Nicaragua is dotted with 19 active volcanoes, many of them still spewing molten earth. It was, however, one of the extinct volcanoes that drew me out of bed my first morning in the country. Of all the activities on my Nicaraguan itinerary, the one I absolutely knew I wanted to do was visit the Laguna de Apoyo. I had heard from many sources that it was the highlight of many travelers. I wanted the chance to swim in the sapphire waters myself while I was there.

After a quick breakfast and a SIM card debacle, we were ready to make our way out to the Reserve that contains the lake. Unfortunately, we missed the shuttle that transports people, so we had to opt for a taxi. The taxi cost $20. We were bummed to spend so much of our cash so early into the trip. If we had went with more people, the taxi would have been a good deal. The ride from Granada took about 20 minutes, half on highway and half on steep, unpaved road.

At the recommendation of our hotel, we made our destination the Paradiso Hostel, but there are dozens of hotels along the lake and pretty much all of them offer some sort of day pass. The day pass at Paradiso Hostel costs $7 and includes use of all the grounds, the kayaks and complementary coffee all day! Upon check-in, I immediately made my way down to the beach, stripped to my bikini and jumped into the lake. It felt to refreshing.

I had heard that the water at Laguna de Apoyo was very warm.  It was comfortable to swim in, but it was not bath water the way I was expecting. After diving in, I immediately noticed that the water tasted sulphuric, which made sense. The lake is housed in a volcanic crater. Despite not being the temperature of bath water, the lake is still very comfortable considering how deep it is. The bottom of Laguna de Apoyo is the lowest spot in all of Central America. The water maintains its 25 degrees celsius with hot fumaroles. The beach next to Hostel Paradiso was comfortable to swim in, but there are some parts of the lake that are actually boiling!

I spent a long time just floating out in the water. It was so serene to just tread while looking back at the shore.  Eventually, I noticed my fingers had long since pruned, so I headed back to the beach. Hostel Paradiso had a bar right on the beach. After drying off, I grabbed a seat and ordered some fries and a smoothie. The food was inexpensive and pretty tasty.  After finishing my meal and digesting a little, I spent some time wandering and shooting the grounds.

The Hostel Paradiso is, as the name suggests, a paradise. Hotels and resorts dot the shore of Laguna de Apoyo. But Hostel Paradiso’s location tucked in a small cove makes it feel remote. The hostel offers yoga, massage and Spanish lessons. There is a patio on the same level as the reception with an unbeatable view of the lake sprawling out below. This is where you can treat yourself to the hotel’s coffee. Honestly, if I had known how amazing and enjoyable my time at Hostel Paradiso was going to be, I think I would have stayed overnight. People treat Laguna de Apoyo as a day trip. I would, however, recommend all visitors spend a night.

Sweating from exploring the grounds in the hot Nicaraguan sun, I returned to the beach for my second dip in the lake. This swim was even more idyllic than the morning one.  As I made my way into the water, clouds had started rolling in. The beach was covered in shadow, but about 100 ft out in the lake, the sun’s rays were peeking through. Just floating in the mineral-rich water soaking in the last few drops of sunshine of the day was one of my highlights from all of Nicaragua.

When I finished my swim, clouds had completely shrouded the sky.  It was time to return to Granada. Hostel Paradiso offers a shuttle service to Granada, but the day we were visiting, the bus was broken, so Hostel Paradiso was organizing taxis for groups of four. While waiting for our taxi, the skies opened. The next thing I knew I was running through the rain for cover. While the weather is nobody’s fault, the hotel offered us our choice of free bottled beverages. We grabbed some waters and got in the cab back to Granada. It had been a perfect day.

When I was a little girl, I would spend hours looking at maps of the world.  I would trace roads and rivers and look for features that stuck out. There is a giant lake in the middle of Nicaragua that spurred my interest in the Central American country.  It was not so much the size of the lake that fascinated me; I grew up just blocks away from an even larger lake.  Instead, it was a uniquely shaped island within the lake that captured my attention for hours.  I have always had a desire to travel to Nicaragua, but more than that – I have always had a desire to travel to the Isla de Ometepe.

Background

The Isla de Ometepe is formed by two volcanos rising out of Lago Cocibolca – Concepcion and Maderas.  The word Ometepe comes from the Nahuatl words ome and tepetl which translates basically to two mountains. The two volcanos joined by an isthmus give the island its unique hourglass shape.

The island is home to approximately 40,000 people who primarily make their living from agriculture and tourism. An additional 60,000 people visit the island every year – most of whom come for eco-tourism. Spanish is the primary language of the island, but travelers with knowledge of English should have very little difficulty on the island.

How to get there

There is technically an airport on the island, but most likely you will arrive on the Isla de Ometepe by ferry. The ferry leaves from San Jorge about a dozen times every day and arrives at either Moyogalpa or San Jose. The vast majority of ferries arrive at Moyogalpa. The ride takes about an hour. Most of the boats are modern ferries, but a few are Lanchas. The Lanchas look a little scary but are perfectly safe – despite the fact that the crew locks the passengers below deck!

At the time of writing this, tickets for the ferries cost 55 cordobas and tickets for lanchas cost 35 córdobas (30 córdobas = 1 Dollar). Most guides and suggestions say that you will be fine buying your tickets just before the ferry leaves, and I think that generally this is true.  However, when we were buying tickets, we were told that everything except the last Lancha was sold-out. If you are planning to visit Isla de Ometepe in the busy season, consider pre-booking a ticket. You can check the schedule here!

Where to stay

Moyogalpa

I did not stay in Moyogalpa or spend any time there.  It is the largest city on the island, but is pretty far from most of the things someone would want to do (with the exception of climbing Concepcion).  I think it is a good idea to get out of Moyogalpa as quickly as you can with a few exceptions: you are arriving on a late ferry and don’t want to travel to you destination so late, you are taking an early ferry and you want to be close to the ferry terminal the next morning, you are planning to climb concepcion the next day.  If none of these conditions apply, I would move on.

Santo Domingo

This was my original destination of choice on the island, however, by the time I got around to planning my trip, I was unable to find accommodations in this town. In hindsight, I have learned that it is possible to make last minute accommodations, YMMV. The reason to choose Santo Domingo is because of the proximity to the beach on the island.  There are multiple beaches, but certainly the best and widest one is Santo Domingo.  When I was visiting Isla de Ometepe, the beach was very small due to a particularly wet rainy season, so it would not have been worthwhile to stay the whole time in this part of the island anyway.  I spent almost a whole day exploring this part of the island, and it was lovely.

Balgue

Balgue is possibly the most touristy part of the island. Once you reach town, you immediately feel like you are in North America or Europe – especially when you see the prices.  The most expensive meal I ate in Nicaragua, I ate in Balgue. But, it is a popular spot on the island for a reason.  There are a plethora of places to eat and stylish restaurants or yoga spaces. Also, you are in close proximity to Finca de Magdalena – a farm that offers lodging and miles of trails to explore!

Merida

If Isla de Ometepe is an off-the-grid destination in an off-the-grid country, Merida is off-the-grid in a whole different league!  The paved road on the island ends at Santa Cruz (just past Santo Domingo), so to continue on to Merida requires about 45 minutes on a dirt-road (and to call it a dirt-road is generous).  Despite the difficulty in getting to Merida, I would say it is the best place to stay on the island, if only for the incredible sunsets!

La Omaja – If you are looking for a resort-type accommodation, this is absolutely the place to stay on the island. I did not stay here, but I went for sunset drinks and dinner. The view is unbelievable, especially during sunset. There is an infinity pool overlooking both the lake and Concepcion.  The staff were exceptional, friendly and accommodating. We went for dinner, on our last night on the island and it was truly spectacular! The dinner was not as inexpensive as most in Nicaragua, but it was ver tasty and less expensive than our meal in Balgue for more food. Taking into consideration that we were not charged a resort fee, it really became an excellent deal!  Even if you choose not to stay here, I would highly recommend stopping by for dinner.

Punta de Guavas – If you prefer renting a house to yourself, then this is the best choice on the Isla de Ometepe hands down. This is an AirBnb and not a hotel, but this is where I stayed on the island and I cannot recommend it enough! Cindi (the host) really goes out of her way to make sure her guests are happy. Cindi is very attentive; she will help organize any activity or give great recommendations.  She also leaves two bikes in the property for guests to use. The house is right on the lake and is large enough for groups. Of all the places to watch the sunset, the backyard of this house is probably the single best place on the island.

What to eat

Nicaragua is not the country you go to if you are into gastronomic tourism, and Isla de Ometepe is no exception. With that said, there is some really tasty, fresh food on the island.  I already recommended La Omaja above, and I will add Restaurante Loana which is also in Merida.  Both of the meals I had at these two places were excellent.  As a bonus, they both accepted credit card.  For breakfast and lunch, I really enjoyed just popping into the Comedors and having smoothies. As I mentioned above, the most expensive meal I ate in Nicaragua was in Balgue.  The place was called El Bamboo.  The food and ambiance are really nice, but it was quite pricey!

What to do

The obvious thing to do on Isla de Ometepe is climb a volcano. There are two to choose from.  Concepcion is the active, pointy volcano.  It is an eight-to-ten hour climb, but if the weather is cooperating you have views all the way to the Caribbean. This was one activity I really wanted to do while on the island, however I had some pretty bad weather while I was there.  The other volcano is dormant Maderas.  The hike up Maderas is a six-to-eight hour hike through cloud forest.  At the top, there is a crater lake and it is typically shrouded with clouds.

If you are not interested in hiking one of the volcanos, there are other hikes you can do. One of the most popular choices is the trek to the San Ramon Waterfall (you can read my trip report here). I met some people while on the island that said the hike to San Ramon kicked their butts.  I didn’t think it was that challenging.

If you don’t want to venture to the Maderas side of the island, you will find that the beach of Santo Domingo can keep you occupied entirely.  Nearby is the famous Ojo de Agua. I did not visit because I am not a huge fan of pools, but I have heard that people really enjoy it.

My favorite thing that I did while I was on the island was rent a scooter and just explore. Since I was staying in Merida, I had to learn quickly how to ride a scooter over terrible road, but once I got to Santa Cruz, it was smooth sailing. I was able to ride all the way from Altagracia to Balgue, stopping along the way to snap photos and take in the view.  Some of the stops I made were lunch at El Bamboo, a side trip to Finca de Magdalena and the Santo Domingo beach.  At one point it started pouring rain, so I quickly parked my scooter and hopped into a comedor where I enjoyed a beer while the storm passed.

My Recommendation

My recommendation would be to spend three full days and four nights on the island.  Take the last lancha to the island. It will be an unforgettable experience – being locked in the bottom of an old boat watching Concepcion grow nearer as the sun sets.  Stay the first night in Moyogalpa.  Wake up early on day one to climb Concepcion.  After you finish your full day hike, transfer to stay in Merida and have dinner at Restaurant Loanna.

Wake up on day two and rent scooters to explore the island. Do not miss the Santo Domingo beach.  Additionally, I think the isthmus between Concepcion and Maderas is the most beautiful part of the island! Make sure you stop for plenty of photos! Not getting enough photos (my camera was not charged) is one of my major regrets.

On day 3, grab some bikes and head to the San Ramon Waterfall. Park your bikes at the entrance and walk ~4 kilometers to the falls.  On your way back, stop at Comedor Gloriana for a late lunch.  Head to La Omaja (if you are not staying there) for dinner and sunset! Wake up early on day 4 to catch a ferry back to the mainland 🙂

Our last day on the big island began with with alarm blaring at 5:45 AM. Very early start for vacation, but we were on a mission to catch the sunrise from Waipio Valley – Valley of the Kings! Luckily, the Airbnb was only a 5 minute drive from the overlook. We parked our car and headed down to the valley in the dark.

We arrived at the beach just as dawn was breaking. The view was breathtaking – pink hues filled the sky as giant waves crashed on the black beach. You couldn’t help but ask if you had arrived on the set of Lost. Despite being one of the islands main attractions, we were alone on the beach save for a couple of surfers. We spent about 45 minutes taking in the sunrise and enjoying the solitude before heading back up.

The walk back up was tough – climbing 1000 feet over less than a mile. From the top, we stopped at the overlook which we had skipped in the dark. In the distance you could see a mountain peeking over the cloud tops. It was Maui! I had no idea you could see Maui from the Big Island, but there it was! After a few moments, we headed back to the hostel to pack up and head to a well-deserved breakfast!

We made a pit stop in Waimea for a simple meal of eggs, sausage and toast. Nothing fancy, but it hit the spot! We continued driving back to the Kona side. Leaving the restaurant parking lot, we were treated to a view of Mauna Kea, complete with snow on the top. I can now say I have seen snow in Hawaii – achievement unlocked!

We drove to a beach on the Kona side. Despite having spent almost 4 days on the island, we hadn’t gone swimming yet. We fixed that at the beach. The beach we went to had these monster waves and was apparently a big place for boogie boarding. It was wild to see adult men getting destroyed on boogie boards by giant waves.

After we finished with the beach, we head back up the hills to Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation to take their free coffee tour. The tour guide started by asking us if we knew where coffee came from (Ethiopia, I answered correctly), and how it was discovered (goats, I also answered correctly). It was a pretty interesting tour and I think I now know enough to quit my job and open a roastery.

After the tour, it was getting close to our flight. We weren’t super hungry, but the flight was 5 hours and we wouldn’t arrive til bedtime so we figured we should get one last meal. We opted to checkout Broke da Mouth Grindz – an excellent choice. We finished with a smoothie and then head to the airport. We dropped the car off without ever gassing-up which I would consider a win! Overall, a successful Big Island road trip!

After returning late from our evening lava hike, we decided to take it easy and make it a lazy morning. The Airbnb we stayed in was easily one of the best I have ever stayed in. The host offered us coffee and a half guava filled with granola. Just sitting there enjoying breakfast causes the morning to fly by.

We finally hit the road around 10 and opted to take the longer scenic route around the Puna coast. If I were to tell people to just see one part of the Big Island, I think Puna would be my first choice.

After finishing our casual drive around Puna, we head back into Volcanoes National Park. At the visitor center, we overheard someone saying the lava hike within the park was 12 hour round trip, so we felt happy that we had done it the night before. In the Park, we visited a lava tube, some steaming vents, and had a nice overlook of the crater from the museum. It was a pretty nice National Park to spend some time, but after we checked off the major attractions, we were feeling pretty hungry so we head into Hilo.

In Hilo we ate at Hawaiian style cafe. The food was pretty good. We ate a poke bowl and a mento bento. They both came in Hawaii size portion (huge).

After lunch, we needed to do a little exercise to burn off lunch, so we headed to Akaka Falls State Park. There was a paved 2 mile loop to view both falls in the park. This part of the island receives a crazy amount of rain and today was no different. We walked the loop in the rain. It was warm, though, so not too unpleasant.

After we finished the loop, we realized we had a lot of time before sunset with nothing left on the agenda, so we made the decision to detour to Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain on the island. We drove up on the Saddle Road through dense fog until all of a sudden the fog cleared – we were on top of the clouds!

They do not allow cars without 4wd above the visitor center (9,000 ft). So we spent some time reading the informational materials. There was a telescope set up with special filters to watch the sun. I looked through and saw a solar flare! After exhausting the visitor center, we climbed up a small local peak and watched the sunset from there. It was truly spectacular to watch the sunset with basically unobstructed views in all directions.

After sunset, we hopped back in the car and drove an hour and change to our hostel. When we arrived, we set our alarms to be ready for tomorrow’s sunrise hike ?