San Carlos Travel Guide

  Home Style Cooking at Cabanas Paraiso
by atufft
 
  • Home Style Cooking at Cabanas Paraiso
      Home Style Cooking at Cabanas Paraiso
    by atufft
  • El Castillo, on the Rio San Juan
      El Castillo, on the Rio San Juan
    by atufft
  • Resident Monkey on Quiet Tributary of Rio San Juan
      Resident Monkey on Quiet Tributary of...
    by atufft
  • Canoe ride near El Castillo
      Canoe ride near El Castillo
    by atufft
  • Canoe ride near El Castillo
      Canoe ride near El Castillo
    by atufft
 

Explore San Carlos

Things to Do  

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 3

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 3, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  San Fernando Island has a petroglyph just off the trail to the Mirador El Targon. Wildflowers to be seen along the way. The petroglyph is protected by a roof, as it is located atop a highpoint on the island. There's a good view to the west. On the way back, I watched a ball... 

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 4

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 4, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  The museum and gallery on San Fernando are very small but nice. We actually found the most outstanding collection of balsa wood carvings and oil paintings in the gallery here. While some of the artists do rather rushed work, there are several women who are quite dedicated to... 

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 2

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 2, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  San Fernando has a narrow trail that circles the island, but there's also a footpath over the center of the island to Mirador El Targon, which has a view of a cove on the eastern side. I saw the bush bean agriculture and some birdlife. 

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 1

Solentiname Islands--San Fernando, part 1, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Lonely Planet guide refers to this island as La Isla Elvis Chavarria, but Jose Pineda who lived there his whole life referred to it as San Fernando. Not, the largest but best located of the 36 Solentiname Islands, San Fernando is the island where we stayed. The small... 

Hotels  

Cabanas Paraiso: Most Popular on San Fernando Island

Cabanas Paraiso: Most Popular on San Fernando Island, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  This is the most popular place to stay at a slightly higher price than the cabins Jose Pineda offers. We visited this place for dinner most nights, as they have an open veranda style dining room with a sweeping view of the water. The restaurant prefers to have reservations... 

Jose's Lodges: Better choice of difficult lodging situation

Jose's Lodges: Better choice of difficult lodging situation, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Solentiname Islands are inhabited by families that are very closely related, some of whom practice subsistence farming, others who engage in the tourism business. But, tourism here is still at a very primitive state, being self financed by the very poor families themselves.... 

Hotel Victoria: Probably the best in El Castillo

Hotel Victoria: Probably the best in El Castillo, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Trying to contact hotels in El Castillo is not easy since it seems that nobody has internet access, but sometimes the telephone works. The easiest thing is to do as we did, make a phone call from San Carlos before you arrive. Hotel Victoria is unlikely to be fully booked,... 

Monte Cristo River lodge: Exotic and delightful River edge lodging

Monte Cristo River lodge: Exotic and delightful River edge lodging, San Carlos

 MattGlobe Says:  Highly recommended. Rustic yet refined, tons of things to do, or lay in a hammock and drink the included rum/beer. Horses and kayaks also included as well as 3 cooked meals a day for $50 per person per day (for a 3 day stay, I think it was $65 if less).Owner was a real... 

fishing, nature and adventure: best lodge hotel in the area

fishing, nature and adventure: best lodge hotel in the area, San Carlos

 ivansolorzano Says:  First the service, Yaro the owner is a very friendly person, he has lived there many years he can recomend what to do or where to go. the lodge is rustic and clean, abins almost over the river tarsan or chitas cabin. make sure you get all your transportation square out. you... 

Carelhys Hotel: San Carlos' Best Hotel

Carelhys Hotel: San Carlos' Best Hotel, San Carlos

 mdfloyd322 Says:  This is the best hotel in town but do not expect much. The Nica guide by Josh Berman describes it as 'clean' but it is far from it. We were there a whole week and never had water for any of the upstairs rooms. Downstairs apparently had water but they took all the pressure.... 

Transportation  

Transport along the Rio San Juan

Transport along the Rio San Juan, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Passenger boats with powerful outboard motors ply the Rio San Juan, from San Carlos all the way to San Juan de Nicaragua on the Caribbean Sea. Boats stop as needed at various ranchos, but the most important regular stops are Boca de Sabalos and El Castillo, which are about 1... 

Bus Service from Managua

Bus Service from Managua, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  We flew south, but we were willing to go on the cheap and take the six hour bus back to Managua. The bus is slower than the plane, but a lot faster than the ferry. At $6- per person, it was a good deal too. The buses are comfortable enough, being older Marco Polo style buses... 

La Costena Air Service from Managua

La Costena Air Service from Managua, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Prices vary of course, but the 12 seater twin prop airplane service from Managua to San Carlos is very good and reasonably priced. We paid $75 per person for an hour long flight during high season. Website doesn't work very well, but there are regular flights 5 days a week... 

Solentiname Islands Transport

Solentiname Islands Transport, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Guidebooks for transport to Solentiname Islands were especially vague, and so we probably ended up paying more than we had to for service that wasn't exactly what we wanted. But, we did have good service overall, and I recommend considering Jose Pineda, who is also friends... 

Dugout Canoe up the Rio San Juan tributaries

Dugout Canoe up the Rio San Juan tributaries, San Carlos

 atufft Says:  Around San Carlos, but more likely around El Castillo, one can hire a canoe with boatman to personally show you a tributary of the San Juan river. In our case, we were tired of the motorized boat transport, the loud and vibrating motor of which makes wildlife watching and... 

Favorites  

San Carlos is not as dirty...
kuehni1 profile photo

3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

kuehni1 1 reviews

Favorite thing: Many internet reports say San Carlos (Nicaragia) is a dirty little place. I was there twice in November and December 2006. They have paved streets and it is quite clean compared to other places in Nicaragua. Prices are much cheaper then in Granada or on Corn Islands. Hotels for 15 US$. food in a clean restaurant for 5$. I have not been walking at night time but during the day I felt safe. I made a boat trip from there to Granada (14h) and was surprised by billions of little insects during the whole trip. I came back by air and went down the river San Juan. A beautiful and safe trip. I wanted to cross more down the river the border to Costa Rica what is not possible. So I went agian back to San Carlos on boat and back to Costa Rica the same day.
I was 5 weeks in Nicaragua and would go back again....
I also stayed 5 night in on Solentiname Islands in the Lake of Nicaragua. No electricity, no cars, no big houses. But wonderful nature and a feeling like 200 years back. And you know what - I will go again...

Written Apr 9, 2007

Related to:
 Backpacking
 Eco-Tourism
 Arts and Culture

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Map of San Carlos