Ometepe: A Two-Day Getaway

Isla de Ometepe is an island in the center of Lake Nicaragua. Easily reachable from both León and Granada, Ometepe is the perfect excursion to escape the heat and noise of Nicaragua’s two major cities. My two days spent on Ometepe were unexpectedly relaxing, and I fully recommend anyone traveling through Nicaragua to add the island to their itinerary for a few days!

 

Getting there

The port for the Ometepe ferry is located in San Jorge, so wherever you are in the country, you will most likely end up going straight to Rivas first.

From Granada: Catch the bus directly to Rivas. As soon as you’re dropped off at the Rivas station, you will be bombarded with taxi drivers offering to drive you to the ferry in San Jorge. It’s about a seven minute drive, so don’t pay more than $2 (unlike me, who didn’t do her research and thought the port was an hour away, and ended up getting scammed 8 fucking dollars). The whole journey from Granada will take around three and a half hours.

From León: Take a bus to Managua, and then another to Rivas. This will take about five or six hours. I repeat, do not pay more than $2 for a taxi to San Jorge!

The ferries to the main city’s port, Moyogalpa, run about every 45 minutes, but you know, Nica time.

Where to stay

The island is HUGE. I was surprised at how big it was. My hostel was in Moyogalpa, however I recommend staying in Santo Domingo because it’s closer to some of the major attractions. I chose Moyogalpa only because I booked it last minute the night before, and also because it’s the main port where most travelers are and I’m a scaredy cat who has to be around other tourists to feel safe. If you’re looking for a nice hostel, I suggest Hotel Casa Moreno. It’s quiet, but big enough to meet other travelers, and has a lovely terrace overlooking Concepción volcano! Moyogalpa has the most hostels, restaurants and tour guides, while Altagracia, Santo Domingo, Charco Verde, Balgüe, and Merida are more isolated.

 

How long to stay

I was only able to stay for two days since I had to return to Granada, but the island is so spread out, three or four days is an adequate amount of time to explore. During dry season (November-March) the sun sets earlier, and the island is almost completely dark at night due to the lack of street lights, so you either need to wake up early or spend more days on the island to squeeze in more activities.

 

What to do

I came solely for the monkeys, but I didn’t see any of them! After scrolling through the Ometepe Instagram tag I was expecting to be greeted by monkeys as soon as I stepped off of the boat, but it turns out you have to go to Charco Verde to see them roam freely on the streets. I did however see them on my hike to the San Ramón waterfall, which was beautiful and totally worth the hike considering I don’t hike. I hired a tour guide for $25 dollars to drive me (on the back of his motorcycle, which I wasn’t expecting… now that I think about it, I don’t even think he was a legitimate tour guide) from Moyogalpa to the park entrance. The hike is about fifty minutes if you drive up to the entrance.

On my second day I caught a two hour bus from Moyogalpa to Santo Domingo. At first I thought I got off at the wrong stop because the beaches were completely empty, but then I realized that’s kind of the point. That’s why I say Ometepe is such a relaxing switch from the mainland and other beaches like San Juan del Sur. The more you walk in Santo Domingo the less people you will see. It’s a lovely walk during the day and there are a few restaurants along the beach.

If you walk about thirty minutes from the second Santo Domingo stop you’ll find Ojo de Agua, a natural swimming hole where locals and tourists alike go to relax. I enjoyed it because the children and families gravitate more toward the main pool, leaving us buzzed millenials in peace. There’s a $5 entrance fee and they serve overpriced food and drinks, so I didn’t order anything except this gigantic rum-filled coconut for $3 (with a free refill). The vibe of the place is really chill, I’d definitely go back.

Other points of interests in Ometepe include volcanoes Concepción and Maderas, Río Istián and Laguna Charco Verde. I came to Ometepe with basically no set plans, but if I had to to do it over again I would have created a set itinerary because there’s so much to see.

Nightlife and partying (aka drunk gringos) isn’t that prominent in Ometepe, unless you stay at some of the party hostels such as Little Morgan’s in Santa Cruz– but that’s what makes Ometepe so peaceful. Granted I visited during the weekdays, but I heard from my receptionist that it’s a little bit more lively in Moyogalpa on the weekends. There are several restaurants  to eat and enjoy a Toña afterwards though. Beware, Ometepe prices are slightly more expensive than mainland prices.

 

Getting around

I didn’t rent a motor scooter since I can’t even drive an actual car, but everyone who did says that it saved their lives because like I said, Ometepe is huge. Prices for scooters range from $10 to $30 depending on where you rent from, and from what I’ve heard you just need to show them your passport. Make sure you don’t damage the scooter though– this girl staying in my dorm crashed and scratched it just a little bit, and ended up paying $80 for “repairs”. If you’re not too keen on renting a scooter, the bus routes around the island are pretty straight forward, but they stop running at around 5 PM, so starting your day early will give you the maximum amount of sunlight to do more things.

 

Overall

A lot of backpackers ask if they should visit Ometepe or San Juan del Sur, but if you can do both, do both! They are literally the exact same route, so take a few days from your Costa Rica travels and spend your last days in Nicaragua relaxing on a deserted beach.