Granada doesn’t have a central terminal and things are a bit scattered about. There are a lot of markers on the map but each are labeled.
Granada to Managua
Microbuses to Managua leave when full, cost 29C$ and take 1hr and 20min. Hours of operation are 5am to 9pm Monday to Friday, Saturday 5:30am to 8pm and Sunday 6am to 7pm. They depart from a small station on a street at the south west corner of the Parque Central called Calle Vega (stop indicated on map). The microbus will arrive at the UCA.
There is also an ordinary bus to Managua which arrives at the Mercado Roberto Huembes we are told it departs from north of the old hospital on Calle Elena Arellano, but we haven’t taken it so you’ll have to ask your hotel to confirm. The leave every 30 min from 5:25am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and from 6:10am to 8pm on Sundays. The microbus is definitely a much nicer option, but if you have a connecting bus in Managua from the Huembes station, then taking the regular chicken bus could save you the taxi fare (70 Córdobas). Otherwise, I personally would take the microbus.
Granada to Jinotepe
There is a microbus station for buses to Jinotepe and it is located just a few blocks from the Terminal for Rivas. Buses run from 6am until 4:30pm. The cost is 27C$ and they leave when full which is usually between 30mins – 1hr. The trip takes about 35-40 minutes. This bus shares a station with chicken buses to Masaya.
Granada to Masaya
You have the option to take the microbus to Managua and ask to get off on the highway as it passes Masaya. From here it is a bit of a walk or you can get a taxi to the center. This trip takes about 45min. Or there is a chicken bus that leaves from Mercado Municipal which is located around the corner from the Pali (see map). The chicken bus will take you right to the terminal in Masaya. It costs 24C$ and takes about 1 hr
Granada to Rivas
Busses (regular chicken bus) heading south to Rivas leave from a dusty open yard just down the street from the gas station near (see photos and map). Though we just got a report that the station may have moved to this location https://goo.gl/maps/WFraQueH5o82. The bus goes 7 times per day at: 5:50am, 6:30am, 8:05am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 12:40pm, 1:10pm and 3:10pm (no 3:10 on Thursdays and Sundays). The bus takes about 2.5hrs and costs 50C$ (Dec 2018). I would arrive at least 20 mins (maybe more!) early just to be sure you get the bus, I have asked the bus drivers at this station on two different days for the schedule and a couple of the times are different by about 20 mins. They are also known to leave early sometimes.
Granada to Ometepe
Take the bus to Rivas (see times listed above). Once you get to Rivas you have two options. You can grab the bus on the street heading to san Jorge. This bus will pass pretty close to where you are dropped. Just ask a local “donde esta parada por el bus a San Jorge“. Or you can get a taxi to San Jorge and have them drop you at the ferry to Ometepe. This will cost about 90C$. *make sure you check the Ometepe Ferry Schedule to be sure you don’t miss the last one.
Ferry from Granada to Ometepe?
This service has been suspended due to low water levels. Have a look at the notice here on this page: Ometepe Boat and Ferry Schedules
Granada to León
Grab the microbus to Managua UCA and switch to the microbus to León – easy!
Grandada to Matagalpa
There are two options. You can grab an UCA microbus back to Managua and then take a taxi to the Terminal Mercado Mayorero. Or you can head to Masaya and take a bus from Masaya to Matagalpa. You can take the UCA microbus and get off on the highway near Masaya or go to the terminal in Granada where the chicken buses go directly to Masaya and you arrive at the same terminal you leave from to go to Matagalpa.
Granada to Jinotepe
Microbuses to Jinotepe leave from the same place that chicken buses to Masaya leave from – theMercado Municipal (see map).
Granada to Nandaime
Regular chicken buses leave for Nandaime from the same lot as buses to Rivas. Several per day.
International buses – Tica Bus, Central Line, TransNica & Nicabus
Important to know – Only international buses heading South to Costa Rica or Panama pass through Granada. If you are heading North to Northern Nicaragua, El Salvador or Guatemala you will need to leave from Managua.
If you are meeting a Tica Bus, TransNica or Nicabus you can head to their respective pick up points along Calle Elena Arellano. There is an office at each pick up spot. Tica Bus and new Nicabus office are almost side by side and there is a pretty nice hostel right across the street. The TransNica office is a little further north. *Remember you will need a pre-purchased ticket to get a bus with these companies so head to the office at least one day before you are leaving to get a ticket. One traveller has told us if the Tica Bus office is closed you can buy your ticket from Hostal Mochilas on Avenida Guzman.
Help your fellow traveller
If you have taken any of the buses on this page, please drop us a comment below about how the trip went, what time you left, how long it took and what it cost. And, definitely let us know if we have anything wrong.
Lets help each other in our travels!
Can confirm that buses for Rivas leave at the new “ station” labelled on map as “Nueva terminal de buses a Rivas”.
We were going to Mombacho to stay at Mombacho Lodge and we were dropped off at the bottom of the road. No problems.
On the opposite side of the road to the bus station is Inglesia del Nazareno and the Pali supermarket can be seen upstreet of the church.
We weren’t charged for our rucksacks and there was space on the racks for them.
All good.
I took the bus Granada-Rivas this morning, it still costs 50 cordoba as well as 50 if you have a bag on the roof. No racks inside but we hade one big on the roof and two small/medium sized backpacks that they wanted to put on the roof but we insisted not to.
The bus left 9.15am from the spot that on google maps is labelled “Nueva terminal de buses a Rivas”.
The bus was full, some people standing in the isle. It got completely full after a while. The whole trip took 1h45min.
Just got scammed on Granada to Rivas…wouldn’t let us have our small rucksacks inside the bus insisted they went on the roof…..told us the ferry left at 11.30….dropped us on the side of a road near Rivas, by the time we got off the bus our bags were in the boot of a car….we said hang on how much? He said oh no this collective we pick up 2 more people….we soon realised this was bullshit we demanded a price he said 10 us $ EACH there waS 2 men in the car…. any way after a heated argument we got dropped at the port and had to pay!!! Be warned of these pricks….ferry wasn’t till 12 we had loads of time but they rushed us to make us think we would miss the ferry….they had it planned all along…..keep your bag on your knee even if it’s a pain…..ruined our day
Just got the micro bus from Granada close to main square to Managua UCA price was 37 cordobas there signs inside the bus showing prices. I recommend you wait for a bus that you get a seat as it will get super crowded as the bus makes many stops. And they leave very often.
From UCA to Leon the micro bus cost 78 cordobas also fare stated inside. So once you get off the Granada microbus back to Main Street and take a right you will see a sign and people calling Leon. You will arrive on the north terminal of Leon pretty chaotic but about 2km walk to the center.
We did the trip Granada-Rivas a couple weeks ago, the bus departed from the terminal located next to Maxi Pali I confirm. They charged us 50 cordobas per person plus 50 cordobas for our big bags (who were on the roof because the bus didn’t have any racks inside. We ended up paying after contesting (because it was the first time it happened to us, we normally never had to pay for our luggages). If you can keep your bags inside with you and put them above your heads on the rack it would be better and you won’t have to pay the extra 50 cordobas per bag.
The current location (Dec 2021) for buses Granada to Rivas is on Calle Nueva, 2 blocks east of the Maxi Pali, and across the street from Iglesia del Nazareno. It’s a bit south of city center. On google maps it is labelled “nueva terminal de buses a rivas”, though it’s just a street and doesn’t look like a bus terminal. Buses up to Mombacho volcano leave from the same spot.
I can verify that the other google map location you ID in the Granada to Rivas post was correct in late 2017 early 2018. I took a bus to Rivas from that spot at the time .
The bus to Rivas in Granada leaves from Calle Nueva but actually on the opposite side when you come out of the market zone (to the right). It costs 50 córdobas.