Nicaragua is one of those places that elicit the reaction of “you’re going there?! Is it safe?” when you share plans to travel there. Central America has a bit of a reputation as a rough place to travel, but let us assure you – Nicaragua is not only safe (its capital city, Managua, is the safest Central American capital) but it’s beautiful, relaxed and the kind of place where the locals are genuinely interested in getting to know you. It’s a dream – get there before it becomes too touristy. Here are our top recommendations about travelling to this beautiful little Caribbean gem.
Granada
To be honest, there isn’t much to see in Managua. There are some cool markets and interesting arts things to check out, of course, but although it’s a safer city in Central American terms, you still need to be pretty careful about where you go, what time of day you’re travelling around, and even what taxi you take. So, we suggest skipping it altogether unless you’re a seasoned traveller, and heading to Granada. This colonial city is the fifth biggest in the country and has beautiful architecture.
Gorgeous architecture in Granada.
It’s a great spot to get started in the country and check out some historical buildings, cigar factories, horse-drawn buggies, and some of the country’s delicious coffee. We stayed at the Hotel Granada, which is a bit pricier compared to other deals you can get (about $90 vs. $60 or so), but is completely worth it. The building is an old colonial fortress with volcanic stone walls, old brick and wood construction and plant life around every corner. Plus, it has a pool, which you need in a very hot city full of stone buildings and roads. Get adventurous with your dining – one of the best meals we had was in a market outside, where we tried a traditional dish called Vigorón: crispy pork skin (chicharrones), boiled yucca (like potato) topped with shredded cabbage and sliced mimbros (super sour little green vegetables), served on a big banana leaf. It’s effing amazing.
Dark and sexy rooms at Hotel Granada.
Vigorón – one of the best things to eat, ever.
Photo source.
San Juan Del Sur
Welcome to party central in Nicaragua. This place reminded us a bit of Grand Bend in the summer – lots of twenty-somethings having a ball surfing all day, and drinking all night. There’s definitely some nightlife here, and it’s the only place in Nicaragua we visited where the tourists outnumbered the locals.
San Juan is fun and most importantly, is surrounded by some amazing beaches with some phenomenal surfing for all skill levels. We rented a house just on the outskirts of town, which is something affordable to do when you have a group. Our pick was Casa California, which was like something out of an Hollywood dream (infinity pool!) but there are lots to choose from.
Incredible view of the giant Jesus statue at Casa California, over the infinity pool. NBD.
We toured around town and compared prices to have someone take us out surfing with board rentals and lessons for the newbies, and loved our instructor Oscar. He took us in the back of a truck on the insanely bumpy roads (if you’re going to drive yourself, better have some skills or else rent 4-wheelers. Seriously.) to the gorgeous Maderas Beach. It was about a 30 minutes drive from San Juan and had perfect gentle swells for the beginners and bigger surf for the advanced surfers in our group. It’s also close to the popular Maderas Village, which is an awesome place to stay if you are looking to stick to the San Juan area for your trip.
One of the best parts of San Juan Del Sur – the surfing.
You can sniff out traditional food here, but it’s definitely more populated with American-style restaurants. We loved El Colibri and a lot of the restaurants on the beach serve traditional breakfast. Don’t forget to enjoy ice cold Tona, well, everywhere.
Little Corn Island
Granada and San Juan Del Sur offer culture and nightlife, and Little Corn Island (on the Caribbean side of Nica) offers pure, dreamy beach escape. This tiny island has no cars or motorized vehicles, you’re not allowed to ride a bike after 6 p.m., and you can walk around it in about an hour. It’s seriously perfect and has miles of white, sandy beaches that are pretty unpopulated and next to clear, turquoise water. If you scuba dive, you will see turtles here, alongside manta rays, tons of colourful tropical fish, nurse, hammerhead and reef sharks and tons of other stuff. The island has some serious winds, which make it perfect for kite surfing.
The view as you fly via 12-seater Cessna to Little Corn Island, Nicaragua.
Breakfast at Casa Iguana featuring fresh coconut and amazing views.
The food is mainly seafood – lots of lobster, shrimp and fish – and coconut. Almost everything has coconut in it, including the delicious coconut bread (try coconut French toast) and lobster poached in coconut sauce. We stayed at the awesome Casa Iguana, which is a 40 hectare nature reserve, featuring private beach cabins, a pineapple grove, rainwater showers and their efforts to grow as much of their own food as possible. Try the Jamaica Juice – refreshing hibiscus flower juice. Eat, drink, relax and chat up the super friendly locals.
Ometepe
If adventure is more your thing vs. being a beach bum, the island of Ometepe is a good bet. It’s on Lake Nicaragua, a large freshwater lake, and features two volcanoes. Be prepared for epic eight hour hikes up the side of one of them (we tackled Maderas) and be rewarded with a cloud forest, howler monkeys and incredible feelings of accomplishment. And hunger after – you’re really earning your dinner.
View of the Concepción volcano from Lake Nicaragua.
Beautiful cloud forests and monkeys make gruelling hikes worth it.
Ometepe has developed some great eco-tourism activities and if done right, you can travel there with a clear conscience, knowing that you’re being friendly to the environment and supporting local businesses. Check out La Via Verde organic farm and B&B. You can also do day tours of the region, which includes the San Ramon waterfall, rent four-wheelers (HIGHLY recommend), ride horses and kayak around the pretty lakes.
Be responsible
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America – second to Haiti – and you see it when you’re there. You see it even in the touristy places, and especially driving between destinations. People live in tiny, congested, corrugated steel huts cramped together on the side of the road, and often struggle to feed themselves, buy medical supplies and stay in school. The teenage pregnancy rate is the highest in Latin America. One of the best ways to help is to research medical and school supplies that are difficult or expensive to get in the country (multi-vitamins, aspirin or ibuprofen, bandages, pencils, etc.) and bring them with you or send ahead, to distribute to schools, hospitals and even some of the locals your encounter in your travels. There are lots of non-profit, NGO, secular organizations that will help do this legally and safely, like the International Service Learning team. Make sure that however you decide to help, it’s respectful and helps those people directly.
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