jwlibrarian

I'm renting a house about 20 minutes south of San Juan Del Sur right after New Year's, staying for 7 nights. We will have a group of 6 adults and will be renting a 4WD vehicle. I'm hoping to tap the wisdom of the Fodorites to make the most of the trip!
*We're interested in possibly doing a day trip to Omotepe - how realistic is that?
*Anyone have recommendations for fishing charters/excursions?
*I realize that the Caribbean side is better for snorkeling, but we are still interested in trying. I've heard that Playa Madera is one spot to try. Any recommendations? We are not currently planning on bringing snorkel equipment and would need to rent or buy.
*Any recommendations for places to eat, drink and to buy fresh fish for the grill?

Thanks!

ttraveler

We stayed at Pelican Eyes and chartered thier sailboat out for the day. We were a group of four and had a great time. Food and drink were included and as I remember it was quite reasonable. Have fun.

nicaragua

Ometepe is an overnight stay from SJDS!

Fishing- http://www.nicaraguafishingtrips.com

Lots of good places to eat and drink in SJDS, my fave is El Colibri

aprillilacs

We actually did a (long) day trip to Ometepe from San Juan del Sur on Christmas Day in 2008o. Of course we would have preferred to stay overnight (at least), but the day trip was really worthwhile since we weren't going to be able to do an overnight.

We hired a guide from Pelican Eyes, Carlos, who made the trip possible--not sure we could have done it on our own, given the timeframe, and we certainly would not have gotten as much out of the trip. Carlos was full of information on Ometepe and took us to many of the highlights. We really appreciated that he gave up his Christmas day on our behalf. He charged a total of $145 for the full day trip (there were 6 of us, and van transportation to and from SJDS was included), and we supplemented that with a $20 tip. We opted for the 'first class' tickets on the ferry, about $2.50 each way, and sat on the top, open-air deck. It was awesome to see the twin volcanoes of Ometepe get closer and closer. Everything about the day was just perfect. Ometepe reminded us just a little bit of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands.

One day while we were staying in SJDS we drove about 12 km on a truly bumpy dirt road to Playa Majagual, where we enjoyed a gorgeous cliff-ringed beach, great surf, and beautiful sand. A cute little grass hut for drinks, too, where we drank our favorite Nicaraguan beer, Toña, and one of us got a sharp sting from an unseen insect. (By the way, despite our fears, we were not overwhelmed by mosquitoes anywhere, though we always put on enough DEET-containing mosquito repellent to keep an elephant away).

We also did a fantastic night-time trip with Berman Gomez, from Pelican Eyes (Carlos's brother) to El Flor Reserve to see the turtles hatching. A sight to remember! We saw hundreds of baby turtles making their way out of their sand holes upon hatching, journeying the hundred yards or so down to the ocean under the full-moon sky. The trip was informative and fascinating. I definitely recommend doing it with a guide like Berman. The road to the reserve was rough and scarey to drive at night, with a couple of stream crossings, so a local driver is essential. We paid $25 per person for this great trip.

Another day trip to consider is to Granada--lots of great stuff to do there.

Here's a link to my trip report, if you're interested. http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...or-culture.cfm

jwlibrarian

Thanks so much for the recommendations - very helpful! I think we're just going to double book and do an overnight on Ometepe instead of the day trip. I will be sure to do a trip report when I return.