For the first time, Austin-Lehman Adventures will offer small-group and custom itineraries to Nicaragua. The eight-day/seven-night Nicaragua: Cerro Negro to San Juan del Sur programs with scheduled departures Jan. 26, March 23, March 30, July 27, Aug. 3, Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Dec. 21 and Dec. 28, 2013, begin and end in Managua. The per person double occupancy rate is $2,398 ($380 single supplement).

“This is Austin-Lehman’s first foray into the wilds of Nicaragua,” said Dan Austin, founding director. “We wanted to design a tour that offers a broad, behind-the-scenes look at Nicaragua’s extraordinary natural and cultural treasures.” Guests overnight in accommodations known for their cultural, environmental and historic significance.

            Home to countless volcanoes, a spectacular coastline, the two largest fresh-water lakes in Central America and rainforests teeming with flora and fauna, Nicaragua has been designated one of Mesoamerica’s “biodiversity hotspots.” Guests climb to the rim of Cerro Negro crater before surfing on an ash board down its black volcanic sands; tour the cathedral, galleries and museums of Leon, the intellectual capital of Nicaragua; hike Masaya Volcano National Park, home to a 54-square-kilometer caldera and two (one active, one dormant) volcanoes; kayak on the Asesse Peninsula among the Mombacho islets of Lake Nicaragua to witness some 250 species of birds; soar with a boisterous population of monkeys and birds on a zip line tour of Mombacho Nature Reserve; and relax on the white sand beaches of San Juan del Sur.