Nicaragua Tourism is Growing
Flights to Nicaragua are more and more prevalent these days, thanks to airlines' recognition that tourism is growing in this country. Many of major U.S. airlines have flights to Nicaragua and more are added each year so check with all the airlines to see if more flights have been added since we gathered this info.
Spirit Airlines now has non-stop flights to Managua, Nicaragua, which is the capitol. It leaves from Fort Lauderdale, Florida three times a week and recently has begun daily service. Spirit offers an Airbus A319 aircraft for this daily direct service. For business travelers or tourists to any point in Nicaragua, this is good news. Delta Airlines also offers daily service to Managua. Their flights leave from Atlanta, Georgia. They are the only airline to offer direct service between Atlanta and Managua.
Other U.S. airlines have service to Managua, including American Airlines, Continental, and United also fly to Managua. For some points in Nicaragua, it might seem that flying into Costa Rica would put you closer to your destination, but there are complications that make it not worth it for most people. You have to get from the airport in Costta Rica with a driver, cross the border on foot, then getting another driver on the Nicaraguan side to take you to your destination. Then imagine the conditions: the border here is very busy and dirty, with long lines of large freight trucks, change-money hawkers who give new meaning to the word persistent, and most unsettling of all for a traveler, legions of men toting AK-47s. It's better to fly into Nicaragua if Nicaragua is your destination. Crossing borders in this region brings you into sketchy situations with sketchy people.
Fly Between Costa Rica and Nicaragua
One way to go between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is via Nature Air. If you fly into San Jose, Costa Rica, take Nature Air to Granada, Nicaragua. Granada lies near the edge of Lago di Nicaragua, towards the Pacific side. If you're staying in this region, the place where you're staying may have pickup service so make sure to ask when you book your accommodations. Nature Air flies daily from the main airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, and from Iberia Airport, in northern Costa Rica. Ibera is just south of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica . The flight on Nature AIr from Iberia to Iberia to Granada costs about half the price of the trip from San Jose to Granada.
Fly to Iberia
You can also fly from San Jose Costa Rica on Nature Air to Iberia, still within Costa Rica, but very close to teh border with Nicaragua. From Iberia, you can arrange for ground transportataion to the border but make sure you have a party to meet you at the border.
Travelers who want to drive can rent a car in either Costa Rica or Nicaragua. If you fly into Costa Rica, cross the border at Penas Blancas.
San Juan del Sur, in Nicaragua, has a private landing strip so private charters can be arranged if you fly into Costa Rica and are heading for Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is near the Pacific side, close to Lago de Nicaragua.
One special idea is, if you are planning to stay at a private ecolodge at Morgan's Rock, is to take their boat service from a marina in Flamingo, Costa Rica, to their lodge on the on beach in Nicaragua. This costs about a thousand dollars but it's spectacular. Read more about it here.
