There are many comfortable ways to travel from the pacific coast of Nicaragua to the Corn Islands in the caribbean sea. But I was looking for the cheapest and most authentic possibility! Backpackers I met told me its possible for less than € 20! Looking for a visit in the paradise of Nicaragua? Then anyone who has been there will recommend you to go to the Islas de Maís (Corn Islands) in the carribean sea! Sounds too good to be true?
There you find islands where no cars or motorbikes are allowed. Only transportation on the island is walking, by bycycle or horse!
paradise on earth: Corn Islands in Nicaragua
Electricity isn’t available all the day and there is only little light pollution. And therefore the nights get really dark! When your there, you will definetly relax!
Perfect I had the right spot to go to, now I wanted to find the right people to go with…
sunset at the pacific coast in Las Penitas
Las Penitas at the pacific coast
Making a long trip on your own is always risky. Even if Nicaragua is one of the safer countries in Central America, its better to be careful! Its not only safer to travel in a group, but much more fun!
the flow: finding the right people for the next adventures
When I stayed a couple of nights in Léon I meet some wonderful people from Italy and Germany!
In order to find out if we fit together for a long journey to Corn Islands we decided to spend a day on the beach of Las Penitas. With this visit at the pacific coast we found out, that we can be a little family 😉 and travel together.
Léon to Managua
In Léon I spend more than a week in order to do some special hikes to volcanos. Read my post to find out more about volcano hiking and boarding in Nicaragua.
After our “new” family had prepared itself well for the 3 day trip we took a walk from our hostel in downtown Léon to the public bus station. Asking locals it is quite easy to identify the right bus and for € 1,40 we took the bus to the capital Managua. In Managua we spent one night in order to get the next bus to El Rama. Managua was very special for me!
local buses in Nicaragua
I had my cheapest accomodation ever, sleeping in a private room with bath and shower for less than € 2 per night!
The next day for about € 3,50 we took the night bus to bring us to the port in El Rama.
El Rama to Bluefields
Here the journey continues on the river “Rio Escondido” by boats. If you get a little speed boat (around € 4-5) the trip takes about 2 hours to get to Bluefields. After we arrived in Bluedfields we assumed we can get immediately on an other boat to get us to Corn Islands.
traveling the Rio Escondido by speed boat
But due to weather conditions we had to wait to the next day and spend one night in special port town Bluefields.
Not that I recommend going there, but it is really special. Kind of cut out from the rest of the country, a very unique culture of criminalism, drug war and prostitution developed and is all around in this little town.
But also you can find very kind and religious people in Bluefields!
And with a local family we shared a dinner eating “Cevice” together. Ceviche is a very common speciality. Its basically a very healthy fish salad. If you want to know how to make a Ceviche, in the next chapter you find a clip about Making a Ceviche:
El Bluff to Corn Islands
In Bluefields we got our tickets (about € 5-6) for a container ship to bring us to Corn Islands. From Bluefields we had to take a little boat to El Bluff. There the container ship was about to leave.
traveling on a container ship
After waiting all day in the heat of the sun around 4 p.m. the passengers who had tickets boarded the ship.
going to Corn Island
The journey takes between 5 and 8 hours depending on the type of ship and weather conditions. On the ship itself everything is made to carry goods and products for the islands. And passengers just sit or stand whereever they find a place. And because there is no catering 😉 we made our own food during the journey!
preparing a fish salad on board of a container ship
With some creativness together we created a Ceviche salad for dinner!
Finally in paradise
When you arrive in Corn Island everything is different! Usually in Nicaragua spanish is number one language, but like in all the caribbean islands also on corn island you find an english creole spoken.
my first sunset on Corn Island
The mood of the islanders is extremly chilled and welcoming!
After meeting some locals and asking for a cheap place, we found a local family renting a little house on their ground. After some friendly words in english we moved in a beautiful place close to the beach. Because usually you have to calculate between € 10 and € 20 for a night, we had good luck to live in this wonderful place for only € 5 per person and night.
Diving Corn Islands
And because caribbean islands are perfect for diving I choose a nice dive shop “Dos Tiburones” and did some fantastic dives on Corn Islands. Watch my clip about diving the spot Blowing Rock in Nicaragua, Corn Islands.
Blowing Rock is an underwater volcano and a very special dive!
I enjoyed an unforgetable and spectacular spot with unique rock formations and a lot of marine life!
On Corn Island I spend almost 2 weeks and it was never so easy to forget the time.
My Visa expired and I had an overstay of 11 days 🙂 !
natural and authentic life makes me happy
Definetly one of the most fascinating places I have visited in my trip!
Bye for now & thanks for visiting Traveling Adventures
Lui