Many people come to Managua for work, wrap up their meetings on Friday, and find themselves with two free days before the flight home. This post is for that: an unhurried weekend, without too much early rising and without crossing the city three times a day.
The plan assumes you're staying in Villa Fontana, that you don't have your own car, and that you'd rather rest than pack the schedule.
Friday afternoon — landing
Don't fill up Friday. You're coming off a work week and your body knows it.
If you arrive with daylight left, the best first stop is Loma de Tiscapa, about ten minutes away. It's a quick climb, and from the lookout you see the whole city: the crater with the lagoon inside, Lake Xolotlán behind it, and the volcanoes on the horizon. Half an hour there and Managua starts to make sense.
Afterwards, a relaxed dinner. Galerías Santo Domingo is a few blocks from the guesthouse and has restaurants of every kind. Not exotic, but on a Friday night the point is not having to think about it.
If you'd rather go local, ask us: around the corner there are fritangas that open at night, with grilled meat, gallo pinto and fried plantain. It's Nicaraguan street food, and it's excellent.
Saturday morning — the historic centre
Have breakfast without rushing. Then head out early, before ten, because from eleven onward the sun is strong and downtown has little shade.
The centre's circuit is done on foot once you get there: the ruined Old Cathedral, Plaza de la Revolución and the National Palace of Culture, now a museum worth the entry fee. It's all close together and takes a good two hours to walk through.
It's a visit that impresses more than you'd expect. The roofless cathedral, standing since 1972, tells the city's story better than any sign could.
Saturday midday — a mandatory break
Here's the single most important tip in this whole post: don't fight the midday sun. From eleven to three the heat is serious, and walking around under it will ruin your afternoon.
Head back to the guesthouse, have lunch, nap for a while in the rocking chair on the porch, or stay under the air conditioning. It's exactly what everyone here does, and it's not laziness — it's how you live in the tropics.
Saturday afternoon — the boardwalk
Around four, once the sun eases up, head to Puerto Salvador Allende, the boardwalk on Lake Xolotlán.
It's where locals stroll on weekends: families, couples, music, food kiosks, boats offering short rides on the lake. You can eat fish and traditional food looking out at the water.
Stay until sunset. The sun going down over the Xolotlán, with the volcanoes' silhouette in the background, is one of the best things the city offers, and it costs nothing.
Sunday — leave the city (or don't)
Here two paths open up, depending on your energy.
Option A: the volcano
Masaya Volcano National Park is about forty minutes away. It is one of the few volcanoes in the world where the road takes you by vehicle right to the edge of the active crater. You look in and see the inside smoking; on good days you can catch the glow of the lava.
On the way back, if you want to stretch the day, the Masaya crafts market is the best in the country for something handmade, and the Catarina viewpoint lets you see Laguna de Apoyo from above.
It's a long half-day plan. It's worth arranging transport early.
Option B: the water
Laguna de Apoyo is about fifty minutes away: a lagoon inside a crater, with warm, clear, calm water. There are lakeside spots where, for very little money, you can spend the day with a hammock, kayak and lunch.
It's the more restful of the two plans, and probably the best if you're coming off a week of meetings. You go and come back in the same day, unhurried.
Option C: do nothing
Also a valid choice, and more often than people admit, the right one. A long breakfast, the rocking chair on the porch, a book, the garden. Sunday in Managua is a slow day by nature, and going along with that isn't wasting the trip.
What we've learned hosting people
- Two activities a day is the right number. Three is pushing it and ends in exhaustion.
- Everything moves around the sun. Early morning and sunset are for being out; midday is for staying in.
- Arrange transport the night before. Improvising a taxi early on a Sunday wastes the morning.
- Cash in córdobas. The best weekend spots — the boardwalk, the market, the fritangas — don't take cards.