My thoughts on Backpacking Nicaragua

Now I didn’t love Nicaragua and so in this post I will write about the highlights and low-lights of my time here. I do not want to put anyone off visiting as it does have some great things to offer, each traveler will have their own experience of every country and there are so many variables that change from person to person that will affect your experience.

The Boarder crossing

This was so long, please don’t do what I did and skip El Salvador. Everyone warned me about how dangerous it was but after a stop over in El Tunco (a tiny surf town), I wish I’d stayed longer and explored more of the country! Overall, the journey from Guatemala to Nicaragua took 22 hours, crossed lots of boarders which entails lots of getting on and off buses, we were stopped many times through Honduras by police for a full search, held at one of the boarders for hours and to top it off, none of the mini-buses had air con and it was sweltering! Oh, and I forgot to mention me and a friend I’d made were still on the recovery from 4 days bed bound so we struggled.. a lot!😂 I have so many stories from this trip alone, it was just never ending complications, bribery from the drivers and loss of will to live by Anna and I but at around mid-night, we made it to Leon.

General overview

I’ll do the usual breakdown in my next blog post of an itinerary for a two week visit but for this, I will summarise some main topics.

To start with, and most importantly for solo female travelers, the locals in Leon and Granada can be very intense. We couldn’t walk more than 1 minute (0 exaggeration here) without being inappropriately touched, cat called, kissing sounds or even guys stopping their mopeds in the middle of street to stare and make a comment. I was tired and hangry on day 1 so this got to me a lot more than it usually would and until we headed down south, it was very much a daily occurrence for a week – so much so I wouldn’t really go anywhere alone because it was unavoidable. For any males reading this, it may sound a little dramatic but it can be very daunting and uncomfortable.

Despite the above, I did also have a lot of fun in Leon and Granada. There are some great parties, beautiful architecture and fun activities like Volcano boarding which make the experience so much better! Moving south, things are much more relaxed.

Highlights

• San Juan Del Sur – A beach town that hosts Sunday Funday, an all day pool party across 4 venues.
• Surfing – in surrounding areas to San Juan are some great places to surf whether you’re a beginner or more advanced. We started in Playa Maderas and loved it! I spent hours in the water.
• Ometepe Island – my next post will go in to this more but Ometepe has lots to offer. We spent a few days there, rented a scooter and rode across the island discovering all sorts of gems.
• Granada Tree-house party – a party in a treehouse hostel? What more could you want?
• Volcano boarding – hike up Cerro Negro and slide down the steep surface all racing for the fasted descent.
• Walking tours – wholesome activity, I tried to do one in all the main cities across the trip. They’re so good for getting to know your surroundings and understanding the history/culture.

I shall leave it there for now, next up will be my 2 week itinerary!