Nicaragua Vacations

I’ve been searching around for tours to Nicaragua so if you are interested in Nicaragua tours as your first introduction to Nicaragua, it’s a great way to go for the Nicaragua “newbie”.  I only managed to find three Nicaragua tours three from GAP Adventures, the Great Adventure People in the travel agencies.  It would seem that although Nicaragua is ready for tourism, travel companies have not yet jumped on board full force as they have with other destinations.  Even in talking with many people, their questions are, “Is Nicaragua safe?” and many people still think that Nicaragua is at war.  What a shame!  But we can’t blame people for this because there is a lack of news in the media about Nicaragua.  However, I have started promoting Nicaragua with this blog and correcting people’s assumptions about the country in my conversations with them.  Perhaps the Nicaraguan government agency for tourism should start promoting their country abroad, as say, Cuba has done over the recent years with billboard and television ads.  Just an idea. For Nicaragua vacations, if you want to get a little taste of this surprising country and you find yourself in northern Costa Rica, you will be able to book Nicaragua tours for one or two days in length.  These Nicaragua tours are well worth the money and taking the tour will give you a good sample of what this Central American country has to offer.  You’ll probably then return home, longing to go back and discover more – just like I did. The two Nicaragua tours that the GAP Adventure people offer sound really exciting.  One is called the Nicaragua – Volcanoes and Islands tour and the other is the Nicaragua Shipwrecked  tour.  Gap Adventures also offers a couple of other tours to both Costa Rica and Nicaragua and then another tour which includes visits to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala.  However, I won’t go into the details describing these tours to you, you can find out more if you pick up a GAP Adventure tour magazine. The first Nicaragua travel tour from GAP that I will describe is the Nicaragua – Volcanoes & Islands tour.  It’s a 15 day tour, classified as an Original tour for those who like to step outside the ordinary tourist boundaries and see the world in all its colors and travel with likeminded people.  This Nicaraguan tour is off the beaten track and away from the pack.  Featuring islands and deserted beaches, hikes up the sides of volcanoes and tours of some of the Colonial cities of Nicaragua.

Big Corn Island Beach

The first three days, after arriving in Granada you will spent some time here.  You will walk or bike through the city of Granada where you will be able to visit and admire the many cathedrals in the city, the Convento de Francisco, visit the vibrant market buy some souvenirs and soak up the wonderful Latin American culture and lifestyle of this wonderful city.  You will also have the option of taking a boat trip or kayaking to the 365 tiny isletas of Lake Nicaragua.
Day four to day six, you will fly to the Corn Islands – and Big Corn Island which was once an island where the pirates hid out.  The beaches are white and pristine, the water, clear and pristine, the turquoise seas of the Caribbean.  You can do some snorkelling around the coral reefs and then relax in this serene setting.  If you like to fish, there is a public pier in the village. On day seven and eight, you will travel to León, once the capital of Nicaragua until 1857.  The streets of León are borded by well preserved Colonia buildings and churches from the time of the Spanish occupation.  Here in León, you will find the biggest Cathedral in all of Central America.  There are beaches nearby and you can visit the newest volcano of Nicaragua, the Cerro Negro.  If you are up to it, you can try volcano boarding if you wish.  Definitely, an adventure! Ometepe Island is where you will spend days nine and 10.  At San Jorge, you will board a ferry which will take you to Ometepe Island in the center of Lake Nicaragua. Ometepe Island was once formed from the lava which flowed from the two volcanoes, the Maderas and Concepcion volcanoes.  Ometepe Island is a wonderful place to hike to observe the bountiful tropical nature around you, the flora and fauna, the howling monkeys

San Juan del Sur Beach

On days 11 to 13, you will be taken to the very famous beach area called San Juan del Sur where you can hang out and relax.  San Juan del Sur is located in a horse shoe shaped cove and presents many opportunities for enjoyment such as biking, surfing, hiking, fishing, swimming and sunbathing.  There are sunset tours available or you can take a quick boat ride to some more deserted beaches such as Playa Majagual or Playa Remanso. After your stay in San Juan del Sur, you will travel back to Granada where you will spend your last day by going for a tour to the Masaya Volcano – an volcano that is still active, steaming out the smoking sulphur gases.  You can get right up to the edge of the volcano and stare down into its raging depths, something akin to staring down into the mouth of hell.  Truly impressive! On the 15th day, your Nicaragua vacation tour ends and you will fly out of Managua.  This Nicaragua tour from GAP costs $980US, plus a $250 US local payment. No meals are included on the tour and it is recommended you bring $300 US for food (and your spending money of course!). I will write about another Nicaragua vacation tour from GAP in my next posting.  This one on the Nicaragua – Volcanoes and Islands tour ended up being longer than I expected.  Stay tuned for my next posting on Gap’s other adventure tour called the Nicaragua Shipwrecked tour which is an eight day Nicaragua tour good for those who consider themselves independent travellers.