Nicaragua

Hi everybody,

Having never traveled to Central America before, I decided to take the plunge with family from Ontario to experience an awesome week in this unique Latin American country last April. First off, leaving from Vancouver, there are no direct flights from Canada to Nica, a local term used by those that know this country. Rest assured, if you book a flight 3 to 6 months in advance with West Jet or Air Canada via Mexico City, you can then get a short layover in Mexico and proceed to fly out to Managua Airport with Mexicana Airlines (personally, my favorite airline). My flight was $600 taxes included and the flight with the layover in Mexico to Nicaragua was 8 hours. This is less than the time traveling to western Europe!

Nicaragua is a second/third world country that struggles with poverty. Having said that, the hospitality and friendliness of the locals is beyond exceeded expectations. We flew into Managua Airport and taxied it to an area called El Lago de Apoyo, stopping off for breakfast items at a local food shop. Places to go for food that are reasonably priced include La Colonia and Mexi Pali. When there, a must buy are the pineapples, Nica coffee, and el ron especialidad. If you don’t know by now, Nicaragua is famous, not only, for Flor de Cana rum, but also for a variety of other flavored rums.

Now about accommodations- I encourage anyone staying here to book
Casa Castillo: Million Dollar View Of Lake Apoyo, which can be reserved through Jeff at Airbnb. This is a 3,000 square foot house overlooking Lake Nicaragua. The space boasts a beautiful kitchen, living and dining room as well as 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms and an infinity pool that overlooks the lake. During the day, you see turkey vultures, and iguanas. At night, you see the bats swooping over the infinity pool taking sips of water and hear the owls and howler monkeys calling. This exceptional place can be booked for $200 Canadian a night, which is a steal for those splitting the cost with family or friends per night.

As for weather, Nicaragua is hot!! If you like sun and humidity, you will love it here with average temperatures daily reaching 35 degrees celcius/95 degrees fahreinheit.

It is a sun worshipers paradise and 8 days for flight, accommodation, food and drinks can be easily done for $1,000 Canadian.

Next? Things to do and places to see in Nicaragua.