Located in the heart of The Central American isthmus, the biggest country in the region. With more than 131k square kilometers, Nicaragua has coastlines in both, the Caribbean 541 and Pacific Coast 352 kilometers.
Nicaragua is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes, where tours and excursions are unique in this authentic country. Here, we can find the second largest freshwater lake in Latin America Lake Cocibolca or simply, Lake Nicaragua, and two other smaller ones like Xolotlán and Apana Lakes but besides that, Nicaragua houses a big amount of volcanic lagoons and active volcanoes, so looking for things to do in Nicaragua and tell which are the best places to travel in Nicaragua as well could be quite difficult due to the so many options we have here.
Volcano Boarding León, Nicaragua
Yes, there are volcanoes everywhere in the world. So, talking about hiking an active volcano would not sound that interesting except for the fact that once you are on top of Cerro Negro Volcano in Leon, Nicaragua, the only way to go down from it would be on a wooden board which looks like a surfboard. This volcano, Cerro Negro is located about 25 minutes from the colonial city of Leon.
Most Tour operators in Nicaragua like Golden Tours Nicaragua offer this amazing Cerro Negro Volcano Boarding Tour because there is no other active volcano in the globe where you can do something similar and when it comes to Nicaragua adventure tours, this one is for sure on top of the list and we advise you to do your best to do it.
Why should you consider this volcano an authentic one?
Yes, everyone, from all over the world hikes it but Nicaragua is the only country in the world which has an active volcano used by travelers to surf in it. Yet travelers love doing sandboarding in deserts like in Perú, Australia, Marruecos etc. but in an active volcano? Forget about it! You can do this only in Cerro Negro Volcano, León, Nicaragua. You can visit a Nicaragua Travel Agency online, and since this is one of the best Nicaragua Vacation Spots for adventurous people, most of both, international and national tour companies include this tour in their Nicaragua travel packages. You will find this adventure available for you any day of the year and we invite you not to miss it by visiting this itinerary in our website, we have been doing this for over 18 years.
Masaya Volcano National Park
Mention an active volcano in the world where you can see lava from the edge of its main crater. Or maybe one that you can reach to the very top of its active crater by car, without having to hike long distances; then yes, that volcano is Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, the one with the easiest access to reach the top. This is what makes it so special, so unique and so authentic because no other volcano around the world, or at least in the American continent has such an easy access like our Masaya Volcano, and the location of this park, located just a couple of hours from the Peñas Blancas Border, is perfect for a one day trip to Nicaragua from Costa Rica. In case you decided to visit Costa Rica but you don’t have enough time to spend more time in Nicaragua, if so, you don’t have to miss observing one of the most beautiful sunset of Central America, seen from the top of the lookout of the Masaya Volcano and of course, to see lava at night.
Your Nicaragua Vacations must include Masaya Tour for sure. What this volcano has to offer is not easy to find somewhere else.
Masaya Volcano National Park is made of 2 volcanoes and 5 craters, only one of them is active; a volcanic lagoon, and a huge and massive caldera which holds the whole park. Right way you enter the park and start to drive up the 5+ kilometers to Santiago crater which is the only active one and the one with lava in it, one quickly realizes how invigorating this Park is because you will see its geological formation on both sides, molten rocks and petrified lava cover almost everything in this volcano. If volcano boarding in Leon provides you with a great sunset like we mentioned above, this one has probably the best sunset in Central America as mentioned as well, here, the sunlight plays with the steam which emerges from the active crater, forming a beautiful panorama you don’t want to miss, so, doing a night tour to see lava and getting there late and miss the sunset, it’s not fair. So, we highly recommend that you visit it early so you can do something like a day-night tour in Masaya Volcano.
Ometepe Island Tour
If you are seriously thinking about having Nicaragua Vacations, there is no reason for you not to include this paradise called Ometepe Island.
In 2009, Ometepe Island was nominated as the fourth most beautiful island in the world out of a list of 21 finalists. Cocos Island in Costa Rica (3rd), the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador (2nd) and the Bora Bora Islands in Polynesia, which holds the first place. Besides this very important fact, in 2008, Ometepe Island participated in the contest to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, reaching 77th place among 440 nominees. Yes, it did not win, and Ometepe Island is not one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World but just the fact that it was nominated to be so, means it is extremely beautiful and you should come visit it. If you think we are exaggerating, we have not finished yet. In November 2010, The UNESCO recognized and incorporated this paradisiacal Ometepe Island to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Tourists from all over the world visit this island and once they do it, they want to come back. Trips to Nicaragua should always include Ometepe tours. In its 276 square kilometers, Ometepe possesses two volcanos, one active and one dormant, this last one is one of the only two cloud forests in the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua.
It is possible to hike both Maderas and Concepción volcanoes. Concepción is tougher but it will reward you with great views; Maderas is still hard to climb due to the few good trails but you would walk all the time surrounded by nature, abundant flora and fauna. San Ramon Waterfall in one of the sides of Maderas Volcano is part of this volcano menu as well as a volcanic lagoon on the top.
What to say about Ojo de Agua Natura Reserve, a pool of crystal-clear water full of properties like magnesium, potassium, sodium and Sulphur dioxide, swimming there will be the perfect escapade for you and yours.
If you do not have enough time, even though you would not see it all in one day, we highly recommend it. A day trip to Nicaragua from Costa Rica could easily bring you to Ometepe for sure. The Peñas Blancas Border is just 40 minutes driving from San Jorge Port where you would take a ferry to go to Moyogalpa in Ometepe, from there you can start your tour around the island and you will still be on time to get to the border before it gets dark. One day tours from Granada or San Juan del Sur to Ometepe are also great options if you do not have time to stay overnight in the island.
Nicaragua vacation packages which include other areas of the country, no matter how, in your Nicaragua family vacations or itineraries, you should include Ometrepe Island because this is an authentic destination.
