Nicaragua is a fairly large country in terms of Central America, but the benefit as a tourist is that most of what you want to see is located in the south western most region of the country between Leon and the Nica/Costa Rica border. You can easily cover most of this ground in a week-10 days depending on your interests.
Volcanos
Looking down into the active cone of Masaya and hiking around the crater of Mombacho were just two of the activities I took advantage of. Ziplining, sand boarding and many more numerous hikes also provide interest for those looking for a little adventure.
Masaya volcanoi (Jessica Liles)
Beaches
Corn Island is probably the most recognizable destination, but it can be a bit labor intensive to get there. Especially if you are interested in getting to the less visited Little Corn. The beaches on the Pacific side are considerably easier to get to and offer their own secluded charm. Properties such as SoLost and Morgan's Rock are ideal for the last few days of relaxed vacation.
Beaches at Morgan's Rock (Jessica Liles)
Cultural Heritage
Grenada is not to be missed where even the McDonalds has a colonial flair to its facade. And Leon offers some of the most impressive churches in the country.
Folk Dance in Nicaragua (Jessica Liles)
Lake Nicargua
The isletas on Lake Nicargua were formed hundreds of years ago when the nearby Mombaco volcano blew its top and littered the lake with rocks and molten lava which formed into thousands of tiny islands. Most of these are privately owned, some with just enough room for a home to perch on the rocks, others large enough for beautiful lodges such as Jicaro where you could easily entertain yourself for a week taking day trips or just lounging around on the rocky beach.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
