Things to do on the Corn Islands (2024)

Overview of the Majestic Corn Islands

The Corn Islands are Nicaragua’s very own tropical paradise that amaze visitors from all over the world. There aren’t loads of things to do on the Corn islands, but the tranquil and easy-going vibe makes them the perfect travel destination. From relaxing at the beaches to exploring the depths of the Caribbean Sea to eating some delicious sea food, the Corn Islands are definitely worth a stop on everyone’s Nicaraguan travel itinerary.

The islands are often skipped due to high costs or difficulty of transportation, but there are ways to do them on a budget and get here seamlessly. Trust us, the journey here was an amazing experience in itself! Let’s get into everything you need to know before visiting, as well as the best things to do on the Corn Islands!

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Differences Between Big Corn and Little Corn

Big Corn, as the name suggests, has bigger everything. Bigger land mass, beaches, swamps, jungles, and more. On Big Corn, you can find beaches that are fairly long without a soul in sight. Big Corn is much easier to get to and there are more locals and less tourists/ex-pats than Little Corn.

Little Corn has a variety of homestays, comedors (family-run restaurants), hipster-type restaurants, dive shops, and a large number of expats. For those who are interested in diving, Little Corn is the place for you. If you don’t dive, you probably only need one and a half days to explore Little Corn, though you can spend longer lounging on the beaches if you want! Little Corn is more expensive, although Big Corn isn’t super cheap either. In the rest of this post, we’ll go over the best things to do on each of the islands!

The Best Things to Do on Little Corn

Go Diving in the Caribbean

Diving is THE thing to do on Little Corn. There are around 20 dive sites a short boat ride away, many of which have vibrant marine life waiting to be visited. We did our advanced open water certification at Dolphin Dive, which included 5 dives over the course of two days. This was such a great experience, and if you’re a beginner diver, you can do a try-dive mini course or your open water certification here. Make sure to check out their hotel + dive packages!

Hang Out on Otto Beach

Otto Beach is the best beach on Little Corn, and is a beautiful spot to spend the day. You can snorkel Otto reef (and Stanley Reef if you have a boat) to see some great marine life. You can also book accommodations on this side of the island if you want to be away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Little Corn! I’m joking, but there are a few less restaurants and people over here!

Boat Trip to Pearl Cays

For even more secluded beauty, head on over to the Pearl Cays to check out a beautiful string of small islands. Here you can snorkel, scuba dive, watch the endangered Hawksbill Turtles in their nesting grounds, or just relax on the beautiful white sand beaches. You can even stay here in the luxury villas!

Wing or Kite Surf

The Corn Islands are the perfect place to try out wing and kite surfing. Cruising through beautiful blue waters and looking at the palm trees lining the island is the perfect way to spend an afternoon on the island! You can find more information here.

Take a Caribbean Cooking Class

The Corn Islands are famous for Rundown, which is a fish stew that is usually prepared for hours in advance of the meal. The Corn Islands are also a great place to try the delicious seafood curries, grilled lobster, fried fish, and more! If you want to learn how to make these delicious dishes, try Granny’s Cooking class! Text +50558820611 or visit the green shack here.

Walk the Island

Little Corn has so many more pathways than what appears on Google maps. You can walk through jungle, small farmland, and neighborhoods, which we really enjoyed.

Walking the island: things to do on little corn nicaragua

As a general rule of thumb, anywhere you see restaurants or hotels, there are pathways that lead there, even though Google Maps may not show them. Here’s a slightly more detailed map of Little Corn, although it’s still missing a bunch of pathways.

Where to Stay on Little Corn

We stayed at both Christina’s Guest House and Los Delfines and had great experiences at both! However, it’s important to note that the weather is quite hot on the Corn Islands, so having AC may be a necessity for some people. Definitely check that before booking anything – Christina’s Guest House does not have AC but Los Delfines does.

Little Corn Accommodations

BUDGET

Christina’s Guest House

Where to Eat on Little Corn

Turned Turtle Bar and Restaurant: The absolute best vibes and ambiance and most delicious breakfast sandwiches. However, it is a bit more expensive than other options!
Tranquilo Cafe: This spot is always busy, and it has fun events/promotions each night: Tacos and Trivia on Tuesdays, Live Music on Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Fish & Chips Fridays, and Nacho Nights on Saturdays!
Melissa’s Kitchen: The best curries on the Corn Islands!
Rest El Bosque: Cheap food with huge portions
Panadería and Restaurant Gloria: For delicious and cheap banana bread, meat pies, coconut bread, as well as cheap meals
Desideri: For Italian food and fun juices!
The Shack: For all things breakfast. Make sure to try their coconut bread French toast!

Best Things to Do on Big Corn

Cycle/Walk/Golf cart the Island

Big Corn is still fairly small, and you can explore most of the island in 3-4 hours on foot. You can also rent electric bikes, regular bikes, mopeds, golf carts and even cars if you’re tight on time. We enjoyed walking because there’s a few places that cars and even bikes couldn’t get to.

Relax on Picnic and Arenas Beaches

Picnic and Arenas beaches (named after the hotels that are on them), are the best places to go and have a drink. They are the most popular beaches on Big Corn, and from here you can go have a few drinks at the Bit Coin Island bar!

beach: things to do in big corn nicaragua

Catch a Baseball Game

Big Corn has quite the impressive baseball stadium, (Karen Tucker, not the other one) and the people here absolutely love the sport! The entire Big Corn community comes out to watch the games. Tickets cost less than $2 and you can buy drinks and snacks here as well! You’ll have to ask your host about when they play!

Long Bay and Silver Sand Beach

The Long Bay and Silver Sand Beaches are great for snorkeling when the water isn’t too choppy. These beaches are usually vacant, and are extremely peaceful. We didn’t see a soul when we went!

Dive!

While Little Corn is more popular for diving, Big Corn also has diving options. Diving here is cheaper than diving on Little Corn!

Grab Drinks at a Floating Bar

Bit Coin Island Bar is a floating tiki hut bar just off the Picnic and Arenas beaches. You can buy drinks individually or pay $10 for 5 plastic “Bitcoins” which you then exchange for drinks. Canned drinks cost 1 Bitcoin while cocktails can be anywhere from 2-4 Bitcoins. To get there, simply wave over the boat skipper to come pick you up! Make sure the copy cat bar next to it doesn’t try to pick you up as they charge you for the boat ride.

Floating Bar: things to do in big corn nicaragua

Hike Mount Pleasant

Climb up the Mount Pleasant Hill and be rewarded with beautiful views of Big Corn and the surrounding sea. This can be done at any time of day but hiking in the heat can be brutal! There’s a watch tower up here that you can climb up – just watch your footing!

Hiking: things to do in big corn nicaragua

Where to Stay on Big Corn

We stayed at Sunset B&B for our first two nights on Big Corn, and we highly recommend staying there. The rooms are nice and have AC, and the breakfasts are AMAZING. It’s also walking distance from both the airport and the ferry port!

Big Corn Accommodations

Where to Eat on Big Corn

Spekitos: Dine over pools of fish, sting rays, and sometimes sharks
Darinia’s Kitchen: While the physical restaurant is closed, you can contact her at +50587443419 a couple hours prior to when you’ll be ready to eat
Island Bakery and Café: Great banana bread and meat pies
Caribbean Wave: Delicious food such as jerk chicken wings and banana chips with mango salsa
Comedor Brisas Del Mar: The cheapest food we found on the island

How Much Time Should I Spend on the Corn Islands?

This depends on if you plan on diving or not. If you don’t plan on diving, 2 nights on Little Corn is enough! If you are diving, we recommend doing 4 nights on Little Corn and 3 nights on Big Corn. When we spent a week on the Corn Islands, we did 2 nights on Big Corn, then went to Little Corn for 4 nights, and spent the last night Big Corn so we wouldn’t have any problems making our flight the following day. Spending the night before your flight on Big Corn is a good strategy if you’re taking the morning flight in case of any panga issues!

Best Time to Visit the Corn Islands

The best time to visit the Corn Islands is during Nicaragua’s dry season from November to May. This time of year is perfect for soaking up the sun and doing some fun water activities! Though this is the busy season, the Corn Islands really don’t get too packed, so don’t worry about having to share the beaches!

Doing the Corn Islands on a Budget

While there isn’t any way around the cost of diving (unless you happen to volunteer at the dive shops), you can definitely save on accommodations and food. On Big Corn stay at the Wave Hostel for as cheap as 12 USD. On Little Corn stay at Christina’s Guest House for as cheap as 12 USD. Both these accommodations have a kitchen, where you can cook most of your meals!

If you want to eat out on Little Corn, Rest El Bosque has huge portions for around 5 USD/plate. For something quick, Panadería and Restaurant Gloria has cheap meat pies, banana bread, coconut bread and even full meals! If you want to eat out on Big Corn, Comedor Brisas Del Mar has full meals for 4 USD. Exploring the island on foot and relaxing on the beaches is completely free!

How to Get to the Corn Islands

You can get to the Corn Islands by flying from Managua, or taking the bus to Bluefields and taking the ferry to Big Corn.

Read our post about how to get to the Corn Islands!

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!

Best Things to Do on the Corn Islands: A Complete Travel Guide