San Juan Del Nicaragua/Norte/Greytown

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Our Arrival

The slow boat from El Castillo arrived at 4pm. From the port turn left to get into the town. Walk until you get to the main street you will know when you are there) and there is a map of the town.



Where We Stayed

Hostal/Hotelto Evo - C$300 for a room with bathroom. When you reach the main street turn right for a couple of blocks and it is on the corner. Nice room with mosquito nets. You can book tours as well.



What We Did

Trip to Graytown - $25 each min of 3 people. Booked through our hotel. Visisted the old dredge/ship, the graveyards of Greytown, the sanbank by the sea and a lagoon. Our guide spoke English and had laminated old pictures and maps of the area. Very informative but expensive due to fuel costs.



Where We Ate

Anywhere that was open! The town is a very strange place. It is geared up to receive a lot of tourists however only about 6 a day visit so the town is full of closed hotels and restaurants and bars. We were speaking to a guy there who said they really want tourists to come but because of the transport options not many come however the transport won't improve until the demand by tourists is there. There are a few places still open and small shops as well.



Where We Went Next

There is no boat to Bluefields! Aparently there used to be a ferry a couple of years ago but this has since stopped. We were told this was because the ferry had a bigger engine than the police boats so they wouldn' let it run as they couldn't catch it. The only way to Bluefields from here is a private boat, we were quoted $600 - $800 for up to 8 people. There was 1 guy who sometimes took people to Bluefields for $50 each but when we were there his boat was broken.

We therefore had to go back to San Carlos. The fast boat was full when we enquired the day before departure and leaves at 5:15am. The slow boat leaves at 5am, buy a ticket on the boat C$380 and takes 11 hours. You can get off in Costa Rica to buy snacks as the boat stops on both sides of the river. Look out for crocs and caimans, we saw about 9 on the way back. There is a toilet on the back of the boat.

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