about!
• Climb up Jesus statue at the top of the hill, it overlooks the whole town and coastline giving you some breathtaking views.
• Catch some waves at a nearby beach – Playa Hermosa
• Playa El Coco is a 35min drive from San Juan. It is host to thousands of sea turtles that lay their eggs along the beach from October to April. It costs C$200 to access the beach, which goes towards the efforts of protecting the eggs.