Little Heaven

Many people we have come across while travelling in Central America have made the trip to Little Corn Island off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, and if you are person who hasn’t you need to put it on your list of MUST DOs. The place is a world of its own and is worth the effort to get to. We figured that we would put together a travel guide for Little Corn Island from ours (and a few others) experiences, the only caveat to this is that we are a little short on photos from this trip as we left almost all of our stuff behind in Managua.

Getting there: First you must make your way to Big Corn Island, and there are only two options for getting there:

The more direct route is a flight from Managua to Little Corn Island (with a quick stop in Bluefields) using the local carrier La Costena for ~$160 USD round trip. BIG TIP! La Costena charges you an extra $18 USD per ticket to book online. If you are looking to be a money saving traveller, give them a phone call while in Nicaragua (or from home) to purchase your ticket over the phone. The other thing to note is that to change your return flight costs $40 USD, you may laugh and say ‘I know how to plan, I will never need this’ but the number of people who pay that $40 USD just because they want more time on Little Corn is staggering. After you arrive at the airport you can take a taxi for 20 Cordoba (~$0.70 USD) to the dock.

The other option to get to Big Corn Island is to take the bus from Managua to Rama and then on down the river to Bluefields, where the boat leaves at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning to Big Corn, or the supply ships that leave Bluefields on Thursday morning. These are cheaper options (in total you are looking at ~$40 USD round trip to Big Corn from Managua with bus/boat), however with the cheaper option comes a cautionary tale from many travellers. If you get sea sick, or think that you may, this route is not for you and you are in cramped travelling style for ~6 hours on what can be VERY rough open ocean.

Either way you get to Big Corn Island, there is still a little bit of the journey left for you! From Big Corn to Little Corn you need to take a panga (small fiberglass boat) from the dock on Big Corn for $6 USD/person. The ride is about 45 minutes, and depending on weather can be quite choppy, and here is another BIG TIP! wet. For the most part your large bags will be stored underneath in a watertight compartment, but for your smaller bags bring plastic garbage bags to cover them if they are to be riding on the seat with you. You will get wet, whether you like it or not, but at least this way you’re the only thing that is wet and not your thousands of dollars of electronics!

Where to stay: There are lots of options on Little Corn, ranging from the quaint and unassuming to the over the top extravagant. We will give you a bit of a range and description here, and then you can decide which fits more into the comforts and conveniences you like to travel with.

$20 & Under per night

Green house hostel: Only dorm beds, and more of a party atmosphere but the place itself, and the setup is quite nice for the solo traveller. Very central on the island to the restaurants and bars.

Three Brothers Guest House: Very simple but all private rooms, some with shared bathrooms and some privates. There are two communal kitchens for you to use there. Very central on the island to the restaurants and bars.

Grace’s Cool Spot: Your own little cabana right on the beach (or close there to) with private bathrooms. The cabanas are not central on the island, and it is about a 15-minute from the main stretch.

$30-100 Under per night

Sunshine Hotel: Sunshine is a hotel that has air-conditioned rooms (you may not think you need it but see our final tips below). You also get breakfast with your stay there and it is very central on the island to the restaurants and bars.

Lighthouse: Beautiful cabins with your own private bathroom and sea-view balcony situated at the highest point on the island. They are up a hill (if you are less mobile), and are about a 10-minute walk (downhill) and 15 minute walk (uphill home) from the main stretch.

Budget Breaker $$$

Yemaya: We say budget breaker only because it was way out of our price range. We did however go and explore and have coffee there and pretend like we could afford to stay there. The property, the beach and the facilities are all very beautiful and the rooms are self contained cabana style with gorgeous sea views. Moral of the story, if you can afford to spend ~$400 a night on a place (and want to) then you have a beautiful getaway at your fingertips with Yemaya.

Eating & Drinking on the Island: The food you are able to get on the island is fantastic. It is a little more expensive than the mainland as you are on an isolated island. If you are intending on cooking, buy your staples on the mainland and bring them with you, as they are more expensive to buy on Little Corn. Fresh fruit and vegetables arrive only once a week on Saturday so make sure to stockpile and plan your shopping accordingly as stores stuff won’t be refreshed at all during the week.

Darinia’s Kitchen: I’m putting this one first for a couple of reasons. First, her food is to die for and should be a MUST GO TO for anyone travelling to Little Corn, regardless of your budget. She isn’t a ‘normal’ restaurant, it is only Darinia in her little kitchen/dining space and she cooks your incredible meal, serves it to you and chats with you all the while. It is BYOB, and although it costs $20 we promise that this is a one of a kind dining experience on Little Corn!

[Ms. Bridget](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g612406-d6434253-Reviews-Miss_Bridget_s-Little_Corn_Island_Corn_Islands_Southern_Atlantic_Autonomous_Regio.html): Want seafood? Want to be so full that you may need to be rolled home? Ms. Bridget offers creamy, rich, so so delicious seafood at her small place tucked right off the main drag on Little Corn. A plate/bowl will run you between $8-12 dollars, and then promptly send you off for a food coma. 

[Tranquilo](http://www.tranquilocafe.com/): Looks like your typical gringo hangout? It’s not. There might be a lot of gringos there, but its because they offer delicious food and deserts (best ice cream sandwich we have ever had), have the most reliable WiFi on the island, and the best part is that you get to go back there and party at night with their regular, awesome events. 

Beach Bar: Awesome little spot right on the beach. They offer great happy hour specials, and their food was quite delicious. They do some amazing deep fried tacos (they are hard to describe), and other dishes that you have to try. 

Snack Shack:  Looking for a great, cheap breakfast spot? Look no further than snack shack. It is a fantastic place to grab breakfast, for a good price, before a long day on the beach.

Desideri: We didn’t get a chance to eat here as it was closed, but have heard wonderful things from the people who live on the island. They also serve a Vietnamese coffee which usually perks Ian’s interest in a place. 

Activities: As fun as laying on the beautiful beaches is, there are so many more things to do on Little Corn Island!

Yoga & SUP: Some places have private yoga at their establishments, but by far the best is Funk yoga. They are on the main stretch of town right by the dock. They offer morning and sunset yoga sessions (with an incredible view of sunset), have paddleboards for rent, and also offer paddleboard yoga classes. If that isn’t enough to convince you to go there, they are also fantastic people that you definitely want to get to know while being on Little Corn.

Diving: If you don’t dive, you should learn. But either already certified or wanting to learn there is fantastic diving on Little Corn Island. Our best recommendation is go to the folks at Dolphin Dive. Their equipment is very well kept and the Dive Masters/Instructors are fantastic people to take you on your underwater adventures.

Snorkeling: Want to see sea-life but not from further under the ocean? There are tons of outfits that run boat snorkeling tours out and around Little Corn. They usually provide you with the gear and boat for $20 USD. It is quite a swim to get to the awesome parts of the reef to snorkel at so unless you are incredibly comfortable in the water, and are going with other people do a tour.

Fishing: Again there are tons of outfits who offer these tours. They are usually pricier than snorkeling trips. Shop around for the best deal. The fishing around the island is stellar, and there is nothing to cap off an awesome day on a Caribbean Island quite like eating your own catch!

Lighthouse: Looking for the best view on the island? It requires a bit of a hill climb, then a big climb up an older structure, but once you get up to the top you will have easily forgotten the effort and potential sketchy climb. The view from the top is better than what you can picture and one you should experience.

Beaches: And of course when you’re talking Little Corn, you can’t forget the beaches. The #1 beach would have to be on the North side of the island next to and in Yemaya. It truly feels like Caribbean paradise and is for the most part fairly quiet and secluded. On the east side of the island there is beach in front of Grace’s Cool Spot and some of the other cabanas on that side, however the beach itself is fairly short and washed away. There is also beach right in front of and next to the main stretch of town on Little Corn, which is nice but there is a fair amount of boat traffic and doesn’t feel so much like the tropical paradise you’re in.

Final Tips: We have some final tips and tricks to help you get through your time on Little Corn with little to no problem at all!

Money: There is no ATM on the island. There is an ATM as you drive from the airport on Big Corn to the docks where you catch the boat. Make sure you bring enough money for your stay! People accept either the local Nicaraguan Cordoba or the US Dollar ($1 USD = 29 Cordoba). However, if you are using USD be very careful with your bills as the banks in Nicaragua will not accept any bills with tears, nicks, or writing and therefore businesses will usually also not accept them. There is one trick to taking out USD on the island, Tranquilo (the bar/restaurant) will let you charge money on your credit card and they will give you USD for %10 of the amount you want. If you need a small amount of cash to get you by then this is by far your best option.

Power: Power on the island goes down every morning at 6 a.m. and therefore devices stop charging, your fan/air conditioning shuts off, and you will no longer have any access to WiFi (unless you’re staying at one of the very few places with 24 hour power).

The Heat: It is a Caribbean island, and as such it does get smoking hot there. The main stretch of town is also fairly sheltered and therefore doesn’t get much of a breeze. It’s hot, sticky, and a perfect excuse to go jump in the beautiful ocean in front of you. We had been in Central America for 3 months prior to this and were still blown away by how hot it was.

Island Safety: Little Corn is safe. The people there rely on tourism to drive their economy, and therefore they go out of their way to protect tourists and their business. That being said, just like in your home country, don’t leave your things unprotected as most crimes are those of opportunity alone.

Finally, if you haven’t figured out by the length of this post and the detail put in, we think you should go to Little Corn Island. It is a truly magical place and one that you would be missing out on by not going to.

Love always,
AL + Ian