To get from León to Granada, take a bus from León to Managua then another bus from Managua to Granada, a city which instantly captured my heart. The colonial buildings were beautifully colorful and the city was very clean; it was far prettier than we expected and significantly more structurally sound. There’s a great central strip if you want touristically inspired food, but we recommend asking your hostel for cheap authentic food that doesn’t provide English menus – not only is it more affordable, but far tastier as well. If going outside of your comfort zone isn’t really you’re thing, know that the main strip is there for you.
On the main strip, you will also find many tour companies offering Las Isletas boat trips and Volcán Mombacho trips. We were overwhelmed by the amount of tour companies and weren’t sure which to go with, until someone approached us from Erik Tours. After chatting with him for a while, we booked both excursions with Erik Tours as they gave us an $18 USD discount per person. While Erik Tours offered us the lowest price in the end, don’t be so quick to accept right away – try to negotiate the prices down because they’d rather have some business than not have it at all.
Granada, as a whole, is definitely worth a stay for the beauty of it all. We tried the traditional dish of Vigorón (yuca with pork rinds) for lunch, and were invited to make Shakshouka with some Israeli girls that we met for dinner; the homeyness of it all was fantastic.
