Category Pages For: Budgets

Actual travel budgets and projected GRANDPAcking costs

Bastimentos - Old Bank - 6
MARCH 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The official exchange rate at time of writing was US$1 = P$1 (Panama Balboa). Panama uses US$s and only uses Balboa as coins for small change. I made my way from Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica to Isla Bastimentos, Panama by Shuttle Bus(es) and Boat(s). I left Puerto Viejo just before 9am and arrived at my Isla Bastimentos hostel (Bubba’s House) mid afternoon. I booked a GRANDPAcking Double Room for 4 nights at US$31 / night. The room was very basic. The ensuite was ‘tired’. The door to the ensuite was off its […]

Isla Bastimentos – Panama – Information

MARCH 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The official exchange rate at time of writing was US$1 = C$570. I made my way from Granada, Nicaragua to Puerto Viejo (PV) by 2 long distance buses: Granada to San Jose and San Jose to PV. I arrived in PV late at 11:30pm and took the first hotel room that I could find. My room was at the Sel et Sucre. I got an attic room up a ladder that had a double mattress on the floor, a mosquito net over the bed, no furniture, no space to open my […]

Puerto Viejo – Costa Rica – Information

FEBRUARY 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: In my “Beginner’s Guide” to Little Corn Island, I provided information about: How to get from Big Corn Island to Little Corn Island Why I chose to stay in The Village What Little Corn Island looks like Where to stay What ‘short term’ accommodation I found What ‘long term’ accommodation I found In this post, I will tell you more about what it is like to actually live on Little Corn Island and a lot more about everyday costs. I, also, do a quick comparison between Little Corn Island and Gili Air […]

Little Corn Island – Nicaragua – Information

DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: In my “Beginner’s Guide” to Big Corn Island, I provided information about: How to get from Bluefields to Big Corn Island Why I chose Brig Bay What Brig Bay looks like Where to stay What ‘short term’ accommodation I found What ‘long term’ accommodation I found In this post, I will tell you more about what it is like to actually live on Big Corn Island and a lot more about everyday costs. I will, also, compare Big Corn Island with the Bay Islands (Roatan and Utila) in Honduras. […]

Big Corn Island – Nicaragua – Information

DECEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I spent several days making my way from Granada to San Carlos via Costa Rica so that I could take a trip down the Rio San Juan to Greytown. I wanted to experience the Rio San Juan villages and the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve … but, still get to Greytown in time to catch the once-weekly (Wednesday) boat from Greytown to Bluefields. My ultimate goal was to get out to the Corn Islands. I have heard some bad things about the Greytown to Bluefields boat trip – so, I wanted to find […]

Greytown to Bluefields – Nicaragua – Journey

DECEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I wanted to take a few days travelling down the Rio San Juan from Lake Nicaragua to Greytown to see and experience the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve and, possibly, do some kayaking down the river. I tried to get to San Carlos from Ometepe Island but the ferry between the two does not operate anymore. I ended up in Granada and needed to renew my CA4 90 Day Tourist Visa. So, I made my way from Granada to San Carlos via Costa Rica. My ultimate goal was to take the boat from […]

Rio San Juan – Nicaragua – Information

DECEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: We came from Ometepe Island … where we stayed for 6 nights in the Hostal Tecali. The hostal is located 600 meters up a dirt road from Santa Cruz. My Double Room should have been US$15 / night. But, I got it through BOOKING.COM at a 67% discount. We rented a scooter from the Tecali for 5 days which allowed us to get around the island to all of the tourist spots. We paid US$17 / day for the scooter (discounted down from US$20). It was now time to move on and to […]

San Juan Del Sur – Nicaragua – ...

NOVEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: We came from Granada … where we stayed for 6 nights in the Boutique Hotel Maharaja. The hotel is located at the eastern end of Calzada Street (the main tourist street). We paid a discounted price of US$23 / night for a Twin Room.Aircon was available for an extra charge of US$10 / night … but, we just used the ceiling fan (which was perfectly adequate). Our room was next to the dipping pool and a small outdoor seating area. Our room rate included a small (insufficient) free Breakfast … which was […]

Ometepe – Nicaragua – Information

NOVEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: We came from Las Penitas … where we stayed for 6 nights in the Barca De Oro Hotel. We paid a discounted price of US$21.35 / night for a Bungalow … the hotel was running a ‘Stay for 2 Nights and get the 3rd Night Free’ promotion. Without this promotion, we would have paid US$32 / night. At US$32, it would have been too expensive for a GRANDPAcking Budget … and, in my opinion, over-priced. The hotel was one of the largest in Las Penitas with a 20 table Restaurant and Lounge […]

Granada – Nicaragua – Information

NOVEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: We came from Leon … where we stayed for 4 nights in the El Jardin Hostel. We paid a discounted price of US$15 / night (down from US$25) for a small Twin Room. The En Suite was OK … But the room was a little bit too small for 2 people to live in comfortably. It had a small garden and a communal area with a shared kitchen. We stayed in the El Jardin Hostel so that we would be close to the Bus Terminal. It was time to head for Las […]

Las Penitas – Nicaragua – Information

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I left El Salvador and crossed the Gulf Of Fonseca by boat and ended up staying 4 nights in Jiquilillo: a rustic little fishing village on the Pacific coast in north-west Nicaragua. I stayed in the Vistas Del Pacifico: which is almost the only place in town that GRANDPAckers can afford (US$20 / night discounted down to US$18 / night by ‘walking in off the street’). It was a basic little place. I was the only one there (at the end of October / Rainy Season). It had a restaurant […]

Leon – Nicaragua – Information

OCTOBER 2017: OVERVIEW: This post contains a detailed breakdown of costs for 2 GRANDPAckers holidaying in El Esteron, El Salvador to GRANDPAcking standard. As a reminder, this “standard” requires 2 GRANDPAckers to: Stay in an Hotel Double Room with Fan and Private Bathroom Eat 3 ‘balanced’ meals each day in a budget restaurant CROSS REFERENCES: For more detail, read El Esteron – El Salvador – Information. Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here for detailed Travel Information and more Travel Budgets in this country. Read About – GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: […]

El Esteron – El Salvador – GRANDPAcking ...