Trip report
 

We were in Nicargua from Dec 28th until January 6th and loved it!! I've been to Costa Rica and Guatemala and this was my favorite. Very safe and fun due to the off- the- beaten path experience.
We spent three nights on the Rio San Juan in Sabolos Lodge and just loved it. Thatched roofed huts along with kayaking, fishing, horseback riding, river tours, rain forests and forts. The owner, Yaro, is a great host. Highly recoomended. We did the three day packge and loved it!!
Then four days in Granada at the Bohemian Paradise B&B. Great room, great prices. Splurge for the suite, complete with hot tub. Lucy, the owner, is great. We also used Tierra tours and were pleased. The Mochombo volcano tour and the longer Puma trail was gorgeous. Also the canopy tour can be added since it is half way up the volcano. That was a real thrill.The Masaya tour and San Juan del Oriente was disappointing, but I'm not a big shopper. The Zoom Sports bar is a kick. Good restaurants were El Tercer Ojo, Las Colinas for seafood (our favorite --lots of locals and off the tourist track, fabulous), a breakfast place called Nica buffet or something like that.
We flew to Rio San Juan and otherwise had cabs or tours or taxis. Very nice people and a very good value. Do it now or it will soon be Costa Rica with The Ritz and resorts.

Thanks so much for the report!

Thanks for posting! I'd wanted to go to El Tercer Ojo but they were closed when I was there for remodeling.

Would you be willing to share any prices or websites? Thanks for taking the time to post!

Sabalos Lodge and Bohemian Paradise both have websites, just google their names and Nicargua. Bohemian Paradise is gay friendly, my husband and I felt very comfortable, that was not a factor at all. Lucy "made" our visit and the rooms are half price for their first year. She is very helpful with shops, restaurants and is very aware of supporting the Nica culture. Sabalos is more pricey but if you do the package it is all inclusive complete with horses, kayaks,tours, bikes and river transport from San Carlos. Their website can help you with how to get there. Yaros, the owner, is a character you will never forget. We spent New Years with him and what fun!!! Tierra tours also has a great website. We heard the night Massyaya volcano tour was also cool as well as the Isletas. They were the most reasonable and were very good.