We loved our trip to San Juan del Sur and spent more than a month exploring.
- San Juan del Sur is perfect for surfing your choice of deserted beaches and killer breaks (check out Dale Dagger’s surf shop for all the local scoop).
- Pelican Eyes Sailing (and hotel Piedras y Olas – a 4-star property at affordable prices!) is a beautiful way to spend an entire day out on the water on a 42' crewed sailboat.
- Restaurant Sole o Mio has some of the area’s best pizza and authentic Italian food.
- Ricardo’s beachside bar offers tasty gringo food, cold beer and great tunes, day and night.
- Take the water taxi from San Juan del Sur to Majagual beach for a great day of boogy-boarding, swimming and sun-bathing (US round-trip), and check out the former vacation spot of Sandinista officials.
- Check out the Volcano Mombacho Reserve near Granada for hiking, nature watching and a fun "Canopy Tour."
- If you get tired of the sand, head up to Piedras y Olas hotel for a day of swimming at their ocean view swimming pool, set into the Cliffside overlooking SJdS. Great mango margaritas too!
Quick Tips:
Other great local places to visit near San Juan del Sur are:
- The oldest city in Central America; Granada, is a Spanish Colonial jewel and just 1.5 hours from San Juan del Sur.
- Isla Ometepe, about 20 minutes drive (and 1 hour ferry ride) from San Juan del Sur features white sand beaches, nature reserves, organic coffee plantations and two of the country’s most majestic volcanoes.
- Check out the turtles at nearby La Flor nature reserve.
- Kayak the beautiful Rio San Juan – part of the original Nicaraguan "gold rush route" from the late 1880s – or rent a kayak in Granada or San Jorge and paddle amongst any of 365 tiny islands in massive Lake Nicaragua.
- Masaya (about 1 ½ hours from SJdS) is a unique community of local artisans, including sculptors, painters, and ceramics artists. Cool souvenirs at great prices!
- Study Spanish at one of two local language schools in San Juan del Sur.
- The Costa Rican border (Penas Blancas) is just 30 minutes south of SJdS.
- Get more information on San Juan del Sur
here.
Best Way To Get Around:
Take an express bus from Managua's "Mercado Roberto Huembes" (Central Market), a 2.5 hour ride (US.50) to Rivas, then grab a "collectivo" taxi (US per person) to get to San Juan del Sur (about 15-20 minutes from Rivas). Make sure to get cash in Managua, Granada or Rivas as there are no banks and no ATMs in SJdS. Once in SJdS taxis back to Rivas are your best bet to go exploring -- most of the local Nica buses and major Central American bus lines pass through Rivas. Car rentals can be found in Managua, Granada and Leon, and perhaps a few smaller cities. In general, it's safe and easy to move about Nicaragua, but rather slow due to bad roads and slow buses. If you bring a sense of adventure and a bit of Spanish, you'll have an amazing time. We absolutely did.