Book Affordable Bus Tickets to Masaya

Masaya is one of the oldest towns in Nicaragua + has long been the country's artisan capital. The Mercado Viejo de Artesanías (old crafts market) is housed in a restored 1888 colonial market building + offers the country's best concentration of traditional Nicaraguan crafts: hammocks (Masaya's signature export — woven by hand, range $20-100 USD), leather goods (saddles, belts, sandals), ceramics (especially from the nearby San Juan de Oriente village which specializes in traditional pottery), paintings (primitivist + folk art), and woven textiles. The market is less touristy + more authentic than the upmarket alternatives in Granada or Managua + has the country's best prices for travelers wanting to buy crafts.

Volcán Masaya National Park (~5 km south of town) is the area's other major draw. The park protects two volcanoes (Masaya + Nindirí) with 5 craters total, of which the Santiago Crater is the most spectacular — an actively degassing crater with a live lava lake visible at the bottom. Visitors can drive to the crater rim + look directly down at glowing molten lava + the steaming caldera (one of the few accessible active volcano craters in the world that allows such direct viewing — most require a long hike or distant viewpoints). Night tours (when authorized) are the most spectacular — the lava glow is dramatically more visible after dark. The park also has the Cueva Tzinaconostoc bat cave + multiple hiking trails. Park entry $4 USD + the volcano-rim drive is included; night tours run from Granada operators when authorities permit.