This ecotour is now over.
SCSRN has a long relationship with Unitarian-Universalist congregations around the U.S., and we always have a great time showing them around San Ramón and other parts of Nicaragua! The cost of this trip is $1,400, which includes all lodging, meals, transportation, and activities. It does NOT include airfare or COVID testing.
This itinerary is subject to change.
Day 1- Arrive to Managua, Nicaragua and spend the night in a hotel near the airport.
Day 2- Depart early for San Ramón. You’ll spend the day getting to know your host family, and will also visit some women’s cooperatives of local artisans to learn about traditional weaving and other practices that help these women provide for their families.
Day 3- Spend the morning at a rural elementary school, reading books and playing games with the children, while you learn more about life and education in rural Nicaragua. In the afternoon, you’ll learn about traditional practices with natural medicine, and end the day with a cooking class where you’ll make nacatamales, a popular Nicaraguan dish. Then you’ll enjoy a nacatamal dinner (made by the professionals) accompanied by live music.
Day 4- Start the morning with a visit to a center for children disabilities, financed by SCSRN, and then we dive into the world of coffee, one of San Ramón most important exports. We start at the home of a local coffee farmer to learn about his life and work, and then follow the bean through the entire process until we get to the mill where it is prepared for export. You’ll participate in a professional coffee tasting (called cupping) with highly skilled Nicaraguan coffee cuppers. Then a quick visit to the city of Matagalpa, and we’ll return to your host family in San Ramón.
Day 5- On this day we’ll say farewell to San Ramón, but not before first visiting a cacao cooperative and then a chocolate factory to learn about another of San Ramón exports: cacao. After lunch at the chocolate shop, we’ll continue on to the beautiful colonial city of Granada, where we’ll arrive in time for dinner and a walk around town.
Day 6- We’ll start the day with a boat tour of the tiny islands that border the shore of Lake Nicaragua, and after lunch we’ll visit an artisan village where you can many of Nicaragua’s most famed handmade crafts. You’ll have the evening to continue exploring the city.
Day 7- Visit the active Masaya volcano in the morning, and then enjoy a lunch overlooking the breathtaking Laguna de Apoyo, a crater lake. The afternoon is for doing your final souvenir shopping, and we end the day with a farewell dinner.
Day 8- Transfer to the Managua airport for departure.