Overview to Nicaragua: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
The largest country in Central America, Nicaragua is an attractive travel destination. Flanked by the placid Caribbean and its wilder, surf-friendly counterpart, the Pacific, and characterized inland by striking volcanic formations, it’s an undeniably impressive visual proposition.
Many of the best beach hangouts can be found along the western, Pacific Coast, where the sea breaks with uniform tumult allowing the many surfers to ride its waves. Playa Madera is a veritable surfers’ paradise, while Playa Pie De Gigante offers cheap lobster and good rum.
Head inland and the massive Lake of Nicaragua (Lago de Nicaragua) – itself the size of a small country – is rife with exploration opportunities. The land to the north of the lake is peppered with sulfur-spitting volcanoes that make for dramatic hiking experiences.
Many jump on a boat and make their way to the Isla de Ometepe, in the middle of the lake, for a tranquil experience that borders on the mystical. Similarly, the Solentiname Archipelago, south of Ometepe, consists of completely idyllic and largely unvisited beach-lined islands.
The cities, while not stand-out beautiful (apart, that is, from the colonial splendor of Granada), are relaxed and friendly. Artsy and intellectual, the ‘coffee and club’ scene here is something that invariably retains people for a little longer than they planned.
While it may not have the instant, obvious gratification of, say, Bolivia or Costa Rica, Nicaragua is a genuinely fulfilling place to pass the time. And sure enough, time passes; before you know it, days turn into weeks and months – a testament to the country’s charms.