Nicaragua in a Nutshell
Itinerary
Day 1 – Glory days of Granada
The oldest city in the New World, Granada is striking with its colourful colonial buildings and diverse culture. Upon arrival, you’ll be transferred directly to your hotel in Granada, a journey of about an hour. You’ll stay in a comfortable colonial-style hotel with its own swimming pool.
Day 2 – City walk
After breakfast, you’ll be picked up by your English-speaking guide for a walk through the city. Together you’ll discover the best spots in Granada. In the central square, there’s often live music in the evening, especially on Friday night when the terraces are full and the atmosphere is exuberant. The University of Granada has a large population, and many exchange students from around the world come here to study Spanish. It gives the city a young, eclectic vibe, and there are often cultural festivals, exhibitions and workshops. During the walk, you’ll get the chance to look out over Granada, Lake Nicaragua, the Apoyo lagoon and a multitude of distant volcanoes.
Day 3 – The colonial charm of Léon
Today you’ll be picked up and transferred by private car to Leon, a journey of about 3.5 hours. Leon has a rich colonial history with 12 cathedrals and churches. When you arrive in Leon, you’ll travel straight to your accommodation in the middle of downtown. The hotel is a converted monastery and museum housing religious statues and paintings. This evening you could take a walk to the central square, where you can stroll along the market stalls and watch the local musicians and old folk who gather to play cards.
Day 4 – Cultural heritage tour
After breakfast, you’ll be collected from your hotel, ready for a unique tour learning to create traditional Nicaraguan art. Watch a local artist demonstrate the age-old techniques of creating a variety of typical Nicaraguan handicrafts; then try them out yourself. You may not be an expert after your first try, but at least you’ll have some original homemade souvenirs to take back to friends and family back home.
Day 6 & 7 – Discover Ometepe Island
After your time in Leon you’ll travel back down to Granada by private transfer, where you’ll spend the night in the same hotel as before. The next day you’ll be transferred to the Ferry Port in San Jorge, which takes about 2 hours to drive. You’ll then catch the ferry over to Ometepe Island, the crossing normally takes an hour. You’ll be met on the other side and transferred to your hotel, which usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
Ometepe Island lies in the second-largest freshwater lake in Latin America. There’s nothing planned for you during your stay so you can decide how to spend your time. Relax on the beach, try some hiking up one of the volcanoes, or jump on a bike and discover the island. You’ll stay in the centre of Ometepe between the two volcanoes. From your hammock, you can enjoy the sounds of wind, water and birds.
Day 8 & 9 – The mighty volcano
A transfer will take you back to the ferry port for the boat crossing back to San Jorge on the mainland. From here we’ll arrange for a transfer to take you back to Managua, a journey that usually takes about 2.5 hours.
Managua may not be the prettiest of cities, but it’s worth stopping a while to appreciate the fading colonial buildings and take in the impressive site of Masaya Volcano. Along the way try to catch a glimpse of the green Parakeets and bats before peering into the crater mouth.
At the end of your trip, we’ll arrange for a private transfer to pick you up from your hotel and take you to Managua Airport ready to catch your flight back to the UK.
Accommodation
For this itinerary we offer the following options
Upgrade to our In Style accommodation
For this itinerary we have an alternative option available for your accommodation in certain places. Our In Style options have something a bit more special or unique but are still bursting with lots of local flavour! If you would like to upgrade your accommodation select our In Style option below.
