Granada, Nicaragua is a beautiful colonial city on a lake. While not the biggest city in the country, it is still very important as a center of commerce and tourism. One of the top things to do in Granada is visit the little islands, or isletas. This post showcases Las Isletas in photos.
This week I am not traveling solo, yay! My partner in adventures is Lyna, who is visiting from the wintry north. We are enjoying all that Granada has to offer: nature, wildlife, sun, hotel pools, music and outdoor bars and restaurants.
So far in Granada we have gone out on the Calzada, taken a boat tour of Las Isletas, swum at our hotel pool, kayaked around Las Isletas, walked the Malécon, enjoyed live music in the square, and more. Las Isletas is definitely a highlight!
ABOUT Las Isletas
Las Isletas, or the Granada Islands, are a group of 360+ small islands in the lake off the shore of Granada. These islands were created by a volcanic eruption of nearby Vulcan Mombacho, another must visit in the region.
These are private islands and many have only one house. Some are businesses, like pool bars or hotels, and one is entirely given over to monkeys. Called Monkey Island it is the highlight of a trip here on all the panga or boat tours leaving from the Granada docks multiple times a day.
We saw Las Isletas two ways: first on the panga boat tour, and then on a more leisurely kayak.
boat tour of las isletas
The 1 hour boat tour, which cost $25 for the two of us. While we saw monkeys swinging from the trees and running on land, unfortunately we couldn’t snap photos fast enough. Sorry!
kayaking las isletas
After the tour, we had a couple of smoothies and walked down the road a short way to rent kayaks from a super nice man with Inuit Kayaks. He was happy to hear that we were from Canada and told us that Inuit means new beginnings. I couldn’t find that definition anywhere, but he was so happy and positive, we weren’t about to deny him.
We kayaked back to the isletas, trying to get to the monkey island to give them the bananas we bought for the sole purpose, but couldn’t make it that far in the 2 hours we had. It wasn’t a washout, because we saw a lot of birds, including wild turkeys and the always-present-in-Nicaragua roosters, and got some good exercise on a beautiful day!
post tour walk
We were quite wet for the walk home, even though every single taxi honked at us in offer of a ride, we hoofed it to see more of the lakeshore and the city. The lake was pretty but there was so much garbage on the beach and along the street it made it a little bittersweet and difficult to fully enjoy. People were swimming in the lake and horses and donkeys and dogs drinking from it. Sunday in Granada!
The day was fun and beautiful – I hope you enjoyed seeing Las Isletas in photos.
