Food in Nicaragua!!

One of the things travelers worry about the most when they’re away from home is FOOD! Will I like the food? Will I know what is in my food? What if I’m just in the mood for some comfort food, will I be able to find it?

In our experience the food in Nicaragua is fairly tame. Nothing too spicy! Unless you're brave enough to use the bottle of red salsa that can be commonly found on the table in restaurants! It’s up to you if you trust what’s in that plastic bottle on the table. We always stayed away from it! :-) 

In fact it’s a lot of fast food and fried food. If you like pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken you’ll be just fine! 

As far as traditional food goes, the dish you’ll encounter daily is gallo pinto, pinto beans usually served with white rice.

For breakfast they serve gallo pinto with a fried egg, tortilla and a piece of cheese. Commonly for lunch chicken is served with gallo pinto, cabbage salad and fried plantains.

You’ll see women cooking corn tortillas on flat grills on the street. These are great and very filling! Usually the same lady will sell boiled corn on the cob as well. Nothing like corn with corn for a meal!

Enchiladas and tamales are served wrapped in banana leaves. The tamales are usually just plain cornmeal, nothing fancy, but you can add them to cheese or fresh avocado and you have a meal. 

The enchiladas are not what you expect. They are more like a fried empanada filled with flavored rice. The tacos in Nicaragua will not be what you expect, they are more like fried taquitos with shredded meat inside.  


 



Be prepared for most food to be served in plastic bags. Bags of pinto beans, bags of pastries and bags of fruit. Nicaragua has a small obsession with plastic bags. Even serving drinks in plastic bags with a straw. Not environmentally friendly, but                   convenient. 

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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! 
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How to get to the Costa Rica Airport from San Jose

A taxi from downtown San Jose to the airport will cost you about $25 dollars. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, take the bus! They run several times per hour. 

The bus station to look for in San Jose is called TUASA. It’s one block south of Avenida Central on Calle Tomás Guardía, however we were never able to find that street name anywhere but on a map. The bus station is located where Avenida Central turns into Paseo Colón, those two streets you’ll be able to find easily. 

The ride will cost you 520 colones or about $1.00 and it will take 30 minutes without traffic. The bus stop is right in front of the airport so don’t worry about knowing when to get off, you’ll see it! Safe Travels!

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Crossing the Border from Nicaragua to Costa Rica

Crossing the border from Nicaragua into Costa Rica is a lot cheaper than going the opposite direction! When you arrive to the border an attendant will check your passport before allowing you through the gate. After your passport is checked you will be lead to a booth where you will have to pay $1.00 (They didn’t say what it was for). Then you’ll enter an air-conditioned glass room where you’ll get your exit stamp to leave the country. Here you’ll have to pay $1.64 or 45 cordobas. And that’s it! You’ll exit the building and walk across the border 5 minutes.

Immigration building on the Nicaraguan side.

As you approach the other side you’ll want to stay to the right side of the road. On your right hand side you’ll see booths to buy bus tickets and on the left hand side you’ll see the immigration building. This building is where you’ll get your entrance stamp for Costa Rica. You’ll be given two immigration forms to fill out. Make sure you travel with a pen!

Booths to buy bus tickets.

You’ll give one of the immigration forms to the person behind the glass as well as your passport. Most likely they will ask you to show proof that you are leaving the country within the 30 day limit. Good new though, you won’t have to pay a thing to enter the country! After you have your stamp you’ll proceed to the next room where you’ll be asked to run your bags through a scanner and give your second immigration form to that person there.

Now you’re finished!! You’ll exit the building and need to get on a bus. You’re about 3 hours from Liberia Airport and 6 hours from San Jose. We took a bus called Central Lines which cost $12.00 dollars to go from the border to San Jose. It was a great bus with a bathroom on board and TVs to show movies, which helped pass the time. We stopped halfway through the trip at a restaurant to stretch our legs for 20 minutes and grab a bite to eat if we wanted. I would highly recommend this bus company!

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Volcano Boarding in Leon, Nicaragua

Check out one of the most unique and extreme sports in Central America! It is a must do during your trip to Nicaragua with Vaya Volunteers and Experience Exchange. Check out more at www.vayavolunteers.com

The Selva Negra

Just 30 minutes north of Matagalpa lies the Selva Negra. Here you will find an ecolodge,  nature reserve, coffee estate, farm, as well as event space. The entire reserve and surrounding property is owned by German couple Eddy and Mausi Kuhl, The Kuhls bought the property in 1975 from fellow German, Hans Bosche. Bosche founded the reserve and named it the Selva Negra in homage to the mountainous and picturesque region in southwest Germany, The Black Forest.

The Selva Negra

In terms of picturesque natural beauty, The Selva Negra well lives up to its name. It is situated in the cloud forest in the Matagalpa highlands and usually enjoys temperatures that are on average 5 - 10 degrees cooler than in the city. It is the perfect place to go for a day trip to get out of the city. Here you can spend the day hiking the many paths that surround the reserve, relaxing at the main lodge overlooking the lagoon and enjoying authentic GERMAN BEER - (one of the few places in Nicaragua where that is even possible), or taking one of the many tours they offer.

View of main lodge and restaurant from hostel

Hiking

The Selva Negra maintains more than 20 kilometers of hiking trails around the reserve. These trails range in difficulty level from easy to more advanced, so you can choose the best one to fit your skill level. All trails wind their way throughout the cloud forest, and any number of wild and different flora and fauna can be spotted along your way. You can pick up a map of all the trails and the grounds at the front desk.

 

Restaurant and Ecolodge

If you're in the mood for a more relaxing day, The restaurant at The Selva Negra is a great place to lose a couple of hours in a beautiful place. Decorated in full German style, it sits next to a lagoon where you can admire the swans and fish as you sit on the patio. Most of the food served here comes from their onsite farm, where they raise organic, hormone-free livestock and produce. Not to mention, this is THE place to enjoy fresh coffee straight from the source itself - for only $.50 a cup!!

Patio of restaurant during Oktoberfest

View of lagoon and German architecture around ecolodge

Double Private Room at Hostel $15/night/pp

If you have more than a day to spend, the ecolodge at the Selva Negra is an amazing getaway. They have rooms available for every budget.















Tours

Coffee Plant with red seeds just about ready for harvest

The Selva Negra hosts many impressive tours, including a farm tour where you can travel by bus and witness all the ins and outs of the organic production of food on the reserve, a chocolate tour, and by far their most well-known: the seed to cup coffee tour. Here you will be learn about the history of coffee in Nicaragua, as well as to get a chance to see first hand how the coffee is grown, harvested, processed at the wet-mill, and finally get to sample a cup of their home-grown brew for yourselves. Definitely NOT to be missed!

How to get there:

Catch the Chicken Bus from the South Bus Station in Matagalpa headed for Jinotega. The bus conveniently departs the city every 30 minutes. Tell the attendant taking your money that your destination is the Selva Negra - you should pay no more than 13 Cordobas for the ride.

Chicken Busses to Jinotega at South Bus Station in Matagalpa

The attendant will call out when you have reached the Selva Negra. From the bus stop, you need only to walk about 50 meters to the entrance of the Reserve. You can't miss it - there will be a tank on the side of the road placed there unintentionally and left over from the Nicaraguan Revolution.

Bus stop where you will get off and continue by foot

Sandinista tank marking the entrance

You will walk 1.5 km down an unpaved driveway towards the entrance, passing wild poinsettias, fields of coffee, bubbling streams, and breathtaking views of the Matagalpa Highlands. Once you reach the entrance, you will be asked to pay an entrance fee of either 50 Cordobas or 100. (Only pay 100 if you plan on eating at the restaurant. Show them your entrance ticket and you will receive a discount.)

1.5 km walk to the entrance of the Selva Negra

Once inside, walk up the hill to your left. After about 100 meters, you will arrive at the main lodge. Walk straight through here to get to the restaurant and lagoon, or stop at the front desk to pick up a map of surrounding hikes, book a nights stay, or arrange for a tour.


Check out more info about Nicaragua on our website www.vayavolunteers.com !