— By Jennifer Rakowski, General Manager of Way To Go Tours
Nicaragua has many volcanoes and natural wonders.
Of course a vacation to Nicaragua is for us a mixture of business and pleasure. My girls are well versed in proper hotel inspection etiquette. The girls know the right questions to ask and always have interesting commentary back in the van as we cruise to our next destination. I enjoyed seeing the amazing country of Nicaragua in the eyes of 14 (Sasha) and 6 (Willow) year olds.
Flying into Managua – Lake Managua is the “small” lake that looked like an ocean!
We landed in Managua on American. The airport was a breeze to navigate and we paid a $10pp cash tourist card at immigration. Upon exiting, our guide from our local office was easy to spot in his lime green uniform. Juan Carlos ended up being a wealth of knowledge in local history, culture and the natural surroundings. Way To Go Tours includes a local guide on all private transfers. It is a wonderful way to get acquainted and discover Nicaragua as you travel around. Our first night at the Intercontinental Metro Centro Hotel in Managua was a nice upscale option close to local restaurants. After some swimming in their pool and a well-deserved vacation nap, we dined at their sushi fusion restaurant that incorporated local foods in their rolls with the traditional Japanese dish. I do have to mention here that the Mojitos with tons of fresh mint were only $3.25 each.
- – Sasha +1 for DJ’s fun mixture of house and Motown during sushi.
- – Willow +1 for comfy circle sofas by the pool.
Ziplining over the volcanic crater in Managua
In the morning we took the City Tour of Managua. The well paved and easily manageable streets made visiting government squares, monuments and historic points a breeze. The bygone era of war was only apparent through hand painted murals, strong statues of their heroes and historical signs. The general traveler may have the opinion that this destination is still riddled with the negative elements of the past. I can tell you that that is not the case. We felt completely safe and comfortable. As a family travelling, we enjoyed learning about their government and all the people that have played a role from the Spanish in the 1500’s to Samosa to present day politics. We dined at a Tipico restaurant and ate fresh corn tortillas, cheeses, sausages and grilled chicken. We had an amazing chocolate “cacao” milk with hints of cinnamon.
- – Sasha +1 Zip lining over a volcanic crater at Tiscapa Historical National Park.
- – Willow +1 Trying out Spanish with ice cream vendor in the parliament square.
Incredible monuments everywhere you turn!
In Managua we all did site inspections of Elements, a modern boutique within walking distance of great dining. One of the four elements is represented in each of the rooms.
Casa Naranja and Hotel Los Robles offered reasonable B & B options decorated with local Spanish style antiques and furnishings.
- – Sasha +1 would recommend the Stella room at Elements
- – Willow +1 Super cute pools at all 3 hotels.
Our room in Elements
Next we were on our way to the outskirts of Leon to visit the Flor de Cana Rum Factory. We stopped a couple of times on the way to view the lake and the volcanoes. This country is truly the land of volcanoes. Everywhere you turn there is another one peeking at you from behind clouds or the depths of a lake. Many of them are active! Flor de Cana is the biggest rum producer in the country. The owner is the same gentleman who opened Mukul Resort, Carlos Pellas. The beverage’s 18 year version is quite tasty and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the factory. All the rum barrels come from whiskey and bourbon producers from Kentucky and Tennessee. The factory owns thousands of sugar cane acres that surround it. I do think we may have gotten a contact high when we went into the giant storage units.
- – Sasha +1 for the great belt purchased in the gift shop shaped like a barrel.
- – Willow +1 for holding the giant iron key to the rum storage warehouse.
The amazing Leon Cathedral
Leon is a very old city with amazing architecture. Old Leon sits outside the city and features original Spanish ruins of the original church and residences. In the city, we went through the fresh market where the local residents were selling meats, crab, grains and produce of all shapes and sizes. An easy walk to the Leon Cathedral that has been deemed an UNESCO site is being renovated. Its religious statues and memorials were quite impressive. We gave the girls a break from site inspections and they enjoyed the iPad beauty makeover app in the van with our trusted driver Jaime and guide, Juan Carlos. Doug and I visited El Convento, Villa Perla and Los Balacones Hotels. Each was great and in different price points. They all had a Spanish hacienda feel with garden courtyards and easy access to the main square. Our next stop was the ruins. We had the whole site to ourselves. As we walked, our guide discussed the history, we spotted birds and animals and tasted fruit from the different trees.
- Sasha +1 Amazing political murals with vibrant color.
- Willow +1 The best mango ever from the Old Leon Ruins.
Exploring the island in Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua is a huge fresh water sea that is home to many tropical islands. In its deepest waters, it is home to bull sharks which is unlike any other lake in the world! We were driven to a boat dock which was located on the edge of colonial Granada. We had a 15 minute boat ride to Jicaro Lodge, a sustainable eco resort on a little island with 9 two story, teak fashioned casitas. Jicaro is managed by the same company as some of our favorite hotels in Costa Rica. We were greeted with cold towels and a hibiscus tea in a jicaro hand fashioned gourds. They have a small lake front beach with kayaks surrounded by amazing vistas of Mobacho volcano and isletas. The staff was very accommodating and the surroundings were tropical and unique with congo monkeys serving as our alarm clock.
- – Sasha +1 Great internet access to text my boyfriend and cool pool.
- – Willow +1 best coconut ice cream and shower.
Peeking into Masaya Volcano
One of our favorite tours was the Masaya Volcano, Masaya artisan market and Colonial Granada Tour. The Masaya Volcano is so easy to view as you can drive on a paved road through lava fields to the mouth of the active crater. The market in the town had so many handicrafts, leather purses, art work, leather purses, jewelry and leather purses. I am just admitting I liked the purses. Granada was more picturesque than I had imagined. The horse drawn carriages, local square, the yellow cathedral, old cemetery and colonial homes were a feast for the eyes! We visited Plaza Colon, the Colonial and Hotel Dario. We loved all of these Spanish style boutiques. They were in great locations for easy walking to sites and dining. Many people have horses for transport and we saw one with a Pack N Play attached.
- – Sasha +1 Masaya Volcano looked like the entrance to the underworld
- – Willow +1 The Granada horses all had pretty bows!
The horses carriages in Granada
After serving in the tourism industry for most of my life, I have learned to appreciate the fine qualities of an upscale hotel. Mukul Resort certainly fits that bill. We had 2 Bohios with private plunge pools. There was plenty of staff to accommodate our every wish. Many of the management staff has been lured away from high end properties like Four Seasons and understand an elevated level of service.
The pool at Mukul
I do not play golf but the course was beautiful and the 18th hole ends at the beach. They have themed private spa villas with personalized services. Sasha took surfing lessons and Willow was able to play in the KULKids club.
- – Sasha +1 Great bath products
- – Willow +1 best kids club
Fantastic view from our Bohio at Mukul
We toured the Aqua Wellness Resort which reminded me of Mal Pais in Costa Rica. Smashing waves on rocks and a yoga platform with an ocean view gave this bohemian getaway a thumbs up for the earthy traveler. Our stay at Pelican Eyes in the town of San Juan del Sur was a nice twist. We enjoyed walking the town at night deciding on local café options. Our adobe style 2br villa had great views of the entire town, the bay and the Nicaraguan version of Christ the Redeemer. Doug took Sasha to another surf lesson with a top ranked Nicaraguan surf champ while Willow and I explored all 3 pools. There were many stairs at all these locales so I got a needed work out. Sasha needed a massage after the 2 surf lessons so we hiked up to the spa. We laughed hysterically with our nail technician whose English was slightly better than my Spanish. We tried to translate PIE meaning foot into Torta meaning pie. Mi torta es roja!
- – Sasha +1 Getting up 3 times on the surf board and a great massage
- – Willow +1 Pool hopping with mommy
Morgan’s Rock – View fromthe restaurant
Our last 2 nights were spent at the very sustainable Morgan’s Rock, which is about 30 minutes from the town of San Juan del Sur. Upon arriving, our driver spotted white face monkeys and 4 scarlet macaws for us to see. Morgan’s has open air bungalows that are right over the ocean break. There are many steps to climb but the views are spectacular. The beach is quiet and completely your own. We could have not asked for a better ending. We played the board game Apples to Apples, enjoyed the local beers and swam. During the horseback ride, the girls saw a sloth as big as Willow. The queen size floating suspension day bed in our bungalow was a nice place to relax. Everything was a little slower and a little more quiet here. It was a lovely way to end a 10 night working vacation. We hesitantly walked on the long suspension bridge in the early morning to make our way back home.
- – Sasha +1 Great horseback riding and chilled cucumber soup
- – Willow +1 Met a new friend, Olivia!
Our departure via skywalk.