Planning a trip to Granada, Nicaragua
Everything revolves around the central plaza (known as Parque Central or Parque Colón), and the sunlit cathedral that overlooks it will be your first and lasting impression of the city. The best hotels are located around this lively tree-lined plaza. Calle La Calzada runs along the northern side of the cathedral in an easterly direction toward the lake and the dock. This street is pedestrianized and is where you'll find many of the city's most touristy restaurants and cafes, along with some hotels. Its vibe has become a little tacky in recent years, but it's always lively. Calle Atravesada is a narrow, busy, commercial street, running north and south, 1 block west of the plaza. Volcán Mombacho rises to the south, and the easterly lake has a scruffy waterfront and departure point for Las Isletas, known as Complejo Turístico Cocibolca.
Visitor Information
Intur (Calle El Arsenal; tel. 505/2552-6858) is 1 block from the cathedral and a half-block behind the Casa de Leones. It is open Monday to Friday from 8am to noon and 2 to 5pm. Here, you will find a good map detailing all the city's historic buildings. The website www.granada.com.ni gives an excellent pictorial display of the city, but little else.
Tour Operators -- Vapues Tours, in the blue house next to the cathedral (tel. 505/2552-8291; www.vapues.com) is one of the city's main agencies, and it organizes everything from transfers to flights to local tours. Tierra Tour (Calle La Calzada, 2 blocks east of the cathedral; tel. 505/2552-8723; www.tierratour.com) organizes excursions to Masaya and Ometepe Island, as well as kayaking excursions on Lago de Nicaragua and canopy tours. Nahual Tours, 1 1/2 blocks east of the cathedral (tel. 505/8988-2461; www.nahualtours.com) organizes regular boat tours of Las Isletas that cost approximately C300 and can also arrange transfers. Oro Travel (Calle Coral; tel. 505/2552-8103; www.orotravel.com) is a multilingual operation that can provide help with just about every excursion in the area. Zapatera Tours (Calle Palmira and La Cancha; tel. 505/8842-2587; www.zapateratours.com) offers 1-day tours to the seldom-visited Zapatera archipelago. Prices start at C880 per person per day, with an overnight option camping on the islands. The owner, Kevin, who also runs Imagine restaurant, also offers a mountain bike tour around Mombacho and Masaya and volcano climbs.
Fast Facts
ATMs -- ATM machines are located at Banpro (Calle Atravesada, in front of Teatro González; tel. 505/2552-2723) and Bancentro, farther down Calle Atravesada (tel. 505/2552-6555). There are also machines at Esso Garage on the main road and at Lacayo Supermarket on Calle Real Xalteva.
Emergencies -- Call tel. 505/2552-2977 for the police or tel. 505/2552-2711 for an ambulance.
Internet -- Internet access costs approximately C26 per hour, and there are plenty of cybercafes dotted around the city. Try Café E-mail on Avenida Guzman near Parque Central (no phone). They also have a space located in the Casa de los Leones (no phone). Both are open daily from 7am to 10pm. Inter Café on Calle la Libertad (no phone), also near Parque Central, is open from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday. Granada has embraced wireless technology with enthusiasm, and you'll find Wi-Fi in most of the city's upscale hotels and cafes.
Laundry -- Piscis Laundry Service (Calle El Martiro and Avenida Libertad; tel. 505/2552-8239) will pick up and deliver to your hotel. Mapache (Calle La Calzada and El Cisne; tel. 505/8611-3501) also picks up and delivers laundry; they also do tailoring.
Post Office -- The main post office is on Calle Atravesada, opposite Cine Karawala (no phone), and is open weekdays 8am to noon and 1 to 5pm, and Saturday 8am to noon.
Traveler's Checks & Money Exchange -- Banco de América Central, on the plaza (tel. 505/2552-3355), changes traveler's checks and gives cash advances on Visa and MasterCard with no commission. You will also find many street money-changers in this area who generally give a good rate and are trustworthy.
When to Go
Leaving You Speechless: Granada's International Poetry Festival
Every Nicaraguan is a poet until proven otherwise.
-- Granada poet José Coronel Urtecho
Nicaragua's taxi drivers, waiters, street vendors, and ex-guerrillas can all spin a line from some of Nicaragua's many famous poets or, indeed, make an attempt at their own. Even President Ortega and his wife are known to scribble a line of their thoughts in rhyme, and the nation's newspapers are full of stanzas celebrating love and country. This is why Granada's annual poetry festival is such a runaway success. Started in 2004, the wordsmith's jamboree has become a significant date on every poet's calendar and is easily the most important literary get-together in Central America. Poets from all over the world (130 attended in 2009) gather in front of the city's flood-lit facades and recite their lines to an avid audience. Words in English, German, Arabic, and Croat float through the city streets, then are translated into Spanish by a local scribe. Flower-decked floats traverse the city with a team of bards, while musicians, dancers, street performers, and 12-foot puppets known as fantoches add a heady air of carnival and celebration. What makes Granada's poetry festival all the more unusual is the distinct difference in the audience from what is usually associated with literary events. Granada's festival attracts a colorful melee of workers, businessmen, and intellectuals. Nuns, school children, farm laborers, and city workers all follow the cycle of readings with unparalleled enthusiasm, as well as delighted tourists who find themselves in the city at one of its most vibrant moments. To read more about the nation's love of poetry, Or, better still, find yourself in the city in the third week of February. For exact schedules, check out the festival website at www.festivalpoesianicaragua.com.
Getting Around
You can easily explore central Granada on foot, though you may want to jump on one of the horse-drawn carriages at the main plaza in order to feel like royalty as you trot through the streets. A half-hour ride should cost no more than C95; always agree on a price before getting on board.
By Bicycle -- Bicycles are for rent at Bearded Monkey (Calle 14 de Septiembre; tel. 505/2552-4028; www.thebeardedmonkey.com) or at Nahual Tours, 1 1/2 blocks east of the cathedral (tel. 505/8988-2461; www.nahualtours.com). A bike rental for the day should not cost more than C220, including water and a map.
By Car -- You don't really need a car to explore Granada itself, but having one will help if you're planning excursions in the surrounding area. Car rentals cost approximately C800 a day. Alamo (tel. 505/2552-2877; www.alamonicaragua.com) has an office in the Hotel Colonial, 20m (66 ft.) west of the plaza's northwest corner. Budget (tel. 505/2552-1789; www.budget.com.ni) is located at the Shell Guapinol station on the road to Managua. Avis (tel. 505/8467-4780; www.avis.com.ni) is on Calle La Calzada in the city center.
By Taxi -- Taxis can be found on the southern side of the square. Fares start at C30.
Getting There
By Bus
Buses leave from Managua for Granada from in front of the university campus UCA (2 blocks west of the Metrocenter) daily every 15 minutes, starting at 5:50am and ending at 8pm. The journey takes 1 hour and costs C20. You can also catch a regular Granada-bound bus from Mercado R Huembes in Managua, starting at 5:25am and terminating at 9:30pm. There are several bus terminals in Granada, depending on where you are going or where you are coming from. COGRAN (no phone) is 1 1/2 blocks south of the plaza's southwest corner and is used by expresos on route to Managua. The trip takes 1 hour and costs C15. Buses leave every 15 minutes, starting at 4am and ending at 7pm. On weekends, the service ends at 6pm. Buses also leave from the Central Plaza every 15 minutes from 5:30am to 7pm and cost C16. Parque Sandino is another departure point. It is on the north side of the city, close to the old railway station. All buses pass by the entrance road to Masaya.
The southbound bus to Rivas from Granada leaves from the Shell Palmira, on the south side of the city, beside the Palé superstore. The trip takes 2 hours and costs C25. The first departure is at 5:45am and the last at 2:45pm. If you want a direct bus to Masaya, you must go to the bus stop behind Palé, although most Managua-bound buses will drop you off close to the town. The journey takes 45 minutes and costs C10.
International bus companies have their own individual drop-off and departure points, all along Avenida Arrellano on the west side of the city. TicaBus (tel. 505/2552-4301; www.ticabus.com) is a half-block south of the old hospital. The Panama-bound bus leaves at 7am, but it is advisable to get there at 6:15am. It costs $65 one way. TransNica (tel. 505/2552-6619) is 3 blocks south of the old hospital, on the corner of Calle Xalteva. There are three departures for Costa Rica, at 6:30, 8, and 11am (arrive early to get a seat). The ride takes 7 hours and costs $23.
By Shuttle/Taxi
Paxeos, beside the cathedral on the southeast corner of Parque Colón (tel. 505/2552-8291; www.paxeos.com), organizes private and shared transfers to and from Managua airport and other locations such as San Jorge (where you catch the ferry to Isla de Ometepe). The trip to Managua costs approximately C400 per person, depending on group size.
By Boat
The small port (tel. 505/2552-2966) is located at the east end of Calle La Calzada. Boats leave from here on Monday and Thursday for the 4-hour trip (C80) to Alta Gracia on Isla de Ometepe (a faster ferry leaves from nearby San Jorge). The boat continues on to San Carlos, stopping at Morrito and San Miguelito on the northern shore of Lago de Nicaragua. The entire trip takes 14 hours and costs C250, returning on Tuesday and Friday. There are no cabins or sleeping accommodations on the boat, and it can be quite uncomfortable, especially if there are rough seas and many people.
