Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua, a figure of eight shaped island with two volcanoes, was my first stop in the country.
I really liked it and ended up staying for five nights – it’s definitely a place to take things slow! Here’s what I got up to…
Punta Jesus Maria for sunset
For my first evening on Ometepe, I went to Punta Jesus Maria to watch the sunset. The beach stretches out from the main island and being west facing makes it a great spot to watch the sun go down.
Note: With two volcanoes, don’t expect white sand beaches, more black volcanic sand!
Getting there: Punta Jesus Maria is 5km from Moyogalpa, the main town where the ferries and boats arrive. Most people rent scooters ($10 a day) which makes visiting easy. Having not driven a scooter before, I was feeling too chicken to try for the first time on my own, so I went looking for a mototaxi. Instead of a mototaxi, I met Randy, a retired American-Canadian man, who gave me a lift on his bike! For the ride back, I got a lift with two other backpackers on their scooter. It all worked out pretty well! If you’re thinking of walking, I reckon it would take at least an hour.
I watched the sunset with a beer in hand and it was beautiful!
A dip in Ojo del Agua
Ojo del Agua is a natural spring that has been turned into pools. The water is a great cool off from the heat – very refreshing!!
Getting there: It’s on the east side of the island near Santo Domingo beach. Scooter is the easiest way to get there. Follow the main road and look for a signposted turn off 2km before or after Santo Domingo depending on which direction you’re coming from. As I wasn’t driving a scooter, I got the chicken bus passing El Zopilote hostel for C$15 (£0.50 approx) and walked 5/10mins down the turn off to the entrance.
Entrance: $5 or equivalent C$166.
Opening times: 9am-5pm.
When to go: Early morning or late afternoon is usually best for fewer people. I went at the weekend, and the weekend of Nicaragua’s Independence Day, so there were lots of people! Week days will be quieter!
Tip: You can buy food and drink on site but you can also take your own supplies!
Tip: I’d also take insect repellent, my skin felt kinda crawly and I didn’t want loads more mosquito bites. I already have plenty!
After my refreshing dip, I walked to Santo Domingo beach and sat for a while with a beer. I was hoping for a sunset however the thundery weather had other ideas.
I started walking back, thinking I’d hop on a passing bus at some point. Ten minutes into my walk, and a motorbike stopped and offered me a lift which was lovely. He dropped me off at the turn off to Santa Cruz and I was quickly offered another lift back to my hostel. It was great timing – I arrived back much quicker and just before the rain!
Hiked to island viewpoint on Maderas volcano
Ometepe has two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, one at each end of the island. Concepción is the bigger of the two, not by much, and near Moyogalpa. Maderas is near Santa Cruz and Mérida.
It’s possible to hike both volcanoes and both are tough climbs! At the start I was thinking about climbing Maderas volcano. I moved to the Mérida side of the island to be closer to the volcano and hire a guide to go from there.
However, I was the only one interested in going the following day and I wasn’t keen on going by myself. Sharing the experience and all! In the end, instead of hiking to the top of Maderas, I hiked independently to a viewpoint half way up. The viewpoint was beautiful: lush greenery and backdropped by Concepción volcano.
From the main road and Zopilote hostel (where I was staying), it took me just under an hour and a half to reach the mirador. It was quite an adventurous walk.
In essence, I didn’t pick the official volcano trail and my walk involved me climbing over and under barbed wire fences multiple times through fields. I finally connected up to the main trail; although at one point early one I did consider admitting defeat and going back. I’m really glad I didn’t as the views were stunning.
I sat there for a while enjoying the breeze and watching the clouds hide the volcano from view. I even think I appreciated the view more considering I almost turned back and almost never even walked up to begin with.
Note: It’s muddy underfoot and slippery at parts. Watch your step and wear proper shoes!
For the walk down I was determined to keep to the main path as I didn’t like that I’d more than likely walked on someone’s private farming land. The way down involved no barbed wire fences and brought me out in the Santa Cruz area. Yay!!
Hiking to the viewpoint: If you’re hiking to the viewpoint independently, you’ll notice Maps.Me suggests several trails to choose from. Most of these suggested trails aren’t viable options; they’re either fenced and gated off, someone’s private land or don’t actually exist. I wasted time at the start walking to one of the closest trails which turned out to be fenced off and a dead end. The second trail I picked started off well and then reached barbed wire. As I said earlier, I got around this and joined up to the main trail eventually. I’d recommend starting from the get go at either Santa Cruz or at Finca Magdalena in Balgue.
Hiking Maderas volcano: Go with a guide, from the viewpoint to the top, the path gets steep and slippery. It’s sensible to have someone who knows the area! Prices for guides can vary. I was quoted $20-24 for one person. My hostel was offering the hike for $8 per person and there had to be three minimum. If there weren’t, you could still go but you’d pay the difference. In high season, it could be more.
I returned to the hostel early afternoon and went for a swim in the lake at El Pital (15mins walk away) with some of the volunteers from the hostel. From the water, I saw two monkeys chilling in the treetops!
Getting around Ometepe
The easiest way to get around Ometepe is without a doubt to hire a scooter or motorbike. The local buses run pretty infrequently so having your own two wheels gives you the freedom to see and do what you’d like to do.
That said, I didn’t rent a scooter and got around by bus. It got me where I wanted to go and was fine, just slightly limiting time and destination wise.
Cost: Rentals cost between $10 (for scooters) up to $35 (for motorbikes) depending on where you hire. Typically rentals are the cheapest in Moyogalpa and more pricey in Balguë. The rental place outside Zopilote hostel was renting scooters for $12.
Where to stay on Ometepe island
I moved around quite a bit during my stay!
Moyogalpa: I spent my first night on Ometepe in the main town, where the ferries and boats arrive, in a hostel called Casa de los Abuelos. It was nice, cheap, had a shared kitchen and hammocks. I liked it also for being a base to go and see the sunset at Punta Jesus Maria. That said, I’d probably go straight to the other side of the island next time!
Merida: It’s on the west side of the island near Maderas volcano. It gets beautiful sunsets and most accommodation is on the lake’s shore! It’s also harder to get to as the road there is unpaved! I stayed at Hostal Los Chocoyos and they kindly picked me up at the turn off where the bus from Moyogalpa had dropped me off. I only stayed a night here as it was only me at the hostel and getting anywhere without two wheels was hard! If there’d been fellow travellers staying, I imagine I would’ve stayed longer!
Santo Domingo/Santa Cruz/Balgue area: A paved road runs through these three areas and there’s lots of places to stay. There are a lot of lakefront accommodations to choose from along this road. I stayed at El Zopilote, an eco permaculture hostel up in the forest, for three nights. I mainly stayed there because I’d been the only one at my two previous hostels and I knew there’d be fellow backpackers staying. It was a nice hostel, a bit pricey since there was no shared kitchen! They had a pizza night too which was yum as well as a Full Moon Party. Lots of people but not really my scene with the techno music!
How to get to Ometepe
As Ometepe is an island, part of your journey there will be by boat. Boats and ferries leave from the town of San Jorge, a 15 minute drive from the well connected transport hub of Rivas.
First up is to get to Rivas. San Juan del Sur, Granada and the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border are the most likely places you’ll be coming from.
From San Juan del Sur, take a chicken bus for C$30 to Rivas bus terminal. The journey can take an hour.
From Granada, a chicken bus takes around 1hr30-2hrs and costs C$50 (plus potentially C$30 more for big rucksacks as luggage!). Ask at your hostel where to catch the bus from and for times.
Note: If you don’t fancy navigating the chicken buses, there are also shuttle buses available to book through your hostel from Granada and San Juan del Sur. Shuttles are the more expensive option, at least $10 – maybe more. Ask your hostel for times and prices.
If you’re coming from Peñas Blancas, the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border, there are buses leaving frequently to Rivas costing C$20-30 (£0.75 approx). I’d taken an international bus from Panama City, changed in San José, and hopped off on the main road passing Rivas.
Once in Rivas, you need to get to San Jorge for the boat. There is in theory a bus you can take. However I found departure times to be unknown and taxi drivers were annoyingly unhelpful with where to catch it from and when it would pass through.
Taxi drivers will try and charge you $3 for the trip to San Jorge, which is more than you should pay! I ended up getting a shared taxi for C$20 (£0.50) which seems to be the best deal. Stand your ground and trust you can get the ride for C$20!
In San Jorge, it’s time for the lake crossing. There are ferries and smaller boats that go to Moyogalpa. Departures are pretty much every hour with the first one leaving at 7am, and last one at 5.45pm. Lanchas (small boats) cost C$35/45 and ferries slightly more at C$50 (£1.20 approx).
Final thoughts
Summing up my stay on Ometepe is a weird one. I really enjoyed my stay overall – gorgeous sunsets and impressive volcanoes and viewpoints! It’s a highlight from Nicaragua!
Yet on a personal level, it made travelling solo really obvious. Partly due to low season and last year’s political situation, it was quiet and I found it harder to meet other backpackers at my first two hostels.
Plus the fact that I didn’t rent a scooter tied me to one place more. I embraced my own company and enjoyed chilling next to the lake and my solo hike to a viewpoint! I imagine Ometepe would be adifferent experience with a travel bud and a scooter!
Ometepe is definitely worth a visit!
