On a vacation in Costa Rica would it be fun to take a day trip to Nicaragua? If so, where?

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Adyari

There are a couple of places. The department of Rivas in southern Nicaragua borders Lake Cocibolca to the East, the Pacific Ocean to the West and Costa Rica to the South, there you can find San Juan del Sur, a beach-town, very laid back, many Costa Ricans go there. Its only about an hour from the Costa Rican/Nicaraguan border.
http://www.vianica.com/visit/rivas

Lake Cocibolca, also known as Lake Nicaragua, is a very popular day-tour destination for people taking a cruise along Costa Rica or are on a Costa Rican tour near the border (Guanacaste). In the lake are 3 attractions, the Solentiname Islands, they are an archipelago with a community of artisans founded by our famous poet Ernesto Cardenal. Just north of these islands is the Island of Ometepe, it is the largest volcanic island in a freshwater lake in the world. There is much biodiversity there and the island is made up of two volcanoes which are connected by a strip of land. You can take a ferry to the island from the town of San Carlos in the department of Rivas. North of Ometepe is the Islands of Zapatera, small is size but full of Pre-Columbian artifacts and some ruins. You can also go hiking there. http://www.vianica.com/activity/115/hiking-the-zapatera-hill
http://www.vianica.com/visit/ometepe

Now, out of the lake and back onto Mainland Nicaragua. From Costa Rica, taking the Pan-Am road, you heard North to Granada (or you can take a flight from Liberia/San Jose). Granada is the oldest colonial city in mainland America. Its full of amazing architecture. You will see many tourists taking tours throughout the city. Once you get there i recommend you head to the center of town (its a plaza surrounded by a colonial church and other colonial buildings) and there is a park, have a plate of Chancho con Yucca from the place right in front of the Church, its delicious. While in Granada, after you finish sight-seeing and all, head South-East to Asese Port (ask for directions or take a taxi) Its about a 15-20min. ride and as you drive to the Port, you will see the Lake to your left, continue going North and you will get to the parking. There people will bombard you asking if you want to take a tour around the Islets. The Islets of Granada is the result of the Mombacho volcano's eruption thousands of years ago. Try and get the cheapest offer, bargain with them. There are over 365 islands, but most tours only take you for a 1-hour ride around 100 islets. I was last there in December and they charged us $20 (for the boat has a capacity of about 20 people) for the entire hour without care of how many people went, which was very cheap. Along the water they tell you which islet belongs to who, some are even on sale. A lot of birds and monkey (especially on Monkey Island) can bee seen. From Granada you can also head to the capital city of Managua (1 hour and 30min. away), the city of Masaya (1 hour away; great for souvenir shopping at the mercado), and Leon (about 2 and a half hours away). http://www.vianica.com/visit/granada http://www.vianica.com/activity/29/boat-trip-among-the-granada-islets

There are also many tours that operate along the San Juan River, also, in the department of Rio San Juan in Nicaragua there is Los Guatazos Wildlife Refuge and the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, the second largest rainforest in Central America after Bosawas (also in Nicaragua but in the North bordering Honduras). Along the river are many towns with interesting history. At San Carlos, in the beginning of the river mouth, is an old Castle/Fort, very beautiful.
http://www.vianica.com/visit/rio-san-juan

Now, transportation wise. From Costa Rica to the city of Rivas in the Department of Rivas the road is very good. From the city of Rivas to the beautiful beach-town of San Juan del Sur is a 20min. dirt road with some potholes in between, but the view at the end is well worth them. From the Costa Rican border to Granada the road is very good, the road from Granada to Masaya is half-half. About half-way to Masaya the road is a dirt and some-what difficult, but manageable, its only bad for about 10min-20min. The rest is good. The road from Masaya to Managua (the capital) is perfect (you pass by two lagoons; Launga de Apoyo and Laguna de Nejapa. Laguna de Apoyo is a must-see and only about 15min off track from the road to Managua). There are two possible roads to Leon, the new highway to Leon and the old highway to Leon. Obviously if you head over there you use the new highway. It is in perfect shape. Also, the view and scenery is absolutely stunning from Rivas to Granada and Masaya to Managua.

Tony Camonte

Yes, there certainly are...Ometepe island in Lake Nicaragua is awesome, Granada has nice colonial architecture and horse-drawn carriage taxis, and San Juan del Sur is a nice beach town with even nicer beaches on the gravel road to the south (bus service a bit sparse though- taxi better?). Volcan Masaya is an awesome little active volcano with a sometimes-smoking crater you can look right down into.

It might be a bit tight to do one of these in a day, though, especially with the border crossings.

I think its 3-4 hours from La Fortuna to the main crossing at Penas Blancas, but I'm not sure. From there its 30-60 min to Rivas, an attractive town with old buildings, and from there a short ride to either San Juan del sur or to the shore of Lake Nicaragua.

Unfortunately the ferry to Ometepe is rather slow if I recall, and once you get there its still 1-2 hours on a very funky bus to get to the various sights on the island. But it would worth be the short trip to the shore just to see the huge lake and the surreal sight of those two huge volcanos looming up out of it.

I think Granada is *maybe* 1.5-2 hours from the border, so that would also be doable.

Heliconiaceae

Well the only thing is that the part of Nicaragua that you will access from Arenal is a poor area but very interesting as it gives you a look at the major differences that tourism can make in a country. From La Fortuna you can get on a tour bus with Aventuras Arenal. They go to the Cano ***** reserve and they will drop you off at the boat taxi location in Los Chiles Costa Rica. From here you get your passport stamped in one building, pay the $2 fee to exit, then hop on a boat taxi to San Carlos Nicaragua (this costs $10). The taxi boat leaves around 10:30am and the last boat returning from San Carlos is at 4:00pm. You will need to catch a taxi back to La Fortuna but one guy quoted us $35. (the bus we took with Aventuras Arenal was $17/person one way)

El Castillo is a nicer town to visit in Nicaragua however i think it takes longer to get there and you may need an over night there.

Good Luck!

i <3 bears

Costa Ricans and Nicaraugans do NOT like each other. So if you make local friends i wouldn't advise you to take a trip to Nicarauga. Have the locals show you or tell you about great well or not so well known places you have to check out.

Definately check out the Hot Springs and beaches. Also Volcano Arenal is really cool.

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