tours for San Juan del Sur- Nicaragua?

I went to the ports of call and looked for Nicaragua... nothing... Looked at the panama Canal port Just to see... Nothing. Anybody out there ever go to San Juan del Sur- Nicaragua? WE will be on the Island over Christmas and we will do a full transit of the Canal- can't wait!

Any suggestions as to what to see and do in San Juan Del Sur?? Yes, I could go on a princess tour, but none really jumped out at me. I figured I'd ask you guys- I hope someone out there can help. Thank you in advance!

Gabrielle

I am interested in this port also. Have a full transit of the Canal planned for the end of Feb/first of March. :confused: :confused:

we are going on the coral full transit feb 23 , 14 day as well. i have private tours booked for the ports but had trouble with nicaragua. so another cruiser oon the rollcall found this tour company, which we have a tour booked, you can take a look www.nicaragua-travel.info

We will also be on the Island Princess this Christmas for the Panama Canal Full Transit. In Nicaragua I've booked the Grenada, Volcano, Market with lunch tour excursion. A list of available excursion is available when you sign in under Cruise Personalizer at Princess.com

I've found a nice sailboat tour, we're there next April and I think I'll check this one out!

http://www.vianica.com/activity/23/pelican-eyes-sailboat-ride

here's another link

http://www.vianica.com/go/activities/21.0.0.0.html

We are also on the Island Princess but over Thanksgiving (less than 4 weeks away!!!), we are doing a Princess tour - the Mombacho Volcano Hike with lunch. Having traveled thru Nicaragua before, I really wanted to do a tour with a good guide who can explain what we are seeing.

I've found a nice sailboat tour, we're there next April and I think I'll check this one out!

 

http://www.vianica.com/activity/23/pelican-eyes-sailboat-ride

 

here's another link

http://www.vianica.com/go/activities/21.0.0.0.html

Mary, I am glad you are checking this out. Since Nicaguara is not on our ports of Call board it is somewhat difficult to find anything in this port. i know that Princess has sip excursions so will have to check that out. I am sure glad you are on my cruise.:D

Marilyn

We will also be on the Island Princess this Christmas for the Panama Canal Full Transit. In Nicaragua I've booked the Grenada, Volcano, Market with lunch tour excursion. A list of available excursion is available when you sign in under Cruise Personalizer at Princess.com

Thanks for the advice! I did look at that..... I just didn't find anything that 'jumped out' at me. Not sure what I really wanted....

Thanks everyone for the advice/ideas! I'm still looking at choices- and Of course checking out the sites!

Gabrielle

We are thinking of taking a tour to Lake Nicaragua at the town of Rivas, just north of the port of San Juan del Sur. We will be there next April on the Coral Princess. We have read that it quite scenic, with 2 volcanoes rising out of the lake to form Ometepe Island.

Has anyone been to Lake Nicaragua? What were your impressions? Is it worth seeing?

We would appreciate any comments.

DavidnSteph

Gosh, I'm appreciating this thread very much too!

While we aren't going until next year ... still quite interested.

The sail boat link looks really interesting- I haven't sat down and really looked.

I'm just trying to avoid those really long bus rides. Anyone out there do a tour that really liked? Gabrielle

Gabrielle, if you do the sailboat, please report back and let me know how it was. Seems this is through a 4 start resort, so I would expect it to be pretty good.

DavidnSteph, what is there to do at the lake?

Gabrielle, if you do the sailboat, please report back and let me know how it was. Seems this is through a 4 start resort, so I would expect it to be pretty good.

 

DavidnSteph, what is there to do at the lake?

Mycruz,

The tour from Princess' website that caught our eye is called "A Glimpse of Nicaragua's History & Nature". It is 3-3.5 hrs long, and goes to the historical city of Rivas on Lake Nicaragua, first settled by Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries. part of the tour is a visit to an old church built in 1607, and a view point of Ometepe Island and its 2 volcanoes.

We were not planning to visit colonial Granada, since we were more interested in Cartagena, Colombia and/or Antigua, Guatemala.

DavidnSteph

Thanks Davidnsteph, I didn't really notice the glimpse of Nicaragua...... I like the idea of a sail boat.... But I also want to see volcanoes!

Decisions, decisions! Thanks for giving me something MORE to think about!;)

Gabrielle,

The fact that Lake Nicaragua is so close to the port of San Juan del Sur is a plus. We wouldn't have a long drive to the interior of the country, as we would have in Guatemala to get to Lake Atitlan.

DavidnSteph

I've found a nice sailboat tour, we're there next April and I think I'll check this one out!

 

http://www.vianica.com/activity/23/pelican-eyes-sailboat-ride

 

here's another link

http://www.vianica.com/go/activities/21.0.0.0.html

I will be in Nicaragua in Dec. and emailed this company about their sailboat excursion as it sounded very nice. Problem is that they can't get us back to the ship on time. :(

Bummer!:( I wonder if you had enough peope from the ship that you filled the boat would they change the time of the sailing and start earlier and return earlier.....

Gabrielle,

 

The fact that Lake Nicaragua is so close to the port of San Juan del Sur is a plus. We wouldn't have a long drive to the interior of the country, as we would have in Guatemala to get to Lake Atitlan.

 

DavidnSteph

Last Christmas when I was there on the Island, the port of San Juan del Sur was wonderful BUT there had been a hurricane that washed out the roads making them very bumpy and filled with large potholes, so the ride to Granada was long and rough. Hopefully it has improved.

This part of Nicaragua is beautiful, its a surf town filled with a lot of ex-pats from california and quite lovely to walk around. I found the best coffee I ever had in my life at El Gato Negro, its the cool purple building in town, you can't miss it.

This would be a good place to take surf lessons, or sail because of its location which is beautiful. There is also a hike to the top of a mountain, and a local zip line (take at your own risk) close to town. The beach is great, its lined with restaurants with outdoor seating and lots of beer and tacos, and it looks like a nice place to just beach it.

This is a tender port and so you will be left off at the docks which will be filled with locals and a local crafts market. There are lots of people who can take you on various tours waiting there as well. Or you can grab a kabuki like cab (guy or girl on bike pulling a buggy) and take a tour of the town. Its a cute town, and Nicaragua is a very safe place these days, much safer than Guatamala.

I did b2b tours last Christmans and we did miss the port of Guatamala on the return journey because of windy conditions (thats what we were told) but I later found out (from a friend on the crew) that the Captain was a temp because the regular Captain was off on holiday break. The temp Captain who was in command had a reputation for missing ports because of his lack of expertise (or quality) and experience. Of course, its all heresay.

Anyway, if I can answer any questions about these ports, feel free to ask. I loved the cruise so much that I am repeating it again, this time on the Coral!

Amelia

Amelia,

Thank you for your description of San Juan del Sur. It sounds like a great place to just wander or go to the beach.

We are still curious about Lake Nicaragua. Has anyone been there? Could you share your impression of it?

Thanks,

DavidnSteph

Amelia,

 

Thank you for your description of San Juan del Sur. It sounds like a great place to just wander or go to the beach.

 

We are still curious about Lake Nicaragua. Has anyone been there? Could you share your impression of it?

 

Thanks,

 

DavidnSteph

I wish I could, we never made it there. We visited SJDS at the end of a 21 day cruise and it was our second visit to Nicaragua and we just felt like bumming around. We had also visited the other port where we did take a tour inland (bumpy)to Leon. Leon was very beautiful, lined with Volcanoes which you could see clearly from the rooftop of the main Church. I fell in love with Nicaragua right from the start, it feels safe because it is safe. I would definately go to Granada because I hear it is sensational, and it is supposed to be more scenic than Leon. I hear the Islatas tour is really very good! Unless you really want to see a Volcano, I'd forgo that and spend as much time as possible in Granada and Lake Nicaragua. As for SJDS, unless you want to surf there or are tired and just want to bum around, it does not compare to Granada (IMHO).

I believe it is easy to get a taxi to Rivas, it is pretty close to SJDS and there were lots of locals hanging around the docks with signs for Rivas. I am not sure it is any different than SJDS, given the two options I'd stay in SJDS.

Amelia

Beachyfe, Thanks for the information about the sailboat tours! I haven't looked yet- but nice to know what works and what doesn't ahead of time.

Ameila, Thanks for your insight! Many of us are probably in the same boat- we like to hear what the Island is like and the ports- what you liked/didn't like.

Thanks!

Beachyfe, Thanks for the information about the sailboat tours! I haven't looked yet- but nice to know what works and what doesn't ahead of time.

 

Ameila, Thanks for your insight! Many of us are probably in the same boat- we like to hear what the Island is like and the ports- what you liked/didn't like.

 

Thanks!

The Island is a fabulous ship, there is nothing about it I don't love. If there are any other questions I can answer, just ask.

Amelia

We are booked on the Coral Princess with full transit through the Panama Canal leaving November 19. Because I could find nothing on the boards regarding this port, I did my own research. I discovered the price the cruise ship was charging for Granada, the volcano and market was the same as the private tour group I was able to locate. A comment we received was that if there is problem with transportation, ie: the bus breaks down, etc., if we were with the cruise tour, we would not be in jeopardy of missing the ship. So, although the group may be bigger, we decided to stay with the cruise tour. However, I am open to suggestions but definitely want to go into Granada. I understand it is a must see!

Any thoughts?

We are booked on the Coral Princess with full transit through the Panama Canal leaving November 19. Because I could find nothing on the boards regarding this port, I did my own research. I discovered the price the cruise ship was charging for Granada, the volcano and market was the same as the private tour group I was able to locate. A comment we received was that if there is problem with transportation, ie: the bus breaks down, etc., if we were with the cruise tour, we would not be in jeopardy of missing the ship. So, although the group may be bigger, we decided to stay with the cruise tour. However, I am open to suggestions but definitely want to go into Granada. I understand it is a must see!

Any thoughts?

That is exactly what happened when were there, the tour bus broke down and had to be repaired, causing a log delay in our departure. If that had not been a Princess tour, the ship would have sailed on time and everybody on that tour would have been out of luck. I think you made a great call!

Amelia, When you went through the Canal, which area(s) on the ship would you recommend? Gabrielle