A Hidden Gem of Central America

It seems absolutely ridiculous to say this but Nicaragua has been on my bucketlist for the last 17 years, ever since I saw a photo of a university buddy ash boarding down the Cerro Negro volcano (yes, that’s a thing!). I put it in the back of my mind and hoped that one day we’d have the opportunity to visit.

Well, fast forward 17 years and Louise and I suddenly had an amazing opportunity to visit Nicaragua and check out our good friend’s epic new Airbnb in San Juan Del Sur.

A week of exploring later, and Nicaragua has blown absolutely every expectation we had out of the water. It is absolutely one of the safest, most beautiful, most unusual places we’ve ever been and it should absolutely be on everyone’s must see bucket list.

This blog post is going to talk about our amazing trip to San Juan Del Sur, some of the amazing things to do there, some of the other incredible things you can do in Nicaragua and where to stay while you’re there. Let’s go!

Why San Juan del Sur is a Must-Visit Destination

So if you haven’t heard of San Juan Del Sur, it’s a sleepy beach town at the south eastern tip and west coast of Nicaragua. It’s relatively close to the border of Costa Rica and is about a 2 hour drive from the main airport in Managua, or a 2 hour drive from the Costa Rican airport of Liberia.

The landscape is a mixture of dry, tropical jungle and beautiful beaches. It has an amazing remote feel to it, but the small seaside town of San Juan Del Sur is plenty busy, with dozens of great bars, cafes and restaurants.

What is San Juan Del Sur like?

Visitors to the area know it for its variety of surf breaks, ranging from small beginner waves to huge barrels for experts. It’s also a popular backpacker spot, with a regular stream of young travellers stopping by to check out the adventure travel, stay in hostels and take part in the famous San Juan Sunday Funday bar crawl. Unfortunately we were looking for more of a relaxing vacation, so we decided to give that a pass this time around, but it looked like a wild day full of pool parties and DJ’s at various hostels. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for something a bit more high energy!

So as I mentioned, we were really looking forward to a relaxing vacation at San Juan Del Sur, and thanks to a wave of new villa construction, it’s now possible to book a beautiful Airbnb and chill here in total luxury. More on that later.

Without too much on our itinerary, we relied heavily on our Airbnb to help suggest a few activities to do in the area and help us get the best out of our trip. Thankfully, our stay included an amazing local english speaking guide, Xiomara, who helped us plan everything we wanted to do!

Daily activities in San Juan Del Sur

While surfing is a huge draw to the area, I was recovering from a torn rotator cuff, so unfortunately it was off the cards. Instead we found a few other amazing things to do. Here are the highlights!

Horseback riding on Playa Maderas

We’ve ridden horses on trips in the past, and this is quite a common thing to do in Central/South America. Far too often, the horses seem underfed, overworked and far too small for large tourists like me. For once, it seemed like we were sent to a stables where the horses were taken care of and genuinely seemed to enjoy their adventures. Thankfully, the horse I was given was a decent size, and capable of handling a 220lb man, but perhaps it might have struggled if I was much bigger.

We started at a rough pin on the map, where we pulled up to a rubble filled parking lot and met a couple of locals saddling up a few horses. We didn’t speak any spanish, they didn’t speak any english, but we figured we were all there to meet each other and quickly set off.

After a 5-10 minute ride up and down a gravel road, we eventually ended up at Playa Maderas; a sprawling, stunning beach with plenty of waves for surfing and plenty of spaces for the horses to run.

Typically, organised horse riding is fairly limited in scope. You plod behind the leader and they tend to be more boring than exciting (in my experience). As soon as health and safety is involved, the fun tends to go out the window.

Not so on this adventure. The four of us were all relatively experienced with horses and as soon as we hit the beach, we took off! The horses just wanted to run, so we were galloping along the sand within seconds. It was such an amazing experience that we could have kept going all day.

Before heading back, we stopped at a sleepy beachside bar for a cold cerveza. It was the perfect way to spend the morning. I can highly recommend it!

Playa Maderas had a number of surf rental shops as well, so if I was feeling fit I would have absolutely come back here for a surf. The waves looked like a manageable level, and they were breaking on sand rather than rock or coral. The perfect spot for casual surfers or beginners.

Morning Yoga sessions

One of the best parts of the trip was an early morning yoga session at our villa. For $25USD per person, our yogi came to our villa and gave us an amazing hour long session while we watched the sun come up over the bay. Highly recommend!

Day trip to Ometepe

San Juan Del Sur is located about an hour from the ferry terminal to get to the famous island of Ometepe; an island in Nicaragua’s biggest lake, comprising of two giant volcanos.

From the ferry terminal, it’s a 1 hour ferry trip. On the other side, it’s a few bucks to rent a moped for the day and explore the sleepy island. We made a day trip of it, which wasn’t quite enough time (I could have spent a week there), but we had enough time to catch the 10.30 ferry, arrive around 11.30, scoot across the island for lunch, go for a dip in the Ojo de Agua amazing crystal clear springs, and then scoot back to catch the 5.30pm ferry. It was a bit of a ridiculous adventure when it was all said and done, but I absolutely cannot recommend it enough.

Staying in San Juan Del Sur was a great base for a day trip, and it meant we didn’t have to drive for hours across the country in the middle of the night. Given another crack at it, we probably would have got up much earlier and caught the early ferry at 8am.

Morning Massages at Villa Solstice

Another service you can have directly at your residence, is an in-house massage. We were feeling pretty beaten up after our trip down from Canada, so a massage to start the trip was exactly what the doctor ordered. The masseuses set up outside and worked on 4 of us for a lot less than we’d pay back home. Massages worked out to $50USD per person.

Ash Boarding on Cerro Negro Volcano

This one isn’t exactly nearby, but as it was on my bucketlist for almost 20 years, it was something I wasn’t going to miss out on.

Ash boarding takes place just outside the city of Leon, around a 4 hour drive from San Juan Del Sur. This was a full day adventure, and our hike/board was scheduled to begin at 2pm. This allowed us time to reach the volcano (about an hour), time to hike (another hour), time to hang out on the top of the volcano and then a bit of time to line up and wait for our turn before hurtling back down the volcano at sunset! Full write up coming soon!

Absolutely worth the effort and energy to get there, and the only place in the world where you can do it! Thankfully we’d rented a car and the drive was really straightforward. The city of Leon is also absolutely beautiful and worth walking around and exploring. There’s a beautiful white cathedral in the heart, and a lovely downtown pedestrian zone to check out.

Head to the beach at San Juan Del Sur

The town of San Juan Del Sur is a sleepy yet vibrant seaside town with dozens of great cafes, bars and restaurants, and a stunning crescent shaped bay with perfect little waves. It’s a fantastic place to hang out if you want to sunbath, swim in the ocean or eat some delicious seafood.

If you’re looking for good seafood, just walk along the beachfront and drop into any of the restaurants. You’ll have amazing views of the sea and the seafood is fresh and delicious. We ordered a huge plate of lobster and seafood for 4 people and it worked out to about $20USD per person.

Walk to the Cristo de La Misericordia statue

The Cristo de La Misericordia statue (large Jesus statue) overlooking the bay is an absolute must see while you’re in San Juan del Sur. It’s situated right on the top of the cliffs and it’s a steep hike up from the town. It’s a test of your mettle to get there but absolutely worth it for the views. It’s particularly busy on the weekends as it also functions as a chapel.

The statue is the 11th largest Jesus statue in the world, and was built in 2009 as a sign of faith from a rich Nicaraguan man that defeated cancer.

From Villa Solstice, it is a much shorter climb and was just a 5 minute walk. A nice little perk that meant we didn’t have to struggle up the huge hill from the town! From town, it’s maybe a 20-30 minute walk uphill, depending on where you start.

Buy a day pass to Tree Casa

Tree Casa is a new inland resort which is the perfect hangout for families with kids, looking to enjoy a bit of chill time by the pool with some good food and drinks. Entry is about $25USD but the majority of this fee is redeemable on food and cocktails. There are fun waterslides for kids and a small cliff jump, and an enormous treehouse to explore.

We came here in the evening and enjoyed a few delicious cocktails and a couple of lobsters. Definitely a good option if you’re looking for something a bit different to the regular beachside restaurants!

Our Unforgettable Stay at Villa Solstice

Throughout our stay in San Juan Del Sur, we stayed at the breathtaking Villa Solstice, up on the hill by the Cristo de La Misericordia statue.

The villa looks out over the bay with breathtaking sea views. In the mornings, we enjoyed waking up to the roar of a troupe of howler monkeys, and drinking our coffee by the infinite pool.

We visited in March, and while we found it to be swelteringly hot down in the town, the breeze up on the hill kept us nice and cool throughout the hottest parts of the day. It has a feeling of instant escape. You know you’re a short drive from the town, but with the expansive views, it really feels like you’re on your own in the middle of nowhere.

Thoughtful luxury design

If you’re looking for a luxury retreat, Villa Solstice is absolutely top notch. It’s thoughtfully designed with amazing views in each room, floor to ceiling windows and doors and an incredible infinite pool. Plenty of room for a large group to enjoy a movie or a delicious meal prepared by the in-house chefs (which you can book for an additional fee).

The master bedroom has one of the most stunning bathrooms I’ve ever seen, with a stand alone tub as well as an outdoor shower on the balcony.

The wifi is great, there are interesting books on the shelves and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had softer sheets. Sunsets are stunning and it doesn’t get much better than sitting on the terrace with a beer in hand!

The whole villa feels incredibly clean, safe. It’s luxurious yet cozy. We can’t recommend it enough and great for big groups of friends, families or couples looking for an escape.

The staff at Villa Solstice stand out

Unfortunately our group’s Spanish was very limited, so it was enormously helpful that our stay included help from an english speaking concierge, Xio. She was available at all times and helped us book various meals, excursions and treatments. We’re honestly not used to travelling with that level of service, so it’s going to be a struggle to go back to normal after this!

On the day we arrived, we warned Xio that we would be arriving after midnight, and asked if they could prepare something light for us to eat when we arrived. We expected something cold to be left in the fridge for us, but instead we walked in to two chefs diligently cooking us fresh fish tacos (this was 12.20am!). We felt terrible that they’d stayed up so late to cook for us, but we were absolutely blown away by the effort and the hospitality.

For any days we weren’t making use of the chefs, we requested ingredients for certain dishes, and they fully stocked our fridge with supplies. It made our stay infinitely easier, even though there was a fantastic supermarket just 5 minutes away by car.

All in all, I can’t recommend Villa Solstice enough and we hope we can go back again in the future! You learn more about it here.

What to Do While Staying at Villa Solstice

Mornings

Book a morning yoga session or massage, wake up to breakfast and coffee from the in house chefs or head down to the beach for a pre-breakfast surf! Enjoy the pool and get some vitamin D out on the terrace!

Afternoons

Order a delicious lunch or snack from the chefs or take a 10-15 minute stroll into town for lunch. You can stop off at the Christ statue along the way or beeline to the beach down below. Take an organised boat tour or chill at the beach.

Evenings

Have a drink on the patio before walking into town for a delicious seafood dinner. Stop into a bar for a cocktail or two!

Or chill with an in-house chef prepared meal and watch a movie on the super comfy couch.

Final Thoughts: The Perfect San Juan del Sur Experience

To be honest, we absolutely loved San Juan Del Sur because it feels like it hasn’t been taken over by big tourism. We didn’t see any major hotels there, and it has a rustic charm that’s quite hard to come by in this day and age. It has a unique central american, Nicaraguan charm that is fun, vibrant, safe and casual.

By combining it with our stay at Villa Solstice, we could enjoy all of the above but stay in relative luxury. Quite frankly, it’s the perfect travel experience for us. What’s not to love!

Louise and I fell in love with Nicaragua in a way that we weren’t expecting. We’ve travelled to Belize, and Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula, and it was an altogether different and unique experience. It is well worth adding to any bucketlist, and I sincerely hope it won’t be the last time we visit!