One Week In Nicaragua

Day 1 — Managua

You will be met at Managua airport and transferred the short distance to your overnight hotel. Depending on your arrival time, there may be time for a brief tour of the city’s main highlights.

Day 2 — Managua to Leon

You will be collected from your hotel after breakfast for the approximate 2 hour drive to Leon, Nicaragua’s second largest city and intellectual powerhouse.

Having dropped off your bags at the hotel, you will then proceed on a walking tour of the compact city centre with your English speaking guide. Highlight of the tour is definitely the city’s magnificent, UNESCO World Heritage listed cathedral.

The remainder of the day is free for you to further explore on your own – perhaps taking in the Museum of the Revolution – or to relax at your hotel.

Day 3 — Leon

After an early breakfast, at approximately 08.00, your guide will collect you from your hotel for the approximate 30-minute drive to Las Penitas beach on the Pacific coast.

From here, you will board your motor boat for an approximate 3 hour tour of the Juan Venado Island Nature Reserve and its nature-rich mangroves. Depending on timings and your personal preferences, there may even be time for a quick, refreshing dip in the sea.

You will then return to Leon in time for lunch.

The afternoon is free for you to explore on your own: we would highly recommend visits to both the Museo de Arte Fundacion Ortiz-Gurdian, one of the best contemporary art collections anywhere in Latin America, as well as the old home of Nicaragua’s national poet, Ruben Dario. Both are just a short stroll from El Convento hotel where most clients stay.

Day 4 — Leon to Granada with stops

Having checked out of your hotel, you will be collected by your guide at approximately 08.30 for the 30 minute drive to Leon Viejo (Old Leon).

The original site of Leon was largely destroyed by a series of earthquakes and a resulting volcano in 1610, ultimately leading to its residents deciding to relocate the city to its current site.

Exploring the ruins of Old Leon takes no more than an hour and, although this is no Pompei, it is still an atmospheric and fascinating site which your guide will be on hand to explain all about.

From Old Leon, it is a further 2 hour plus drive to the famous Masaya volcano, very much still active, and where (subject to its status at the time of your visit) it is possible to peer into the very depths of hell.  Or very hot lava at least.

From the volcano you head the short distance to the charming town of Masaya where, after a wander around the attractive handicraft market, there will be a break for lunch.

Last up today, you will wind your way through the famous Pueblos Blancos to the village of Catarina, and its popular lookout point boasting stunning views directly over Apoyo Lagoon and, on a clear day to distant Granada and Lake Nicaragua.

From Catarina it is an approximate 30-minute drive to Granada where you will be dropped off at your hotel.

Day 5 — Granada

After a leisurely breakfast, you will be collected by your guide for a morning walking tour of Granada.

One of the most picturesque towns in Latin America, colonial era Granada is laid out in a traditional grid style, with the leafy Parque Central and grand Cathedral both at its heart.

No matter which way you turn in Granada, you will find yourself wandering along streets lined with charming, brightly painted buildings and, for the most part, just a spattering of traffic. Dotted around town there are also a number of beautiful churches, each different to the other and, at two of these churches, there is the opportunity to ascend the tower for panoramic views over the town’s tiled rooftops.

Your guide can provide recommendations as to the best options for lunch, after which the afternoon is free for you to relax at your hotel and / or explore further Granada on your own. Your guide can also provide expert tips and ideas on the best places to visit. Our personal recommendation would be the excellent Museo San Francisco.

Day 6 — Granada - with trips out

After another leisurely breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel for the 30-minute drive to Mombacho Volcano.

Your transfer vehicle can make it roughly half way up the side of the volcano but, to get to the very top, you will need to switch to a 4×4 or even a specially converted, open-top truck.

Once you reach the top of the volcano, your guide will lead you on an approximate 1-hour trail that makes it way around the top of the crater as well as deviating off to enjoy spectacular views back towards Granada and Lake Nicaragua. If you would prefer something more arduous, there are also trails that take anything 2 to 4 hours.

At the culmination of the trail, you will enjoy a brief, guided tour of the coffee plantation that sits astride the volcano, before returning to Granada in time for lunch and a break.

At around 3pm you will again be collected from the hotel for another short transfer, no more than 15 minutes, to a small dock on the lake.

From here, you will set off on a roughly 2 hour private boat tour of the wonderfully picturesque Isletas de Granada of which there are said to be exactly 365. Some of these islands have been occupied by local communities for many hundreds of years, others are home to wealthy outsiders with their luxury homes while others are unoccupied save for a wide variety of birds and even bats.

One of the islands, which you will be able to get out of the boat and visit, is even home to the tiny, 17^th century San Pablo fort, the only surviving example of a number of such forts that were built to guard Granada against attacks by pirates.

Returning to your hotel in Granada, the rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 7 — Granada to Apoyo Lagoon

Having viewed Apoyo Lagoon from above on Day 4, you will check out of your hotel after breakfast and transfer the short 30 minutes to your hotel by the lake for a relaxing final day.

Clients have the choice of either staying on the water’s edge at Casa Marimba and swimming in the lake or staying at Pacaya Lodge, which is sits at the top of the crater with its panoramic views, and chilling out by the swimming pool. Either way, this is your chance to relax and take stock of the last week’s exploration of just some of Nicaragua’s many highlights.

Day 8 — Granada to Managua Airport

Depending on your flight schedule, you will be collected from your hotel for the 2-hour drive back to Managua airport and your return flight home.

Alternatively, this itinerary can be extended in countless ways including time at the beach.