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Nicaragua Planning:

On my list were  central American countries I wanted to visit, which are Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. I looked at google flights and realized that Spirit airlines has direct flights to all the three countries. I saw that flights are starting from either Houston, Texas or from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So, I applied for Free Spirit credit card, which was offering 50,000 bonus miles after spending 1000$ in first 90 days. I visited Nicaragua in May 2023. Capital of Nicaragua 🇳🇮 is Managua

Flights:

I looked at options from Houston and Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale worked better with the dates I choose. So, I took a flight from FLL to MGA using 7500 Spirit Airline miles. Overall, I paid 60.60$ on taxes and fees for my inbound flight. My Outbound flight was by Avianca Airlines to San Salvador for 155$. My trip to to El Salvador can be found here. Currency of Nicaragua is Nicaraguan Cordoba. I paid 10$ USD fee for tourist card at immigration.

Accommodation:

I stayed in Nicaragua for one night. I picked “Crown Plaza Managua” for my stay. It’s conveniently located at the city center, from where public transport is accessible to close by places.  There are lots of options for accommodations in Nicaragua, which could be booked easily on hotels.com. Alternately, Chase points or Capital One points can also be used for reservations.  

• Places I visited are in Blue
• The Airport is Coded in Purple
• Places of Interest not visited by me because of Time Constaint.

Boots on the Ground:

I visited the city of Granada, by lake Nicaragua, which is the largest freshwater lake in Central America. Walking on cobblestoned streets filled with street art was relaxing. I enjoyed the calm laid back surroundings. Horse Carriages also take people around the town from the Cathedral.

On my way back to Managua from the town of Granada, I visited the Masaya Volcano National Park.

I enjoyed going to the Masaya Volcano National park and peeking through the top of the Santiago crater, that emits Sulphur dioxide gases. Alternatively, if visitors go after dark, they can view the Molten Lava at the bottom of Crater. I hired a taxi to take me to the top of the crater from the park entrance. Basically, they would only give a park entrance ticket if you have a taxi/car that would take you to the crater as visitors are not allowed to walk to the crater.

This experience of standing on top of the crater peeking into the active volcano cone was exhilarating. The surrounding are beautiful with lush green vegetation, if you go up the stairs and see the Volcano from the view point. Finally, I would say that my trip to Nicaragua was short, but the experience was enriching and memorable. Additional Attractions that Can be added to your trip would be:

• Corn Island
• Cerro Negro
• Mombacho Volcano Nature Preserve
• Islets of Granada
• Isla Ometepe