Best of Nicaragua

Day 1: Arrive Managua

Arrive to the Managua airport where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Day 2: Masaya Volcano and Market (B)

This morning you will be picked up to first visit the nearby Masaya Volcano. You will climb the volcano side, passing by fields of petrified lava, until you reach the top. Cover your face to bear the smell, you will be able to get out and walk around, and even peer down into the deep sulfuric crater at the top! Continue on next to the Masaya Market, the most famous handicrafts market in Nicaragua, and well known for its hammocks! After exploring the multicolored booths and bartering for keepsakes, you will continue on to the nearby small towns of San Juan del Oriente. Here you will be able to witness the making of the handicrafts in action. See how an entire community contributes to making one hammocks, watch the ceramic makers at the potter's wheel, or the carpenter as he builds wooden rocking chairs! Continue on next to the colonial city of Granada for the evening.

Day 3: Granada City and Isletas (B)

This morning you will set out on a walking tour of the city of Granada. The oldest colonial city in all Central America, Granada was first founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Though it has been sacked by pirates multiples times and undergone many civil wars, Granada boast beautiful Spanish architecture, making it the must see of Nicaragua. Explore San Francisco convento museum, one of the best in the region. Originally constructed in 1585 it was burnt by pirates and then later again by William Walker and recently restored in 1989. Inside you can see primiitivists art, paper mache figurines depicted indigenous life, as well as the Zapatera Statuary, with black basalt statutes carved between 800 and 1200 AD. Explore also La Merced church, arguably the most beautiful in the city. Enjoy a climb to the belltower for an extra dollar! Also visit La Fortaleza, an old Spanish fort constructed in 1748 with the best view over the city! Spend the rest of your tour wandering around the main plaza, perhaps even take a horse-drawn buggy ride! Feel free to explore more museums as time allows. This afternoon you will head to the shores of Lake Nicaragua for a boat tour of the tiny isletas offshore. Over 365 tiny islands were created by the eruption of Mombacho. Keep your eyes peeled for birds and other wildlife as you pass each island.

Day 4: Mombacho Volcano and Zipline Tour (B)

This morning you will head to nearby Mombacho Volcano, an active volcano that last erupted in 1570. You will hop into an army cargo vehicle which takes you up the steep climb on the brick road to the top where you find a small biological station. Feel free to get out and explore the small exhibits in the station. The top part of this volcano is home to a cloudforest, housing some endemic species of flora and fauna only found here. You can walk on the trails keeping your eyes peeled for wildlife, as well as find some lookouts allowing you to peer over into the now forested craters below. On your way down the volcano, you will stop to take the zipline tour at the base of Mombacho! Zip across this 1500 meter zipline course suspended by canopy platforms. The tour offers fantastic views of Mombacho cloudforest and the nearby Lake Nicaragua. The course contains fifteen platforms and a twenty five meter long rope bridge! After the zipline adventure, you will continue on south to San Juan del Sur, the surfing mecca of Nicaragua!

Day 5: San Juan del Sur (B)

Enjoy a free day in San Juan del Sur. Here your guide is available to help you arrange activities as you wish. You can arrange to try your hand at surfing or boogie boarding, arrange to go diving or fishing, rent mt. bikes, go for a hike, or even go on a nightly turtle watching tour if you are there between July and December. The day is free for you to do as you wish, your guide is on hand to help you plan your day.

Day 6: Ometepe Island (B)

This morning we drive to the town of San Jorge. From here we board a ferry for the hour ride across the lake to Isla de Ometepe, one of the world's the largest lake islands. Here you will have the opportunity to explore the island's mysterious pre-colombian artifacts and petroglyphs dating back to around 2000 years ago. Visit the Ojo de agua, Museo Numismatico and Museo Altagracia during your time here. These small museums hold a lot of archeological treasures on display! If museums are not quite up your alley, let us know and we can instead arrange for a biking tour, hiking trek, or a kayak around the lake. Return back to San Jorge in the late afternoon and continue north to Granada for the evening.

Day 7: Return Home (B)

Return Home (B)