6 Amazing Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua – Don’t Miss #5!

Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua brings you to stunning Spanish colonial architecture, on shaded lanes in a sedate picturesque town.

You’ll swim in volcanic crater lakes, view monkeys from a boat tour, shop at local handicraft markets, and enjoy delicious street tacos and juices.

Sedate, Elegant Granada

Granada is a surprisingly sedate, picturesque town in an otherwise poor country. Granada has a dilapidated elegance. It is lined with colorfully painted Spanish colonial apartments. Schoolchildren in pressed blue and white uniforms run through the streets. Horses adorned with ribbons pull carriages.

Granadinos sit in ornately carved wooden rocking chairs in the over sized doorways of their homes watching the world go by. It seems like a placid life. As I walked, I passed family after family, two generations of adults rocking back and forth, eyes on the passers-by and ears tuned to the telenovela on TV. Children race about as they calmly rock in front of a fan, as the blazing Nicaraguan sun casts ever-longer shadows down their pastel alleyways.

People move slowly here. One must to survive the boiling heat. The Spanish wisely built their cities with narrow streets and multi-level apartments to allow some shade at all hours. Finding shade is a critical task in Granada.

The Many Pirates of Granada

Granada has some of the most interesting history of any city in the Americas. It is the oldest city in Central America, founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1524. In 1666 it was spectacularly captured by pirates in one of the most daring attacks in history. Henry Morgan paddled up the San Juan River by night with his crew in small dugouts. They then sailed across huge Lake Nicaragua and caught the city’s defenders by surprise. It may be the only case in history of pirates attacking a city 200 miles from the ocean.

In 1856 Granada was occupied by American mercenary William Walker. When his plan to conquer all of Central America brought the wrath of Costa Rica and Honduras, he burned Granada to the ground on his retreat. Scorch marks can still be seen on one church that survived.

The city was shelled and bombed again during the Sandinista revolution in 1979.

6 Best Things to do in Granada Nicaragua: 

#1 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

Walk around town photographing the stunning 18th century Spanish Colonial architecture.

In the background you’ll see the bell tower of the eminently photogenic yellow cathedral.  If you only have one day, just enjoy strolling the city and taking in it’s churches and cobblestone lanes.

#2 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

Take a day tour to go swimming in volcanic crater lake Laguna de Apoyo 

I went on some fun day trips from Granada city.  One was to Laguna de Apoyo, a volcanic crater lake a half hour out of town. One can go with either Oasis hostel or Bearded Monkey. I went with Oasis to their “Crater’s Edge” hostel. For $11 you get round trip mini-van transport, and use of the hostels facilities for the day.

The hostel has a plethora of comfy hammocks in the shade, a float one can sunbathe on and dive off, several inner tubes for the same purpose, kayaks, and a bar with some snacks. If you go, go on a full stomach, their $8 lunch is awful and overpriced.

Laguna Apoyo is a serene, beautiful, warm lake. I floated in an inner tube for hours getting an excellent sunburn. It was especially fun watching the British guys in our group trying to swim to the float while holding a six pack of beer, a can of Pringles, and a pack of cigarettes above their heads.

#3 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

Shop at the huge Masaya handicraft market

This is a great market, lots of nice stuff at cheap, cheap prices. Strangely Granada does not have any kind of market for tourists even though it is the most touristed city in Nicaragua. You have to drive to Masaya.

I got a hammock chair for $10 which I managed to leave sitting on a hotel lobby floor in Dallas later in the week. I eyed some beautiful handmade leather boots for $60, but they didn’t have a size 10.5, my gringo feet are just too big.

#4 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

Do a night hike up to see the lava glow on Masaya Volcano

Steam poured from the crater as our guide told us how the dictator Somoza once dropped political enemies from a helicopter into the crater in the 70’s when it had molten lava. Nice. It’s a cool volcano if you have never seen one, but for a guy from Hawaii, eh, not so much.

#5 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

Take a boat tour of the isletas of Lake Nicaragua to see monkeys and a Spanish fort

#6 of the Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua:

 Sit on a traditional rocking chair with a cold Victoria beer and watch the world go by.

6 Best Things to Do in Granada Nicaragua – What you need to know Before You Go:

Backpacker Daily Budget (Hostel bed, three cheap meals, three beers, two public transport rides, one tourist activity):

$21. Nicaragua has the cheapest cost of living in Latin America.  A budget backpackers dream location.  A hostel is $7, three meals for $9, three beers for $3, two cab rides $1.  Oh boy is it cheap here!  A taxi across town is 50 cents, a t-shirt $4, An hour of internet $1, a bottle of fantastic Flor de Cana rum $7, a hand made hammock $11.

Cheap Beer index:

35 cordobas ($1.08) for a 12 ounce bottle of Victoria or Tona in a restaurant

Best time to visit Nicaragua: 

Nicaragua (and Granada in particular) is hot.  REALLY HOT.  You can come anytime, but the best time to visit is winter; November to February.  Average highs are “only” 87, and it is the dry season.  In March and April it heats up, averaging 93.  And then in summertime, May through October, it is hot AND humid, with rainy season peaking in September and October.

What languages are spoken in Nicaragua?

Spanish.  Very few people speak English, though people in tourism related businesses will.

Do you need a Nicaragua visa?

Visas are not required for nationals of USA, UK, AUS, and CAN.  You can obtain a ‘Tourist Card’ on arrival in Nicaragua for US$10 for stays of up to three months.  Nicaragua is party to the Central America Border Control Agreement (CA-4).  Under the terms of this agreement, you can travel within any of the CA-4 countries (Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala) for a period of up to 90 days without completing entry and exit formalities at any border immigration checkpoints. This period begins at the first point of entry of any of the CA-4 countries. Fines are applied for travellers who exceed this 90 day limit, although a request for an extension can be made for up to 30 days by paying a fee before the 90 days limit expires. If you’re expelled from any of the four countries you are also excluded from the entire CA-4 region.

Getting to Granada:

If you fly in, the nearest airport is Managua (MGA)  The airport is a 48 minute ride to Granada.  If you want to venture into the crummy, crime ridden capital of Managua; there is a bus leaving for Granada every half hour from Mercado Huembes or the La UCA station.  Safer and more convenient is a taxi direct from the airport for around $40 depending on your bargaining skills.   As an alternative, you can pre-hire a shuttle for $20 if you want to leave on their schedule.

You can arrive overland from Costa Rica.  From San Jose, luxury coach TICABUS has three trips a day for $29.  Simply ask the driver to let you off in Granada.  They go through the city.  Once you start seeing beautiful cobblestone streets and old Spanish-inspired buildings you will know you’re in Granada and you can get ready to get off.  From the Ticabus dropoff, do not take a taxi, the entire city and most hostels and hotels are within walking distance.  Simply begin walking to your right and you will find central Granada.

You could also try other companies; TRANSNICA, King Quality, Nica Expresso, and Central Line.  These luxury buses have cushioned reclining assigned seats, air-conditioning, onboard lavatories, video screens, and sometimes even drink service.  Bring a jacket, cause the A/C is usually set to “Antarctica”.  You could also take the “chicken bus”, a remodeled old American yellow schoolbus.  Expect cheap fares, hard seats, no A/C, and yes, actual chickens on the bus.  It’s a perfectly resonable way to get around, it will just take a lot longer due to making connections.

You can arrive overland from Honduras.  From Tegucigalpa, luxury coach TICABUS has one trip a day for $28.  It will only take you as far as Mangua city.  You’ll then take another bus (at a different station), or taxi, to Granada.   You could also try luxury bus companies TRANSNICA or King Quality.  Or you could take the “chicken bus” form here as well.

I landed in Managua airport in the evening. After successfully passing the Swine Flu infrared body temperature scanner, I grabbed my bag and headed outside to meet my shuttle to Granada. Well, the shuttle never showed, so I had to swallow my thriftiness and bust out $40 for a cab ride to Granada. The cabbie couldn’t find my guesthouse, even though I had a map and was giving what I thought were clear directions in my best Spanglish. “Derecho! Izquierda! Derecha! Es a blanco y azul casa. Casa Silas. Calle de Concepcion. ” Arrgh. We finally found it by pure luck.

Learn how to get to Nicaragua for free on my page:  Nine Steps to Free Flights Worldwide.

How to Get Around Granada:

Once in Granada, you’ll see the town is small and easily walkable.

A bike is a great way to get around outside the city a bit.  Granada has a lot of bicycles. A romantic evening out seems to begin with the man pedaling his mountain bike with his date sitting side-saddle on the crossbar. You see many couples, young and old, travelling like this.

A fun way to get a tour is by horse drawn carriage.  Several ply the Parque Central, and take tourists on expensive 30 minute tours.

Nicaragua Currency and how to get it:

Nicaraguan Cordobas (32.3 = $1USD) are available at numerous ATMs.  For more info on your cash-versus-credit card options when travelling, check out my post on How to Access your Money in Foreign Countries.

Stay Connected:

Nicaragua’s two main telecom providers are:

• Claro, the market leader in the country. It has good coverage and speed in Nicaragua.   Prepaid SIM cards are sold for C$ 50 all over the country and in their shops.  For top-ups look for the Claro logo. Shops sell recharge cards in C$ 10-2500 giving 90 days of validity. Or top-up online through your personal profile or by Ezetop from abroad.
• Movistar (ONLY Sprint, Verizon, and US Cellular in the US, and practically no European phones will work on Movistar) is the 2nd operator in the country with about 33% of the mobile market. It operates a hybrid non-GSM compatible CDMA network.  The coverage is a bit worse than Claro in rural areas, but rates for data are better and have taxes included.    Movistar started its sin fronteras (without borders) option for regional roaming in Central America. You can roam on the Movistar networks in Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama without any surcharges now using your domestic allowance.  So if you are travelling all over Central America, AND you have a CDMA phone, go with Movistar.
• For more info on your telecom options, check out my post on How to Get Cheap Mobile Phone Service Worldwide.

Where to stay in Granada:

Granada has recently had an explosion of new hostels.  Backpackers are spoiled for choice.  I can personally vouch for Oasis Hostel, which has been around for a long time.  It has a bar, a pool, offers tours, FREE breakfast, and has beds for just $7 a night!

If you want to upgrade from a hostel, I strongly recommend Casa Silas B&B.  This small place is just wonderful.  For around $45 a night, you get a first-class, luxuriously antique-furnished room in a gorgeous traditional casa.  The atrium has a plunge pool.  They have bicycles for your use, wi-fi, A/C.  The gracious Canadian owners make an incredible made-to-order breakfast each morning.  I still dream about their fresh fruit smoothies.

Where to eat in Granada:

Some good cheap eats can be found at:

• Restaurante El Garaje
• La Frontera
• Cafe de las Sonrisas
• Tele Pizza
• El Burrito Loco