Nicaragua, Central America

Managua

You fly in the the capital of Managua, and I recommend leaving as soon as you can. I had a scheduled a shuttle pick me up from the airport and take me straight to Leon (4 hours) for $80 USD. I booked this shuttle through Big Foot Hostel - I recommend doing this so you know that the service is legit.

Leon

Leon is my favorite city in Nicaragua. The architecture is beautiful, there is a beach close by, and you have the opportunity to do one of the coolest things in the world - go volcano boarding. I recommend doing everything in this city through Big Foot Hostel. The hostel is great and the mojitos are even better. Not only does the hostel do its own volcano boarding tours but they also have $1 shuttles to their beach hostel that is less than 45 minuets away. This makes it super easy to relax and enjoy your time there.

I did find it hard to find good food in Leon, so I ate all of my meals at the hostel. Their restaurant is very good and even has local dishes.

San Juan Del Sur

Accommodation: There are many hostels and San Juan and all of the ones I know of are party hostels. Naked Tiger and Pachamama are two of the most popular.

San Juan is a small beach town and everything is in walking distance. The beach is beautiful and doesn’t have big waves, but if you’re into surfing you can ask around and there are beaches close by that have good surfing spots. If you like to party and you’re in San Juan Del Sur make sure you are there on a Sunday.| Anyone traveling through Central America is bound to see someone with a “Sunday Funday” tank top - this party is where it comes from. Every Sunday the hostels in San Juan put on a huge “pool crawl” - like a bar crawl but instead walking from bar to bar - you ride in the back of pickup trucks around the city from pool to pool. Each pool has a bar and a live DJ and the locations change every year. I’ve done it twice and both times it was awesome.

Ometepe

Ometepe is an island in the middle of the lake that was formed by 2 volcanos. There is nothing in particular to do here but it is a  great place to go relax and immerse yourself in nature. You can rent a dirt bike for the day and explore the entire island, go kayaking between the volcanoes, or enjoy one of the many hikes to waterfalls. The best accommodation on the hostel is Little Morgan’s Hostel. This is one of the few hostels I recommend that you book in advance - they are full most of the time because the island does not have many accommodation choices.