This ecotour is now over.
We’re so happy you’re interested in this tour! Please keep in mind that the following itinerary is subject to change. The cost of this trip is $1,400 and includes all meals, lodging, activities, and transportation. It does not include airfare. Depending on travel regulations for re-entry to the U.S. at the time of departure, there may be an additional cost for a COVID-19 test. If you have any questions, please contact us!
DAY | TIME | ACTIVITY | NOTES |
Day 1
Managua-FEV
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02:00 PM | Depart Managua for Finca Esperanza Verde (FEV) | If travelers cannot find a flight that arrives before this departure time, they must fly in the night before. SCSRN can help with accommodations at the hotel Las Mercedes. |
05:00 PM | Arrive at FEV | Receive cabin assignments. | |
06:30 PM | Dinner | FEV kitchen staff will have been made aware of any special dietary restrictions in the group. Food is made with fresh ingredients from the farm’s organic garden. | |
After dinner | Meet the staff | FEV staff will introduce themselves, and you will learn a little about the history of FEV. | |
Day 2
FEV |
06:15 AM | Bird watching | Bird watching tours are available each morning at FEV starting at 6:15am. These tours are optional. |
07:30 AM | Breakfast | ||
09:00 AM | Coffee Tour | Learn about how coffee is processed on the farm’s facilities. | |
12:30 PM | Lunch | ||
02:00 PM | Guided hiking tour | Go on a medium-intensity hike with a local guide in the cloud forest. | |
06:30 PM | Dinner | ||
After dinner | Free time | In the dining and resting area of FEV, you can find board games, books, and a Wi-Fi connection! | |
Day 3
FEV |
07:30 AM | Breakfast | Bird watching before for those interested. |
08:30 AM | RSP Visit | Visit a rural primary school, Las Delicias, which is supported by the Barrett Family through our Rural School Partnership program. Play games and do crafts with children at the school. | |
12:30 PM | Lunch | ||
02:30 PM | Cooking lesson | Learn how traditional corn tortillas are made, and artisanal coffee roasting. | |
04:00 PM | Tour of the organic garden | Learn how the farm’s organic garden is used to create FEV’s delicious meals. | |
06:30 PM | Dinner | ||
07:30 PM | Bonfire and music | Local musicians will play traditional Nicaraguan music. | |
Day 4
FEV- San Ramón |
07:30 AM | Breakfast | Bird watching before for those interested. |
09:30 AM | Depart for San Ramón | You will say your goodbyes to the FEV staff and head for the town of San Ramón. | |
10:00 AM | Visit to San Roque | Visit a rural community to learn about how local farmers produce coffee and see some of SCSRN’s current projects in rural San Ramón. | |
12:00 PM | Arrive at SCSRN office | You will receive a brief welcome and orientation before being taken to your host family’s home for introductions and to settle in. | |
12:30 PM | Lunch with host family. | Host families will have been made aware of any special dietary restrictions you may have. | |
02:00 PM | Coffee dry mill | Travel out to a dry mill to learn what happens to coffee after it leaves the farm and how it is prepared for export. | |
05:30 PM | Dance presentation | A local children’s dance troupe will perform traditional Nicaraguan dance for you at the public library. | |
06:30 PM | Dinner | Dinner with your host family. | |
After dinner | Free time | You can walk around town, go to the cyber café or SCSRN office to use the internet, or just stay home and relax. Your host families will expect you around 9pm. | |
Day 5
San Ramón |
07:30 AM | Breakfast | With your host family. |
08:30 AM | Los Pipitos | Visit Los Pipitos, a center for children with disabilities that SCSRN has supported since 2008. | |
09:30 AM | Indigenous weaving community | Ride out to El Chile, a community known for its traditional weaving practices. Visit some women’s cooperatives for a demonstration of different weaving techniques. | |
12:30 PM | Lunch | With your host family. | |
02:00 PM | Recycled paper Co-op | Watch a demonstration of this women’s group, and learn how they lifted their families out of poverty by making recycled paper products. | |
03:30 PM | Seed Jewelry Co-op | Attend a workshop to learn how these women use local seeds to make jewelry to sell and support their families. | |
06:30 PM | Cooking lesson and dinner | Learn how traditional nacatamales are made. Afterwards, enjoy a nacatamal dinner with live local musicians. | |
After dinner | Free time | ||
Day 6
San Ramón |
07:30 AM | Breakfast | With host family. |
09:00 AM | Cacao Cooperative | Visit a cacao cooperative to learn about how small-scale farmers get their cacao from the tree to the fermented bean that is ready to be made into chocolate | |
12:30 PM | Lunch | Travel into the city of Matagalpa to eat at a local restaurant. | |
02:00 PM | Tour of a chocolate factory | Tour a local bean-to-bar chocolate factory to see the process of how fermented chocolate beans are turned into chocolate. | |
03:30 PM | Tour of Matagalpa | Visit some of the local landmarks of this beautiful northern city. | |
06:00 PM | Dinner | With host family. | |
After dinner | Free time | ||
Day 7
San Ramón- Granada
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07:30 AM | Breakfast | With host family. |
08:30 AM | Depart for Granada | ||
12:00 PM | Arrive to Granada | Check in to hotel in Granada. | |
12:30 PM | Lunch | Eat at a local restaurant on La Calzada, the famous pedestrian street in the middle of the city. | |
02:30 PM | Isleta tour | Take a boat tour of the tiny islands that border Granada in Lake Nicaragua. | |
04:00 PM | Free time | Walk around town, shop, or just rest at your hotel. | |
07:00 PM | Dinner | Eat the best steak of your life in El Zaguan, one of Granada’s most celebrated restaurants. | |
Day 8
Granada-Managua |
07:30 AM (possibly earlier, depends on flights) | Breakfast | Immediately after breakfast, depart for the airport in Managua.
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