San Carlos (Nicaragua).
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Overview

San Carlos is a city in Rio San Juan department of Nicaragua.

Understand

San Carlos itself might not be the most interesting or beautiful city in Nicaragua, but it serves as an important local transportation hub and the last place to stock up when heading into the more rural parts of the Rio San Juan Region. However, in the 2000s and 2010s, the town was awakened from its decades long slumber when the Malecón (lakefront) was redesigned, turning it into a nice place to catch the sunset or a local fiesta or just spend a lazy afternoon. With the construction of the new carretera to Managua (reducing the travel time for the 300 km from just over 12 hours by bus to 6 hours) and the completion of a bridge across the Rio San Juan just out of town there is bound to be a lot of development in the next few years.

Get in

By boat There are boats coming in from El Castillo and San Juan Del Norte. There are boat connections to Solentiname Islands and to the villages on the southern shore of the Lago de Nicaragua.

In years past, there were boats to neighboring Los Chiles (Costa Rica) and all the way to Ometepe as of September 2018 neither of them has gone in over a year and there is no sign of them ever starting up again. However, the website of the national port administration unhelpfully still lists the Ometepe ferry.

There are buses to and from Managua. All buses to Managua stop in Juigalpa but some also do the San Carlos Juigalpa trip on its own. Please note that the buses that say "Los Chiles" on the windshield do not go to Los Chiles Costa Rica but rather to a Nicaraguan town of the same name. If you want to go to the frontier, take one that says "Frontera" or "San Pancho".

The new airports in Sun Juan del Norte and on Ometepe have scheduled flights to and from San Carlos as well.

Get around

It's a small city - everything is in walking distance. A local bus exists but is not useful for tourists. If you arrive at the airport, taxis should be waiting for you to take you and your luggage into town.

See

There are really only two sights in San Carlos - the malecon, and the fort just above the central park. The malecon can be seen in about 10 minutes, but you can definitely enjoy a lazy afternoon in sunny weather there and the sundowns are a sight to behold. The fort is interesting for those who read Spanish. If you don't, it's really only notable for its views of the lake and river.

Do

Watch a baseball game. The stadium is close to the airport and although the local team has traditionally been abysmal and gets a pounding from pretty much the rest of the league, it's a cheap fun way to get in contact with the locals. Any taxi driver can get you there (it is quite some distance to walk).

You could theoretically swim in the lake at the malecon. The locals do. However, as a lot of San Carlos' untreated sewage used to be drained into the lake, use your own best judgment. If you do want to swim, there are several piscinas (i.e. a swimming pool and someone selling drinks and food) — nothing too fancy and not in walking distance, but any taxi can get you there.

Around November the malecon comes alive with the Carnaval Acuatico, held mostly on boats on the lake and the Rio San Juan. Its eighth edition in 2016 was held on the weekend of October 15.

There is a national sport-fishing tournament, usually around September.

Buy

There are numerous ATMs and at least two banks around town.

San Carlos did not have a supermarket for a long time (a Palí store has opened) but you can fulfill most of your daily needs at small ventas (also known as pulperias) all around town. The mercado has a decent selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, clothes and toiletries. Prices are slightly higher than in Managua and some prices (e.g. those of plantains) undergo a weekly cycle with the transports from Ometepe. As the rest of the Rio San Juan departamento is even less accessible, many travelers stock up on essentials before moving on.

Some shops accept Costa Rican colones and there are numerous cambistas that will gladly exchange Dollars Colones and Cordobas. For colones this is your last chance if you aren't headed for Costa Rica, so exchange them. Be careful when changing money on the street as it only takes bad luck and lack of caution to meet the one dishonest cambista playing a trick on you. All ATMs will dispense both dollars and cordobas, though the dollars may sometimes have marks on them which means some merchants might refuse them.

Eat

Around the Malecon there are several little restaurants where you can get good food from 7AM. La Fortaleza, the last of the restaurants on the raised platform right in front of the Malecon's central square, comes highly recommended with friendly staff and excellent prices. Quick service and super close to the pier if you have limited time. They are happy to accommodate vegetarians.

At 11 am the more fancy restaurants open but don't expect too much. Fish is the thing to eat in San Carlos (if you are not vegetarian).

Above La Fortaleza, with an entrance on the nearest side-street, is Restaurant Kaoma. Nicely decorated with a great view of the water, this is the place to sit and spend an evening with a few drinks.

Attached to Hotel Cabinas Leyko is Restaurant Don Leo. They also have a Spanish&English menu, but more reasonably priced than Kaoma (though without the atmosphere) and with excellent WiFi.

Restaurante El Mirador. Nicely located with great views over the river and decorated with Spanish cannons (supposedly from El Castillo and supposedly used by Rafaela Herrera repelling the English pirates in the 18th century) but the food more often than not can't compete with the view.

Drink

San Carlos has two places where the young locals go to party drink and dance. both close to the malecon El Kaoma has an air conditioned (read: freezing cold) disco downstairs that really gets going on Karaoke nights (usually Thursday). Lots of fun to be had, just don't expect to know the songs.

La Champa is a place where you can go to dance. It is usually packed on Saturday nights but half empty on Friday evenings. It closes at 2AM but you can take out a beer.

As San Carlos is a port town, some of the bars can have a bit of an unsavory feeling to them, but the two discos mentioned above are safe.

Sleep

There are several budget Hospedajes all around the Malecon and in the streets leading up the hill, but San Carlos is only a place to stay if you arrive late at night with no forward-transit options.

Hotel Cabinas Leyko. nice option with parking, friendly staff, and free water - though not particularly cheap by Nicaraguan standards. Clean rooms with complimentary soap and shampoo. They can also arrange tours throughout the area.

Hotel Gran Lago. The location of this hotel right at the Malecon is a blessing and a curse at once. On the one hand almost everything is in close walking distance, on the other hand during the frequent events at the Malecon it will get loud.