After going back and forth and back and forth about whether or not I would include this volcanic island on my Nicaragua itinerary, I spontaneously said yes to a 2 night trip with some girlfriends that invited me along. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about the island: from it’s a must-see, to horrible experiences in bad weather, or that it was particularly hard to navigate without a bike rental… but I ended up going along because I went with friends which definitely made it more affordable to split hostels and private transportation!
It was definitely worth it to make the trip— Isla de Ometepe is just two big volcanoes connected by a narrow isthmus in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America (and 25th biggest in the world, for scale). Getting there was just a $1.50, 1 hour ferry ride from the mainland town of San Jorge, and the views going there and back were absolutely stunning. No matter how many volcanoes you’ll see while traveling through Nicaragua, they are pretty captivating each and every time. Not to mention this one has the tranquility of being on a tiny island, but then you remember you’re on a lake which is super trippy!
We based ourselves in Moyogalpa where the ferry dropped us off, which is also the biggest town on the island with all the bike rentals, restaurants, and services. Most backpackers get off the ferry here and quickly make their way over to Balgue where they stay in one of many eco hostels on the island. Unlike most places in the Americas, I wouldn’t recommend showing up to a hostel here without a booking. The limited accommodation options means they do tend to fill up, and if you just walk up you might end up stranded or paying a hefty hotel fee. (However, AirBnB did seem to have some lit options, like a $10 night stay in a converted school bus?!)
We stayed in one of the prettiest properties I’ve stayed yet, Hospedaje Soma. It was a hostel/hotel with a beautiful pool area and outdoor space to chill, and they organized a private taxi for the day for a full island tour. This ended up being a great way to see the island in my opinion, since we got to enjoy places we probably never could have reached on motorbike with the poor road conditions of the rainy season. In fact, we didn't have power the first night so we just had a candle lit dinner at our hotel. A tropical storm had just passed through and Ometepe was basically at the heart of it. For about $20/person, we got to go to 4-5 different destinations with a born-and-raised island local as our guide.
The first stop was on quite literally on the opposite side of the island, halfway up Maderas volcano. Maderas is a slightly smaller volcano which takes about 8-9 hours to trek round trip, and the more stunning, taller volcano is Concepción which supposedly takes about 12+ hours to trek roundtrip. Now, I’m not one to shy away from peak-bagging, but these are volcanoes on a lake in the tropics, so I’ve heard the trek is pure mud and often the top is cloudy— particularly in the rainy season. I chose to forgo these because I didn’t have enough time and I’d rather save my energy for peaks with more altitude and better views, but if you wanna say you did it, guides are very affordable (there is NO going alone on these.)
Anyways, the first stop on our full day taxi was at the base of Maderas to climb up to la cascada de San Ramon. It was about a 1.5 hour walk each way, around 4 miles roundtrip. Since we were some of the first to arrive that day we got it all to ourselves for 30 minutes! I felt like a literal fairy just swimming in the cool refreshing waterfall after a sweaty hike, and it was such tranquility but also quite the cheap thrill :) just $3 entry to do the hike, but it’s only accessible from a dirt road.
This already brought us to midday so we ate at a very expensive and pretty basic restaurant that was super overwhelmed since it was the lunch rush and there aren’t many restaurants around :( Also the island was just gaining back power after the storm, so things were slow to start back up. However it was a lovely view right along the water front on the eastern coast of Ometepe. The next stop were some natural pools called Ojo de Agua, which cost about $5 to enter. Unfortunately, the water was not warm but the pools were very empty while we were there and shone a beautiful rich blue! There were also swings over the water for extra entertainment and it definitely seemed like the go-to family hangout spot for the locals.
i saw ten colors of butterfly on one hike!
Our last stop was perfectly timed for sunset, and we lucked out by having a clear sky which didn’t obscure the evening colors. We watched a gorgeous 360 view of the sunsetting from the most prominent outward point of the island, Punta Jesus Maria. Make sure before you walk all the way out to the point, you grab a beer along the way at one of the little vendors by the parking lot. This was such a special golden hour shared with new friends and appreciating the uniqueness of the natural space that is Ometepe. All in a days work and feeling like I saw the highlights of the island, I ended up leaving the next morning for the ferry back to San Jorge as I was soon to fly home and had to hustle back to Costa Rica…
Overall, Ometepe was special and worth-doing if you’re in Nicaragua! While it was never at the top of my bucket list, I really appreciated the opportunity I got to see it (did I mention there were howler monkeys and those stunning iridescent blue butterflies!?) and it ended up being surprisingly affordable. If you are not the most experienced traveler, it might be a welcome alternative to the more chaotic parts of Central America, since island life is always so much slower pace and more peaceful. Other highlights I might've done had I stayed another night were kayaking and visiting some of the organic farms and chocolate factories on the island!
