Day 1 Granada:  Trip participants will arrive in Managua, Nicaragua and will make their way to Granada, Nicaragua where they can enjoy the sights and sounds associated with being in this new country. Granada is a colonial-style city with many storefronts, restaurants, hotels, craft stands and monuments. Most likely arriving to Granada by 11pm, you'll go straight to your hotel, and decide if you'd rather sleep or go out for the night. Just know that Saturday is the best day for nightlife in Nicaragua!  Granada offers many activities so that the individual traveler will feel right at home.  

Day 2 Granada: Our second day will be fully spent in Granada.  Feel free to sleep in as late as you want or need to in order to regain your bearings.  In the afternoon there will be an included boat tour of Lake Nicaragua's isletas, small islands that people actually buy and construct houses on. A canopy zip-line tour is another activity that participants do. You will be in a van that drives up a mountain trail into the forest, and then get on some climbing gear and fly from tree to tree suspended by a cord.  Spanish classes are available this day, as well.

Day 3 Masaya and Laguna de Apoyo: This is a busy day beginining with a  morning trip to Volcan Masaya where you can look right into the edge of an active volcano. Here we'll have the opportunity to hike into a cave, and explore the interesting ecology that surrounds the volcano area.  Next we're off to La Caterina, a small town a top an extinct volcano with a breathtaking view.  Here there are great crafts, as well as places to enjoy a meal while taking in the view.  Our final destination for this day is to again descend into a volcano crater, this time to spend our evening along the shores of a lagoon that has formed in the crater, Laguna de Apoyo.  Here we will enjoy a buffet dinner at the Hotel Ecologica La Posada de la Abuela, my favorite spot on this Earth.  Kayaks, bikes, pool tables, and other entertainment, is also available at this paradise on earth.

Day 4 Ometepe Island: Today is a day of much traveling, as we'll get on our van and drive to San Jorge where we will catch a ferry to Ometepe Island.  Eat lunch on the road, and enjoy the scenery of the countryside.  When we arrive to Ometepe, we'll go to Charco Verde, an ecological hotel situated on the shore of the island, next to a nature reserve.  Here you will be free to explore the area, relax, kayak or swim.  The hotel staff will invite us to have dinner in their restaurant later in the evening.

Day 5 Ometepe Island: We'll start the day right with some breakfast, and then embark on a nature walk through the reserves where we can see howler monkeys, many types of birds, and even a few farms along the way. We'll have a lunch to bid farewell to  hotel Charco Verde, then we'll be off to take a swim in a natural spring as we make our way towards the Finca Magdalena for the evening.

Day 6 Ometepe Island: The whole day is reserved for exploration. The staff at Finca Magdalena lead various types of tours ranging for horseback-riding activities to day-long volcano climbing trips. You get to decide what kind of a tour you will take that day.  Food will be purchased individually from Finca Magdalena as they offer affordable organic meals.

Day 7 San Juan del Sur: The morning is dedicated to traveling to San Juan del Sur, the most popular Nicaraguan beach town.  Once we arrive and check into our hotel, which offers simple, family-run accommodations right across the street from the beach, you will have the day to explore San Juan del Sur, swim in the bay, buy souvenirs and take Spanish classes. A Nicaraguan cooking class will be offered that evening, an optional, but highly recommended activity.  This will be a good night to enjoy the chill bar scene that San Juan offers.

Day 8 San Juan del Sur: The morning is free for exploring - though I recommend that you try a breakfast from the municipal market - delicious, authentically prepared, and cheap.  A highly recommended activity is a day-long surf trip.  For about $10 you will get a surfboard, a rash guard, wax and a leash for a day.  The company will provide a ride to a beach with great waves, and we'll surf for hours. Upon returning to San Juan del Sur, there will be more free time for lounging, or spanish classes.

 

Day 9 Traveling back to USA:

We'll take a private van direct from San Juan del Sur to the Managua airport.