Do the Masaya 'combo' tour which takes in Masaya Volcano, Masaya Artisans Market, Laguna de Apoyo and the pottery making town of San Juan de Oriente.

Contact Maria Jose masayatours@gmail.com

She's from Masaya and speaks English.

Las Isletas - you can go down to the lake in a $2 taxi ride from Granada, get on one of the boats for a tour - you don't need a guide.

Another option is to see them on a kayak tour, lots of people in Granada do this tour.

Mombacho Volcano has a beautiful cloud forest at the top, well worth seeing for the wildlife and flower and fauna but take a sweater.

When you first get into Granada there are horses and carriages in the central square which will take you on a quick tour round the town for about $5 plus tips.

www.thegranadablog.com

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Two of Nicaragua’s finest natural features are within easy reach of the travellers hub of Granada. Volcan Masaya National Park is home to two volcanoes with five craters, one of which is still active and emits dramatic but noxious clouds of steam. The remaining craters provide safe walking and bird watching territory and grant amazing views over the park. Laguna Apoyo, meaning ‘healthy water’, is a beautiful and quiet spot for swimming and walks on the surrounding paths. We had lunch at one of the simple local restaurants on the shoreline to a soundtrack of howler monkeys eerie calls.

Volcan Masaya is 20k north of Granada and Laguna Apoyo just 4k north, both along the main road to Managua. If possible hire a taxi as these are both rather remote. You can take a bus headed to Managua and look out for the signs at the turn offs but be prepared for a wait for a local bus or a long walk.

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We took one look at the restaurant prices in central Masaya and were heading back to the hotel when we found Mariskeria, a permanent kiosk in the Parque octobre 17. Their ceviche was A1 and the prawns a plancha were the best we'd eaten since being in Spain in the 70s. The proprietor let us try a concha negra for free as we'd never eaten it before... more like a clam than an oyster, but we'll include them on our menu next time we visit Masaya.

Parque de octobre 17
Masaya

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Between Managua and Granada, Masaya is an overlooked town for visitors.

If you're there in Nov/Dec the town has almost daily festivals, the best is San Jeronimo. The rest of the year you can visit a volcano, arts market, baseball stadium and the enjoy the view from nearby Catarina which is one of the best in Nicaragua.

nicaragua.typepad.com/masaya_nicaragua/homepage/

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