Surfing in San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua
Surfing in San Juan Del Sur – Nicaragua
The stop in this city was basically for surfing. San Juan del Sur is known for its partying, which is strong. It is also known for some of the nearby beaches where there is a lot of surfing. The beach is not very nice, on the contrary, it is a bit dirty and it is not possible to surf there. However, this is the main town in the south of Nicaragua and the starting point for many nearby beaches. This town is a bit expensive. Hostels are about US$10 per night and food (if you don’t cook it yourself) can be between (4-10) US$.
– What to do in San Juan del Sur:
- Climb up to the statue of Jesus: Very close to the village there is a huge statue of Jesus very similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro. You can walk or drive up to the statue.
- Sunday Funday: If you are in any of the main cities of Nicaragua you will surely notice this event. Many people wore a t-shirt with Sunday Funday written on it and after seeing it many times I dared to ask about it and they explained that it was a kind of pub crawl in San Juan del Sur. If you like rumba and want to meet people, this is probably an event you want to do.
- Walking around the city can be an option. SJDS is small and full of many bars, restaurants and places where you can relax.
- Catamaran trip: This is a bit of an expensive trip. It usually costs US$75 and you are taken by catamaran to a private beach where you can swim. You have an open bar (all you can drink), fresh ceviche and the trip ends at sunset. We didn’t have the resources to do this one but if you’re interested you can take advantage of it.
http://www.nicasailandsurf.com/
- several companies offer horseback riding along some of the beaches. Here is one of them
http://www.ranchochilamate.com/
The idea for us in San Juan del Sur instead of partying was to surf. So we spent one night at Playa Maderas. The beach is very quiet and also very beautiful. There is a rock formation on the north side of the beach which gives the sunsets a nice touch. At this beach, you can also rent surfboards for US$10 (April 2015).
We stayed at a hostel called “Mathilda” which is about 15-20 minutes’ walk from Playa Madera. This is the only way to get there and we had to walk with our heavy luggage for that long on the sandy beach which was very tiring. However, the hostel is quite nice and very particular. It has several rooms designed, I would say, for people of small height. Although it is a bit uncomfortable to enter the room, they are very well adapted. It is a hostel you will never forget. It has a very wide beach right in front of the hostel but the whole time we were in Playa Maderas.
Playa Maderas is a very good place to surf. The waves were not that high and there was good space for beginners. The more advanced surfers also had their space in the back where they could show all their skills.
This was the hostel in San Juan del Sur where we stayed for 1 night. The hotel is good and they have shuttles leaving for all the main beaches.
Here are some photos of this great adventure:
