Out from the city Travel Video Guide

Out from the city Travel Itinerary

• Maps and flag of Nicaragua
• Out from the city travel photos
• Out from the city travel forum
• Flights to Out from the city
• Hotels in Out from the city
• Hostels in Out from the city
• Buy the guide book!

Beaches around Managua don't have the white sand and clear water of places like the Corn Islands or the beaches of San Juan del Sur and La Flor further south, but the water is warmer and they're easy to reach. Managuans visit on day-trips, particularly on national holidays, when the beaches - and public transport - get amazingly crowded, especially at Easter and Christmas: watch your belongings wherever you go.

The closest beaches to the city are Pochomil and the nearby town of Masachapa , 3km beyond, around an hour and a half by hourly bus from the Mercado Israel Lewites. There's a small fee to enter Pochomil, but once here you can settle in for the day, as there are restaurants all along the sand, and motorbikes and horses for rent. At the northern end of the beach, the Villa del Mar charges an extra entry fee of US$5 but has a freshwater swimming pool, toilets, showers, and large, comfortable ranchos where you can hang a hammock. The fee is redeemable in food and drink - a whole grilled fish costs US$7. You can rent rooms here, or at the hotel Ticomar (tel 265-0210; US$15-25) at the other end of the beach, which also has a/c rooms for four people (US$25-40). There are several very basic hospedajes (up to US$5) in nearby Masachapa, or you may be able to string a hammock up in one of the locals' houses along the beach. Masachapa is more of a fishing village and its beach is not as clean as Pochomil. The bus from Managua goes to both places.

Southwest along the coast from Masachapa is the town of Casares , which has its own stretch of fairly rough, unshaded beach, and Hueheute , which is a bit rougher again. Near Casares is La Boquita , another area developed for tourism which charges a small entry

fee and offers plenty of places to relax and eat. The beach here can be dangerous with large rocks hidden in the shallows, but the river mouth which opens onto the beach provides a safe place to swim. The only place to stay is at Las Palmas del Mar (tel 412-3351; US$15-40). There is a direct bus service from the Mercado Israel Lewites to La Boquita, but it's infrequent except on weekends and holidays; during the week, catch the bus to Diriamba and change there for La Boquita.

Your Tips For Out from the city

• Lago de Nicaragua Travel Videos
  Nicaragua Travel Itinerary
  Standing on the shore and looking out into its expanse, you can imagine the surprise of the Spanish navigators in 1522 when, nearly certain they were heading towards the long dreamed of route to the Pacific, they instead came upon Lago de Nicaragua . - Nicaragua
  

• Southwest Nicaragua Travel Videos
  Nicaragua Travel Itinerary
  The vast majority of Nicaragua's population lives in the fertile plain that makes up the southwest of the country. - Nicaragua
  

• North Nicaragua Travel Videos
  Nicaragua Travel Itinerary
  Nicaragua's north is really two regions, divided by geography and climate as well as - to an extent - the character of their inhabitants. - Nicaragua
  

• Atlantic coast Nicaragua Travel Videos
  Nicaragua Travel Itinerary
  Nicaragua's Atlantic coast is low-lying, soaked with mangrove swamps behind which loom near-impenetrable jungles - a vast region comprising about half of Nicaragua's total landmass. - Nicaragua
  

• Managua Nicaragua Travel Videos
  Nicaragua Travel Itinerary
  Hotter than an oven and crisscrossed by anonymous highways, there can't be a more tourist-unfriendly capital than MANAGUA . - Nicaragua