Transportation in the region can be tough going, but if you are wanting to find out how to get to Corn Island, Bluefields, Pearl Lagoon, San Juan del Norte or any point in between, this is the best place to find out without having to go to the wharf in person. Remember: information/destinations/schedules change without notice! This information is updated regularly, but if you find something has changed from these listings, please let me know.
Going to Corn Islands? Check out the updated transport graphic!
Panga/water travel
Often pangas will not leave until they fill with passengers (or will leave earlier if already full), regardless of the scheduled time of departure. Sitting in the rear of the panga is much easier on the bum when the boat hits rough water; sitting in the front guarantees a wilder ride. To combat rainy weather, the passengers are usually covered with a plastic sheet.
When traveling by slow boat, play it local and hang your hammock on the back deck.
El Rama –> Bluefields
Sporadic departures when the panga has at least 18 passengers leaving from 5:30am - 12pm, 1pm and 3:30pm (again, if there are enough passengers) You can always ask the lady selling tickets in the office how many more are needed before going. C$250 Wendlyn Vargas Transport office located on left-hand side of the street that dead-ends at the wharf (C$5 entrance).
Sporadic departures from 5:30am – 3:30pm C$250 JIPE Transport office located at the entrance to the wharf (C$5 entrance). JIPE offers covered pangas. Reservations: 8622-2937 or 2572-1879
Bluefields –> El Rama
Sporadic departures from 5:30am – 12pm (1pm and 3:30pm if enough passengers) with boats always leaving between 5:30am and 6am. C$250 Wendlyn Vargas Transport office located in the NEW municipal wharf (C$5 entrance).
Sporadic departures from 5:30am – 3:30pm C$250 JIPE Transport office located at the market wharf. JIPE offers covered pangas. Best to buy your ticket the day before to guarantee a place on the morning panga. Reservations: 8622-2937 or 2572-1879
El Rama –>Corn Island
The Captain D leaves El Rama on Tuesday about 9pm, stops in Bluefields arrives in Corn Island about 3pm on Wednesday. C$400 Capt. Norman Downs 8850-2767
The Isleño leaves El Rama on Thursday at 7pm, stops in El Bluff, departs El Bluff at 2am and arrives in Corn Island at 9am. C$250
Bluefields –> Corn Island
Note: For the boats that are leaving from El Bluff early in the morning, you will have to arrive in El Bluff the day before and spend the night. Be sure to wait at the Capitania and be ready to jump on board when they stop. They don’t stay but about two minutes!
Also check out dolphindivelittlecorn.com for travel information to and from the islands!
The big boat Rio Escondido departs Bluefields Wednesday between 9am – noon C$250 The line to buy your ticket is at the green building on the right-hand side if you are facing the wharf.
The Captain D is a cargo boat that leaves El Rama and stops briefly in Bluefields. Departs Bluefields at 10am (usually) on Wednesday and arrives in Big Corn Island at 3pm C$250 seat or C$300 bunk. You can buy your ticket at the Capt. Norman Downs 8690-9719 or 8850-2767
The Island Express leaves from El Bluff Friday between 2am – 4am (spending the night in El Bluff required) C$250
The Isleño D leaves from El Bluff Friday morning sometime between 12am – 4am (spending the night in El Bluff required) C$250
The Island Trader leaves from El Bluff Friday morning sometime between 12am – 4am (spending the night in El Bluff required) C$250
The Genesis leaves from El Bluff Saturday morning sometime between 12am – 4am (spending the night in El Bluff required) C$250
Corn Island –> Bluefields
The Isleño D departs the Big Island at 9pm on Sunday C$250
The Island Trader leaves on Sunday C$250
The big boat Rio Escondido departs Thursday 9am C$250
The Captain D leaves Saturday, 11pm C$250 for a seat or C$300 for a bunk.
Big Corn Island –>Little Corn Island
Also check out dolphindivelittlecorn.com for travel information to and from the islands!
Two panga departures daily at 10am and 4:30pm and takes about 30 minutes. It can be a rough, wet ride and don’t be surprised if they don’t have enough life jackets. C$145 departing from the municipal wharf.
There is also a motor yacht that leaves 5:30am and 12:30pm and takes about 45 minutes. You will stay dry, however! C$205 departing from the municipal wharf. Sorry, they stopped running it!
The Isleño D and the Island Trader depart the big island on Saturdays, 11am, en route to the small island. Takes about an hour. C$80
Waiting for the ferry, Isleno D in the background. Big Corn to Little Corn island
Little Corn Island –>Big Corn Island
Two panga departures daily at 6:30am and 1:30 pm and takes about 30 minutes. It can be a rough, wet ride and don’t be surprised if they don’t have enough life jackets. C$145 departing from the municipal wharf.
There is also a motor yacht that leaves 5:30am and 12:30pm and takes about 45 minutes. You will stay dry, however! C$205 departing from the municipal wharf. Sorry, they stopped running it!
The Isleño D and the Island Trader depart the little island on Saturdays, around 5pm, en route to the big island. Takes about an hour. C$80
Loading up to head to Big Corn Island
Corn Island –> Puerto Cabezas
Capt. D cargo boat leaves about once a month (when there is demand), on a Thursday, 6pm. Call to confirm: Capt. Norman Downs 8690-9719 or 8850-2767 C$550
Bluefields –> Puerto Cabezas (Bilwi)
Capt. D cargo boat leaves about once a month (when there is demand) on a Wednesday, 10am, goes to Corn Island and then on to Puerto Cabezas. Call to confirm: Capt. Norman Downs 8690-9719 or 8850-2767 C$850
Bluefields –> El Bluff
Continuous departures from 6am – 6pm as the passenger limit of 12 is reached (for the 6pm departure be there an hour early to be sure) C$42 Departing from the market wharf.
El Bluff –> Bluefields
Continuous departures from 6am – 6pm as the passenger limit of 12 is reached (for the 6pm departure be there an hour early to be sure) C$42 Various pangas leaving from the municipal wharf.
Bluefields –> Zampopera (Tiktik Kaanu), San Pancho
Daily departures at 6am C$50 Zampopera, C$80 San Pancho. Departing from Santa Rosa bridge.
San Pancho, Zampopera (Tiktik Kaanu) –> Bluefields
Daily departures at 6am C$80 San Pancho, C$50 Zampopera. Departs from municipal wharf in San Pancho, will stop if waved down.
Kukra Hill –> Bluefields
Departures from 6am, 8am, 11am, 3pm, 4pm C$110 Departs from the municipal wharf
Bluefields –> Kukra Hill
Departures from 9:00am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 5pm C$110 Look for the guy with the clipboard in the municipal wharf.
Bluefields –> Pearl Lagoon
Departures from 9:00am, 12pm, 3pm (or 4pm); Sundays only 9am C$170 Look for the guy with the clipboard in the municipal wharf.
Pearl Lagoon –> Bluefields
Departures from 6:30am, 7am, 1pm; Sundays only 6:30am C$175 Office is located on the left-hand side of the wharf entrance. Early morning departures should sign up the day before.
Bluefields –> Pueblo Nuevo (Wawashang)
Departs Sunday, and Wednesday, 7am C$300 Ask at the NEW municipal wharf.
Pueblo Nuevo (Wawashang) –> Bluefields
Confirm departure at Bluefields wharf before going. C$300
Bluefields –> Orinoco
Departs Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 9:30am C$250 Ask at the NEW municipal wharf.
Orinoco –> Bluefields
Departs Tuesday and Friday in the morning. C$250 Ask at the Orinoco wharf office.
Bluefields –> Tasbapauni
Departs Monday through Saturday at 9am C$250 Ask at the NEW municipal wharf.
Tasbapauni –> Bluefields
Departs Monday through Saturday in the morning C$250 Ask at the Tasbapauni municipal wharf.
Bluefields –> Sandy Bay, Karawala
Departs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 9:30am C$414 Operated by Transporte Dona Barbara 8725-4975 or 8909-8178 Departs at the NEW municipal wharf
Sandy Bay, Karawala –> Bluefields
Departs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30am C$414 Operated by Transporte Dona Barbara 8725-4975 or 8909-8178
Bluefields –> Desembocadura del Rio Grande
Departs Wednesday and Friday 10:30am C$360 Operated by Transporte Dona Barbara 8725-4975 or 8909-8178
Desembocadura del Rio Grande –> Bluefields
Departs Monday and Thursday 6:30am C$360 Operated by Transporte Dona Barbara 8725-4975 or 8909-8178
Bluefields –> La Cruz de Rio Grande
Departs Monday time? C$680 Buy tickets at the Wendlyn Vargas transport window at the municipal wharf. Reservations 8851-2543 or 2572/1510
La Cruz de Rio Grande –> Bluefields
Departs Wednesday time? C$680 Buy tickets at the Wendlyn Vargas transport window at the municipal wharf. Reservations 8851-2543 or 2572-1510
Bluefields –> Monkey Point –> Punta Gorda
Departs Friday 7am from the yacht wharf (behind the PNUD building). C$400 to Monkey Point, C$600 to Punta Gorda. Call to confirm: Capt. Kevin Hogdson 87041497 or 88429204
Monkey Point –> Bluefields
Call Capt. Kevin Hogdson 87041497 or 88429204 to see if you can catch a ride back with him on Sundays. No phone in Monkey Point so you will have to call before you leave!
Bluefields –> San Juan de Norte (Nicaragua)/Greytown
Canceled again. Departures are sporadic but usually at least once a week. Departs from the municipal wharf. Sign up with Jim who walks around the entrance to the wharf with a clipboard to get your name on the list. C$500 – C$900 depending on which boat is going. There is also a fuel barge that goes down about once a week and accepts a limited number of passengers. Talk to Capt. Lester (en español) at 8737-8836. Beware, it is a 12-hour ride through the night and you might come off smelling like gas. Chartered pangas are available; they cost about $500.
San Juan de Norte (Nicaragua)/Greytown –> Bluefields
Canceled again. Departures are sporadic but usually at least once a week. Boats usually depart from the municipal wharf. There isn’t any regularly-scheduled service, but you can sometimes hop on a boat going north if you are vigilant about asking and patient about waiting. A private panga can also be chartered for about $500, which can be economical if you are with a group that would otherwise have to wait for days. There is also a fuel barge that sometimes carries passengers to Bluefields; it is a 12-hour journey that is usually made a day or two after the barge arrives to San Juan. Talk to Capt. Lester (en español) at 8737-8836. Beware, it is a 12-hour ride through the night and you might come off smelling like gas.
San Juan de Norte (Nicaragua)/Greytown –> San Carlos, el Castillo, Rio San Juan
San Carlos, el Castillo, Rio San Juan –> San Juan de Norte (Nicaragua)/Greytown
The very latest info I could find (click to big it):
Bus/land travel
There are several companies running bus transport to/from the coast. They usually leave on time but arrival times can vary. Often seats are assigned with a seat number on the ticket. In El Rama, expect to be approached by pushy locals trying to sell you a bus ticket to Managua. They get a little kickback from the competing bus companies to steer riders their way, but the tickets they sell are no more expensive and the locals can be quite helpful in answering any questions you might have.
Managua –> El Rama
There are buses that leave several times during the day from two Managua bus stations. For the express buses, you can buy your bus and panga tickets from Wendelyn Vargas transport located in the Ivan Montenegro station. Departures are 6am and 9pm daily. C$160 bus, C$250 panga. But tickets at the ticket counter. You can reserve tickets in advance by calling Transporte Costa Atlantica’s Managua office at 2253-2879.
Schedule is right but prices are now C$160 bus and C$250 panga
There are buses that take a little longer to get there which stop and pick up passengers along the way. They leave from the Mayoreo station throughout the day, including 5 am, 6am, 4pm and 6pm and 8pm. Buy your tickets on the bus for C$150.
El Rama –> Managua
Departures from 9am, 7pm from buses parked at the wharf entrance. C$170 Buy your ticket from the Wendelyn Vargas office located in the small room in front of where the rows of benches are facing by the wharf. The number on your ticket corresponds to your assigned seat. Odd numbers are usually against the window and evens are in the aisle.
The slow bus takes about an hour or two longer and, as you can see, leaves Rama at 6:40am. Also leaves nearly every hour afterwards. Buy your tickets on the bus or from the guys shouting ManaguaManaguaManagua! for C$150
One of the slow buses that does the route
El Rama –> Pearl Lagoon
The bus from El Rama to Pearl Lagoon leaves at 4:30pm daily and costs C$130. It leaves from the wharf or sometimes the “bus corner”, depending on who is driving it. You may have to ask.
Kukra Hill –> Pearl Lagoon
Kukra is a town just 45 minutes from Pearl Lagoon on the road to El Rama. Leaves at 10:15am and 4pm costs C$50
Kukra Hill –> El Rama
Kukra is a town about three hours from El Rama on the road to Pearl Lagoon. Leaves at 3pm. C$130
Pearl Lagoon –> El Rama
Leaves from a corner one block west and a couple of blocks south of the wharf, right at the corner of the basketball court. Four hour ride and leaves at 5am and costs C$130
Pearl Lagoon –> Kukra Hill
Kukra is a town just 45 minutes from Pearl Lagoon on the way to El Rama. Leaves from a corner one block west and a couple of blocks south of the wharf, right at the corner of the basketball court. Leaves at 7am and 1pm and costs C$50
Plane travel
La Costeña is the only airline offering service to the coast. They often sell out and it is best to make a reservation at least one week in advance. They usually request passengers to check in two hours prior and won’t think twice about bumping late arrivals. Don’t be surprised if they cancel flights without notice or send your checked luggage on a later flight without mentioning it. They have a reputation for poor customer service but are the only airline in town. DON’T FORGET THEY ALSO ADD $15 LISTED AS “OTHER CHARGES” FOR ONLINE BOOKINGS! Reservations: 2263-2142, at the airport or www.lacostena.com.ni
Schedule, January 2013. Click to enlarge
Flight prices, June 2012. ADD $15 IF BOOKING ONLINE! click to enlarge
Thanks, good to have a dependable reference when I can’t quite recall the cost of the Managua-Rama bus!
That’s what I’m here for, darlin!
The only thing that is missing is the travel time from Managua to El Rama. How many hours on express and how many on a slow one?
Included! Check it out:
hola me gustaria ir a la isla pequena del mais … hay cada dia barcos .yo vengo por tierra ..desde managua . hay problema si voy en la isla pequena llevandome a mi mascotta ??
gracias adios
Hay barcos pero no salen diario…bueno, mejor si planificas a salir del unico barco de transporte comercial, el Rio Escondido, que sale Bluefields a las 9am en Miercoles. No se si aceptan animales. Si no, tambien el barco de carga se llama el Capt. D sale el mismo dia. Que le vaya bien!
Casey your site is amazing, I can’t believe you compiled all this information! Thank you so much!
Glad you find it useful!
Im thinking of traveling to corn island but my friends want to drive to el rama and then get a panga to bluefields-corn island,, I was wondering if we can drive in a small car to el rama or is the road really bad? also can we leave the car somewhere in el rama? my other question is are there any ships leaving like tuesday or late monday to bluefields- corn island? it seems to me by what i read that the only ship leaves on wednesday and that seems like to much time since we would like to stay there like 2 or 3 nights and we would like to be back by saturday probably. thanks
The road is in great shape. No problem driving to El Rama from Managua. There are two ships leaving on Tuesday from El Rama, the Capt. D and the Rio Escondido. You can even bring your car on the Capt. D!
Casey,
Your site is sooo excellent! I do have a question I’m hoping you can help me with –
two of us are leaving Pearl Lagoon Saturday June 15th – and we want to end up at Little Corn before sundown:-).
Is it possible to get from Pearl Lagoon to Bluefields that same a.m. – in time to catch the 07:00 flight to Big Corn? How would you recommend we secure this reservation? (if it is possible…..)
thanks for your help, Anne
Good informations! Muchas gracias!
Perhaps something which could help people going there
http://es-la.facebook.com/pages/Terminal-Costa-Atl%C3%A1ntica-SA/406685389395349
leaving today to Rama…!!!
What time does the ‘Captain D’ leave El Rama and on what days?
Above it states,
“The Captain D leaves El Rama on Tuesday about 9pm, stops in Bluefields arrives in Corn Island about 3pm on Wednesday. C$400 Capt. Norman Downs 8850-2767″
I thought I read somewhere it leaves in the ‘am’.
Also is Tuesday the only day the ‘Captain D’ makes the trip from El Rama, I have a motor cycle I need to transport.
The other question is, do you have any idea the condition of the road from El Rama to Pearl Lagoon this time of year (April 15)?
Thankx Casey. Fred
The Capt. D leaves El Rama on Tuesday… but to be honest I can’t give you a specific time because they always seem to bump up or delay their departure time. For example, the last time I returned from Corn Island, the Capt. D left 6 hours earlier than it was scheduled to leave!
As for the road to Pearl Lagoon, it was recently grated and is in pretty good shape considering it is a dirt road.
Hope that helps!
Requesting information on ¨¨Ferry 1 ¨, scedules, can you give any help? Correct contact number perhaps?
Hi Fred,
Sorry, I thought I had replied already! In short, there is not “Ferry 1″ that I know of. I have never seen it before in my life. Your best bet is the Capt. D I think.
Thanks,
Casey
Ferries returning to Rama from Bluefields? Cost of transport of a motorcycle in each direction? Port fees, etc.?
Sorry to be such a pain in the…. but I don´t like unpleasant surprises at the last minute. Thankx Casey
No worries Fred. Unfortunately I really don’t have the answers to some of your questions. I don’t know how much they would charge to ship a moto, though I would guess the guy who charges the fees has the rates all in his head (or makes them up as he goes along). The cargo ships that run are the Capt. D and the barges that come two or three times a week.
But with all due respect, this is the last place to come if you don’t like surprises at the last minute, especially with transportation!
Thanks,
Casey
Hi Casey!
Any new info on boats traveling from Bluefields to San Juan Nica or visa versa? I have read that there is a boat called Virgo I and Virgo II that leaves Wed/Sat at 8am. Any up to date info would be helpful!
Hi Casey,
Not sure if this went through because I don’t see it on the forum. We are trying to see if Virgo 1 and Virgo 2 are still operating between San Juan Nicaragua and Bluefields. Any recent updated information?
Renee
Hmm…never heard of the Virgo 1 nor the Virgo 2. I will check down at the wharf here in Bluefields tomorrow and let ya know.
Thank you!!!
Went down to the municipal wharf today to check. Nothing.
While there are some boats that go between Bluefields and San Juan on occasion, there is nothing that you can plan by. Your best bet is to contract someone when you get to SJdN.
Thanks,
Casey
Thanks for checking Casey! Hoefully we will find some boat to hop onto!
Hi Casey;
I took the trip to Bluefields via the “Captain D” left at 9pm from El Rama, at 10:30 we stopped at an obscure village where for more than 3 hours, 7 men loaded bags of wet sand onto the ferry. We then proceeded on to bluefields where I waited until all of the other passengers and cargo were unloaded before they finally 2 hours later unloaded my motorcycle and charged me C$1000 for the bike plus C$ 250 for my passage plus dock fees on each end. All in all a pretty lousy experience.
Three days later I returned to Rama via the “Maria Gloria Zeledon”, the locals prefer this passage to the Captain D (the numbers don’t lie), total cost including all dock fees(both ends) less than C$700.
You do the math.
My money says for the best deal, and friendliest people, it isn’t the Captain D.
Thankx for the Pepitos tip though, it is a pretty nice place, centrally located, decent food though they only served breakfast, (C$60) Rooms when I was there were $20 for a two bed room, $15 for a 1 bdrm. (w/air cond. & shared bathrm) I’d recommend it.
your friend, Fred