To/From and Around Ometepe

[yachtrock]

Hi all,

I'm going to Nica next week and I just found this forum which is awesome and informative (it's just too bad I didn't find it sooner)!  I have a whirlwind of an itinerary planned out for my cousin and me and would like some info on Ometepe.  What is transportation like on Sundays?  More specifically, would it be possible to travel from Ometepe to Managua airport to catch the 2pm flight to the Corn Islands?  I've read that transportation on the Isla is sporadic on Sundays and don't know if there is some quick and easy way to get from San Jorge to Managua (w/o having to go to Rivas??).  Am I hoping for a miracle here?  How long will it take from our lodging (haven't even checked into it - maybe Charco Verde, Villa Paraiso or Monkey Island - any suggestions here too?) to the Managua Airport.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Randall Wood]

A copy of Moon Handbook Nicaragua would do you well, my friend.  We cover a lot of that in the book.  You can get around easily enough if you're willing to pay for taxis; otherwise Sunday is the wrong day to be in a rush.  To skip Rivas, take a taxi to the intersection and catch a north-going express bus to Managua.  As for time to get from your hotel, it depends A LOT on where you are going to stay.

Have a look at the Ometepe and Rivas chapters of Moon Nicaragua and see if it helps you plan.

Best regards -

Randy

[hastinjr]

If you're staying at Charco Verde, you should be able to make it by taking the new ferry (Rey de Cocibolca) from San Jose del Sur that departs at 7:30 am.  The staff at Charco Verde should be able to arrange transport to the ferry dock (less than 5 minutes by car or ~20 minutes walking), then following Randy's advice on taxi to the intersection--wait in front of the Texaco for the bus to Managua.

We did this itinerary back in February (although not on a Sunday) to get to Masaya and were in Masaya by about 10:30, so you'd probably have a pretty good chance of making your flight.

[yachtrock]

Randy and Hastinjr,

Thanks so much for your input.  Indeed, I do need the Moon Handbook.  I think I will go out and purchase it today!  I figured Sundays would be a little more difficult to get around (a la lazy Sundays).  Our original itinerary involved splitting stays in Granada to have a couple days on Ometepe and be in Granada for an easy transfer to Managua on Sunday.  But then we wouldn't really be maximizing our time in Granada so the idea of staying in Granada for two days, then onto Ometepe and directly onto Managua came up and sounded appealing.  Just wanted to see if it was doable.

Again, thanks so much and any which way we go, we are extremely excited to be visiting Nicaragua!
Alana

BTW, what's the name of the intersection if you know (however, how many Texaco stations can there be)?

[kevins]

One other point on the Ometepe ferries: Sometimes they don't run at all, due to high winds and waves. Make sure you have contingency plans in case you can't get off the island on the day you had hoped to.

During my three weeks on the island recently (which was during the windy season), I believe there were one or two days that the ferries didn't run.

[Joshua Berman]

Here's the latest ferry update from Alvaro Molina at Hacienda Merida:


The transport situation is a little bit unstable. The boats and ferry do run over the week ends from from San Jorge to Moyo. There is no transport service on Sunday afternoon from San Jose del Sur to San Jorge, the new monster ferry called El red del Cocibolca only makes the morning round, departing from San Jose del Sur at 7.30 AM and arriving at 8.40 AM in San Jorge, during week days and Saturdays this floating palace is running from 9.30 AM and 6.30 PM from San Jorge, in the afternoon this boat departs the Island at 4.30 PM. El Rey del Cocibolca is run by the municipality of Altagracia, can hold 1300 passengers and 22 cars with a full restaurant and excellent service.
 
The toilets and sanitation facilities are US and EU and are properly maintain. The local municipally is requesting a another round for this boat from 11.00 departure from San Jose del Sur and returning from San Jorge at 2.00 PM. The intention is to run the boat three times a day in each direction. There is allot of opposition form the competition, there is another ferry service coming on board soon and will run from Moyo to San Jorge. The competition is in high gear, the service has improved dramatically and there will be losers in the near future.
 
We are running a small high speed boat from Merida to San Jose del Sur, the boat departs at 7.00 AM from Merida and will dock next to the giant boat before departure at 7.30, we charge $15.00 pp for a couple, $12.50 pp for thee or four persons. The boat is fun and very fast build to USCG and EU standards. Our sailboat will meet the 11.00 AM departure in the near future.