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From Granada to Laguna de Apoyo:
Ask a local to direct you to Granada’s tiny bus terminal, located on the top left hand side of the parque (with your back facing the church). Take any bus going to Managua or Masaya and tell the driver/ayundante you are getting off at La Entrada de Laguna de Apoyo. Pay no more than 20 cordobas. They’ll tell you when to get off, but in the meantime, keep an eye on the left hand side of the main road. After 40 minutes, you should see a large sign (insert photo of sign!).
Main Road to Laguna de Apoyo:
From here, it’s a back-breaking one hour walk down to the lake. A beautiful walk without backpacks. If you have bags we can recommend three options:
Public Bus:
Arrive early to catch the 11am chicken bus from the entrance down to the lake. There are three buses a day: 6.30am, 11am or 4pm. Other chicken buses will pass you and you might be tempted but these only drop you so far. Leaving you with a 45 minute walk still ahead.
Taxi:
A taxi straight to the lake costs 50-100 cordobas (€2-€3). To cut costs, suss a cab share.
Hitchhike:
A beautiful sunny day, we had a spring in our step so decided to start walking, and hitchhike while doing so. After 10 minutes a pickup truck stopped and kindly dropped us right at the lake. The driver also refused to take any money! It was fun and it was safe.
Hitchhiking is common in Nicaragua, usually rules apply. Be weary if on your own, don’t do it at night and always listen to your gut. If it feels/looks odd, avoid it and don’t feel pressured or guilty if you decide against the idea, after they have pulled over.
In this case we got on the back of the truck, and there were five teenagers sitting in the back. Good vibes and even greater lols! It’s always nice to chat to locals.
Accommodation in Laguna de Apoyo:
We stayed at The Peace Project. A volunteer-run hostel that operates to help fund the local school and communities. All your money goes to assisting community efforts and school grants for children. So it’s you who benefits while donating. Private rooms and dorms available, we took two beds in the 4-bed mixed dorm room for $9 per person. The private rooms start at $20.
The dorm was ideal for us since we were only spending one night there, and to our luck we had the dorm and bathroom all to ourselves.
It’s a clean, well thought out and cheap hostel with fantastic staff; all so helpful, two cute dogs and a menu that appeals to the budget backpacker. There is a kitchen should you need one but since your money can only do good here, splash out on a well-cooked meal and a few beers.
Ask a local for directions or head toward the lake and swing left, the hostel is up on the left hand side, past the school.
Things To Do in Laguna de Apoyo:
Kayak:
Kayaking on the lake is awesome. Our first time doing so, the volcanic setting was bliss and we loved having both the fresh water lake and sun bounce off our backs as we flew across the waters. Plenty of cheap ways to kayak along the beach but if you stay at The Peace Project Hostel, use of their kayaks is free for as long as you want.
Swim and Sunbathe:
The holiday hotspot, dig yourself a comfy hole in the stones and top up the tan and enjoy a refreshing dip in the fresh and shallow waters.
Diving:
Opportunities to dive can be found any and everywhere in Central America but where can you go deep “lake” diving in the crater of a volcano? The smiles from those who did manage to squeeze in this activity said it all really. Get the flippers on folks!
Monkey Watch:
The Laguna is a protected area and home to a lot of wildlife. Go explore to spot the variety of flora and fauna while listening for the Howler and spider monkeys above.
Leaving Laguna de Apoyo:
Whenever you’re heading to next albeit Managua, Masaya, Granada etc. you’ll need to get from the laguna back to the La Carretera (main road).
The chicken bus leaves from the school just 2 minutes from The Peach Project Hostel (ask staff for directions but you won’t miss it!).
The bus leaves at 11.20am every morning and costs 13 cordobas (€0.40) per person. When you reach the main road, buses head right for Granada and left is towards Masaya and Managua. Buses fly by every 5 minutes and have their destination written on the front.
Wherever your destination, don’t pay more than 25 cordobas (€0.70) per person.
The tariffs are usually written to the right of the driver. If the price isn’t listed, put forward a price instead of asking “how much?”. These guys will see your question as an opportunity to overcharge you.
A short but sweet blog, we spent one night here and delighted we did. It was the perfect “pick me up” after Granada and the ideal place to escape the heat.
Simple to do a quick day visit but worth spending the night.
From Laguna de Apoyo we made the mental 28hour+ journey to The Corn islands, to find out how we did it, visit here.
