Nicaragua day trip from Costa Rica

When you do a Google search on Nicaragua, you will come across several news articles on the current socio-political state of the country that will probably not make you comfortable planning a trip to this country anytime soon. Tourism in Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America, didn’t really see any rainbow for any prolonged period. The country has been perennially affected by war or revolution through the major course of the 20th century. The Nicaraguan Revolution concluded only about 3 decades back in 1990. For any country shaking with such instability, what get buried under the political environment are the natural treasures, the culture and most importantly the people. And the rest of the world takes interest in the brutality and not the beauty. However, you can choose to get a glimpse of this beautiful country by taking a day trip to Nicaragua during your trip to Costa Rica.

Nicaragua day trip – our travel plan

The husband and I are from India and we live in a Central American country. So we know very well that the world travelers’ perceptions and travel inclinations about a country can often get clouded by safety concerns. Hence, despite Nicaragua being in a vulnerable political state since last year, we decided to give this nation a chance. One fine Friday afternoon, we discovered that there exist organized day tours to Nicaragua from Liberia (Costa Rica). We immediately decided to drive towards Liberia (~210 km away from our workplace) right after work so that we could join the Nicaragua day trip the next day. With such a spontaneous travel plan, our preparations were restricted to the bare necessities, such as:

• Before starting, we booked the tour online and awaited the confirmation while we were already on our way to Liberia
• Before starting, we booked ourselves a 2 nights’ stay at a budget guesthouse in Liberia
• On our way from the workplace to Liberia, made a quick stop at home to pack a backpack

[Note to self: Be more careful about spontaneous international travels while traveling on Indian passport. More on that later!]

Tour Details

We went with the tour company named Plus Papagayo and booked online through a travel blog that provided a $10 discount per person. The tour provides pick and drop options from different towns in the Guanacaste province. The pricing ranges from $130-$150 depending on the pick-up/drop-off point. The price includes transport, guide, drinking water, breakfast, lunch, all entry fees and immigration fees. (Again, more on that later!)

A red taxi picked us up from our guesthouse sharp at the scheduled time 6:10 am only to drop us off couple of kilometers away where we would be picked up by the actual tour transport. It was a small van containing 10 passengers (including us), a driver and a guide. We were the only Indians (why do I mention this? Keep reading!) in this travel group whereas the others were from Canada, US and Netherlands.

This Nicaragua tour is great if you want to see some of the highlights of the country in just one day. But for a more immersive feel of the country, we recommend you to stay at least a few nights in each destination. Check out this 4 day itinerary for San Juan del Sur.

Costa Rica – Nicaragua border crossing, on foot!

After the Costa Rica – Panama bordering crossing for our Bocas del Toro trip, this was the second time we were crossing international borders on foot!

The small van dropped us off at the Costa Rica end of the border. We got off to complete the immigration process before boarding another mini van on the other side of the border. The process entailed the following steps:

• Get off the mini van (Costa Rica number plate)
• Enter Costa Rica immigration office and ‘depart’ the country – get the exit stamp on passport
• Show the Costa Rica exit stamp on the passport to the police at the border on the Costa Rican side. (Yes police, Costa Rica does not have military!)
• Cross the no man’s land on foot
• Show the Costa Rica exit stamp on the passport to the armed military at the border on the Nicaragua side
• Enter Nicaragua immigration office and ‘enter’ the country – get the entry* stamp on passport
• Enter another mini van (Nicaragua number plate)

We followed the reverse procedure when we crossed from Nicaragua to Costa Rica the same night at the end of the Nicaragua day trip.

How much of Nicaragua can you see in a day?

The answer is A LOT! Right after we started our journey on the other side of the border, we saw a huge ocean like water body on our right. This startled me and tickled my geography knowledge. We were moving northwards along the Pacific coast. So how could we possibly have an ocean on our right? Turned out it is the Nicaragua Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Central America. Throughout the day we visited several beautiful places which represent the stunning topography that Nicaragua boasts of. Here is a list of all the stops in order of the visit.

Nicaragua Lake

Our first stop was for breakfast, a small restaurant by the shores of Lake Nicaragua in La Virgen, a small town near Rivas City. A table for 10 was laid out with a view of the lake on a pleasant January morning. While we waited for the breakfast to be served, I watched the small waves roll up to the ‘beach’ by the large lake. Trees, bushes and grass on the foreground and a pair of twin volcanic mountains in the background framed my lake view. After finishing a hearty Nica breakfast, we took some time strolling on the shore.

Our travel group were the only people along the length of the beach that the eyes could behold. Each of us spent some quiet time there in our own ways. We saw some windmills to the right and Omotepe island (that hosts the twin volcanoes) in the distant horizon. The massive water body was glistening under the morning sun. The silence was intercepted only by the rippling of the water and fluttering of the wings of the birds flying around us. The husband and I realized we were already in love with the natural beauty of Nicaragua and the trip had only just begun!

Apoyo Lagoon from Catarina Viewpoint

We went to the Mirador de Catarina/ Catarina Viewpoint to see the Apoyo Lagoon Natural Reserve. It is a 200 meters deep crater lake. The viewpoint had gallery style seating with an elevated view of the lagoon. The gallery was occupied with some other tourists (mostly locals) and some local vendors trying to sell snacks. Yet I would say the lagoon, that looked like a big circle containing deep blue liquid, was quite charming. You could also get a view of the famous Mombacho volcano from this mirador.

What if the eyes get tired of looking at the blue lake and need some activities? One could opt for horse-riding along a trail or chill with some beer from the very few surrounding cafes. Or spend some time shopping for souvenirs from the small shops. Our guide recommended this place for souvenir shopping as the town of Catarina is known for artesanal wood work and flowers. Since you would buy the products directly from the artisan and not from a bigger store, it would boost the local community.

Masaya Volcano/ Volcán Masaya

After getting the entry wristbands at Masaya Volcano National Park gate, we drove for a bit inside the park to reach the volcano crater. Masaya volcano is an active volcano that continuously emits sulfur dioxide fumes. Park rangers and volcanologists constantly monitor the volcano for any potential activity. Supposedly, several natural factors can affect the crater visibility of any given day. Such as sun, rain, cloud and time of the day. Too many variables, eh? We got down from the van not sure what to expect.

Immediately we felt the heat. Heat not as in like a hot summer day, but more like standing near a furnace. We walked till the fence from where we could see large smokes rolling out from the crater at the bottom of which exists a lava lake. Not paying attention to the pungent smell of the sulfur dioxide or the piercing heat on our skin, we happily observed the fumes emission from the crater with great awe. Presence at the crater site is time limited as a safety control measure. However the time we were allowed there was enough to get a glimpse of the orange-red lava lake as well, when the fumes cleared for a moment.

This was the first time we ever got so close to an active volcano. Our hearts beamed with joy. The geographic phenomenon that we watched was simply magical. As if the fumes were letters dancing out of my childhood geography textbook!

Lunch break at Masaya town

We did not really explore the town. This was more of a lunch and shopping break. Six different lunch alternatives ranged from chicken, beef, pork, fish and vegetarian. Each dish would be accompanied with salad, white rice and french fries. The lunch also included the choice of one drink – non-alcoholic drinks or domestic beer.

Boat tour on Nicaragua Lake (Granada City)

I had mentioned before about the enormous size of the Nicaragua Lake. So, of course several towns dot the perimeter of the lake. Granada City is a prime one among them. Our first post lunch activity was a bout tour on the the Nicaragua Lake from the Granada City side.

On the boat tour, as we passed by some small islands with private houses, our guide explained that the lake is home to around 300+such small islands which can be privately owned. Yes, you read that right – you could buy an island here! (and build your house or buy an island with an already built house). We saw one such island with house ‘for sale’ for $350 K.

The boat stopped by one of the islands, called Spider Monkey island.A veterinary doctor owned the island that houses 3 of his spider monkeys in natural habitat. The purpose of the stop was for the boat passengers to have an interaction with the spider monkeys who were supposedly very friendly. We were not quite delighted with this arrangement as we feel this kind of interaction molds an animal’s natural behavior.

A boat ride on a large fresh water lake on a sunny afternoon should be soothing to the soul. However, I felt, there was so much of human intervention on the lake (private islands, private houses, private boats, electricity wires, veterinary’s pets etc.) that the boat ride experience lacked a bit of serenity. This did not quite compare with some of the amazing boat ride experiences we have had back in India in Chilka Lake, Periyar Lake, Munnar Lake, Vembanad Lake, Tungabhadra River among others. Thus, contrary to popular choice, the afternoon boat tour excursion was probably our least favorite part of the Nicaragua day trip.

Granada City

Granada City is an old Spanish colonial town that holds high economic and political importance in the history of the nation. For the last leg of our Nicaragua day tour, there were two options to choose from – (1) Horse carriage tour of the town, or (2) Explore on foot on your own. The husband and I chose the latter for reasons I will reserve for another blog post.

Granada City is home to several heritage buildings and churches. On our quest of Granada City exploration in just one hour, we visited the main plaza and three different churches, each constructed in a distinctly different style.

• Guadalupe Church – A Gothic style construction that invoked a sense of mystery.
• Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral/ Granada Cathedral – A yellow colored neoclassical Catholic cathedral that was glowing in the afternoon sun.
• Iglesia de la Merced – A 16^th century church with a spiral staircase leading to a bell tower (entry fee: US$1)

Our favorite spot was the Iglesia de la Merced bell tower from where you can get panoramic views of the city, including the yellow Granada Cathedral and the volcanic mountains. Bathed in the last rays of the sun, the city glowed with a golden filter.

Just before sunset, it was time for us to head back to the vehicle for our return journey to Costa Rica. How I wished we had more time to see the color riots on the sky till the sun actually retired for the day. How I wished we had more time to walk through more unknown alleys of the city. How I wished we had more time to have quiet conversations at charming coffee shops. How I wished we had more time to spend in Granada City.

What we liked about the Nicaragua day trip

• We visited one brand new country in a single day! Given that we love spending time and exploring at our pace while visiting new places, this itinerary had a lot packed in one day. However, I will be totally dishonest if I tell you we did not spend 10 minutes that night looking at our passport pages freshly punched with 5 different stamps on one single day! (Why 5? Keep reading!)
• All the places on the tour itinerary were indeed charming and worth visiting. Not once did we feel about any stop that it was an unnecessary inclusion in the tour. Instead, there were some places where we wished we could spend more time or could back again.
• The tour was very well-organized. Pick-up, immigration, selection of places of visit, time spent at each spot, food breaks, cleanliness and service – everything was up to the mark.
• The food provided was tasty and of good quality – both breakfast and lunch. This is often not the case on guided group tours, so this deserves a separate call out.
• The tour price was all-inclusive and given the service, was totally value for money.
• The tour guide was excellent. He was a local Nicaraguan and hence was well-informed about each place of visit and its history and geography. He spoke English fairly well (hey, let’s not judge him on grammar and pronunciation!) which facilitated an easy communication between the tour organizers and the tour participants. He was a happy fellow as well, always enthusiastic and keeping the tour participants engaged throughout the day.
• Nicaragua day trip was a great introduction to the country. We explored a tiny corner of the largest country in Central America. So, basically we covered only some highlights of the country. Yet it was one such trailer that will make you crave for watching the full movie!

What could be better about the Nicaragua day trip

• Time allocated for Granada City was too less. We could easily spend at least 2 days walking around this old colonial town. An hour was too cramped to absorb what Granada is.
• Masaya Volcano was the most stunning geographical feature we saw that day. For us, it remains the highlight of the day. However, we visited the national park during day. Was there a possibility to rework the itinerary so that the volcano could be visited after sundown? You can do a Google Image Search with ‘Masaya Volcano at night’ and you will know why.
• While the rest of the tour participants enjoyed the monkey interaction at the Spider Monkey Island on our boat tour, we feel animals should be left alone in their natural habitat and should definitely not be fed with chocolates and cookies in plastic wrappers. Yes, a monkey taking a cookie off your hand may look cute, but is that really its natural behavior?
• Last but not the least, prior research could have been done about immigration requirements of tour participants of all countries.

Nicaragua Visa requirements for Indian passport holders

[Huh, this is the story I have been saving for till the end.]

First things first, if you hold an Indian passport, you do need a visa to enter Nicaragua. Now, for many countries in the American continents, you can get a visa exemption if you hold a valid US visa. That’s why and how we have not had to procure any tourist visa for any of the other countries we have visited so far in this part of the world. If you recall the impromptu plan of our Nicaragua day trip, you will know that we did not really pay much attention on checking the immigration requirements as we safely assumed that our US visa would suffice for Nicaragua as well. Well, it did not.

At the Nicaragua immigration office, while the other tour participants submitted their passports and waited for those to get stamped, the husband and I were summoned to the immigration officer’s office inside. The officer explained to us (in Spanish) that the Indian passport belonged to Category C as per Nicaragua’s categorization of passports and hence Indian passport holders needed Nicaraguan visa to enter the country (uhh oh!). But they would consider ours as Category B as we had Costa Rica residence (more uhh oh!). However that did not change anything in the visa requirement. We were told that we did need to get a Nicaraguan visa but since we had valid US visas, a Visa On Arrival (VOA) would be granted.

The process was easy – the officer had to take our passport details and we had to pay the US$50 VOA fees. Thus we earned 5 stamps on the passport in one day – Costa Rica exit, Nicaragua Visa on Arrival, Nicaragua entry, Nicaragua exit, Costa Rica entry. Lesson learnt: Indian passport holders should not plan spontaneous international travel!

P.S: US$50 was the cost of single entry Visa on Arrival – so we would probably have given this tour a second thought had we known about the visa costs earlier.

An anecdote from the trip

India is a developing country with well-developed urban areas as well as developing and underdeveloped rural areas. Also, agriculture is one of the major drivers of the Indian economy. Nicaragua is primarily a rural country with some bigger towns. In Nicaragua, vehicles did not always follow traffic discipline. Sometimes there were people lying on the top of trucks and often there were bullock carts on the roads.

Now, none of these are alien scenes for an Indian. But they were completely shocking and beguiling to our fellow tour participants from the ‘first world’ countries. At one point, some of them requested to stop the van so that they could get down to take photographs of bullock carts on the road! I can try to comprehend their amusement but for us, people getting down from a vehicle to photograph a bullock cart was no less amusing! << giggles >> We felt like photographing the people that were photographing a bullock cart. <<giggles>> (No we did not!)

Nicaragua day trip: A well-deserved chance

It was a very short trip to such a beautiful country but definitely a great introduction to what Nicaragua can offer to the traveler. The political conditions there may be far from perfect (hey, aren’t they in your country as well?). A lot of people may advise you against traveling there. Some countries may often issue travel warnings on Nicaragua. Based on what we saw in one day, Nicaragua is a country dotted with natural marvels and filled with nice warm people. We are glad we gave Nicaragua its well-deserved chance. So can you.

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