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Best Time to Visit Ometepe: When I’d Go Back
I visited Ometepe at the end of August, which technically put me right in the rainy season. And considering how much I hate having travel plans ruined by rain, you would think I’d now be telling you to avoid August completely. Except I wouldn’t. Ometepe was ridiculously green when we visited, it was hot, we spent time at the beach, drove around the island on the bike and I absolutely loved it. I never left thinking we had chosen a terrible month to be there. That said, if I could choose exactly when to go back, I probably wouldn’t pick August again. I’d go during the dry season when there…
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Cocos Hostel Ometepe Review: My One-Night Stay
We arrived in Ometepe with absolutely nothing booked, which was basically how we were traveling through Central America at the time. Once we got off the ferry, we opened Booking.com, looked for somewhere cheap that wasn’t too far from us and found Cocos Hostel with a private room for around $12 total. That was enough for us. We had already rented a bike near the port, so we jumped on and drove over. The hostel is right in the center of Moyogalpa and within walking distance of the port, which ended up being one of the best things about staying there. → Find Cocos Hostel here Location For me, the…
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How Many Days in Ometepe? How Long I’d Stay Next Time
We stayed in Ometepe for a really short time and, looking back, I definitely would have given the island more days. We had enough time to rent a bike, explore, spend time at the beach and attempt the waterfall hike that almost destroyed me, but there was still a lot of Ometepe we never got to see. And honestly, the main reason I would stay longer isn’t even because I have some giant list of things I still need to do. I really loved being on the island. Give me a bike, a beach, cheap food and two volcanoes in the background and I am perfectly happy staying there for…
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Is Ometepe Worth Visiting? My Experience on the Island
Ometepe was our first stop in Nicaragua during a three-week trip backpacking all eight countries of Central America by land. We had just left Costa Rica, which really wasn’t for me, and by the time we crossed the border into Nicaragua I was more than ready for a change. Then we arrived in Ometepe. We got off the ferry, found cheap motorbikes to rent right outside the port, piled ourselves and our ridiculous amount of backpacks onto one and started exploring. I loved the island almost immediately, and if I had been traveling alone with nowhere I needed to be next, I probably would have stayed much longer than we…
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Ometepe Island: The Nicaragua Stop I Immediately Fell in Love With
When a friend sends you a message asking if you want to backpack all eight countries of Central America by land in three weeks, there is really only one correct answer. YES. Nicaragua was country #53 in my dream of one day visiting every country in the world, and it was the third country of this trip after Panama and Costa Rica. Ometepe Island was our first stop in Nicaragua, and I swear I knew almost immediately that I loved this place. Panama had been mixed for me. Panama City didn’t impress me that much, while Bocas del Toro was cool but didn’t quite live up to what I had…
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Costa Rica to Nicaragua: Journey to My Country #53/197
I’m going to break the suspense right now and tell you that Nicaragua was probably my favorite country in Central America. And considering the absolute disaster that my time in Costa Rica had been, it is kind of funny how I somehow knew I was going to love Nicaragua almost as soon as I crossed the border. I had a hard time in Costa Rica and no, I’m not judging an entire country based on spending barely more than a day there. It simply was not for me, and by the time we left I was more than ready to get out. My friend and I were traveling through all…
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Solo Travel Europe: 15 Disasters From My First Year of Solo Travel
I found this post buried on one of my old travel blogs, originally written in January 2016 after my first year of solo travel, and there was absolutely no way I was leaving it there. 2015 was the year I discovered how much I loved traveling, but it was also the year travel decided to repeatedly kick me in the ass. I was still figuring everything out as I went, and every missed bus, broken bank card, terrible hostel and transport disaster felt like a full-blown crisis. Looking back now, some of these situations are hilarious. At the time, absolutely not. So here are 15 of the worst moments from…
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Backpacking Costa Rica: The Country I Knew Almost Immediately Wasn’t for Me
Costa Rica was the second country of my three-week Central America trip and officially country 52 out of 197. We had just left Bocas del Toro in Panama and were making our way north with basically no fixed plan other than eventually reaching Mexico. Costa Rica was supposed to be another stop along the way, and Puerto Viejo sounded like the obvious place to start because everyone kept talking about how cool it was. Unfortunately, Costa Rica and I did not exactly fall in love. I barely spent any time there, so I know it might sound unfair to say it became one of my least favorite countries in Central…
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Panama City Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Plan Your Trip
Panama City was the first stop of my three-week trip through Central America, and if I am being very accurate, we did not exactly arrive with a master plan. We landed at night with no accommodation booked, took public transportation from the airport, eventually found our way to Casa Areka, spent one full day exploring the city, and that same evening got on a night bus toward Bocas del Toro. So my first Panama City experience was fast, cheap and slightly chaotic. I have separate posts covering things like where to stay, safety, how many days you need and exactly what I would do with one day. This Panama City…
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Panama City on a Budget: How I Did It on €20 a Day
Panama City was the first stop of my three-week Central America backpacking trip, and for most of that trip our budget was around €20 a day. Some days we spent a little more, some days less, but that was basically the number we were trying to stick to while moving through the region. Panama City can get expensive really fast if you start staying in nicer hotels, eating every meal in tourist areas and booking tours every day. We did the complete opposite. We stayed in a cheap hostel, had breakfast included, cooked simple dinners, ate one proper meal out, used public transport and walked way more than I would…
