The main terminal in León is a classic busy bus station. All of the regular buses line up in one area and microbuses each have their own zone. Buses are constantly coming and going as are regular and pedal taxis. Much of the streets surrounding the terminal are clogged with little market shops and traffic.
The terminal is about a 15minute walk from the city centre touristy zone. A taxi should cost you about 20C$. I don’t know why I do it to myself, but every time I have just walked it … and then half way through I am trying to remember why I am. It’s not a horrible walk, but León is hot and a taxi is pretty cheap. Treat yourself! If you are leaving from the station by taxi see if you have the address of your hotel available. There are so many hotels and hostels don’t be surprised if you taxi driver isn’t familiar with a lesser known one.
León to Managua
Microbuses arrive at the UCA.
Expreso (bus) every 30minutes, takes 2.5hrs and costs 52C$.
(microbus) leaves when full, operates between 4am and 7pm, takes about 2hr and costs 61C$
León to Chinandega
Buses arrive at the Mercado Bisne.
(microbus) leaves when full, 31C$, about 45min (4:30am – 8pm)
(bus) every 20 minutes, ~18C$, 1.5hr (4:30am – 6pm)
León to Matagalpa
From León there are 3 express buses per day to Matagalpa. I’d arrive early just in case. The schedule according to the driver is 4:20am, 7:30am, 2:45pm, 88C$, 2.5-3hrs. We are told there are also microbuses that make the trip but we don’t have any info at the moment.
León to Estelí
The trip takes about 2.5hrs and costs 95$C. Have a read through the comment below for some great trip info! There are mini buses to Estelí in the morning but another option is to route through san Isidro and link up to another bus headed to to Estelí or Matagalpa.
León to Las Peñitas
Here is some advice from a fellow travellers. Thanks, Melanie!:
“We took a bus from Leon to Las Penitas. It should leave at every hour but honestly it just goes when full, which in our case was 30min later. It is really cheap, around NIC10 and even though there are shuttle services from Leon to this lovely beach for around US $4, If you are on a budget the local bus is a nice experience and it didn’t even take much longer than the shuttle (about 30min). Note: the bus first goes to Poneloya, but if you want to go to the Las Penitas just stay in the bus, it will turn around to stop in front of Barca de Oro (bigger hotel) and some other stops in Law Penitas too”.
León to Rota (Cerro Negro)
5:50am, 11am, 3:30pm, 2.5hrs, ~40C$
*I need to double check this one – let us know if you have taken this bus.
León to Granada
To get to Granada you route through Managua. It’s very easy and door to door you are looking at about 3.5hrs and a total cost of 79C$ (2016) when going by microbus. First head to the Main Terminal in Leon and get the microbus going to Managua. You will arrive and depart from the UCA terminal in Managua so it’s easy!
León to Masaya
Same as above, you need to route through Managua, but when you get to the UCA look for the microbus headed to Masaya. Microbuses leave when full from 6am to 9pm. From Managua to Masaya they cost 24C$ and the trip takes 0.5hr
Tica Bus
You can now finally purchase your tickets online with Tica Bus! Or you can buy your ticket from a very nice and helpful travel agency in town called Benitours (505-2315-2349) see map. Be aware that you need to get to the highway on the outside of town to catch the bus. If you don’t speak Spanish then best to have the travel agent at Benitours write the location of the Tica Bus stop on a piece of paper which you can then give to the taxi driver. I met one traveller who missed her bus in the morning after the taxi took her to the wrong spot, so it’s good to have this info just in case! The bus stop where the Tica Bus will pass is indicated on the map above but you can also find it by using the landmark: El Restaurante Caña Brava (google maps). The bus will stop about 50 meters north from here. It will stop in en frente de la entrada de la Ceiba.
Other destinations
San Isidro (46C$), Nagarote, Salinas Grandes (20C$, 1.5hrs – see comments below for more info).
If you have taken these buses, share your information below!
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!
Took the 12.40 leon-esteli bus from the terminal in Leon, on the 4th of Jan 2020. Still going. And still 95 cords. You actually get a seat number in the ‘chickenbus’. That was a first 🙂
Salinas Grande bus does not leave from the terminál but rather from estación. The busses are few and leave from leon at 5:00 am, 8:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 3:50 pm which is the LAST bus to Salinas. The busses from Salinas back to Leon will leave you usually at the terminal as the last stop. Be sure to be there early to get a seated spot and not get left behind as the bus leaves very punctual.
Did Leon to Managua via chicken bus (45 Cords, little under 2.5 hrs), then onto airport via taxi. Took the chicken bus thinking it would go to Mercado Huembes (this was an assumption, I never asked) where I could then take a Tipitapa bus past the airport, but it only went to a market on the West side of town (maybe Bicicletas Rojas, or at least very near there). I then just took a taxi for 200 Cords to the airport, not as good as 100 C but better than the $10 US some have said they would insist on. I asked the Leon-Managua bus guy about getting to Huembes from where I was, but he didn’t know of a bus connection, said taxi was the way to go (I asked a few drivers, they wanted 70-80 C to get to Huembes).
My partner and I took the mini bus from Leon to Esteli a week ago. We were told the last direct bus leaves at 9am so we arrived 10 mins early, only to wait until 10am for the bus to fill up. I don’t think it ever leaves at 9 so you may want to do yourself a favour and aim to arrive around 9.15 instead. It was 95 for the seat and then they charged an extra 25 for each bag (so 120 per person in total). We also took a taxi from the centre to the bus terminal in Leon, which cost 30 pp with our bags (we were told this was the price by the hostel).
I was still recovering from food poisoning and wouldn’t recommend the trip for anyone who’s sick. The roads are good but they fill the aisles of the mini bus so it’s very hot and cramped, which was a bit of a struggle (especially while you’re waiting)!
To Esteli (Somoto)
I took a chicken bus today (saturday) in León at 11am to San Isidro, Leon to San Isidro 65 cordobas. Almost 3 hours. Then bus from San Isidro to Esteli 30 cordobas. Almost 1 hour. The bus drops you at the spot you get the second bus, I waited only five minutes.
From Esteli COTRAN south terminal I walked two long blocks to the COTRAN north terminal and got a bus to Somoto, 42 cordobas, at 3.30 pm. Almost 1 hour and 45 minutes. Entire journey from Leon took a bit over 6 hours.
I took the 11:30 bus (saying Salinas Grandes) on Wednesday to find out (the hard way) that it does not go down to the beach. Apearently the 11:30/12:00 bus on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (or so) turns left about 8km from the beach down a dead end road.
To note, the bus for Las Peñitas does not go from the main terminal, it goes from the mercadito which is on the west side of the town. It costs 16C each way.
Hi. I would like to go from Leon to Esteli. My guidebook said that there are only 3 chicken buses a day (5.20; 12:40, 15:10) to Esteli. Does anyone know when and where the minibuses leave? Do they also leave from the bus terminal? Thanks!