San Juan Del Sur, One of the Best Beaches in Nicaragua

This week San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua was ranked by Trip Advisor as one of the top 5 beaches in Central America to visit for 2012. 

The full rankings can be found at: 

 http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g528745-d1755081-Reviews-San_Juan_del_Sur_Beach-San_Juan_del_Sur.html

San Juan Del Sur is located on the pacific coast of Nicaragua about 2.5 hours south of Managua, 45 minutes from the North border of Costa Rica and a thirty minute drive from Rivas. 

The following video about San Juan del Sur was created by CostaRica Travel Guide. It offers a quick preview of the colorful town and mentions popular places to eat, visit, and stay.  Top activities are horseback riding on the beach, sailing, surfing. Also, there is a big statue of Jesus Christ on a mount that it is worth visiting since the view from there is just wonderful. 

Link: http://youtu.be/bAsQ_a5suVM

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor

San Juan del Sur has about 3.5 kilometers of beach front! 

Can you imagine, lots of space to build sand castles,  play soccer. baseball, throw a frisbee, and go horseback riding.

San Juan del Sur offers lots of accommodations at different prices from super affordable (Hostels) to high end hotels (Pelican Eyes Resort). The same goes for restaurants and bars.

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor

The atmosphere is lay back and very friendly.  It is no  wonder that San Juan del Sur is found in the top 5 spots of Trip Advisor for 2012.

 

Madera Beach surfing paradise. 

The surf is, however, not in San Juan del Sur. Madera beach about 10 km north of San Juan del Sur to surf.
link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBiR2F8qhEk

A must visit:
Turtle Sanctuary in La Flor

About 22 kilometers south from San Juan del Sur, is the largest turtle nesting sanctuary in Nicaragua. Thousands of Olive Ridley turtles arrive to the beach between July and January, influenced by the lunar cycle, during so called arribadas (the arrival) to lay their eggs.   

About 50 days from the arrival, the eggs hatch and thousands of baby turtles come out of the sand and begin their journey into the ocean. 

These turtles also have nesting sites in Asia and Africa but are in threat of extinction due to the destruction of its egg nesting sites. 

Wildlife Reserve La Flor measures more than 3,000 hectares and it is one of the places in Nicaragua where besides observing the arrival (arribadas) of the Olive Ridley turtles you can also appreciate the marine life, land animals, insects, streams and various hikes. 

The following video shows a turtle laying its eggs. The text in Spanish names the different species of turtles that arrive in Nicaragua. But the images speak for them selves and I personally think this is a fascinating aspect of the circle of life. 
The link is: http://youtu.be/c4zmSuqHEVY