Nicaragua
Jan 18th, 1999, 06:19 AM
#5
Guest
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Hi, I hope I can help. I just returned from a 2 week trip to Nicaragua. We stratred the trip in San Juan Del Sur ( beach) and travelled north to see the mountains. We also have friends who live in Somoto. We then returned south and stayed in Grenada, what a nice little Spanish town. In Grenada you can find a really nica hotel on the town square for about $28.00 per night, or yopu can stay at nice ,clean hospedajes for about $10.00 per person per night. We then continued and took a ferry to Ometepe to see the and climb the volcanos. The lonely Planet recommends this hotel that is feet from the dock where the boat comes in. AVOID it like the plague it was dirty and the people that run it seem to be just a little naive about what budget travelers like and need. ( Good bed, clean shower and quiet atmosphere) If you go to Ometepe I recommend staying in one of two gorgeous places in Santo Domingo, on the other side of the island. THere are plenty of rip off guides that will charge you a huge amount of money to see the island and to climb the volcanos. Find a guide named Berman, He is honest and charges about $5.00 per person in your group. Other guides quoted us $25.00 per person. Berman speaks English and is extremely knowledgeable of both volcanos but prefers Volcano Conception, it is much taller 1630 Meters but the terrain is a bit easier than volcano Madeiras. Enjoy! Warning! Avoid the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border, it took us 3 1/2 hours to get through. It was a horrible experience and we are experienced third world travelers. Hassan
