This trip report covers our trip to Granada, Laguna de Apoyo, Ometepe, Leon, Las Penitas, and Managua August 9-22. Sorry it got so long – I’ve always found others’ trip reports helpful so hope this is useful to you.
GRANADA
We went to Mombacho with Tierra Tours. I can recommend them for their professionalism and excellent tour selection. We did the medium-length hike of Mombacho (it goes around both craters instead of just one like the shorter hike, taking about 1 ½ hours) and it was the perfect length and difficulty for us. We got lucky and got a break in the clouds to see some good views of the surrounding area from the various miradores at the top.
We stayed at a small guesthouse not in any of the guides that was good value, but unfortunately I would hesitate to recommend it since there appeared to be prostitution going on between the hotel staff (young Nicaraguan guys) and the guests, older men mostly from the States. The hotel owners, who are European, must have been aware of this, and we found it disturbing.
On a more positive note, for a delicious buffet-style comida tipica meal, we recommend Querube, on the street 2 blocks west of the plaza down by the market. We thought Tercer Ojo had a very special atmosphere, especially at night, and Kathy’s Waffles was great for breakfast. Centralito on the Calzada has good deals on set comida tipica menus, and is a little less touristy than the other places on the Calzada.
LAGUNA DE APOYO
We stayed at Crater’s Edge one night, taking the shuttle from Hostel Oasis in the morning. The food at Crater’s Edge was very good. Be aware though, that it’s not cheap, and your tab can really add up. When we checked out we were surprised that our food tab, even without any alcohol, was more than twice our room tab!
OMETEPE
We stayed at Hacienda Merida. It was excellent. We took the ferry from San Jorge to San Jose del Sur on Ometepe (we took the 6:30am chicken bus from Granada to Rivas, a taxi to San Jorge, then the large ferry El Rey de Cocibolca at 9:30am – it was very comfortable). At San Jose del Sur we had arranged with the Hacienda in advance to have a speed boat pick us up. It was $25 for one or two people, $30 for three. I recommend this method of getting to the Hacienda since you will save so much time over taking a bus or taxi (25 minutes versus 2 1/2 hours for the bus).
The food at Hacienda Merida is delicious, especially their homemade bread. They go to a lot of effort to provide healthy, fresh food for their guests. The owner, Alvaro, is very personable and takes the time to get to know his guests. I commend him for his efforts to improve the local community and get his guests involved in volunteer efforts.
We did the hike to San Ramon waterfall. We thought this hike was going to be fairly easy but I think we underestimated it. It was very hot going up and a woman who had joined us got heat exhaustion and nausea. We all did not bring enough water – I recommend bringing at least 2 liters especially if it is hot. The inaccuracy of the kilometer markers felt a bit like a cruel joke, especially the last “kilometer” which is more like 2k! The last scramble up to the waterfall is strenuous, but it’s worth it. The waterfall is icy cold and refreshing and feels amazing after a long sweaty hike. It’s probably a good idea not to spend much time standing directly under the waterfall as another woman there at the same time got hit with a rock that fell down from above. Fortunately, her injury wasn’t serious. On the way back we were continuously drenched in a rainstorm. Again, we should’ve been more prepared and brought ponchos!
LEON
We stayed at Casona Colonial, a large old colonial house with lovely interior gardens. I found the room a bit cramped and dark, though, and it had no air circulation so it got a bit stifling.
We did a couple of tours with Julio Tours (
http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni). Julio is a very nice man who speaks good English. The Leon city tour was excellent. Julio knows a lot about Leon and Nicaraguan history. His own personal history is fascinating as he was a Sandinista guerrilla while just a teenager and was a captive for a while in Somoza’s prisons. His stories of the prison are heartbreaking. We also went to Leon Viejo with Julio which was interesting. I think this is a trip you could do on your own there as there are rangers there that will give you a tour. It probably does save a lot of time though to go out with a driver rather than taking public transportation.
We also arranged volcano surfing on Cerro Negro with Julio. To be honest, I think the Cerro Negro tour was definitely out of his field of expertise, and would recommend going with one of the more established tour companies, like Tierra Tours, instead. The volcano surfing was fun although I must admit I was absolutely terrified when I stood at the top and saw how steep the descent was. You can brake the board though so you can control the speed pretty well going down. Be prepared to get totally covered in black volcanic dust on the way down, and definitely bring protective eye gear for all the dust and grit (tour operators like Tierra Tours will supply this for you).
LAS PENITAS
We spent one night here at Suyapa Beach Hotel. This is the nicest hotel in town and a bargain at $25 a night. We reserved in advance and got one of the corner rooms (rooms 10 and 11) that have an amazing 180-degree view of the beach. Suyapa has delicious food, although the service can be a bit surly. I had a great lobster meal with garlic cream sauce for $13.
MANAGUA
We spent our last night before heading out at Nicaragua Guest House (
http://www.centralr.com/Nicaragua_Guest_House.html) . A well-run, friendly place in a residential neighborhood. They even packed a breakfast for us to take with us for our 7am flight. They do have an 11pm curfew so probably not a good place if you want to go out at night.
WHAT TO TAKE
Just a few notes on things we brought we found invaluable.
LED flashlight. This came in very handy during Nicaragua’s many power outages. If your hotel doesn’t have a generator (none of the places we stayed did) it may be the only light you have in your hotel room.
Antibacterial towlettes. We used these a lot to clean our faces and hands when a sink wasn’t available.
Steripen. We used the Steripen throughout our whole trip to disinfect tap water and never had to buy water once.
Moon Guide. We bought both the Moon guide and the LP (the Nica/El Salvador guide, not the new one, so can’t speak to that one), and the Moon won hands down.
Suerte, y feliz viaje,
Ingrid
