We pick up the rental car bright and early and head straight for shopping. That's right - first day in Central America and I'm dragging Ian to a local market. I LOVE local markets - I could probably spend a lifetime wandering around them. Here we are in the famous Masaya market which lives up to its name, though I'm a little disappointed by most of the handicrafts. I'm a sucker for textiles and what Nicaragua has doesn't hold a candle to Guatemala. However ... they have ceramics ... amazing ceramics. Ian quickly gets overwhelmed, so I sit him down for a licuado made of copious fruit that one can only find here. He seems happy again. We're off again - this time on the short drive to Granada. We've already figured out that Ian is the driver and I am the navigator. This is mostly due to the fact that I can't drive a manual transmission very well (at all). We soon figure out that even though I'm fluent in Spanish, I also can't figure out maps in Nicaragua. So basically, Ian drives a certain direction based on his gut feeling. We drive this way for the rest of the trip while in cities and it ends up working quite well. We pull into Granada, about 30 minutes from Masaya, and are quickly lost in the maze of tiny one-way streets. That is, until Ian manages to park us directly in front of our hotel - Hotel La Bocona. This hotel has some of the best reviews on Trip Advisor and I'm here to check it out. Let me just say that it 100% lives up to the reviews: perfect location, helpful staff, beautiful historic rooms, immaculate. It's HOT here and we are in the tranquil pool within 10 minutes of arrival. Tonight, we're out and about - trying to get a feel for the town. It reminds me of a small, rundown Antigua, Guatemala. We have dinner at Tercer Ojo, which is a great funky restaurant downtown. The food is so good, we will eat here again and see some fabulous live guitar playing.
The agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.