Traveling from Leon to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in one day!

If you’re in a hurry or just over having the cultural experience of the slow, crowded travel on a chicken bus, you’re in luck!! There are shuttle companies that offer travel between all the major cities in Nicaragua. They’re a little more expensive, however completely worth it if you identify with the first sentence of this blog. 

You can find these shuttles advertised in hostels, tour companies, and sometimes just on the street on handwritten pieces of paper. All the shuttles we saw left around 9:00am. 

The prices and times we found:

Leon to the airport in Managua $12.00 2 hours driving time

Leon to Granada $12.00 3 hours driving time

Leon to San Jorge Ferry in Rivas $21.00 4 hours driving time

Leon to San Juan del Sur $21.00 5 hours driving time

There was just one shuttle that dropped passengers off at all the stops along the way. It’s like a mini tour of the country! In Granada the shuttle went to each person’s hotel and dropped them off. We also stopped in Granada for 15 minutes at a smoothie shop to go to the bathroom and buy something to eat. Before we left Granada, we picked up passengers that were traveling south to Rivas or San Juan del Sur. 

In our experience, we were picked up in Leon at our hostel at 9am. Our bags were thrown on top of the van and strapped down for the ride. After all the stops, 6 1/2 hours later, we were dropped off at our hostel in San Juan del Sur. It was still an incredibly long travel day, but I have to say I was able to relax knowing that my belongings and myself were safe the entire time. For that security and the ability to stay in one vehicle the entire way, I would say it was totally worth the price. 

If you’re also trying to get from the north to the south of Nicaragua in one day, you can do it on the chicken buses. Just be prepared for a lot of transfers and you won’t know ahead of time if the bus connection will work out. Remember that most cities have more than one bus station and they are usually separated by busses going north and busses going south. You may have to take a taxi to another bus station to catch your next bus. 

Good luck and safe travels! 
Visit www.vayavolunteers.com for more information!