Nicaragua Complete - East-to-West

Take an extensive 20-night Nicaragua trip with at least 3 nights in 5 different areas for
21D/20N Starting at $7980 per person

This extended trip allows you to see five areas of Nicaragua with free time to explore on your own.

Start with 3 nights in Leon where you will have one day of touring the city and nearby wildlife refuge and a full day to wander on your own. Then return to Managua and fly to Big Corn Island.

You will have 5 nights at a chic eco-resort and spa on Little Corn Island. Activities include snorkeling, Scuba diving, yoga, island strolls and relaxing downtime.

Kayaks at Yemaya Little Corn Hotel

Fly back to the mainland and continue to colonial Granada where you will tour the city and Lake Nicaragua, the cloudforest of Mombacho Volcano.

You will then have 3 nights at an eco-lodge on Ometepe Island with an island tour and kayaking on the Rio Istian. Finish with 5 nights at the isolated and upscale Morgan's Rock eco-resort in a bungalow with private terrace.

Morgan's Rock Horseback Riding

Optional tours include guided jungle hikes and night tours, birdwatching, horseback riding, monkey and sloth quest, farm tour, surfing.

For travelers with a restricted timeframe you can reduce the number of nights at any place, or take out a destination altogether.

 

Lost World Adventures itineraries can be tailor-made according to your plans and preferences: budget, hotel selections, travel dates, optional excursions, length of trip, etc.

Day 1 : Managua - Leon

You will be met at the Managua Int'l Airport and transferred to Leon. Approximate driving time - 2 1/2 hours.

Overnight Hotel El Convento, daily breakfast included - 3 nights.

The Hotel El Convento is located in the heart of the city of León, Nicaragua, on the site of the former San Francisco Convent. Its colonial buildings and lush gardens offer a unique atmosphere which will make your stay a very pleasant experience. The hotel offers comfortable guest rooms, a cafeteria and a gourmet restaurant.

The hotel has 31 executive rooms, each with two queen size beds, and one suite with one king size bed and a lounge area. All rooms are equipped with air-conditioning, private bathrooms with bath and hot water, cable TV, telephone, Wi-fi Internet access, refrigerator, hairdryer, safe deposit box.

Day 2 : Leon City Tour / Juan Venado Wildlife Reserve

Leon City Tour - Half-Day
Depart with your guide for a city tour of Leon, which was the capital of Nicaragua for more than 200 years. Visit the main churches, the Cathedral (hike the tower to get an amazing view of the city and volcanoes), as well as a magnificent art gallery with paintings from Europe and Central America, distributed in two colonial houses. Duration: 5 hours.

Juan Venado Wildlife Reserve
Go with an expert guide to the coastal estuary wildlife refuge of Juan Venado. Here you will navigate the brackish waters of the reserve in a motorboat to observe numerous wading birds like the Roseate Spoonbill. You will also be able to observe iguanas, crocodiles and other wildlife that inhabitant this mangrove forest and barrier island After your tour you will return to your hotel in Leon. Duration - 4½ hours, approximately.

Day 3 : Leon

Day at leisure

Day 4 : Leon - Managua - Corn Island

Transfer Leon to Managua Airport
After breakfast you will be met in the hotel lobby and transferred to the Managua International Airport.

Flight Managua - Corn Island

You will be met at the Big Corn Island airstrip and transferred by open boat to Little Corn Island. You will then transfer to your hotel.

Yemaya ~ Island Hideaway & Spa is located on Little Corn Island, just 43 miles of the eastern coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. Yemaya features 16 eco-luxury cabanas all looking out across the sparkling clear Caribbean. Hotel facilities and amenities include restaurant and full-service bar, signature spa services, daily yoga, farm-to-table meals, snorkeling.

Inside each 600 sq. ft. eco-chic cabana, you will find hand-made mahogany, cedar and Brazilian cherry wood furniture, an indoor garden, tall ceilings, a rainfall shower, and comfortable beds accompanied by local organic soaps and shampoos. Huge sliding glass doors open up to the Caribbean Sea. Cabana amenities include: private bathroom, daily housekeeping, ceiling fans, private balcony with bamboo furniture, 24-hour power, hot water.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily in the open-air thatched roof restaurant.

Daily yoga practice, use of snorkeling gear and kayaks are included with the room rate.

Daily breakfast included.

Days 5 -8 : Little Corn Island

Days at leisure.

Day 9 : Corn Island - Managua - Granada

This morning you will return to Big Corn Island by open boat and transfer to the airstrip for your flight to Managua.

You will be met at the airport upon arrival and transferred to Granada.

Overnight Hotel Plaza Colon, daily breakfast included - 4 nights. 

Hotel Plaza Colon is located right in front of Parque Colón, known as Parque Central in the historical city of Granada. Hotel facilities include 27 luxury guest rooms, swimming pool, concierge desk, business center, free Internet access, coffee shop. Room categories include Superior (1 King/Queen or 2 Queen beds), Balcony (1 King/Queen or 2 Queen beds), Suite with Balcony.

Day 10 : Granada

Granada City Tour
Granada is a historical city founded in 1524 by the Spanish conquistadors along the shores of the “Sweet Sea”. You will tour Central Park and its special atmosphere, colonial buildings, the old train station, old Spanish forts that defended attacks of English pirates, the port and more. This tour makes a perfect combination between architecture, culture and history. Optional horse carriage ride. Duration: 4 hours.

Lake Nicaragua And The Islands
Transfer from your hotel to Lake Nicaragua where your captain will be meeting you. A boat ride in Lake Nicaragua will let you discover some of the 365 small islands ”Isletas”, created by an eruption of the nearby Mombacho Volcano a thousand years ago, according to many scientists. You can observe the local fauna (monkeys, migrating and non-migrating birds) as well as a lush vegetation and flora, and the isletas’s inhabitants named the “Isleños”, the community of about 2000 live in simple yet decent conditions from fishing, small agriculture and now tourism too. Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours.

Day 11 : Masaya Volcano National Park & White Villages

The tour begins with a visit to Masaya National Park, Nicaragua’s first national park, created in 1979. Masaya Volcano is one of Nicaragua's most interesting and beautiful natural phenomena. It comprises an area of over 20 square miles with more than 12 miles of scenic roads and trails, leading to and around the impressive volcano and five formidable craters; one of them currently displays gaseous activity and incandescent lava in its interior.

You can also visit the museum that offer interesting history and legends.

You will then visit the finest handicraft market in Masaya. In Masaya, visit the Monimbo neighborhood, where the best hammocks are manufactured by small local artisans. Continue to Catarina, a small and characteristic village where local inhabitants work in nurseries and make wood and bamboo handicrafts.

Located at 520 meters on top of an extinct volcano. The temperature varies from 72 to 77 F° and the lookout boasts magnificent view of the Apoyo Lagoon, Mombacho Volcano, Granada and Lake Nicaragua. Lunch will be served at a typical restaurant amidst nature, toucans and other birds.

After lunch in Catarina you will then transfer to the ancient highland villages of "La Meseta" to visits the Mesa artisan's workshops of San Juan de Oriente (artesanal ceramics) and Masatepe (wicker chairs). These towns have colonial period houses, churches and a hardworking native population.

Note: depending on schedule, this excursion can be included on transfers between Managua and Granada.

Day 12 : Mombacho Natural Cloudforest Reserve

You will be met at your hotel and transfer to the base of Mombacho Volcano, now extinct and covered by lush vegetation. From there a powerful truck will drive you all the way to the top of the volcano.

From there, along with your guide, you will tour the Mombacho Natural Reserve and its tropical cloud forest, a paradise for nature lovers. Walking through the trail around one of the craters in the most surprising biological diversity, with incredible views to Granada, Lake Nicaragua and the Islands “Isletas” will make this journey magnificent. Duration: 4-5 hours.

Day 13 : Granada - Ometepe Island

You will be picked up at your Granada hotel and transferred to San Jorge (approximate driving time - 2 hours). From San Jorge depart for the one-hour ferry to Ometepe Island. You will be met at the ferry and transferred to your overnight lodging 

Overnight Hotel San Juan De La Isla, daily breakfast included - 3 nights.  Comfort, privacy, great lake and volcano views, authentic Nicaraguan hacienda style, a long sandy beach.

Day 14 : Ometepe Island Tour

A visit to the main sites of Ometepe Island in company of your local bilingual guide. First visit the Green Puddles lagoon in Charco Verde’s Reserve. Hike through the forest and enjoy the nature and you can also observe the main land which is visible on the horizon from this side of the island.

The lagoon provides a shelter place for many birds as well. Later, if desired, stop to visit the “El Ceibo” museum, probably one of the best archaeological museums of Nicaragua. It will give you a great sense of the history of the island from ancient times to recent times.

Later, you will go for a short walk in the middle of a tropical forest, listening to birds singing and monkeys chattering before enjoying lunch. In the later afternoon, you will be transferred back to the docks and take the ferry to mainland. Upon arrival you will be transferred to Managua.

Day 15 : Ometepe Island - Kayaking Rio Istian

After breakfast, you will go kayaking the Istian River, one of the best places to spot birds on Ometepe, located between the Maderas and Concepción volcanoes. The river is a sanctuary for resident as well as migratory birds, and the area furthermore provides great views and a pristine natural setting.

The dormant but mighty Maderas Volcano can be perfectly seen from the lake, as well as the taller, active Concepción Volcano. After entering the river birds can be easily spotted. The bird-list includes egrets, herons, jacanas, stilts, and even predatory birds like hawks, among many other birds.

The river itself is not wide and the vegetation around the river is abundant. Quietly paddling down the beautiful waterways is definitely relaxing by itself. The afternoon is at leisure on the island.

Kayaks and life jackets are included.

Day 16 : Ometepe Island - Morgan's Rock

You will be transferred to the Ometepe dock and board to ferry to the mainland. Transfer by private vehicle to Morgan's Rock, located on the Pacific coast.

Morgan's Rock is a 15-bungalow hideaway on a mile-long picturesque sandy beach all within a 4,000-acre jungle property, located two hours by car from Managua, near the village of San Juan del Sur.

Nearly half of the vast property is a government-designated reserve. The rest is low-impact agricultural land (a farm called El Aguacate) and sustainable tropical forestland. The forested land and reserve hosts a variety of exotic animals like spider, howler and capuchin monkeys, deer, reptiles, and many native and migrant birds, sloths, agouti, reptiles, sea turtles.

Facilities and amenities include La Bastide Restaurant, Commodore Bar, Beach Bar, 4,300 sq. ft. yoga platform.

Accommodations categories: Two-bedroom Ocean-View with pool, Ocean-view Bungalow with plunge pool, Forest-view Bungalow with plunge pool, Ocean-view Bungalow.

On-site experiences: surfing, sport fishing, horseback riding, estuary kayaking, Monkey Quest, Breakfast at the Farm.
Off-site experiences: canopy tour and rappelling, turtle watching, Granada and the volcanoes, Mombacho Volcano Reserve, Ometepe Island.

Daily breakfast included.

  • The following supplemental meal plans can be booked at additional charge:
  • Light meal plan - lunch or dinner
  • Relax meal plan - lunch and dinner
  • Discover and Adventure plan - lunch and dinner and one daily choice of the following experiences:
  • Horseback riding at the beach
  • Monkey & Sloth quest
  • Breakfast at the farm
  • Jungle Guided hiking experience
  • Mangrove kayaking
  • Guided birdwatching
  • Surfing lessons
  • Jungle night walks
  • Agro farming learning experience

Days 17 - 20 : Morgan's Rock

Days at leisure at Morgan's Rock. 

Day 21 : Morgan's Rock - Managua

At the appropriate time you will be driven to the Managua Airport. 

 

Price from $7,980.00 per person, based on double occupancy
Days 21
Nights 20
Includes:

Based on double occupancy for 2 travelers, reduced prices for parties of 3 or more.

"The trip was great."

All arrangements were good and the local companies they use were on time, had good guides and drivers. Andrew that worked with us was knowledgeable and good to work with.

 

- Kenn B, Jan 2013

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