Costa Rica to Nicaragua: Another Long Travel Day

We woke up at 6:30 am to catch our bus at 7:30 am.  We had to lug our luggage about 100 yards down the poorly paved road from the hostel to the bus.

We need to rethink our packing. It is hard to lug two suitcases and 4 heavy backpacks around.

We opted to take buses to the border because of the cost. A shuttle to the border cost between $170 and $210.  It was tempting to splurge and take a direct, air-conditioned route, but we are on a budget. Our whole trip from Tamarindo to Ometepe cost less than the shuttle to the border.

When we got to the bus, a man came by and told us we should wait for another bus because the bus that was about to leave was not direct to Liberia. He even got into a fight with the bus driver about it.

We chose to listen to the bus driver and we hopped on.  The bus driver said sometimes people will scam tourists and then take them to a taxi and say it is quicker. We will never know if it was a scam, but $6 per person and two hours later on a non-air conditioned bus, we got off the bus in Liberia.

Our bus to Peñas Blancas pulled up just as we were getting off the bus from Tamarindo.  We did not know how often buses come so we did not want to miss it.

Henry and Lucas had to pee. We asked the bus driver if we could take Henry to a bathroom.  He spoke no English, but luckily we knew baño. He said there was no time and pointed under the bus. Henry peed next to the bus on a busy street. Lucas tried but was too self-conscious. I guess it is a good thing we have two boys. I am not sure how that would have worked with a girl.

We climbed on board the bus and it was full. There was one seat open. We sent Henry to sit in it. The rest of us sat on the floor in the space reserved for wheelchairs. It cost $12 for the four of us. It was a 1.5-hour bus ride.

The signs are not great once you get to the border.  We had read blogs about the border crossing, so we knew what to do.

We had to backtrack a bit to pay the exit tax of $36 to leave Costa Rica. Then we had to get our passports stamped at immigration. There were no lines.

We walked about 200 yards down a road lined with trucks. It seems like a mile with our heavy suitcases. Some tuk-tuks will bike you over the order, but we decided to tough it out. Once over the border, we entered the immigration office in Nicaragua.

On our way into the immigration office, a man offered to take us to Rivas on a bus for $10 a person. We had to go a bit farther than Rivas to San Jorge. The owner of the hotel we were heading to told us a taxi to San Jorge would be $25-$35. It helps to know what things should cost before you go, so you know the best way to travel.

Entrance fees into Nicaragua, as of February 2020, are $12 per person plus a $1 tax paid separately for… we are not sure what. Luckily we met some folks who live in San Juan Del Sur doing a border run. They waited for us to get through immigration and showed us where to go. When you exit immigration there are no signs and you have to backtrack and go around an unmarked wall and out of a gate to find taxis.

We would have figured it out eventually, but we were glad we did not have to.

We took a taxi to San Jorge and had an hour before our ferry ride, so we had lunch outside of the port. It was delicious. We were hungry and tired.

The ferry ride took one hour. It was packed with people.  The view of Ometepe from the ferry is breathtaking.

We arrived in Myogalpa, on the island of Ometepe at 2:30 p.m. Our hotel sent a tuk-tuk to pick us up. We piled in and had a 7-minute journey to our hotel. Hospedaje Soma is a cute little hotel run by Canadians. They have two little boys Lucas and Henry’s age. Henry spent the afternoon playing with the younger boy.

Michael and Judy took showers and naps. Lucas opted for some screen time. We had a delicious dinner at the hotel. Michael had fish and chips, the boys had pasta and Judy had butter chicken.

We were all in bed by 8 p.m. and asleep by 8:30.