Corinto

House in Corinto

Corinto is the principal port city in Nicaragua on the Northern Pacific Coast. In 2021, it was home to 18,500 people.

Understand

Corinto is a small sleepy port city with a five kilometer long ocean beach.

History

During colonial times, the most important harbor in Nicaragua was El Realejo, five kilometers north of Corinto. When its harbor became too shallow, a new port was constructed on an island closer to the ocean, where Corinto was founded in 1858.

Get in

By bus

• From Chinandega: take a bus from the main bus station.

By ship

• Some cruise ships dock at Corinto.

Get around

From the bus station to the Central Park in the center of the city, it's a 20-minute walk, but taxi cabs are also available. The best way to get around in the center of the city is to walk.

See

• 1 Central Park (Parque Central). A good place to rest and watch people. 
• 2 Municipal Museum (Museo Municipal) (north side of the Central Park). Small local museum. 

Do

Swimming

Corinto has a beautiful 5-km-long beach, Costa Azul, along the western side of the city. There are several restaurants lined up on the coast. This place offers a beautiful view of the bay and many other islands in front of it. Among these islands is the famous Isla El Cardón, known as the place where the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío wrote “A Margarita”, one of his most famous poems. It and the other islands are narrow and uninhabited, covered by trees; however, they are a good place to swim, a quiet stay and beautiful sunsets can be seen from them. Fishermen offer an alternative to move to these islands.

Eat

El Espigón restaurant by the ocean.

• 1 Restaurante El Espigón (7 blocks west of Central Park, at the southern end of the beach). Fresh seafood with a view over the ocean. 

Go next

• Chinandega — Buses leave frequently from the bus terminal.