Trying to decide where to go for a week departing from Miami in March. We've been to Panama and Costa Rica in CA with the kids. Thinking of Nicaragua, but not sure where to begin.
We Love nature, wildlife, hiking, water sports, and adventure. We also like nice, comfortable, modern accommodations.
Any recommendations?
Nicaragua for Family Spring Break?
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Quick CR Trip Report
I would recommend Morgan’s Rock, just outside of San Juan del Sur. Excellent lodge, but it will depend on the age of your kids as they only accept 13 years and older. The Corn Islands could be an option, if a little bit one dimensional as it is purely beach. You could combine Granada for 3 nights (suggest Plaza Colon hotel) and San Juan del Sur (Punta Teonoste if you have younger kids) for the last 4 nights
Hope this helps. Latin Odyssey
Please report back...sounds like fun
Belize is another good option if you don't have your heart set on Nicaragua.
I got lazy and booked a cruise
Im going to save this for next year. DH has been to Belize on a dive trip and he didnt think it was family friendly (or wife friendly for that matter) - maybe he was in the wrong place.
Yep, there's tons to do there - snorkeling, hiking, ruins, caving, wildlife. Great hotel and restaurant choices too. Victoria House would definitely be wife friendly.
Ometepe is a great place to visit for a week or more. Loads of activities and very affordable unlike Costa Rica. We went ziplining on Mombacho Volcano near Granada for US$28 per person and it was very professionally run and I stopped panicking after the second of eleven cables. A savvy tourist from Chicago told me that statistically Nicaragua is safer than Costa Rica (he did his homework before deciding to visit Nicaragua after having been to other parts of Central America).
My husband is exhausted after horse riding, kayaking,hiking,ziplining this trip. We didn't swim although there are lots of swimming holes around Merida in Ometepe. Merida is harder to get to because the stretch of road from Santa Cruz to Merida hasn't been paved yet but it's worth the extra 40 minutes by chicken bus or 30 minutes by private 4WD truck. Check out Hari's Horses or Finca Montania Sagrada on tripadvisor.
Cool - where will your cruise go?
Puerto Rico, St marteen, St kitts. We've been to PR before and SM. In PR we were going to try to get to El Yunque, we havent been there. My youngest is finally old enough for us to SNUBA hooray, we are going to give that a whirl.
Sounds like fun!
Nicaragua has more options than most people realize and is much less expensive than a trip to Costa Rica.
San Juan Del Sur offers a beach with touristy-type restaurants. There are more secluded local beaches near going towards Leon, Nicaragua. Granada offers a quaint historic town. Masaya has two markets, one made for tourists (a bit more pricey) and the other for the locals (but there are tourist items and crafts available in it). There is a volcano that can be visited in Masaya as well. Hotel Montelimar on Montelimar Beach (run by Barcelo) offers an all-inclusive type resort.
Managua features a lot of history and different ways to see the local culture, but it also has the restaurants from America (Pizza Hut, Fridays, Sbarro Pizza (mall), 3 malls, etc.
The money you'll save by choosing Nicaragua over Costa Rica and Panama will enable you to rent a car and explore the various towns. With the GPS units that rental car companies are offering (or bring your own), it's not hard to find your way around. (Without a GPS, it's a bit more tricky!).
Feel free to contact us and we'll try to answer your questions about Nicaragua and provide you suggestions.
Hotel Beneficial Park Las Palmas, Managua, Nicaragua
Book marking.
This is a video link about Leon Nicaragua. It shows the city off well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8bhrJHFuNw
Hola Miami Beach Momma
Leon has eight volcanoes, all of which are part of the 'Cordillera de Los Maribios'. The most interesting might be Cerro Negro, which is a young, small volcano that offers incredible views and slopes to practice snowboarding. Other sites are the volcanoes of Santa Clara, Momotombito (volcano/island) and the natural reserves of Pilas-El Hoyo and Telica-Rota. Also, there are two volcanic lagoons: Asososca and Monte Galan.
There are even more attractions in Leon, such as several beaches on the Pacific Ocean. Puerto Sandino has good waves for surfing and a nice estuary. Leon has the most famous ones: Poneloya and Las Peñitas. In front of the last one, tourists will find the Juan Venado Island Natural Reserve. Surfing is also good here.
I work at a Hotel Beach Bar in Las Penitas, 20k west of Leon, called Hotel Playa Roca. I also do tours out of Corinto. I love this place, it's friendly people and it's cost of living. If you need any help booking a tour or information about what to do around Leon email me at
oconnor.john7@gmail.com I will be happy to fill you in. Max