“Coffee and Chocolate”
Managua - Esteli – Matagalpa – Esperanza Verde – León –  Granada
(9 Days / 8 Nights) 

DAY 1: ARRIVAL - MANAGUA

Arrive in Managua. Meet and greet by our bilingual representative who will also provide all documents, vouchers, maps and important information about your trip in Nicaragua. Transfer to hotel Europeo 2* sup. Night in your hotel.

Day 2: MANAGUA – ESTELÍ (B)

Today we will pick you up at 8.00am. Transfer through the onion and rice growing region of Sébaco to the cigar capital of Central America, Estelí. Visit the tobacco plantations located north east of Esteli. You will see the growing process, then the warehouses. Return to Esteli, visit a handmade cigar fabric where are made some of world’s best cigars (Either Joya de Nicaragua, or Perdomo) (Mon-Fri only). You will observe the whole process from selecting the leaves to elaborating the product, packing and ; learn about the marketing and sales to USA, Japan, Europe or Israel.
Accommodation at hotel los Arcos 2* in Esteli.

DAY 3: ESTELI – COFFEE PROCESSING – SEBACO - MATAGLAPA- FINCA ESPERANZA VERDE

After breakfast, drive towards Matagalpa and the area of mountains where the principal richness is the production of coffee. We will make a short stop in Sebaco, there is the largest coffee processing plant in Nicaragua. Pretty impressive, from one side the trucks unload all the coffee recently collected in the plantations, and in the other side the coffee bags are loaded in different containers according to their final destination… 

Then, we will continue driving a few more miles to Finca Esperanza Verde (Green Hope Farm) Ecologde, Organic Coffee Farm and Nature Preserve, is a cool, green and tranquil paradise located in the lush mountains of central Nicaragua (1,200 m/ 4000 feet elevation, accommodation in one cabaña for the family.  Free evening to visit the farm, dinner will be taken in your hotel.

DAY 4: FINCA ESPERANZA VERDE

You will spend the day discovering this property. We included the Mountaintop Retreat package (3 days / 2 nights), that includes:
2 guided walks; All about organic coffee tour and presentation; visit the butterfly farm and presentation; Camp fire with folk music group.
Lodging - cabin with private bath
Meals - Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinners featuring local fresh fruits, vegetables and salads
Beverages -Fresh fruit juices, our certified spring water and our own organic coffee, teas
(Solar chilled soft drinks and beer are available for an extra charge)

DAY 5: FINCA ESPERANZA VERDE – CHOCOLATE FACTORY - LEON

After breakfast, leave the Finca, make a stop by a chocolate factory “El Castillo del Cacao” run by Dutch partners, you will visit and learn more about the way chocolate is made, the castle project and of course,  distribution channels, and try the chocolate where it is made.

Continue to Leon, on the way you will see large rice plantations and Free Trade Zones making mostly garments for American brands, run by Taiwanese and US companies. Then stop at the rural village of San Jacinto, in the middle of the densely active Maribios Volcano chain, to visit with its population and see their fumarolic fields, the result of water being superheated on a volcanic vein beneath the earth's surface. Transfer to León.

Accommodation in Hotel los Balcones or Posada del Doctor 2*. If time allows it you will go with your guide to visit this nice and colonial city (churches, the Cathedral hike the tower to get an amazing view of the city and volcanoes).

Free night to explore this pleasant city which is also very well know for having good nightlife due to the several universities in the city. Many restaurants and clubs offer live music.

DAY 6: CERRO NEGRO VOLCANO – GRANADA (B)

After breakfast (7.30 am) your guide will pick you up in your hotel to go for an adventure day to discover one of Nicaragua’s monsters: Cerro Negro active volcano. Born in 1850, it is one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua. Cerro Negro “Black Mount” is the most recent of a group of four very young cinder cones in the central Maribios. Last big eruption was August 1998…

Hiking to the top takes less than an hour; a sort of trail has been made in the rocks and volcanic ashes. Temperature can be very hot as there is no vegetation at all, ranges between 30 and 42-48 Celsius (according to season; once you hike the breeze makes it easier) and the overwhelming view once we reach the active crater will be the reward you had ever imagined, sulfur coming out from many places, crater and also from the shores (many crevasses). From the top, you will also observe the crater of Telica, another active volcano, as well as the Pacific Ocean, 20 miles away.      

After a walk around the crater we will hike down and drive back to the City of Leon.
Time for lunch in Leon (not included); please ask your guide about this he will advise properly.
Transfer to Granada, on the way stop in La Paz Centro and try a "quesillo" with "Tiste" (typical food and corn made refreshment) if you haven’t taken your lunch in Leon.

Arrive in Granada around 4pm, and accommodation in Hotel la Posada del Sol 2* or similar. Time at leisure to tour this beautiful city.

DAY 7: GRANADA -  MOMBACHO NATURE RESERVE – ISLETAS-  GRANADA (B)

Do some tourism today! At 9.30 AM. Half day tour to discover Mombacho Volcano Natural Reserve, this is a 1400 meters high Volcano. It's been extinct for many years now, and it is totally covered with vegetation. This has created a rich ecosystem where within it live 50 species of mammals, 174 species of birds, 30 of reptiles and 750 species of flora. A powerful truck will drive all the way to the top of the extinct volcano. We will go through coffee plantations to the cloud forest, which offers exceptional sites to discover its flora and fauna.  Optional (not included): Zip Line/ Canopy Tour $ 28 p/p

Transfer to Lake Nicaragua where your captain will be meeting you.  A boat ride in Lake Nicaragua will let you discover some of the 365 small islands ”Isletas”, created by an eruption of the nearby Mombacho volcano thousand years ago, according to many scientists. You can observe the local fauna (monkeys, tmigrating and non migrating birds) s well as a lush vegetation and flora, and the isletas’s inhabitants named the “Isleños”, the community of about 2000 live in simple yet decent conditions from fishing, small agriculture and now tourism too. You do not want to miss this visit!

DAY 8: GRANADA - INDIGENOUS VILLAGES - MASAYA – MANAGUA (B)

After breakfast, (8.30am) we will transfer you to Masaya (just 14kms from Granada). Your tour will start visiting the First National Park created in Nicaragua in 1979, one of Nicaragua's most interesting and beautiful natural phenomena. It comprises an area of 54 km2 with more than 20 km of scenic roads and trails, leading to and around the one impressive volcano and five formidable craters; one of them currently displays gaseous activity and incandescent lava in its interior. The park also contains a Museum of Anthropology, nature trails and camping areas.

Then transfer to the historic city of Masaya. Masaya has been populated for more than 3,000 years and the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century organized the local artisans in small workshops for export. The principle item was hammocks and today Masaya makes the world's finest hammocks, as well as wood, leather and clothing goods, all created by hand.

We will visit the finest Handicraft Market where you can enjoy the creativity and variety of Nicaraguan art at bargain prices. Masaya's friendly population has restored their 19th century outdoor indigenous market for the sale of their hand made goods.

Later transfer to Catarina where you will enjoy a delicious lunch. Catarina is a small and characteristic village of Nicaragua where people work seedling nurseries, make handcraft and raise horses. Placed on top of a hill at 520 meters over the sea level, present a very agreeable climate, the temperature is between 22 and 27 degrees, from here you can have a magnificent view of the Apoyo lagoon, Mombacho volcano, Granada and Lake Nicaragua. After your lunch will go to San Juan de Oriente, famous for its ceramic arts

Transfer to Managua to spend the last night, accommodation at hotel Europeo 2* sup.

DAY 9: MANAGUA - AIRPORT

Early breakfast in your hotel and private transfer to Managua airport, board your flight. End of our services.

Package Includes:

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Meal plan:

Others:

Does not include: