Travel
Throughout the semester you'll have the opportunity to explore not just Nicaragua's, but many of Central America's most amazing spots. As part of the History and Culture course you'll visit a variety of important sites across the country as well as take a long weekend trip to Costa Rica. Every few weekends the whole group will head out on trips to various destinations, many of them shown below. These trips are covered as part of your tuition and offer excellent opportunities to get to know your classmates, the local community, and the beauty the region has to offer. In addition you'll have plenty of free time on other weekends to visit nearby spots, and then ten days for Spring Break to travel anywhere in the region. A variety of the commonly visited spots are show below: roll over them for a description and some images.
Throughout the semester you'll have the opportunity to explore not just Nicaragua's, but many of Central America's most amazing spots. As part of the History and Culture course you'll visit a variety of important sites across the country as well as take a long weekend trip to Costa Rica. Every few weekends the whole group will head out on trips to various destinations, many of them shown below. These trips are covered as part of your tuition and offer excellent opportunities to get to know your classmates, the local community, and the beauty the region has to offer. In addition you'll have plenty of free time on other weekends to visit nearby spots, and then ten days for Spring Break to travel anywhere in the region. A variety of the commonly visited spots are show below: roll over them for a description and some images.
There's no city quite like Nicaragua's capital of Managua. Lacking both a downtown and street names, it's quite the adventure just to move around! Leveled by an earthquake in 1972, much of the old downtown area is deserted. However the remains of the massive cathedral can still be visited, as well as the government buildings and museums still open nearby. Other highlights include visiting the top of Tiscapa, where a huge statute to Nicaragua hero Augusto Sandino rests. There you'll find incredible views over the city and the nearby laguna, which you can also cross with a zip line.
A historic city on the shores of a vast freshwater lake, Granada was once Nicaragua's capital city. Razed by pirates and briefly overthrown and occupied by the American William Walker, it is a city rich in history. Nowadays it's a comfortable, relaxed place to wander around. Nearby activities include the beautiful Laguna de Apollo, climbing Momboco Volcano, taking a boat tour through hundreds of small islands dotting the shoreline, visiting it's old forts, or zip-lining through it's forests.
One of Nicaragua's oldest and largest cities, it is a filled with magnificent churches, excellent museums, and a rich history. A hotspot during the civil war, an impressive set of graffiti is scattered across the town telling the story of the revolution. Also nearby is Nicaragua's newest adventure: Volcano Boarding!
Halfway between Managua and Granada lies a massive steaming volcano, easy to climb around, impressive to view, and it even offers the chance to hike it during a full moon, or explore the lava tube caves at its base.
As part of the History and Culture class, students travel to Costa Rica and visit everything from museums and major tourist attractions to poor slums where many Nicaraguans have settled in hopes of find better employment opportunities.
A rural coffee region with traditional flavor, beautiful landscapes, and lots of great hiking.
A large volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, this is a rustic and beautiful location which offers great beaches, bird watching, biking, hiking and more. Then of course there's the best reason of all: to climb one off the two volcanoes that make up the island.
A boat trip along the San Juan River, which makes up the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is a chance to explore some of Nicaragua's beautiful nature, as well as its history. A highlight for many is the visit to the fort at El Castillo.
Nicaragua has nearly 500 miles of coastline, and many spots along the western coast are considered some of the best in the world for surfing. A variety of weekend outings include surfing, and it's only an hour by bus from our home base where you can catch some excellent waves.
During Spring Break most students travel up to Honduras and as part of their trip visit Copan ruins, a famous Mayan ruin just south of the Guatemala border. The ruins are extensive and one could easily spend days there: explore the temples, examine the carvings, and be amazed by the rise and fall of this amazing empire.
A highlight of the Spring Break trip is often the island of Utila. Well known as one of the best backpacker islands in the world, it offers incredible scuba diving for both beginners and those who have gone before. Diving takes place on the second largest reef in the world, and it even offers a chance to see the gigantic Whale Shark. Best of all, it's one of the most affordable places on the planet for scuba lessons and certification.
For those who go, a final adventure on the Spring Break is a visit to La Ceiba, a fun seaside town with a variety of adventure activities surrounding it. The most famous is white water rafting down the Rio Cangrejal.
