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| GRANADA, NICARAGUA from Bell Tower of La Merced church |
Visiting Nicaragua, including the colonial cities of Granada & Leon, the volcanic island of Ometepe, the Pacific resort of San Juan Del Sur and then crossing into Honduras to see the Mayan temples at Copan Ruinas.
HOW TO GET THERE
You will need to check your route carefully for any current health restrictions that may be in place for your arrival in Nicaragua and at the border with Honduras. The bus itineraries are also subject to change with reductions in the volume of travellers. Road conditions may also vary depending on recent Hurricane damage.
ROUTE
WHERE TO GO SAFELY
Don't be put off visiting any of the destinations mentioned on this trip by stories of poor safety in Nicaragua. Although there are issues about where and when you shouldn't go to particular places, you will be well advised by your hosts and other helpful sources such as tourist information. The people are friendly and welcoming. Our trip in Nicaragua was without problems, as it was in Honduras. Unfortunately significant caution is required when travelling in Honduras. Although this should not put you off, you need to be aware and take precautions. There is a high level of Army presence on all major routes and although this may be taken as evidence the authorities can safeguard your well being it is a clear sign of the high level of criminal armed gangs in the country. Most of the criminal activity is not aimed at tourists but attacks have happened. The main destination on this trip in Honduras is the Mayan civilisation remains at Copan Ruinas, a fabulous location, with the town and surrounding area safe inside a ring of road blocks manned by the Army. On the way there you must travel through the capital, Tegucigalpa, and San Pedro Sula, both cities with significant crime prevalence and you will be advised by your hosts to exercise significant caution in these areas. Please check your Government's travel advisory page for the latest updates.
MANAGUA
It's about an hour's taxi ride out of Managua airport to Granada. Our host arranged this for us. Managua does not get a very favourable press as a tourist destination, with the City's infrastructure having suffered badly in the past from earthquakes, hurricanes and political upheaval. Although a lot of work is ongoing to improve the City's offer to tourists, some current travel advice on safety/security tends to suggest you may want to give the City a miss as a place to stay.
GRANADA
For a city its size Granada offers a lot to the visitor. The well preserved buildings include a lot of renovated Spanish colonial-era dwellings. We stayed in one of these with a first class host who not only provided information but also escorted us on a number of trips around the area. Some of the beautiful churches include museums, art spaces and bell towers for great views over the City. There are a good number of quality restaurants, cafes and bars catering for visitors. |
| GRANADA - Houses on La Calzada, headed down to Lakeside. |
You will enjoy walking through the streets with their multicoloured houses down to the lake shore where you can catch a boat trip round the interesting islets with their resident birds and fishing communities. Lake Nicaragua is huge, and interestingly set in a landscape surrounded by distant volcanoes. |
| GRANADA - Lake Nicaragua with Volcan Masaya behind |
You will be able to gauge part of the lake's dimensions from trips in the surrounding area: to the craft village of Masaya and the nearby volcano of the same name, which is still active; and to the little village of Catarina and the volcanic crater lagoon at Laguna de Apoyo. We did these trips on local buses accompanied by our hosts. Also of interest in Granada are: the San Francisco Convent Museum with its stunning 1,000 year old sculptures from the Zapatera island of Lake Nicaragua; and a short walk through the city's outer neighbourhoods to the cemetery where you can see the ornate mausoleums of many of Nicaragua's presidents and other dignitaries.
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OMETEPE - view of Volcan Concepcion from slopes of Volcan Maderas
We stayed in a neat little one room eco-lodge on the slopes of Volcan Maderas with great views. Our hosts arranged a guide for us who took us on a moderately challenging hike in the rain forest near to us to enjoy the fabulous views, lush vegetation, ancient rock petroglyphs, and the noise and sight of the howler monkeys amongst other wildlife. We had a number of restaurants within walking distance of where we stayed. There are plenty of good walks down at the lakeside if the full volcano hikes are a bit too much to contemplate.
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| OMETEPE - Petroglyph |
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| OMETEPE - Howler Monkey |
SAN JUAN DE SUR
Its a 40 minute taxi ride to San Juan del Sur on your return to the mainland. We would recommend you ask for your hosts to arrange a taxi to pick you up from the ferry landing for your onward journey to San Juan del Sur, as otherwise you may get caught up as we did in a scramble for your custom amongst the waiting drivers that could lead to you getting ripped off.
After the simple life you have enjoyed on Ometepe it is a return to the luxuries of a wide choice in restaurants and other delights in laid back yet sophisticated San Juan. There's good surfing on the Pacific coast round here, and the beaches are very quiet and beautiful. The town is small but attractive, and there is easy walking to be enjoyed round the bay. We stayed as house guests in a fabulous villa overlooking the bay, with hosts who were happy to point us in the right direction, and also escort us to a variety of key places in the area.
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SAN JUAN DEL SUR
We enjoyed the views of the bay and town from the Mirador del Cristo, with its large statue of Christ, and the sunsets over the bay are a special treat. LEONTo travel up to Leon you could use the local bus but it won't be the Luxury type, you will be changing buses in Managua, negotiating your way around bus terminals, and it will take much longer than a taxi which can do the journey in around 4 hours. Ask your host to negotiate a rate for the taxi ride. Leon is larger than Granada, but is alike in having colonial charm in its narrow streets and the character of its buildings. This is the former capital, having been usurped by Managua in the mid 19th century, and has a major university. The centre is compact and easy to get around on foot. It is usually hot here though, so you may want to ensure your accommodation has sufficient cooling for your afternoon escape from the heat. As well as the enormous cathedral, Leon is considered to have the finest colonial era churches in the country.
 | LEON - Plaza Iglesia El Calvario
Leon was involved in a major way in the Sandinista revolution of the late 1970s, and there are still murals commemorating events and individuals involved in the struggles. The Museum of the Revolution gives the details and retains artefacts from this period in the country's history, and the building allows you roof access to get fantastic views of the city. Also worth a visit is the Museum of Legends which gives an insight into the culture of Leon and the Nicaraguan people, their stories and costume. |
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LEON - Revolutionary Mural
TEGUCIGALPA
We managed to grab an Executive Bus to Tegucigalpa by enquiring at the bus company offices in Leon. This involved an early morning taxi ride to a pick-up point on the outskirts. This route is not advertised on the internet, which is not unusual for Central American bus companies that are mainly providing Major City transfers, often between the capitals of the various countries. However, as in this case, these buses will stop at a pre-arranged time and place to pick up passengers that have purchased a ticket in advance. Otherwise you will need to backtrack to Managua to pick up the executive buses going to Tegucigalpa. The journey will take you at least 5 hours, and maybe more depending on how long you're at the Honduras border as they check passports for your group of passengers.
Tegucigalpa is your overnight stop on the way to Copan Ruinas, and make sure you stay somewhere comfortable with all the facilities you need as you are advised not to venture out at night. We stayed in a hotel belonging to one of the global chains, which we don't normally do. This had a nice view from our room of the Presidential Palace which had a tank parked on the lawn! The newspaper on the morning we left had a photo on the front page of a pickup seized by police the previous day which had enough weapons stowed in the back to start a small war. We arrived and left the hotel by taxi and did not venture out on foot.
The journey on to Copan Ruinas will take about 10 hours, and will include a brief stop around halfway at San Pedro Sula which until recently had the title of "murder capital of the world" reflecting its place in the global drugs trade. The bus station has its own armed guards and you will not be allowed outside the perimeter when it stops.
COPAN RUINAS
Copan - the town itself is a jewel, and the setting for the awesome Mayan ruins and artefacts in the UNESCO world heritage site. The main site is just a short walk or Tuk Tuk ride to the outskirts of the town.
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| COPAN RUINAS - Mayan temples |
Here you will find a huge complex of pyramids, plazas and palaces with the grounds graced by statues and altars that have retained an incredible amount of their original decorative and hieroglyphic detail.  |
COPAN RUINAS - Mayan Stela
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The neighbouring museum contains many of the best quality statues and other precious artefacts. It also includes a very impressive full-size and ornately decorated replica of the temple within one of the pyramid structures - La Rosalila - you will have seen glimpses of the original temple on your guided tour of the park.
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| COPAN RUINAS - Museum: Replica of Rosalila Temple |
The grounds and setting of the site are also part of the experience. You can follow trails into the rain forest and above the river, catching sight of the free flying macaws. There is enough to occupy you for at least a day at the ruins, and you could come back over several days and still find plenty to see. We split our visit over a couple of days, one for the main outdoor park area, and one for the museum and taking in some of the trails in the surrounding park.Copan's town is small but bursting with life and well preserved buildings. We stayed in a small hotel which had its own coffee shop on the ground floor. The hosts were very friendly and helpful, speaking the same Spanglish that we do! The town has a very pretty setting surrounded by forest and a number of attractions are close by. We visited a coffee farm, which was very enjoyable and educational, and the Macaw Bird park & Nature Reserve.
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| COPAN - Main Square |
Please return to the “How to get there” section at the beginning for your options on departing Copan.
Have a Safe journey home!
