Travel Advisory Nicaragua

top rated activities

The colonial towns, volcanoes, islands and beaches of Nicaragua are the most noteworthy attractions. People enjoy relaxing in hammocks and in the sand, while gazing at the beautiful water. Between November and March each year, sea turtles can be seen nesting on the beaches also. 

If you choose a good time to visit, you may be able to help with a baby sea turtle release to the ocean. The city of Leon will provide you with Spanish colonial architecture and art. Check below some of the top rated activities you will find in Nicaragua. 

Adrenaline Adventures  

This country offers a wide range of activities for those who love adrenaline and outdoor activities. From climbing its amazing volcanoes to zipline adventures or volcano boarding, Nicaragua has it all. Find below the information of a couple of them:

› Surfing  in San Juan del Sur:  
With beautiful beaches lapped by warm water, this is literally a paradise for surfers, both beginners and the more experienced. However, you always need to check the local surf report, so you can enjoy the adventure with the specific information of the times of the tides. 

Travel Nicaragua and visit this amazing destination with several beaches and countless waves.  Its large beaches give lots of room to enjoy without massive crowds. San Juan del Sur and its constant swells is the most popular surf destination in Nicaragua. 

›Night tour at Active Masaya Volcano:   
Shortly before sunset, your adventure begins here. If you’re lucky, you will see the green parakeets, ‘Chocoyos,’ returning to their nests inside the crater.  Once you arrive at the visitor center, learn the interesting way this lava belt works and also about the historical events of this volcano.  Moreover, you can lift volcanic rocks with your own hands in the museum. 

Take stunning pictures of the lava reflecting on the crater. Of course, you will be a safe distance away in the lookout on top of the volcano by the edge of the crater.  Enjoy this amazing experience feeling the power of mother nature that you can hear running underground inside the crater.  This is a very active volcano that is an amazing experience to witness. The whole adventure takes about 2 hours, including the transportation from your hotel in Masaya or Managua round trip.

Natural Reserves  

With more than 70 unique ecosystems and 7% of the world’s biodiversity, Nicaragua is considered the second lung of the Americas.  A trip though Nicaragua is ideal for those who are looking for natural adventures with 24 volcanoes and countless lakes, rivers and lagoons.  

As a result, a unique experience in Nicaragua only is that you can navigate through rivers and lakes from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean.  Its tremendous ecological diversity and wide assortment of landscapes and habitats allow for many different types of vegetation and animal species to thrive. Here is the information of one of this destinies you can visit by traveling Nicaragua:

› Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve:   
Looking for a natural adventure? This national reserve has everything to offer in that matter.  Among its several attractions, you can enjoy its different hiking trails or a visit to an organic coffee farm.   Moreover, let yourself gaze at the butterfly garden and orchid garden or zoom down a zip-line through a cloud forest.  

Several trails offer you different levels of difficulty that make it easy to get to the crown of the cloud forest, while enjoying the misty vines and orchids. Although the ‘Mombacho’ Volcano has a few decades without activity, it is still most certainly active and sends up the periodic puff of smoke and steam with fumaroles and other bubbling volcanic activity.  

With a wide range of wildlife that includes three species of monkey, 168 species of bird and more than 100 types of orchids, you will certainly enjoy your visit to this amazing natural reserve.

Visit Colonial Towns
The centuries of Spanish rule left Nicaragua with some amazing colonial architecture that can be enjoyed today by travelers.  You can visit some of its cities with stunning historical architecture and old-world attractions like Leon, Managua or San Rafael del Norte.  Nicaragua towns will amaze you and give you opportunities for taking nice walking adventures. Here a couple of suggestions for your next visit.

› Granada City and Its Local Cigars:  
Its breathtaking colonial architecture with streets lined in pastel-hued buildings make Granada one of the must-see areas in Nicaragua.  The tropical climate and the laid back atmosphere of its friendly and welcoming people create a traveller’s paradise. 

Enjoy this city full of both cosmopolitan culture and natural beauty. Enjoy delicious local dishes. Explore its beautiful streets lined with eateries, shops, and street performers or head out to the surrounding volcanoes, cloud forests, lagoons and pristine beaches.

While you’re touring this enchanted city, you cannot miss the opportunity to visit a local cigar factory and roll your own cigars.  Learn about all the steps in the cigar process from growing the tobacco plant to the final rolled cigar.   

› Craft and Pottery in Masaya: 
This is a picturesque folkloric town in southwestern Nicaragua, where you can browse stalls brimming with artisan treasures in Masaya Craft Market.  Discover the cultural richness along the lots of small stands with souvenirs within a friendly setting.  

Certainly you will find enough variety to buy something for everybody back home.  During the day, you can also visit the lookout point in Catarina and get the most spectacular views of Apoyo Lagoon.  

After that, you can also stroll the cobbled streets of San Juan de Oriente, a ‘Village of Pottery‘ and peruse its stores famed for their high-quality pottery.  In this area of the country, the pottery making tradition has been around since at least 500 BC.  

For Natural Lovers
With an exceptional heritage of biodiversity and a great marine richness, Nicaragua is a perfect destination for those who love wildlife.  Travel through the largest and best preserved tracts of tropical rainforests and lowland ecosystems in Central America. Below are suggestions for some of the natural adventures you can find.

› Kayaking the Islets of Granada:  
One of the things you surely must visit is Lake Nicaragua. It is Central America’s largest lake, holding an archipelago of 365 islands.  As a result, you will see a diversity that includes uninhabited islands and private residence to traditional fishing villages and luxurious resorts.   

You will get a glimpse of local life on the islands while you enjoy the adventure floating through the islets with stunning views of the islands and Mombacho Volcano. The wildlife of the archipelago can be explored by visiting Monkey Island, named after its large population of capuchin monkeys.  Here you can observe birds such as warblers, tanagers, hawks, and jays also.

› Somoto Canyon Adventures:  
This adventure will take you on a hike through the canyon with small stops to cool off and swim. Then, you will explore the canyon in small local boats.   With a unique environment that offers panoramas of dry forest with small trees, as well as flora and fauna, this canyon is worth visiting.  

Some of the species that inhabit the area that may be seen during your adventure are deer, parakeets, rabbits and iguanas.  In addition, the canyon offers several thrilling possibilities to enjoy its surroundings, such as tubing along the waterway or even rappelling some of the walls that reach up to 60 meters high.

Beaches 
With coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Nicaragua beaches have something to offer everyone.  Travel its seaboard of 910 miles of coastline and let yourself be astonished by its wide variety of beaches.  
Whether you are looking for isolated or busy, for white sand or black sand, for tamed or wild beaches, you will surely find the one for you.  Following is the information for a couple of these paradisiac places:

› The Corn Islands  
These are two small islands. Little and Big Corn islands are located on the Caribbean coast and are in other words the epitome of tranquility and serenity.  You can easily lose track of time in this perfect place to relax and enjoy the sea breeze, the soy and the sand.   Snorkel in their beautiful pristine waters or just relax enjoying its great island atmosphere and hospitality.

› Releasing Baby Turtles in Maderas Beach  
This amazing beach is a bit further off the beaten track, located in a sleepy beach town with outstanding surf conditions.  From here, you will have quick and easy access to other small beaches and local attractions nearby.  Even when perhaps the most popular attraction here is surfing, you will also find great opportunities for kayaking, hiking or frisbee golf.  

In addition, if you’re here at the right time of the year, you may participate in releasing baby turtles back to the ocean at sunset.  In conclusion, this is a beach with an off the beaten track appeal and everything you may wish to have fun and relax.