San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Next on my list of must see destinations in Nicaragua is San Juan del Sur.

This town of approximately 20,000 residents in located along the southwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua just north of the Costa Rica border. The center piece of the former fishing village is its beautiful horseshoe bay filled with small yachts, sail boats, fishing boats and the occasional cruise ship. The white sand beach makes a half circle around the town and is great for leisurely walks, exercising or a quick dip in the water.

One of the major attractions of San Juan del Sur is the easy access it provides to many of Nicaragua’s finest beaches and surfing destinations. Nearby are such popular beaches as Playa Madera, Remanso, Popoyo, Gigante and many more. There is occasional surf in town near the river mouth on the north side of the bay, but it is rarely anything to write home about. The surf in the region of the country is helped by nearly year round off shore winds as a result of the weather patterns caused by Lake Nicaragua.

I found San Juan del Sur to be the perfect blend of relaxation and civilization. Prior to my time in San Juan del Sur I had spent a month in Playa Negra in Costa Rica, and while the surfing and the scenery in Playa Negra was amazing, I actually missed the idea of being able to walk to a variety of restaurants, bars, stores, etc. San Juan is not too big yet it is not too small. Some of my town favorites included delicious dinners at El Colibri, sitting at almost any of the beachfront palapa bars sipping strawberry daiquiris while watching the sunset or enjoying a football game at Big Wave Dave’s.

San Juan del Sur also has a great variety of places to stay. Your options range from such upscale accommodations as the Piedras y Olas Pelican Eyes, Morgan’s Rock and Park Avenue Villas to budget hostels such as the Costa Azul or Casa Oro. Another nice option is La Posada Azul near the beach in town.

For me, San Juan del Sur offered the perfect location to venture off and visit as much of Nicaragua and Costa Rica as possible. It is a mere half hour to 40 minutes from the Costa Rica border and Costa Rica’s northern peninsulas are visible from parts of town. When I return to Nicaragua I will once again make San Juan del Sur my home base.

Leon, Playa Peñitas and Volcano Boarding at Cerro Negro

The city of Leon and the surrounding region is next on my list of Nicaragua must sees.



The original city of León, in Nicaragua (one of the oldest European cities in the new world) was established in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba about 20 miles east of the present site. After the 1610 eruption of the Momotombo volcano, located only a couple miles away, caused extensive damage, the inhabitants of this old León decided to move to the city’s present location.



As a colonial city, León has many fine examples of Spanish Colonial architecture, including the grand Cathedral of the Assumption, built from 1706 to 1740, with two towers added in 1746 and 1779. I personally have a slight preference towards Granada as a colonial city, but for each their own. What makes León such a great destination to me are some of the places and adventures that await you outside the city. In particular I love the relaxing atmosphere at the beaches of Playa Peñitas and Poneloya, and the Volcano boarding at Cerro Negro.



In León, we stayed at a little hostel call the Bigfoot which I really liked (They make a delicious Mojito). One of the activities that they offered was Volcano Boarding. Naturally, when something as unusual as volcano boarding is an option you sign up. The next day a group of eight of us jumped in the truck with the hostel owner, Darryn from Australia, and headed off to Cerro Negro. From there we proceeded on a short hour hike up to the top of this smaller volcano each carrying a wooden plank that they has built custom for descending this particular volcano (see photo below). While on the Volcano we went for a quick spin through the crater. This volcano is very active and you can feel the heat protruding from the ground that you are standing on.



I found this promo for the Bigfoot Hostel on YouTube. It gives a pretty good feel for the Volcano boarding.



This is the same place where the world mountain bike speed record was set (see video). This guy is completely insane.



At the opposite end of the spectrum you have Playa Peñitas. This is a quick bus ride or cheap taxi west of León.



We stayed at the the Oasis (above) which was recommended by our friends at the Bigfoot in León, but we also spent some time hanging out at the Playa Roca (below) and found the owner, Cookie, to be very nice. She even drove us back into León one evening when we missed the bus.



The beach at Peñitas can be a little dangerous for inexperienced swimmers, but you can also get some good surf if you catch the right tide.

Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua

The next place on my list of “must see destinations” in Nicaragua is Laguna de Apoyo.

Laguna de Apoyo is located very centrally between Masaya and Granada (about a half hour from each) and is also a short trip from Managua (less than an hour). It is Nicaragua’s cleanest, bluest, deepest and most refreshing swimming hole. Laguna de Apoyo offers a 48-square-kilometer body of water trapped inside the crater of the Apoyo Volcano. The deepest measured point at 200 meters is the lowest point in all of Central America. Its shores are easily accessible, and a small number of tourist facilities and luxurious private homes have been constructed at the water’s edge. The volcano still has some underwater thermal vents and experiences the occasional seismic tremor, but for the most part, it’s considered dormant and its walls are thickly vegetated with green forest and a chaotic network of trails, most of which exists as a protected nature reserve.

I have always been more of an “ocean” person, but I found Laguna de Apoyo incredibly relaxing and the scenery absolutely breath-taking. Inside the crater it is something of an alpine setting. It feels more like you are somewhere in the Rocky Mountains or Sierra Nevada than in a crater in Nicaragua. The water in the lake was cool enough to be refreshing which is also an abnormality in these parts.

The little hotel we stayed in was called The Crater’s Edge and it was really nice little place. The owner and staff were very friendly and it was reasonably priced. We also had some friends who stayed at the Monkey Hut which is affiliated with the very popular Bearded Monkey hostel in Granada. They really enjoyed the Monkey Hut as well, so both come recommended.

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

My top 10 must see Nicaragua travel destinations:

We will start with number one and I will add a new one every few days. I have to start with Little Corn Island off the east coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean. This place is an absolute paradise

Little Corn Island

This small Caribbean island off the coast of Nicaragua is one of the coolest destinations I have ever been to. It is not easy to get to, but if a little adventure is in your blood you will agree that it is easily worth your efforts. We took the easy travel road which consisted of a morning flight from Managua to Big Corn Island and then a quick boat ride over to Little Corn (You can also take the long bus to Bluefields and then take another long boat ride from there).

First thing you see when you reach the island is that there are no roads and no cars. The main thoroughfare on the island is a short sidewalk on the beachfront on what they call the "front side" of the island. We had heard from some friends that we should stay on the "breezy side", which requires a walk through the jungle via an unmarked trail, so we figured we would give it a go. We ended up following a girl who worked at Elsa's Place, one of the "breezy side" hotels through a jungle trail in the dark and eventually ended up at a little place called Sunrise Paradise. A room for three of us was $10 per night. It was far from luxury, but also steps from the water. The nightlife was surprisingly alive at one of the other little hotels down the beach from us called the Cool Spot and the meals were delicious and inexpensive. I had some of the best lobster I have ever had for less than $10 and there was an ample supply of Toña and Flor de Caña.

Straight out from out hotel there was a ship wrecked on the reef. We rented some snorkel gear and took a swim out (It was farther than it looked). The water was amazing and the sealife abundant. We ultimately ended up catching a boat to the reefs on the north side of the island and swam with sharks, rays, turtles and more fish than you can imagine. We also enjoyed a nice social dinner one night at the Casa Iguana which was also a pretty cool and more upscale hotel than where we stayed. The couple that ran the Casa Iguana was very cool and friendly. Although we only snorkeled, there is also a nice little dive shop on the island that can take you out scuba diving if you desire.