One of the easiest excursions from Granada is just a five-minute taxi ride, a quickly arranged tour or a short bike ride from the city center. Lake Cocibolca—also known as Lake Granada or Lake Nicaragua—sits immediately beside the city. The lake is vast: crossing it end to end takes about 14 hours by boat. Close to Granada, however, a chain of small islands lines a peninsula that formed when an eruption of Mombacho sent lava flowing into the water thousands of years ago.
Take a private or a scheduled boat trip to explore the islands and shoreline. Local fishermen often work in the shallows, throwing nets and tending small boats, and you can visit a compact Spanish fort that once guarded Granada from British forces and pirates. Equally appealing are the elegant weekend homes scattered across the islets, many set in lush gardens; one island even hosts resident monkeys in the trees. Birdlife is abundant—look for herons, oropendolas, cormorants and the occasional osprey swooping down with a fish in its talons.