Let me cut to the chase, Granada is one of my favourite cities on earth! When I first arrived in the town, I had a reservation for two nights. I planned to spend a day at the volcano and lake (learn more below), then a morning exploring town. To make a long story short, I found myself on the bus out to Leon, no less than an amazing, fulfilling, exiting, eight nights later! As you can probably tell, Granada’s great, and it’s a perfect place to extend a trip to. That being said, most people don’t have as much time on their hands as I did, so I want to help them, AKA you, make the most of less time.

So, the itinerary I’ve put together is for four days. But… I’ve included tips on how to make a longer trip as well as left a few extra things to do at the bottom for you to potentially add on to your trip.

Another thing to point out is that instead of including evening activities on the itinerary, I’ve listed a few suggestions at the bottom. This is because I think that nights out vary massively on your mood and who you’re with, so better to know your options in general and decide on the night.

Happy Reading!

Day 1: Getting there:

Getting to Granada is super simple!

You can either take the chicken buses, which I’ve detailed below. Or, take the tourist shuttles, which are more expensive and normally less comfortable, but faster and more secure, here’s a link to what I found to be the cheapest shuttles in Central America https://www.chabadantigua.com/shuttles

 From Managua you can take the microbus from the UCA terminal for around $2 (in cordoba of course), the buses run around every 20 minutes from 5AM to 7PM and take around one hour.

To my knowledge there are no shuttles from Managua to Granada at the moment. If you want a more secure and private journey, consider taking a taxi. There are licensed taxis right outside the airport.

From San Juan del Sur: Take the chicken bus to Rivas and get off at the terminal (normally $1, around an hour (could be more, you know chicken buses)), there’s a bus to Granada right there ($2, should be 90 minutes to two hours). 

Shuttles from SJDS are $20 and depart daily at 9:30 AM

From Ometepe: Take the ferry to San Jorge ($1.50/50 cordoba, one hour), then take a taxi or chicken bus to Rivas (just 10 cordoba, should be like 15 minutes), then the bus mentioned above to Granada ($2, should be 90 minutes to two hours).

To take a shuttle you’ll have to first take the ferry to San Jorge port, from where the shuttle is daily at 10:30 for $18

From Leon: Take the microbus (with AC!) from the market to Managua UCA Terminal ($1.50  (they may charge extra for large bags), which takes around 90 minutes). Then take the minibus (no A/C) in the same terminal to Granada ($1, around an hour).

Shuttles from Leon are $20 and depart daily at 9:30 AM

Once you’ve arrived in Granada you’ll of course want to settle into your hotel/hostel first, and probably freshen up (especially if you came in by bus, those things get sticky!). But because of how central Granada is, there’s a good chance that there’s still time to do some exploring! As in any city, the first thing I like to do is just wander around and get a feel for the place, and Granada is definitely no exception. In fact, Granada is one of my favourite places to meander through, there’re so many cool houses, buildings, and stores spread across town, you can spend days lost in the vibes here. 

For the evening, check out the list at the bottom of the page and do what you feel like.

Day 2: Water and Fire, Heaven and Hell:

First, the water. Head off in the morning to the tranquil Laguna de Apoyo. This place is truly stunning and you can easily stay here for a few days by itself. However, with this being a compact itinerary, what I’d recommend doing is get a day pass to Hostal Paradiso, which is a great place to bask in the beauty of the laguna. They have a cute little private beach with many deck chairs to sunbathe on, and a great place to swim in the (normally) calm waters. In the water, there’s a great little wooden platform to chill on or use as a diving board. There’re also water tubes and kayaks you can take out all included in the day pass. For food and drink, there’s a restaurant/cafe/bar overlooking the lake. A personal favourite is that they have pool tables, darts, board games, and a ping pong table for your enjoyment.

After heaven, make your way to hell. Oh well, not really hell. But to Masaya National Park, home of a set of volcanoes and volcanic Calderas (craters), of which the most famous Santiago Crater, where you can see the magma bubbling away at the bottom! Besides for this breathtaking (literally, because of the sulphur) phenomenal experience, you can also do a short and easy hike up to a view of all of the park, just follow the many people from the lava view point and the many signs. It’s really really easy for a really really nice view; so maybe… no pain yes gain? Anyways, you can only see the flowing lava when it gets dark so if you get to the park with time to spare then there’s no reason in the world not to do the short hike. 

You can easily make each of these two separate day trips, with an abundance of activities at the laguna, and the city of Masaya a really cool place by itself (plus even more hikes in the park). But since this is a compact itinerary, I’ve marked it down as one day, which is entirely doable. I’d recommend getting a day trip package from one of the bigger hostels (I went through Oasis), which included all transport, the day pass to Paradiso, entrance to Masaya, and a tour guide at Masaya (he was an awesome guide too!). This package cost me $30. You can definitely go to both from Granada by collectivo quite easily but getting between the two may be a bit of a challenge (as I went with a tour I wouldn’t know). If you do a day in each I’d say public transport is your best bet. Taxis are quite affordable too, especially if you’re splitting the fare between friends.  

Day 3: A city of colour

After a day out of town, it’s time for a day in. Like I said before, Granada is just one of those places you can spend days wandering around in so my true recommendation for today would be just that; get yourself lost. 

Nevertheless, for those of you who’d rather plan your day out, here are some of my top places to go.

• Take a free walking tour – The classic free tour starts at 11AM and lasts around two hours. You can reserve a spot at nearly any large hostel, hotel, or tourist kiosk. 
• Get the view from La Merced Cathedral – If you take a free walking tour this is where it’ll end. For one dollar, you can climb to the top of the bell tower for a stunning view of the entire Granada, as well as the lake, Mombacho Volcano, and on a clear day even Ometepe! I absolutely love views over colonial towns, (partially because they all look like they’d make for a great Assassins Creed game), and Granada was one of the best of the lot.

• People watch at Parque Central – Right outside the prettiest church in Central America (for my money at least), is Parque Central, a super colourful and atmospheric square which I ended up in for at least an hour a day, for a week straight.
• Visit the Choco Museo – Granada has its very own Chocolate Museum! Come inside to see the free museum and learn the history of chocolate in Nicaragua. Or/and, take the “Bean to Bar” workshop for $25/$16 for children, to do the history of chocolate! (of course you get to keep your bar).
• Hit the market – The market in Granada, Mercado in Spanish is a really hectic one. Located just a couple blocks south of Parque Central, on Ave Vega and El Comercio (yes that’s the name of the street), you’ll see it, and hear it, from blocks away. With tons of fresh produce including some of the best fruit I’ve ever had, tons of clothes, and tons of um… random stuff, you may be here for hours.
• Other spots to check out include:
  • Maria Romero’s birthplace
  • Parque Xalteva
  • The Guadalupe Church
  • La Calzada –  for vibes on vibes
  • The Old Train Station Museum 

Day 4: Not so lonely islands: 

Granada is situated just off of Lake Nicaragua, the largest in the country. Just a couple KM from the historic centre, is the Granada Archipelago, also known as the Isletas de Granada. There are a few ways to explore the islets: You can take a guided tour in a boat, which will take you through the many islands (there’re 365 of them! One per day I guess).

Another, more active option, is to kayak. You can either rent your own, or take a similar tour as the boat tour just in the kayak. These tours both stop at the San Pablo Fort, and the so-called “Monkey Island” where you will meet (often, but not always, though the tour offices will tell you otherwise) Capuchin and Spider Monkeys up close. 

The third option is very different from the first two; the booze cruise. For a wet and wild time, a party boat goes out into the islets every wednesday with lots of music, lots of vibes, and lots of booze. You can book the cruise through any large hostel for $20, which includes five drinks. Drinks on the cruise are quite affordable but need to be paid for in cash. A noteworthy note (does that even make sense?) is that while you will go past the fort and monkey island, you will not visit them. This is a booze cruise without much of the cruise part. While reading this you may think “well obviously”, but when I was sold this excursion they were very clear that we would visit the main islands while on the cruise. That being said I still had a great time and would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes this kind of stuff (or even if you don’t, I don’t normally but this one was great!). 

So, there you have a four day itinerary, but what about if you want to extend your stay here like I did? Without too much detail, here’s a quick list of other things to do in the area. Enjoy;

• Hike on nearby Volcan Mombacho
• Learn free diving in Laguna de Apoyo
• See the city light up! Trace your steps from the day to spectacular effect!

• Explore Masaya (the town the volcano’s named for), and visit its amazing crafts market.
• Hike further in Masaya National Park
• Take part in Treehouse hostels group activities

Also, as promised, here is a list of evening/activities activities:

• The famous, or perhaps infamous, Treehouse Jungle Rave: Possibly what brings the most backpackers to Granada is this crazy Friday night rave which is quite literally in the jungle! Now, I couldn’t make it because it’s on shabbat so I can’t give you many details, but if you want more info here’s the link to the article I was reading before realising I couldn’t go anyway.
• Take in a magic show or tarot reading at the Magic Lounge for only $5
• Night out on La Calzada – This popular hub has tons of cool bars and clubs and is where all the action’s at within the old town
• Go to the “Beer House”, a collection of bars and pubs
• Dance some salsa with other “gringos” (who probably have as little idea as you on what they’re doing, so no nervous jitters), at Hostal De Boca en Boca. Make sure you pop in to grab a spot. As of spring 2023, this is every Tuesday night but pop in before to make sure
• On the same note, Hostel Oasis and de Boca el Boca have daily activities running, normally together, including beer pong tournaments, trivia night, and games nights. Pop into either hostel when you get to Granada to see what they have on.