madana

We have about 12 days in CR in June/July in Avellanas. Would love to explore Nicaragua a bit and get another passport stamp I know we can't take a rental car over the border. Is it worth the possible hassle and where should we stay for one night?

Arenalbotanical

Park at the secure parking lot at the border and go here: http://www.lamarlakeresort.com/en/sobrenos.html

sylvia3

If you are in the northern part of CR (like liberia or Guanacaste), there are guided day tours into Nicaraqua.
http://www.anywherecostarica.com/des...a-one-day-tour

RJames

I'd taken a day tour from Guanacaste. I will see if I have the company's contact information, if I do I will post it in the next day or two.

The tour I had been on was excellent, it was a very long day, had to leave the hotel at 5:00 am (not, that is not a typo!). Enjoyed the volcano and the market. Granada was brillant, we even had about an hour of free time there. We returned to Guanacaste about 7:30 pm.

The Costa Rican immigration officials wanted to see our outbound plane tickets at the border. One person in the tour group didn't have their plane ticket, this caused a small delay at the border when returning to Costa Rica. Make sure you have your plane tickets handy just in case you are asked for them.

nicaragua

Definitely worth an overnight stay in Granada, the oldest inhabited city in the Americas.
Beautiful colonial city unlike anything you will see in Costa Rica:

http://nicaragua.typepad.com/granada_tours_attractions/

mangoemily

Definitely stay overnight in Granada, it's beautiful - so much culture and it's cheap!