León

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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!

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FINE PRINT

We do not 100% guarantee that all schedules, times and prices are exact. The information in this website is based on personal experience and by information submitted by other travellers. Information has been gathered from station schedules, station managers, bus drivers and driver helpers. We have done our best to get as much accurate up to date information as possible, but prices and times change. Also, remember that you are responsible for your own health and safety. Travel safe and travel smart - and have fun!

*PLEASE CHECK COMMENTS FROM OTHER TRAVELERS FOR UPDATES. WE HAVE NOT ACTIVELY UPDATED INFORMATION FOR 2YRS*
*PLEASE LEAVE YOUR UPDATES IN A COMMENT BELOW!*

CONNECTING STATIONS

PHOTOS TO SHOW YOU THE WAY

Nicer bathrooms here than in Managua

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Inside the station

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Inside the station

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Outside the station

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Outside the station

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Busses driving in

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

UCA Microbus dropping passengers off

Pedal Taxis available if you should want one.

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Outside the station

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

Taxis are constantly rolling through.

Photo taken: February 29, 2016 (leap year!)

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67 travel tips for León - share your tips below!

  1. Aki

    Made my way from Leon to el Gigante yesterday. I left Leon at 05:00 worrying about not making the Rivas to El Gigante bus that leaves once a day at 13:30, but in hindsight I could have left around 06:30.. maybe I was lucky but the route to Rivas went much faster than expected.

    Leon terminal – Managua UCA with microbus 78 cordoba, which goes all day and leaves when the bus is full. Took a taxi from Managua UCA to Managua Mercado Roberto Huembo for 5$ (Don’t accept the 10$ they initially start with). Then took the bus to Rivas for 100 cordoba (left my bag in the back of the bus with all the other passengers extra baggage), which leaves when full but run all day too. From Rivas I waited at the market (walked around and got some fruit and lunch) for the one-time a day bus at 13:30 to Playa Gigante 30 cordoba.

  2. Wouter Marsmans

    There is a city bus (ordenario) and an open van with a blue cover and benches in the back that drives around Leon. We used them to get from Terminal to the bus station for Las Penitas and back. Both are 5 cordobas per person incl luggage.

  3. Jeremy

    We went from Leon to Managua then from Managua to Granada a month ago.
    From Leon to Managua, we took the bus and it costed us 50 cordobas per person. There was the option of the mini van but it was 70 cordobas and they also wanted to charge us for our bags.
    We arrived in Managua in a terminal where no buses where going to Granada. We had to change terminal and the taxi were ridiculously expensive (180 to 200 cordobas) so we hitchhiked with the cops to the other terminal (sorry I don’t remember the names of the terminals).
    From there you can take the bus or some minivans. We took the minivans and paid around 60 cordobas per person (the buses might be less expensive but we were pretty tired to negociate at that point).
    All in all it might be better to take the mini vans from Leon depending where they drop you off I would say.

  4. Ben

    hi,
    i’ve taken a bus from leon to esteli. it was a big chicken bus (not the microbusses) at 12:45 p.m. still, there’s an “expresso” sign at the bus.

    everybody i asked (even the guy working behind the counter, selling tickets) was saying that there’s no bus for today, anymore. but, of course, i could get a minivan taxi for 100 dollars 😉

    just wanted to warn you. don’t trust guys who say that there’s no bus.

    the bus costs 100 cordobas to esteli (dec 2021).

    safe travels to you all 🙂

  5. Marian

    I took the minibus from Leon to Esteli on 5th March 2020. I caught the last one leaving for the morning at 11.30am, it was packed full by 11.25am. Took 3 hours due to roadworks but otherwise fine. There’s a chicken bus that also leaves around 2.45pm/3pm (best to arrive early) which is meant to be the last bus from Leon to Esteli for the day. It seemed like there’s no buses between the 11.30am one and the 2.45pm (14.45) one, although several leave earlier in the morning.

  6. Verona

    We took the bus from León to Granada today (Feb 26,2020). We tried to take a minibus but must have ended up in the shuttle area (or were very aggressively being ripped off by a guy stating the price to Managua was over 600$C each and trying to shove other people away from us when we were trying to confirm prices). So we ended up taking the regular bus, which was a step up from a regular chicken bus for 60$C each to UCA Station in Managua. It left at 10am (I was told they leave hourly). We were dropped off on the street about 1 block from where the minibus to Granada was waiting. We paid 33$C per person & 33$C for our two large bags (99$C total). It was about 3.5hrs total and our drivers and everyone (except the first guy) were super friendly and helpful.

  7. Matt

    Leon to Chinandega chicken bus. Just be aware we were overcharged on this bus the conductor overcharged us for our seats and bags and then tried to get more out of us. Bus coming back was fine. Only conductor I have had an issue with, you will know it if you get him as he is the fattest man you will see In Nicaragua! If he is on the bus you want I would skip it and get the next one (every 20 minutes) or be prepared to argue in good Spanish!

  8. Sophie

    Yesterday we took the bus from Leon to Esteli at 15:00. It was a minivan with 30 seats and a very unfriendly driver. We took off at 3:30 pm once the bus was almost full. Costs: 95 cordoba

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