The Best Things to Do in Estelí, Nicaragua (2024)

Estelí: The Crossroads of Canyons and Cloud Forests

When traveling through Nicaragua, you may find yourself in Estelí for a few nights while you explore the surrounding area, especially the hotspots of Somoto Canyon and Miraflor Cloud Forest. Though Estelí itself isn’t full of too many things to do, the city is a glimpse in to what life in Nicaragua is actually like. There’s a good chance you won’t run into any other tourists here, and knowing some basic Spanish can get you some great interactions with local people!

In this post, we’ll first discuss the best day trips from Estelí, and then move on to the best things to do in the city of Estelí!

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Best Day Trips from Estelí

Somoto Canyon

Visiting Somoto Canyon is an incredible experience, and there are various adventure activities for everyone! From horseback riding to mild canyoning, people of all ages and physical abilities can explore this magnificent piece of nature.

How to get from Estelí to Somoto Canyon

The bus from Estelí to Somoto costs 46 Cordobas (about 1 USD) and takes 2 hours. You can check the schedules here. Your tour operator might pick you up from the Somoto station (ours did), and drive you 25 minutes to the canyon. If your tour guides don’t pick you up, you can take the bus to El Espino and get off at Somoto Canyon Tours.

Check out our guide to the Somoto Canyon

Reserva Natural Miraflor

Miraflor Cloud Forest is an absolutely gorgeous jungle and farm region nestled in the Nicaraguan highlands. While we highly recommend staying overnight, this can also be done as a day trip. Here you can go on a jungle walk, horseback ride, birdwatching tour, and do some agri-tourism.

How to Get From Estelí to Miraflor

We got here through public bus, and to do this smoothly, you need to arrive at the Cotran North Station in Estelí before the 2:15 bus which passes the farm stays leaves. This is called the Camino Real Bus and costs 45 Cordoba (about 1 USD).

Most of, but not all, of the buses heading from Estelí to Yali pass through La Rampla, which is where you’ll get off and have your host pick you up, hitchhike, or walk around 30 minutes to your accommodations. These buses leave Cotran North in Estelí at 6:15 AM, 12 PM, and 3:45 PM. The name of these buses is “Centeno” and it costs 45 Cordobas (about 1 USD). Make sure to confirm with the bus driver that the bus passes through Miraflor on its way to Yali, because some of them don’t.

Check out our post on how to spend the perfect day in Miraflor!

Coffee Tour in Matagalpa or Jinotega

Matagalpa and Jinotega are two towns on the Nicaraguan coffee route that can be explored as a day trip from Estelí. Nicaraguan coffee is my favorite Central American coffee, so this would definitely be a fun region to explore. We recommend renting a car here if you plan on visiting the coffee plantations from Estelí.

Sculptor Tour

Visit the incredibly unique Jalacate farm in which Don Alberto, the owner and artist, carves a variety of sculptures into the side of the mountain and other places. His masterpiece after 40+ years of working is a 100-meter long piece of artwork carved into the cliffs. He’s an interesting character and is sure to give you your money’s worth. Book the tour here!

Things to Do in Estelí

Cigar Factory tours

Estelí is the tobacco capital of Nicaragua, with the entire real estate north of the city being tobacco farms and cigar factories. You can organize a 2-4 hour tour of one of these factories with Treehuggers. If you’re short on time, head to the Cigars Lounge Bar & Hostal for a cigar and flor de caña in a former cigar factory-turned bar. Book your cigar factory tours here!

Eat at Castillos Buffet

This is a local favorite for a good reason! For less than $5 you’ll get a massive portion of a delicious selection of meat, vegetables, a side of rice, and you can make your own salad. This spot isn’t open during dinner time, but we really recommend trying to make it here for lunch on one of your days.

City Mural Tour

Estelí has some gorgeous murals, and the stark contrast extremely politically motivated and the beautiful Nicaraguan nature is definitely something to explore. Book your tour here!

Catch a Soccer Game

While soccer isn’t as popular as baseball in Nicaragua, the fans do show out for the soccer teams! Estelí is usually the best team, so you may be able to catch a glimpse of their glory during your visit! When we went, tickets were only 100 Cordobas or 2.50 USD, and beers were only 40 Cordobas or 1 USD for the Nicaraguan cup final in Estelí!

Best Time to Visit Estelí

The best time of year to visit Estelí and Nicaragua’s northern highlands is between November and May. This is the dry season, which promises sunny and warm weather that’s perfect for exploring all that this region has to offer.

Note that the weather in Miraflor will be cooler than the rest of Nicaragua and may be rainy even during the dry season, so pack a raincoat!

Where to Stay in Estelí

There aren’t too many accommodation options in Estelí as it’s a rather small town, but there are certainly options for all budget types! We recommend staying in or close to town if you plan on doing day trips because that will make transportation much easier.

Estelí Accommodations

Apart Hotel Acuarious de Luis

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How to Get to Estelí

The easiest way to get into Nicaragua from outside of the country is to fly into Managua (MGA), which serves as the major gateway to the country. Numerous airlines connect Managua to various international destinations.

How to Get to Estelí from Managua

The cheapest way to get to Estelí from Managua is by bus. Buses leave every hour/hour and a half from Managua to Estelí starting at 4 am and ending around 7 pm. The bus ride takes about 2.5 hours.

If you can, we highly recommend renting a car in Managua. This will give you the freedom to explore Nicaragua’s northern highlands without a tour guide or using public transportation. Be aware that if you want to drive into Miraflor, you’ll need a vehicle with 4WD as the roads are not good.

How to Get to Estelí from León

Buses from León to Estelí leave relatively often – just go to the bus station and ask. Note that if you’re heading straight to Miraflor, you’ll need to catch the bus that leaves around 11 to get to Estelí in time for the bus to Miraflor.

Keep Exploring Nicaragua….

Our Favorite Travel Resources

Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.

Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.

Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.

Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.

International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.

eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.

Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!

The Best Things to Do in Estelí, Nicaragua