Nicaragua

November 17 - 27, 2023

Arrive to El Ostional, Nicaragua by the evening of Friday November 17, 2023. The expedition activities continue through Sunday November 27, 2023; participants can return home on Monday November 28, 2023 or remain for tours that require additional fees.

Total of $1,750 for program fee. This covers all meals, accommodation, transportation, project costs, and group cultural/ sightseeing expense. Airfare is not included. You may pay the program fee in two payments:

• A $250 non-refundable deposit must be paid two months prior to trip departure. 
• The $1500 remaining is due one month prior to departure.

Participants may fly in to Managua Nicaragua, Liberia Costa Rica, or San Jose Costa Rica. Consider the following as you decide on flights:

- Note that the only airlines that fly into Nicaragua are Avianca, Copa, and Air Mexico (do not book on any other airline). Ground transportation from Managua to El Ostional is about 3.5 - 4 hours away.

- Liberia is the closest airport to the Nicaragua border (1.5 hours).

- San Jose is usually the most affordable airport to fly in to but requires a 5 hour drive to the border .

*Volunteers are required to purchase their own travel insurance

Participants will stay in home stays or an AirBnB in El Ostional. Meals will be provided.

El Ostional is a coastal farming village that works together to provide for and educate all in the community, and to conserve the local environment and history. Volunteer activities may include;

• Providing after-school English classes
• Working together with local villagers to protect the sea turtle population that arrive annually in El Ostional
• Coastal cleanup, and collection of recyclable materials to make handicrafts 
• Bird counts
• Repairing local school building (fixing doors and windows, painting, etc)
• Assisting with local farming and fishing efforts
• Improving the local baseball field and playing a friendly game with the local baseball team

Expeditions include education, environmental, and cultural excursions during the evenings and weekends. This may include:

• Releasing baby sea turtles (can not be guaranteed)
• Visiting local historical sites
• Folk dancing
• Cooking classes
• A trip to the handcraft markets
• Surf beaches
• Boat tour of Las 365 Isletas, including Monkey Island
• Swimming in a volcanic crater lake
• Viewing the magma inside a volcanic crater

You may wish to extend your travel by adding one of the following tours (the cost of the tours is not included in the expedition fee):

• Ometepe volcanic islands with beach horse rides
• Kitesurfing lessons in Salinas Bay, Costa Rica
• Sloth tour, ziplining, volcano hike, thermal river in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

To join the Nicaragua Expedition, please fill out the Expedition Interest Form.