Boats
For the many people who live around Nicaragua's numerous waterways and two large lakes, boats provide a vital link. Travelers, however, tend not to use boats much, since in most cases good bus or plane connections are also available. The longest boat journey in the country, from Granada on the west side of Lago de Nicaragua to San Carlos on the southeast corner of the lake, is a cheap, although slow (up to 14hr) way to cross this enormous inland sea. The Nicaraguan boat trip you're most likely to experience is the hour-long ride in a lancha - a medium-sized, motorized wooden craft - between San Jorge, near Rivas, and Moyogalpa on Ometepe island. The trip from Managua and the Pacific lowlands to the Atlantic Coast can be made partly by boat, using either the slow public ferry or the high-speed panga (a large, motorized canoe carrying up to 20 people) that run from the hamlet of El Rama at the head of the Rio Escondido to the coastal town of Bluefields. On the eastern side of the country nearly all travel is by boat along the complex network of rivers and lagoons of Mosquitia. All these services are private, and geared towards locals. Journeys are unscheduled, long and unpredictable, and you'll have to ask around in Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas for connections. A ferry makes a twice-weekly journey between Bluefields and the Corn Islands , though this 6-8 hour journey can be notoriously rough on occasions and many travellers opt to take a flight on the return leg. A twice-daily panga runs between Corn Island and Little Corn Island - the journey is great fun and takes about an hour, although you'll probably get wet.
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