Nicaragua Grand Day Tour: Volcanoes & Culture from Costa Rica

Great time just a long day!—I stayed in Langosta so pick up time was 4:30am, we stopped once along the way to pick up more travellers to join the trip and have a quick washroom break —-we got to the boarder around 7:30am. At the boarder your guide will advise you to walk into the immigration line where you will be asked for your passport. We then proceeded walk through the building, then outside to walk across to the boarder of Nicaragua. Some howler monkeys can be seen and heard when walking over. (The immigration office on the Costa Rica office is new, you will only be outside to walk to Nicaragua ) once you get to the other side you’ll see your guide who will walk you through the process at the Nicaragua boarder, giving passport , paying entry fee (tour guide pay for this). From there you head on the bus and go from breakfast/bathrooms—Breakfast has some localist that you can buy jewelry from is you wish, cash only. From there we stopped at the top of mountain for some pictures and shopping, (20min total) from their we headed to the active volcano, the driver takes you up but due to the activity of it, your only their for 5-10min. Essentially take your pictures and go. —Short but amazing to see. Then we headed to one of the oldest cities, you can walk around but our group pairs 40usd cash for the carriage ride. This does not include tip for tour guide. Then stopped at a chocolate factory for a presentation, option to buy chocolate drinks, tea, bars etc. (1-2 hour carriage ride and factory? From there we were dropped off at the restaurant by our carriage ride which is in the city your looking at. Lunch was great, people were great. I recommend using the bathrooms here. From there we drove like 45min away for the boat tour. The boat tour was about an hour, we saw some amazing properties and monkeys. (Recommend the raincoat, maybe water shoes) headed back to the boarder, we stopped for gas before the board incase you need another bathroom break— By this point it was about 3pm, got to the boarder around 5:45pm. We got stuck for about an hour at the boarder (tour guide drops you off, you go through immigration , walk to the other side to meet your guide) got to Costa Rica at 6:45pm, drove for 2 hours dropped off some people and the another hour and a bit before arriving back at Langosta around 9:45pm. ——The guide in Nicaragua named Claudio was amazing, extremely knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I tipped them highly at the end and would recommend the same since they spend all day and talk about various topics—-I would recommend the tour, it’s a lovely country. By the end of it the tour group was pretty much a family—-I would just be prepared for a long day!

Very well organized in both Costa Srica and Nicaragua, particularly for immigration processing in both directions.

Fast paced, lots of scenery and great food. Border crossing has a new system and only large groups are “fast passed” through immigration. We were about 2 hours in line to get through. Then you have to walk across the border without a guide. It was fine just be patient. It is not your guides fault. There was construction on the Pan-America highway but enjoy the break and buy some treats from the locals…they were delicious. Cigar “demo” was more of an opportunity to buy vs learning about cigars. But that may have been because of the border crossing and construction delays. Guides were knowledgeable and fun to talk with. Tip them…it is how they support their families

What a great experience. Just do it do not worry. Fantastic tour guides. Would recommend to everyone

First of all: My salute to Native´s Way people! The trip was perfectly organized and managed. And I believe that to make a trip to be organized in two slightly less organized countries (from the European Union´s point of view) might be a significant challenge. I also appreciate Native´s Way people´s flexibility and willingness to oblige. I also think that spending holiday in Costa Rica without seeing Nicaragua (if there is a chance) would have been unwise. The two countries differs and it is undoubtedly worth of exploring. It is a long trip and might be tiring, however, I still consider it attractive. The four border procedures (Costa Rica out, Nicaragua in, Nicaragua out, Costa Rica in) are definitely pain in ass (without significant help from our guide it would be completely impossible to make it), but even this can leave you enriched on the way of people´s life and struggle in Central America. Sometimes it can be more useful for one´s horizonts than to see volcano.

The tour was great from start to finish. Our driver Harrison arrived on time to take us to the CR border. The process at the CR border was quick and Efficent. We walked across the border to Nicaragua border patrol. This process took a little longer due to longer lines. I think we spent a hour total getting processed. There were 5 of us on the tour. On the nicaragua side we met our tour guide Miguel who was amazing!! Miguel was knowledgeable about the country history, and the landscape. This trip was so much fun, I highly reccommend you book the tour. It is a loooong day, but so worth it.

WOW. If you are going to Costa Rica, I would 100% recommend this tour. Honestly from the start of the day till the end, I had such a great time. I was with a lovely group, and had a great guide Miguel. He was so polite, friendly and helpful, and very knowledgeable. He got us through the border super quick, we didn't have to queue (and didn't have to pay any extra money), and he gave us the money for taxes both in and out of Nicaragua, which from memory was £13 each tourist tax into Nicaragua and £3 each departure. The drive felt safe and was quick. The breakfast was YUM and traditional, with coffee! We had a great time in Granada, we went to go and see a beautiful view and to a market to get souvenirs (I'd recommend buying here as there's not much chance elsewhere), then we saw the volcano, there's not much walking at all here (you don't have to climb to the top). Then to Grenada and went on a horse-drawn ride (this was 10USD each extra), I'd definitely recommend this option as you see a lot more of the town this way. Then had a chocolate tour, and the horse-drawn cart waited for us. The chocolate tour was OK, I'd probably suggest doing the cigar experience more just as it sounded more fun! We had tastings but they were really small and wasn't much of an experience. The horse-drawn carriage then took us to the restaurant, the food was delicious, and had a delicious juice all included, it was fantastic. We then were taken by car to the boat, where we went to the monkey island and saw some monkeys. A really great tour, I'm so impressed!

We had a GREAT time. We will do it again the next time we visit. The Guide was very helpful about going us information and answering questions.

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Nicaragua on a day trip! The staff at Native’s way made the trip safe, fun and efficient. It was a very long day with many miles traveled, but the stops along the way were totally worth it! I recommend saying YES to the Granada carriage tour option and buying a piece of fruit before the boat ride. 🐒 The overall trip is long, and the stops are brief. Our guide was kind and informative, but I also recommend researching the areas you visit beforehand for more info. And bring snacks and water!!! Pura vida!!

Claudio was an amazing tour guide! He was super knowledgeable and answered all of our questions with great responses. The only reason why I gave it a four star is due to the bit of a rushed day it was due to some morning delays. Granada was absolutely amazing and there were plenty of souvenirs to buy from local vendors. The food that was provided was delicious but make sure to take good walking shoes for this trip!