Altagracia Travel Guide

Unlike the boats from San Jorge to Moyogalpa which sails several times a day, the boat between Alta Gracia and Granada only leaves a couple of times a week.

To Isla de Ometepe we went on the boat from San Jorge, but on the way back to mainland, we wanted to try the boat to Granada.
There’s supposed to be a pick-up truck going from the main square to the harbour to meet the boat, but when we wanted to leave it never showed up. Therefore we had to stay a few days more and wait for the next boat. This time we had planned to walk the 3 kilometers instead, but it turned out to take longer time than expected, so we hiched a lift with a truck.

When we arrived at the harbour, they had filled the boat up with bananas, which they were taking to the mainland. They had even taken out many of the seats to make room for bananas inside.
We didn’t mind. It just made it an even more local experience.

The boat ride took about 4-5 hours. Remember to ask around in Alta Gracia when the boat leaves, and plan carefully how to get there as it is a long walk.

Favorite thing: Alta Gracia is a small village, from where the boat to Granada leaves. The village is very charming and has a rural touch. Most streets are dirt roads and in the central park, we saw pigs running around. The cemetery is on the outskirts of the village and has a beautiful view to Volcán Concepción and banana fields.

There is nothing to do, but wander around and soak up the atmosphere or hang out in the patio of Hotel Central.

Fondest memory: We got to know this village. We were suppose to leave the same day for Granada, but the pick-up that was suppose to run the tour to the harbor several km’s away didn’t show up. We then had to wait 2 days, and in the morning we got out of bed too late, and had to hurry to the harbor on foot. Luckily we hitched a ride from a local family.

In a local restaurant we had a funny experience, which showed us how local it was. We were waiting for our dinner, and suddenly a pig ran into the open restaurant and continued into the kitchen, where they probably had a backyard where it was being kept.