Masaya is a caldera located in Masaya, Nicaragua, 20 km south of the capital Managua. It is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, and one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. The complex volcano is composed of a nested set of calderas and craters, the largest of which is Las Sierras shield volcano and caldera.
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WANT TO GO ON A BUDGET? HERE’S HOW!
My boyfriend and I have been backpacking around the world for 16 months. This trip landed us in Central America!
Since the moment we landed we were looking forward to seeing Volcano Masaya at night, here’s how we did it on a budget.
If you are staying in Masaya (or Granada) take a chicken bus towards Managua and ask the driver to let you off at the entrance to Volcan Masaya. This will cost you about 10 Córdoba per person. (Cost is from Masaya). Once you enter the park there is no way to avoid the $10 per person park entry fees. They will not let you hike to the top so you have to take a provided transportation for $3 usd per person round trip. AND we were the only two in the van at this cost. Our driver allowed us 1 hour at the top.
I would not worry about visiting the Museum, while it’s interesting it’s definitely not as cool as seeing lava at the top, so I would spend the duration of your hour at the top.
Once we arrived back down at the bottom we walked to the road directly outside of the Volcan Masaya entrance where it was well lit and flagged down another bus headed in the direction of Masaya for another 10 Córdoba per person!
Overall this route cost 1...
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Disregard all local guides placing reviews. They just want to make the easiest buck whilst providing the shittiest experience.
The promise: Lava during sunset, beautiful views, an amazing experience! $20 per person and you go up with the two of you to see lava! You’ll be back by 6:30 to 7!
The result: Being packed in a mini bus with 15 people after a 5 minute ride to the outer edges of Grenada with the two of us. A 20 minute ride to the park entrance. A 60-90 minute wait in the bus at the edge of the park before you enter. Seeing the sunset out of a minibus with 15 other privileged backpackers. Finally up there, getting 15 minutes to check out the smoke pit where you can hardly see any lava. Being whistled back to the bus like a bunch of dogs and then a lovely ride back for 40 minutes. Back by 08:30, free at last.
The upsides: Airco in the bus. A beautiful full moon.
In short, the worst $20 I spent...
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Really cool experience! I booked a tour through the Selina Hostel location in Granada. It was a short tour, but our guide was really knowledgable and friendly. Once you get to the park, be careful about walking up to certain view points through the grassy paths. Our guide warned us that during the night, venomous snakes hide in the grass and it is not safe to walk once it becomes dark. The main viewpoint near the parking lot becomes very crowded because there are not many great viewpoints of the lava. The people that arrive early tend to "hog" the viewpoint. I recommend that if you notice someone has been standing at the viewpoint for a while, politely tap them and ask if you are able to take a quick picture or video. I did this to plenty of people and they were more than happy to move over so I could get a chance to...
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