Nicaragua

Favorites

Isla de Ometepe. Volcan Concepcion on the left, Maderas on the right.

We loved visiting the Isla de Ometepe.  It's the big island in the middle of the big lake; you can't miss it. Roads on the island were fun for cycling, there are cheap and beautiful camping options at the many fincas (farms), and there are two volcanoes to climb!


Least Favorites
Our road was often dusty and windy, especially near the border with Costa Rica where there is a large wind farm.


The Basics: Food, Water, Shelter

Food
You've left the land of tortillas and entered the land of beans and rice. Food options are plentiful and the cheapest you'll find in Central America. Plenty of fruit is available for breakfast. We often stopped for lunch at local restaurants, ordering huge plates with eggs, rice and beans, fried platanos and salad. Yummy! For dinner we would often order large portions of beans and rice from restaurants and then add our own veggies and nuts.

Water
We purified all water with our Steripen. A house or restaurant is always nearby if you need water.

Shelter
We camped in several backyards along the roadside, and at the fincas on the Isla de Ometepe. Cheap hostels and hotels were easy to find in cities. Again, probably the cheapest prices we saw in all of Central America.

Our Route
We arrived in Nicaragua at the port of Potosi via boat from El Salvador. From here an excellent dirt road brought us to the main hghway (the 12). We followed this south, avoiding the city of Managua, taking a boat out and back to Ometepe from San Jorge, and finally crossing the border to Costa Rica at Penas Blancas.

Granada

Click here for all our blog posts from Nicaragua.