Nature & culture vacation to Nicaragua
| country: | Nicaragua | ||||
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary | ||||
| price: | From US $2,199 (8 days) excluding flights. Single supplement US $500. Price includes all meals. Group size is limited to 16 persons
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| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Nicaragua is the hot new destination - safe and friendly - "the next Costa Rica." This tour combines culture and nature, and Nicaragua has plenty of both! Importantly, Nicaragua has enjoyed fifteen years of peace and stability, since the free and democratic elections of 1990, and democracy has been the norm for over 15 years now.
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, still has large areas of forest and plentiful wildlife, indeed it devotes over 18 percent of its land area to parks and reserves. During our tour we visit the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, two of the oldest Colonial cities in Latin America, where we stay in two beautifully restored and elegant hotels, among the best in the country.
We visit the Masaya Volcano, perhaps the world's only volcano where you can drive right to the edge of the active crater! We visit colorful local markets, take a cruise on Lake Nicaragua and meet some of the friendliest people in Central America. The tour ends at an exquisite ecolodge, located on a forested hillside above a sea turtle nesting beach; this is the ultimate eco-experience, with Howler monkeys calling outside your cabana.
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, still has large areas of forest and plentiful wildlife, indeed it devotes over 18 percent of its land area to parks and reserves. During our tour we visit the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, two of the oldest Colonial cities in Latin America, where we stay in two beautifully restored and elegant hotels, among the best in the country.
We visit the Masaya Volcano, perhaps the world's only volcano where you can drive right to the edge of the active crater! We visit colorful local markets, take a cruise on Lake Nicaragua and meet some of the friendliest people in Central America. The tour ends at an exquisite ecolodge, located on a forested hillside above a sea turtle nesting beach; this is the ultimate eco-experience, with Howler monkeys calling outside your cabana.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Managua. We will be met and driven to the Colonial city of Leon, where we will be staying in a beautifully restored former convent, two blocks from the main square. Welcome cocktails and dinner. |
| Day 2: | Leon. City walking tour of Leon; this is the intellectual capital of Nicaragua and the home of the popular uprising of the Sandanista movement. We will visit the university and the cathedral, where we have an exclusive rooftop view of the city and landscape. Coffee and drinks on edge of Main Square, give us a chance to people-watch. This afternoon we visit the remarkable Ortiz-Gurdian Foundation art gallery, with an amazing collection of Latin American and European artists. |
| Day 3: | Granada. Depart for Granada, taking a short driving tour of the modern capital of Managua en-route. Afternoon walking tour of Granada, which is considered the oldest Colonial City in Nicaragua and the home of the Contra movement, representing a surprising contrast to Leon. |
| Day 4: | Granada. Leisurely morning to explore the city center and main square. We depart for a cruise of Las Isletas on Lake Nicaragua and lunch on one of the private islands, as guests of an influential Nicaraguan family. We continue our cruise and arrive back in time to relax around the pool before dinner. |
| Day 5: |  Granada to sea turtle ecolodge. Drive to the active Masaya volcano and look down into the fiery depths of the crater. We can sometimes see the rare crater-nesting parrots that burrow into the crater wall for a unique nesting spot! We drive towards the coast and have a short visit to Masaya marketplace before continuing to our exquisite ecolodge, our base for the next three nights. We can take a walk along beach this evening looking for nesting sea turtles. |
| Day 6: | Sea turtle ecolodge. Today we can relax on the beach, lounge poolside or perhaps enjoy a tour. We will venture a short distance inland as guests of the Maria Marta Johanning de Barrios family (the sister of Violetta Chamorro de Barrios, the first woman President and first President after the revolution) and enjoy lunch at their weekend retreat. After lunch we can talk with the family about past and current political conditions in Nicaragua. Later this afternoon is free to relax at the beach or enjoy another turtle walk in the evening. |
| Day 7: | Sea turtle ecolodge. Our last full day is set aside to relax, explore the grounds of the ecolodge and beach or go swimming. You can take a sunrise estuary kayaking tour, take a mountain bike ride and visit a butterfly farm, all included in your tour price. Farewell dinner this evening. |
| Day 8: | Departure. Transfer to airport after breakfast. |
how this holiday makes a difference
 Join one of our Culture, Nature and Adventure filled ecotours to Nicaragua and know that your presence is making a difference, to the conservation and protection of biodiversity in Nicaragua. Knowledgeable and friendly local guides/drivers enrich our ecotour experience, as no expatriate (foreign) guides or drivers are used. For every person joins one of our ecotours, a contribution is made to the Refugio Vida Silvestre Playa La Flor” to protect nesting Sea Turtles. The La Flor Sea Turtle Refuge on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, is an area that sees the arrival of thousands of nesting Sea Turtles every summer.We try to time our trips to Nicaragua to coincide with the arrival of these nesting Sea Turtles. You get to visit the La Flor Refuge, see the nesting beaches, and hopefully witness one of the “arribadas” when thousands of Sea Turtles come ashore simultaneously. A truly incredible experience. Your participation results in a direct and tangible benefit to the important protection work being undertaken here. |
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