Perfect beaches, awesome volcanoes, grand colonial-era cities and fascinating Mayan ruins. Travel in Nicaragua & Honduras may be an adventure, but it is absolutely worth the journey. Click for Luxury, Mid-range or Budget. Here’s your Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary:
| Luxury |  |
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| 1 | ✈To Managua (Book >) 🚐San Juan de Sur (Book >) |
Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning Arr: 2.5hrs later |
🏨Morgan’s Rock Hacienda (Book >) | All hotels > | |
| If you’re connecting this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with Costa Rica then you can get a taxi for about $20 from the border, or a transfer from Liberia airport. Visitors from most countries do not require a visa to enter. | |||||
| 3 | Spend an additional day enjoying the beautiful beaches | Be cautious about walking around town at night | |||
| 4 | 🚕San Juan del Sur to San Jorge taxi ⛴️San Jorge to Ometepe ferry (Info >) |
Dep: 08:30 Dep: 09:30 |
Arr: 09:15 Arr: 10:50 |
🏨Totoco Eco-Lodge (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Enjoy the ferry across Lake Nicaragua to San Jose del Sur. Once on Ometepe Island take a taxi to the hotel. You then have the choice of climbing Maderas (challenging) or Concepcion (even more challenging) volcanos or, for something more sedate, taking a trip to San Ramon waterfall – you may want to stay an extra day | The ferry ride can be a bit choppy so you may want to take motion sickness tablets | ||||
| 5 | ⛴️Ometepe to San Jorge ferry (Info >) 🚐San Jorge to Granada minibus (Book >) |
Dep: 07:30 Dep: 10:00 |
Arr: 08:50 Arr: 12:00 |
🏨Real La Merced (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Take the ferry back to San Jorge (and maybe spot a freshwater shark along the way) before journeying on to the beautiful city of Granada. Climb up the bell tower of Iglesia de la Merced to get your bearings, then stroll around the central park and admire the cathedral and colonial-era houses | The roads in Nicaragua can get a bit bumpy, so keep those motion sickness tablets handy | ||||
| 6 | Today you can go on a full-day boat trip to the Isletas de Granada, where you’ll see monkeys and a volcano, as well as have an opportunity to kayak on the lake | Remember to pack a good filter water bottle | |||
| 7 | 🚐Granada to Leon minibus (Book >) | Dep: 09:00 | Arr: 12:00 | 🏨Hotel El Convento (Book >) | All hotels > |
| One of the oldest cities in the Americas, Leon is packed with history. Don’t miss the UNESCO-listed cathedral and the amazing Museum of the Revolution. If you have more time you can climb some of the nearby volcanoes | Although it looks tempting, street food here should be avoided unless you have a particularly strong stomach | ||||
| 8 | 🚐Leon to Managua minibus (Book >) ✈Managua to San Pedro Sula flight (Book >) 🚕San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas taxi |
Dep: 08:30 Dep: Afternoon Dep: Afternoon |
Arr: 10:30 Arr: 14:00 Arr: Afternoon Arr: Evening |
🏨Hotel Marina Copán (Book >) | All hotels > |
| After a long day of travel to Honduras, relax in your hotel and soak up the splendid town of Copan Ruinas | Take a look at the Mid-range itinerary for alternative routes to Honduras | ||||
| 9 | Start early to explore the incredible Mayan ruins, avoiding the mid-day heat. Don’t miss the Sepulturas complex, outside of the main ruins site. Guides can be hired, or you can find more info on this blog | If you don’t feel like the 2km walk to the ruins there are plenty of taxis | |||
| 10 | 🚕Copan Ruinas to San Pedro Sula taxi ✈San Pedro Sula to Roatan flight (Book >) |
Dep: Morning Dep: Afternoon |
Arr: Afternoon Arr: Afternoon |
🏨Xbalanque (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Arrive into the exquisite Bay of Islands in time for sunset | Bring insect repellant and an eco-friendly sunscreen | ||||
| 11-12 | Relax on your hotel’s private beach, or visit the marine life on a snorkelling or diving trip. You could also visit the island of Saint Helene or go kayaking along a mangrove forest | If you’ve ever been tempted to learn SCUBA diving, Roatan is an exceptionally good value place to do so | |||
| 13-14 | ✈Roatan to home (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Evening (next day) | Connect this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with the Costa Rica or Cuba itinerary | |
| Book your transfer to the airport. | |||||
| Mid-range |  |
||||
| 1 | ✈To Managua (Book >) 🚐San Juan de Sur (Book >) |
Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning Arr: 2.5hrs later |
🏨Revata (Book >) | All hotels > | |
| If you’re connecting this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with Costa Rica then you can get a taxi for about $20 from the border, or a transfer from Liberia airport. Visitors from most countries do not require a visa to enter. | |||||
| 3 | Spend an additional day enjoying the beautiful beaches | Be cautious about walking around town at night | |||
| 4 | 🚌San Juan del Sur to Rivas bus 🚕Rivas to San Jorge taxi ⛴️San Jorge to Ometepe ferry (Info >) |
Dep: 08:00 Dep: 09:00 Dep: 09:30 |
Arr: 08:45 Arr: 09:15 Arr: 10:50 |
🏨Totoco Eco-Lodge (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Enjoy the ferry across Lake Nicaragua to San Jose del Sur. Once on Ometepe Island take a taxi to the hotel. You then have the choice of climbing Maderas (challenging) or Concepcion (even more challenging) volcanos or, for something more sedate, taking a trip to San Ramon waterfall – you may want to stay an extra day | Buses frequently depart San Juan del Sur – ask for Rivas terminal and, when you arrive, don’t accept the first taxi fare you’re offered | ||||
| 5 | ⛴️Ometepe to San Jorge ferry (Info >) 🚐San Jorge to Granada minibus (Book >) |
Dep: 07:30 Dep: 10:00 |
Arr: 08:50 Arr: 12:00 |
🏨Real La Merced (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Take the ferry back to San Jorge (and maybe spot a freshwater shark along the way) before journeying on to the beautiful city of Granada. Climb up the bell tower of Iglesia de la Merced to get your bearings, then stroll around the central park and admire the cathedral and colonial-era houses | The ferry ride can be a bit choppy so you may want to take motion sickness tablets | ||||
| 6 | Today you can go on a full-day boat trip to the Isletas de Granada, where you’ll see monkeys and a volcano, as well as have an opportunity to kayak on the lake | Remember to pack a good filter water bottle | |||
| 7 | 🚐Granada to Leon minibus (Book >) | Dep: 09:00 | Arr: 12:00 | 🏨Posada Fuente Castalia (Book >) | All hotels > |
| One of the oldest cities in the Americas, Leon is packed with history. Don’t miss the UNESCO-listed cathedral and the amazing Museum of the Revolution. If you have more time you can climb some of the nearby volcanoes | Because hotels here are good value it’s worth getting a room to leave your bags in and rest before being picked up at 2AM by your minibus | ||||
| 8 | 🚐Leon to La Ceiba minibus (Book >) ⛴️La Ceiba to Roatan ferry (Info >) |
Dep: 02:00 Dep: 16:30 |
Arr: 16:00 Arr: 17:45 |
🏨Splash Inn Dive Resort & Villas (Book >) | All hotels > |
| After such a long journey to Honduras you have earned a few days of relaxation in the beautiful Bay of Islands | Bring insect repellant and an eco-friendly sunscreen | ||||
| 9-10 | Relax on the beach of Half Moon Bay, or visit the marine life on a snorkelling or diving trip. You could also visit the island of Saint Helene or go kayaking along a mangrove forest | If you’ve ever been tempted to learn SCUBA diving, Roatan is an exceptionally good value place to do | |||
| 11 | ✈Roatan to San Pedro Sula flight (Book >) 🚌San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas bus (Book >) |
Dep: Morning Dep: 10:45 |
Arr: Morning Arr: 14:00 |
🏨La Escalinata (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Enjoy the town of Copan Ruinas, or pay a visit to the Sepulturas complex | I strongly advise buying bus tickets in advance, where possible | ||||
| 12 | 🚌Copan Ruinas to Guatemala City bus (Book >) | Dep: 15:00 | Arr: 20:30 | 🏨Barceló Guatemala City (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Start early to explore the incredible Mayan ruins, avoiding the mid-day heat. Guides can be hired, or you can find more info on this blog | If you don’t feel like the 2km walk to the ruins there are plenty of taxis | ||||
| 13-14 | ✈Guatemala City to home (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Evening (next day) | Connect this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with the Costa Rica or Cuba itinerary | |
| Visit Parque Central and Palacio Nacional in the morning before the flight home | |||||
| Budget |  |
||||
| 1 | ✈To Managua (Book >) 🚐San Juan de Sur (Book >) |
Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning Arr: 2.5hrs later |
🏨The Beach House (Book >) | All hostels > | |
| If you’re connecting this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with Costa Rica then you can get a taxi for about $20 from the border, or a transfer from Liberia airport. Visitors from most countries do not require a visa to enter. | |||||
| 3 | Spend an additional day enjoying the beautiful beaches | Be cautious about walking around town at night | |||
| 4 | 🚌San Juan del Sur to Rivas bus (Info >) 🚌Rivas to San Jorge bus ⛴️San Jorge to Ometepe ferry (Info >) |
Dep: 08:00 Dep: 09:30 Dep: 10:30 |
Arr: 08:45 Arr: 09:45 Arr: 11:30 |
🏨Hospedaje Soma (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Enjoy the ferry across Lake Nicaragua to Moyagalpa. You then have the choice of climbing Maderas (challenging) or Concepcion (even more challenging) volcanos or, for something more sedate, taking a trip to San Ramon waterfall – you may want to stay an extra day – island bus times here | Buses frequently depart San Juan del Sur – ask for Rivas terminal and, when you arrive, the bus to the port departs every 30 mins from the parallel road to the north | ||||
| 5 | ⛴️Ometepe to San Jorge ferry (Info >) 🚌San Jorge to Rivas bus 🚌Rivas to Granada bus (Info >) |
Dep: 09:00 Dep: 10:15 Dep: 11:15 |
Arr: 10:00 Arr: 10:30 Arr: 13:15 |
🏨De Boca en Boca (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Take the ferry back to San Jorge (and maybe spot a freshwater shark along the way) before journeying on to the beautiful city of Granada. Climb up the bell tower of Iglesia de la Merced to get your bearings, then stroll around the central park and admire the cathedral and colonial-era houses | The ferry ride can be a bit choppy so you may want to take motion sickness tablets | ||||
| 6 | Today you can go on a full-day boat trip to the Isletas de Granada, where you’ll see monkeys and a volcano, as well as have an opportunity to kayak on the lake | Remember to pack a good filter water bottle | |||
| 7 | 🚐Granada Calle Vega to Managua UCA microbus 🚐Managua UCA to Leon microbus (Book >) |
Dep: 10:00 Dep: 12:00 |
Arr: 11:30 Arr: 14:00 |
🏨Poco a Poco Hostel (Book >) | All hostels > |
| One of the oldest cities in the Americas, Leon is packed with history. Don’t miss the UNESCO-listed cathedral and the amazing Museum of the Revolution. If you have more time you can climb some of the nearby volcanoes. Spend the evening resting before being picked up at 2AM by your minibus | Microbuses only depart when full and so there aren’t any timetables, but they do depart frequently throughout the day | ||||
| 8 | 🚐Leon to La Ceiba minibus (Book >) ⛴️La Ceiba to Roatan ferry (Info >) |
Dep: 02:00 Dep: 16:30 |
Arr: 16:00 Arr: 17:45 |
🏨West End Dive Resort (Book >) | All hostels > |
| After such a long journey to Honduras you have earned a few days of relaxation in the beautiful Bay of Islands | Bring insect repellant and an eco-friendly sunscreen | ||||
| 9-10 | Relax on the beach of Half Moon Bay, or visit the marine life on a snorkelling or diving trip. You could also visit the island of Saint Helene or go kayaking along a mangrove forest | If you’ve ever been tempted to learn SCUBA diving, Roatan is an exceptionally good value place to do | |||
| 11 | ⛴️Roatan to La Ceiba ferry (Info >) 🚌La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula bus (Book >) 🚌San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas bus (Info >) |
Dep: 07:00 Dep: 09:30 Dep: 14:00 |
Arr: 08:15 Arr: 13:00 Arr: 17:45 |
🏨Iguana Azul (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Enjoy an evening in the pretty town of Copan Ruinas | I strongly advise buying bus tickets in advance, where possible | ||||
| 12 | 🚌Copan Ruinas to Guatemala City bus (Book >) | Dep: 15:00 | Arr: 20:30 | 🏨Central 10 Hostel (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Start early to explore the incredible Mayan ruins, avoiding the mid-day heat. If you have time visit the Sepulturas complex, outside of the main ruins site. Guides can be hired, or you can find more info on this blog | If you don’t feel like the 2km walk to the ruins there are plenty of taxis | ||||
| 13-14 | ✈Guatemala City to home (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Evening (next day) | Connect this Nicaragua & Honduras itinerary with the Costa Rica or Cuba itinerary | |
| Visit Parque Central and Palacio Nacional in the morning before the flight home | |||||
A Plan To Go 