granada, NI
Granada is far and away my favorite larger town in Nicaragua. It's got charm to it. It's alive, colorful. Loads of culture. There's a bustling market that I absolutely adore. There's lots of food options from all over the world, and after spending a few months tucked away in the beaches of Popoyo, going to a real restaurant was pretty great, — I can't lie. The colonial city that is Granada is full of life pretty much all day long. The middle of the day becomes oppressively hot. When I say that, I mean it. The middle of the day is a brutal time in town, and most people just do their best to hide from the heat in whatever form of shade they can find. But the beauty about this place is that around the mornings and the afternoons the heat goes away and it becomes fine. — Just the few high in the sky hours in the middle of the day that are pretty hard to handle. Granada is really centrally located for this part of the country. You are situated right along the edge of Lake Ometepe. So you can reach Ometepe Island within a few hours. You're also close to the Popoyo area. So that's only a few hours away as well. San Juan del Sur — also only a few hours ride away. So the most popular places to visit in the whole country are all right around here. In addition to being conveniently central, Granada has a great hostel scene, is full of interesting travelers, the local culture is at the same time shocking, overwhelming, and oppressive while also being interesting and thought-provoking. So I loved Granda. If you ask me, go to Leon for a day, and come spend 4 days or so here. When you talk to anyone in country about this place, one of the first things they will bring up is the infamous Tree-House party. Yes, come here for that. It's the best traveler party in Latin America, and it's really a special and wild and fun evening. More on that below. Granada is the launching off point for the Tree-House Party.
Granada is very centrally located in the middle of the country. Within a few hours you can be at almost all of the major tourism stops in the country. Ometepe, San Juan del Sur, Popoyo, and even Managua even though that isn't really a place for tourism. It's located along the banks of Lake Ometepe. But that doesn't mean that you are in the same place as the island. The island is in the lake of the same name. — A big distinction.
How to get to Granada. It is realistically pretty simple to get to Granada. It's one of the largest cities in the country, so you can catch a bus from really anywhere.
- BY BUS FROM MANAGUA - The best way to get to Granada is by bus from the UCA bus terminal. The trip to takes about 2 hours, and costs US$5. (If you fly into Managua, you just have to get yourself to the bus terminal in Managua.
- SHUTTLE FROM SAN JUAN DEL SUR - Shuttle is the best option here. There is no direct bus. $25 and 2-and-a-half hours.
- SHUTTLE FROM LEON - There is certainly a public transport option that will save you a lot of money, but I won't get into that. I recommend you do it, but I am too lazy to write out all those details. The shuttle will take you about 8 hours, and cost $23. It's so much simpler and faster than the public transport though.
There's other places you may be coming from, but those are probably the two main places that you will be coming into Granada from.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
Granada has an awesome handful of hostels and places to stay. I met amazing people, volunteers, and had a generally lovely time while I was staying here. A really good quality of traveler running around these parts if you ask me.
Just like any town with good hostels, you have a range. The homey ones, the party ones, the in-between ones, and the super quiet ones. I won't get into all of the hostels in town, but I will go into the ones that I found to be the best and worth considering.
Everything here in Granada will be pretty cheap. About $10-12 for a dorm.
I would say this is the best all around place in Granada. It's a solid mix of socialization, without having any sort of party going on at your front door. They have a small little bar inside as well, so you can have some drink poured by the usually nice volunteers that they have working for them. — Highly recommend. Excellent location as well.
.jpg)
One of the party hostel options here. I personally wouldn't stay here, but I did go there a few times to party which was fun. — Used to be called 'townhouse'.
.jpg)
I am torn between what I like better, — 'Oasis', or 'De Boca en Boca'. This place is amazing as well, and they have a lovely pool. It's going to have party-hostel vibes to it but it's never anything too crazy. This is an excellent option in town.
.jpg)
A nice and quiet option that has a pool.
The home of the famous Treehouse rave that happens every Friday of the year here in Granada. The Treehouse is an extremely unique hostel that is built up into the jungle about 20 minutes outside of Granada. I would recommend staying here for a night, and if you want to party all night then book accommodation early for a Friday night. But if it were me I would get a night during the week, to enjoy the beauty of the nature of this place. Some of the best sunsets you will ever see in your life.
It is quite literally a treehouse. Accom. won't be nice, and it'll be buggy, but it's great.
EATS
I kind of mentioned this above if you read it, but the food in Granada is really good. It's from all over the world, and it for me at least was an amazing change up from being all around rural Nicaragua for a few months, with little in the way of food options. So the restaurants here are a really welcomed change.
Some of the places here are absolutely delicious, and a few of them I kept on returning to time and time again. You can't go wrong if you stick to the list below for eating.
Restaurants
This place is called Tosto Metro, but most people just refer to it as 'the Banana Burger place' and it's the most popular place to eat in Granada. It's a burger, — they also have sandwich options, served in between two fried plantains as the bun. It's outstanding, and the space is so cool. Smack dab in the middle of the bustling market. My favorite in Nica. Featured on travel food shows as well.
Amazing Mediterranean place here in town. Delicious pitas and everything that goes along with that. They have options for take-away, and dine-in. The pita specials are a lot cheaper, and plenty of food compared to their expensive main courses.
My favorite place to eat in Granada. Most of the buildings here have these massive open gardens or patios inside the buildings, and they have built a beautiful, delicious and fresh-tasting restaurant in their garden. — Food is amazing, and vibes are great.
Burger and grill place that I only found because I parked my car in their parking lot for a few days. The food is really good, and I dug their parking-lot-space vibes.
A good restaurant that has an array of things like steak and sushi. — Won't be the cheapest place, but the food is really good.
Great little spot in a courtyard for burgers, and wraps, and other things.
NIGHTLIFE
Good little tapas bar and restaurant worth a try.
Great spot for sandwiches.
A good option for some Mexican food.
There's a good nightlife scene in Granada. Lots of bars, some of them super-local, but that shouldn't deter you from stumbling into a local bar and being deafened by the loud reggaeton. But beyond that there are a lot of fun bars to go to. Even a pub crawl here, so you know there's enough to do for there do be one of those.
Additionally, you have the Tree-House rave, which is famous, and pretty much everyone in town will be going to on a Friday night. Make sure to buy your tickets ahead of time. They sell out, as the popularity is only increasing through word of mouth.
As I started writing this list I realized that most of the time I just got lost and figured out the nightlife here. I recommend that. Also just join the pub crawl one night, and they will do all the work for you.
.jpg)
This is obviously something to do here. It's every Friday night up at the Treehouse. More on that in the 'things to do' section.
This place is the party hostel, so the bar here is going to be going off a lot of nights.
They have a small little bar in this hostel, and I liked going to just grab a mellow beer here.
Bars and Clubs
Epic spot in the center of town. It's going to be full of locals drinking beer with extremely loud music. I highly recommend a visit.
Cool little and chill spot that I am sure can get pretty rowdy. They have pool tables and a big bar, and it's one of the stops on the car crawl. You can come here and have some chill beers, if that's what you're looking for.
There are a million bars along Calle La Caldaza, which is just past the main square. It's a walking street that's cobblestoned, and it's lined with bars. Just walk up and down and see what you like. I honestly don't even remember what the ones I went to were called.
SIGHTS
For me, the best thing to do in Granada was to just walk around the lively and colorful streets. I got lost in the maze that is the market here, so many times. No clear beginning or ending. I love markets though.
Outside of just strolling around the city, you have the best party in Central America, and a lake just nearby. Lots of other stuff to do and see as well.
On to the reason why a lot of people come to Granada to begin with. It's where the Treehouse rave that is now famous throughout the backpacker circuit in Latin America is located. The Treehouse rave is an all-night affair up in the hostel that exists built up into the jungle outside of the city. There will be DJ's playing from about sunset, until the sunrise. It goes all night. You can find anything that you want up there, and everyone will be loose. I have a tattoo from this party. It's just an amazing night, and even if you don't like to party, I recommend you come to this one.
The transport, which is no more than a huge flatbed cattle transport truck, leaves from the town in Granada, and you buy your tickets online here. The transportation leaves from Madhouse Hostel.
Walking the market in Granada was one of my favorite things. I did it almost every day. It's bustling, wild, and crazy, — just like you hope from a Central American market.
There's a lot of churches in Granada, and all of them have rooftops that are open to the public. Going up to these rooftops to watch the sunset is one of the best things I did here. My favorite one to go up to was 'Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes'. It's linked. Just walk in, and you walk up the stairs to get up to the bell tower.
Granada has a lovely main square. Walk over, sit in a bench, and watch the world move quickly and chaotically around you.
SURFING
Hot inland land. Not far though.
The city sits on the lake, but you wouldn't think so by being in the city. It doesn't feel like you are in a lake town. The lake is about a 20-minute walk or so away from the town, and it's a nice way to spend an afternoon. The water is kind of gross by the Malecon though. Maybe I don't recommend this, actually.
