Discover the natural beauty and heritage of Nicaragua with a full-day tour that travels round-trip from northern Costa Rica. Visit the active Masaya Volcano and the extinct Apoyo Volcano, cruise by boat to small islands on Lake Nicaragua, and view picturesque Spanish colonial architecture in Granada. You’ll benefit from border-crossing assistance and hassle-free transportation that allows you to make the most of your day.

Have more flexibility with a private tour
Hear insightful commentary from your guide
Includes breakfast, lunch, and Lake Nicaragua cruise
Optional activities available in the afternoon

What's Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Transportation In Costa Rica
Transport in Nicaragua
Bilingual guide
All taxes, fees and border charges
monkeys watching in the jungle
shopping time

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Horse Carriage
Tips
*Connections if you are not staying in Liberia city
* Covid vaccination card required (or) PCR Covid Test.

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Santa Rosa Plaza
JHG4+96J, 1, El Sitio, Guanacaste Province, Liberia, Costa Rica
Santa Rosa mall is located in the main intersection of Liberia Highway, any bus to Liberia can drop you off there, meeting point is next to BAC (bank).

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

for your convenience the meeting point is at Plaza Santa Rosa Mall next to BAC bank, Liberia Guanacaste. at 6:00 am. If you are staying in Liberia we will pick you up at your hotel for free. We also work with connection from other cities, so we are more than glad of pick you up from your hotel anywhere for an extra cost, just let me know where are you staying to give you the extra price.

What To Expect

Masaya Volcano National Park

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Granada

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

ChocoMuseo Granada

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Laguna de Apoyo

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
A country on category B Must pay Nicaraguan Visa.
With the purpose in providing the best experience for your family, Kids are allowed only on the private option
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travellers can participate
Not recommended for those who are easily car sick
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

If you are looking to a short getaway to Nicaragua from Costa Rica while you're traveling Costa Rica, this definitely worth it.

Reviews

5.0

44 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 44 reviews

BEST EVER

Kori_M, May 2023

Rogelio and Marlene were awesome! Totally worth the money and time! I would definitely go again if I had the chance!

Response from Host, May 2023

hi sweetheart, thank you so much for let to other knows about your experiences

Do not miss this tour!

Lisa_P, Apr 2023

What an amazing day!. This was a once in a life time experience and I’m so glad we did it. We were picked up at our hotel by Marlene and driven to the border. She helped us thru customs and we met our Nicaraguan guide Urielle. He was incredibly knowledgeable about history, nature, and the many things that make this such a beautiful country. He spent all day with us and tailored the trip for things that were important to us. We could have never have seen so much or experienced so many different areas of southwestern Nic on our own. When the day was done, he brought us back to the border, made sure we got thru immigration again, and Marlene was waiting for on the CR side. She then drove us back to our hotel while we napped in her car. The entire trip was simply perfecto! I highly recommend this and the wonderful guides!

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi Lisa, thank you so Much for this amazing review, you both are so special. A big honor to be part of your experience. I hope you can relax the rest of your vacations.. Xoxo

Absolutely amazing tour!...

Debbie_R, Jan 2023

Absolutely amazing tour! Nicaragua is beautiful. Great tour guides. Marlene even drove all the way back to Nicaragua border to get my friend's binoculars which weren't allowed to pass through immigration into Nicaragua. Great service all around.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hi sweetheart, thank you so much for your review. It is a pleasure to be part of your adventure

If you are in the area...

Terri_C, Apr 2022

If you are in the area you have GOT to take this tour and take it with Claudio. He was very knowledgeable, has a great sense of humor and anticipates your every need. (For example, he requested metal silverware without me asking for it, just because he observed the difficulty I was having cutting beef with plastic.) If you have a particular interest, he will accommodate you in any way he can. In my case, that was bending over backwards to help me get the photos I wanted and to help us with a small snafu at the border crossing. You will drive through an agricultural area (rice, sugar, sorghum, mango etc.) see an amazing volcano in a national park and see a lot of beautiful green, along with some wildlife. I loved getting off the beaten tourist path under the care of an accomplished and seasoned guide. We were two women traveling alone and I felt safe whether we were driving or on foot. Ever was our van driver in Nicaragua and he was friendly, drove safely and kept our belongings secure while we were out exploring. We loved everything about our day including how Claudio thinks outside of the box!

Great way to see Nicaragua as an add-on

Matthew_J, Mar 2022

I saw warnings that the wait at the border would ruin the day. We did wait an hour on the way in. (We had the bad luck to arrive just after a big tourist bus.) There was no wait on the return. Going on a Sunday may have helped. I would still recommend this trip even with a longer wait. The guides know lots of the border agents and make the process much smoother than it would have been for me on my own. The trip has a wonderful mix of stops. I liked them all, but the guide was flexible about letting us choose what we wanted. We saw natural wonders (including looking down into an active volcano), ancient towns (including going to the top of an old church to see all of Granada), and a small chocolate museum. We had two shopping stops, but they were both combined with other visits (of a lake and for lunch), so you can decide how much time to spend shopping... the guides were no pressuring to spend any money. (I know sometimes guides collude with shopkeepers to get tourists to feel obliged to shop.) The day finished up with a boat ride through the lagoons of Lake Nicaragua.

Response from Host, Mar 2022

Hi Mat, Thank you so much for this review. This is very important info for future customers. I am so glad you did this full day tour. God bless you

Book this Tour!

Brett_C, Jan 2022

I can’t say enough what an amazing tour company this is. They helped us through an emergency situation with class, dignity and professionalism. They followed up with us when we got home to make sure we were ok.

Response from Host, Feb 2022

Thank you so much for your review. God makes it possible. Hope you find well. Always in my heart

Fun for the whole family!

kmkolb, Jan 2022

This trip was super fun! Claudio was an amazing guide and took extra care to ensure our trip was special! He went out of his way to make everything smooth at the border crossings and completely stress-free. This trip makes for a very long day, but totally worth it! Both our teenagers and our 4 year old had a good time. Amazing experience that I highly recommend!

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Thank you so much for your review. So glad to know about your experience and share with future customers and friends

Nicaragua Day Tour

Bryce_O, Dec 2021

Great tour! Had so much fun with Claudio who was knowledgeable and took us to some great places. Could also do a later start like 6am instead of 4:30am since it’s better to stay later to see the Masaya Volcano at night.

Response from Host, Dec 2021

Hi Bryce, thank you for your review and advise. To do Masaya volcano at night you can leave later and pay only extra $10. Thank you to share your great experience.

If you want to see as much of Nicaragua as possible in 1 day, this is your trip

Julissa_G, Dec 2021

I was interested in visiting Nicaragua as soon as I learned we would be in Costa Rica close to the border. I am a big fan of the road less travelled or off the beaten path. But my partner was concerned about safety and access. Frankly so was I. I was losing hope running into hurdles at border, due to COVID, no rental car, where to stay? So that is why this trip was everything!! They pick you up at your hotel and guide you through border/COVID testing and take you to 6 different places and 3 cities, 2 volcanoes. It was all amazing! Our guide Misael was so great, informative, responsible young man who loves his job and his country. Strongly recommend. Only issue might be for those who need rest because it is a long day. But if you can only be in a country for one day, wouldn’t it be worth it? :) For us it was

Response from Host, Dec 2021

Hola Julissa, muchas gracias por tan lindo comentario. Y compartir tu experiencia. Espero que tengas un buen viaje.

Great experience! Highly recommend!

DrGregory_C, Oct 2021

The tour was informative and fun. We got to see a lot of the natural beauty of the country. The tour guides were knowledgeable. We also get to feed the monkeys. A long, but interesting day. Tip: The breakfast and lunch were delicious, but did not sit well in my stomach. You will be encouraged to change USD into their currency. It's not necessary, as everyone accepted USD and it was a bit confusing trying to figure out the exchange rate. I would decline the offer.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you so much for your review and avises sfor future visitors.

Keep your belongings on you at all times

Chantal_H, Oct 2021

This expedition was nice. It was well thought out and the tour guide knew a lot of information. However the reason I have this expedition 3 stars is because the driver stole money out of my purse. I know this because we were told at the boarder by the tour guide that we could leave our bags on board while we were being checked at the border. I specifically bought only $100 usd on this tour. $60 of those dollars I was using to give to the tour guide for providing a service prior to the trip. The tour guide asked me for the money before we headed into the boarder patrol, I explained to him in front of everyone that I left my money on the bus and he told me to wait until We got back to give him the money. He then shut the door and the driver locked the bus. When we arrived back to the bus, I proceeded to give him the $60 and that was all that was left in my wallet. No one else had been on the bus Bc we were all told to wait outside of boarder patrol until we were all checked in. The only person who had access to the bus and knew which specific bag was mine was the bus driver. My husband asked the tour guide about it and he asked the driver but the driver played as if he didn’t know anything. Ruined the beginning of my expedition, granted it was my own fault for trusting another human being with my belongings. I knew better. I just wanted to warn people so that this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

My name is Marlene Rivas, I am the general manager of Clamatour. The situation that you are expressing to us is very regrettable. The guide send a report of what happened and we immediately made the pertinent investigations and I want to respond to your reviews based on the testimonies of the guide and the driver. Before arriving at the border control, each client must get off the van to stamp their passport at the immigration offices. For this reason, the guide recommends only take the passport and leave the bags in the van. The next stop a few meters away, the guide tells all clients to collect their bags as they must change of van when they cross the police patrol to switch transport in Nicaragua side. The driver always checks the unit in case someone leaves a forgotten object and returns it immediately. Very important points to mention: 1- The guide reports that you paid $ 120 from your purse in cash later put it in your bag, and upon reading your comment that was after you left your purse alone. 2- The guide reports that you discovered and reported that you did not have your purse at approximately 12:00 (at noon). 3- the driver has worked for 5 years with our company, and nothing has ever disappeared in his transport unit. On the contrary, many times clients have left cameras, telephones, glasses or hats and have always reported and returned to the original owner when possible. 4- There were several stops including shopping centers that you visited before reporting your loss. And it leaves open the possibility of misplacing something as small as a purse. 5- When consulting with another client we know that you made a public claim at the end of the tour, (7:00 pm approx.) And not at the beginning. 6- When customers book a tour to Nicaragua (another country) are always recommended to travel light, and in this way reduce the chances of losing valuable things. Anyway, we really appreciate your comment regarding a good experience on the tour, we regret the loss of the remaining $ 40 to the $ 100. That you testify to have brought. However, there is not enough evidence to accuse an excellent employee of our team and we will not be able to fulfill your expectations. Every day we continue learning from this kind of experience and we will continue working to improve the quality of the expedition and avoid any misunderstandings.

Amazing experience

Jacob, Aug 2021

I had an absolutely amazing time on this tour. If you have an extra day in the Guanacaste/Liberia area I would definitely book a tour ( or even plan an extra day just for this tour). My tour guides were passionate about their country and show you some of the amazing experiences available in Nicaragua. The Masaya Volcano and the boat ride on Lake Nicaragua were especially memorable, and Granada was a great city to experience.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Hi Jacob. Thank you for your review. It is very important for us to know about your guides. And your esperience

Great day

Ryan_W, Feb 2020

This tour was very well done. At first we thought it was going to be bad as they didn’t pick us up due to some miscommunication at their office. After a phone call someone arrived within minutes to pick us up and drove us up to catch-up with the group. We didn’t miss anything, even with this small mishap, things happen. The volcano was amazing, the boat tour in the lake was amazing, crater lake was amazing, and the horse carriage in Granada (extra $$) was worth he small price. The guide spoke good and clear English and provided very clear directions and meeting times.

Nicaragua one day tour

Yan Y, Oct 2019

This is an amazing tour, one full day with many places of interest. Our tour guide is very friendly and knowledgeable. If you are looking to a short getaway to Nicaragua from Costa Rica while you're traveling Costa Rica, this definitely worth it. I learned a lot of the culture and history, as well as sightseeing. I'd highly recommended.

Response from Host, Nov 2019

Thank you so much for your review, there is always a chance to learn a little of every place. You are amazing