Granada is one of my favorite Central American towns. We visited Granada during our Costa Rica girls trip and really enjoyed our time in town. Here is how to spend one day in Granada, Nicaragua.
How to get to Granada
From Managua
There is a direct bus between Managua Mercado Huembes and Granada that runs daily every 30 minutes.
From Liberia, Costa Rica
The easiest way to visit Granada from Costa Rica is to take a tour. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to put the plan together on how to get to the border from Liberia, then cross the border and take a bus to Granada. It is tricky, but doable if you have several days to spare for this adventure. It is doable as a day trip, but not super practical to the extend that it almost doesn’t worth the efforts. One way trip will take you about 4.5-5 hours leaving only 2-3 hours to spend in Granada. So, we opted out for the tour.
Read more:
Crossing the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua
How to spend one day in Granada
Desayuno Nica
We started the day from traditional Nicaraguan breakfast Desayuno Nica. It includes warm grilled cheese, gallo pinto, scramble eggs, sweat fried plantain, pico de gallo and sour cream on the side. That’s how the breakfast of champions look like. Gallo pinto is white rice cooked with vegetables and beans, garnished with fresh cilantro. Some places serve fresh cheese instead of grilled cheese. My suggestion is to try grilled cheese as it is one of my favorite central American food dish (And yes, pack a lot of lactose pills when I travel to Central America)
Take a boat tour around Lake Nicaragua.
Did you know that there are more that 300 little islands in Nicaragua lake? Our tour stopped by so called “monkey Island” inhabited by white-face Capuchin monkeys and another island, where spider monkeys live. According to our tour operator, the moneys were brought to the island as pets by residents and later abandoned there.
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Top things to do in Catarina, Nicaragua
Puerto Granada of Lago Nicaragua
Explore old port area, walk around the Old port building, admire its vibrant color and colonial architecture. The building is super photogenic especially during the cloudy day. I loved the stairs and the facade. You will see the old rails that go straight to the pier. Those were used in the past to transport
The “Love” sign
The “Love” sign is a new addition to the city of Granada. The sign is an exact replica of “Love” sign located in Manhattan, New York City. It is a very controversial piece of art in the city.
Lunch at El Cortijo
Steak for lunch? Yes, please!!
On our way to the Granada Cathedral we stopped at El Cortillo for late lunch. I love the atmosphere in the restaurant, the service and the food. I ordered traditional Nicaraguan Churrasco steak with Chimichurri sauce and it was great.
Stop by Iglecia Guadeloupe
After lunch we stopped by the church to take couple of pictures. There were a lot of people getting in and out of the church, kids playing in front of the church. The church located on pedestrian street. We saw locals gathering near the door and kids playing in front of the church. It reminded me a bit of Guatemala City Cathedral, which is significantly larger, but there are a lot of similarities between those two buildings.
Visit Granada Cathedral
Granada Cathedral is an iconic neoclassical church located in the center of the city. The cathedral is very different from those I’ve seen in Central America. It is very bright and welcoming. The entire church ceiling is painted white, so it feels airy and inviting unlike other cathedrals I’ve been to.
Get inside and walk the stair to the observation deck to see the central park area from the top.
We spent some time on the top admiring the view and headed down to See Iglesia De La Merced
Relax at Parque Central
Surrounded by restaurants and bars, the park is a very popular meeting place among locals and tourists. It a great place for people watching or just relaxing during the sunny day.
Iglesia de La Merced
Iglecia de la Merced is the oldest and the most beautiful church in Granada. Once you get to the church, you will see super narrow stairs on right. You might need to pay $1 to get up the stairs. The view from Iglesia de La merced is to die for. You can see volcano, Granada Cathedral and even the lake.
Shop for souvenirs at Mercado Municipal
If you are shopping for souvenirs or just like me like to wonder around markets, visiting Mercado Municipal is a must for you. It is typical central American markets with a lot of produce stands, souvenirs and many stands that cell traditional clothes. I got fresh coconut and we headed back to the central park area.
Visit chocolate museum
Stop by to learn about chocolate history and chocolate making process. I didn’t go on the tour as I ave seen couple of those demonstrations in the past.
What I like about the museum is its courtyard with variety of plants and tall trees. The chocolate museum building is a traditional Central American building with the large courtyard inside.
