Nicaragua/San Juan del Sur Tips, Priorities, Photo Secrets?

Am looking to do a Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco cruise through the Panama Canal in late February-early March 2017. This includes a 7 am to 6 pm tendered stop in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It would be on Wednesday, March 8. This would be our first time for visiting Columbia, Panama Canal, Central America, etc. BUT, surprise, I cannot seem to find a specific Cruise Critic board for Nicaragua. Am I, a fairly experienced CC board veteran, missing something or looking in the wrong places?

Any special secrets, ideas, suggestions, experiences, etc., to share as to where is best to feed our interests in history, photography, nature, sampling the people and character of this area, etc.?? Just doing too much of the usual tourist stops/shopping is not our priority and/or interest.

I have read with interest that this once a sleepy fishing village, San Juan de Sur, has been discovered along with its charming, crescent-shaped bay and beach. It gains praise as an authentic, laid-back slice of Pacific Coast paradise. Right? There are several good ship excursion options that we are considering, including ones that visit colonial Granada on Lake Nicaragua. Is that a must-see? Worth it to take that time and effort? We are not as much the "hang at the beach" folks. Or, is it a better bet to do exploring tour at the capital city of Managua?

Given our limited time here, doing a private tour might not be as much of priority or that available. Or, should that be very important to do in order to see more, lessening the crowds, waiting for folks to unload and load on the bus, etc. Looking forward to the smart sharing of any good, unique ideas. And, love to read any and all key photo tips for this country that seems to be on the fast rise. Maybe the Costa Rica of the future for this country?

THANKS for the help! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 43,548 views for these postings.

Hi Terry,

We will be making our first transit of the Canal this January, which also includes a port call in Nicaragua (Corinto). Like you, I'm a CC veteran, and after we booked, I searched high and low for a Nicaragua forum on here. Could not find one. I really don't think there is one.

I also tried to find one for Costa Rica, and came up short, until, by chance, I stumbled on an OLD thread in this forum that mentioned a Costa Rica forum under the Caribbean Ports of Call board. And yes indeed, there it is. I would NEVER have thought to look there, since Costa Rica also borders the Pacific. :)

So does Nicaragua, so I looked in the Caribbean forum as well. Nothing there.

Wish I could help you on the port question, but this will be our first time visiting Nicaragua as well.

Like you, we also have a port call in Colombia. (We'll be in Cartagena, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Old City.)

I hope you find the info you are looking for (but it probably won't be here on CC).

We're really excited about this trip! (Do read David McCullough's wonderful book "The Path Between the Seas" if you haven't done so already.)

Enjoy!

We visited San Juan del Sur and Costa Rica on Windstar. You will find more information on SJDS and the Pacific side of Costa Rica on that part of CC. WS has regular winter itineraries there, so there is quite a bit of info available on the WS boards.

Those on our cruise who took the Granada tour enjoyed it. We don't like long bus trips so we did our own thing in SJDS. It may have changed since we were there but it was definitely a sleepy place. It also slopes steeply up from the beach, so walking can be challenging. The views of the coast from up high are gorgeous, though.

P.S. my photography tip = rest your camera outdoors a bit before you want to use it outdoors. The lens will fog up when you hit the humidity after being in the AC, and you want to give it time to equalize to the outside temp. (You probably already know this from being in the Amazon.)

Hi Terry, We will be making our first transit of the Canal this January, which also includes a port call in Nicaragua (Corinto). Like you, I'm a CC veteran, and after we booked, I searched high and low for a Nicaragua forum on here. Could not find one. I really don't think there is one. Like you, we also have a port call in Colombia. (We'll be in Cartagena, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Old City.) We're really excited about this trip! (Do read David McCullough's wonderful book "The Path Between the Seas" if you haven't done so already.)

MJC: We visited San Juan del Sur and Costa Rica on Windstar. You will find more information on SJDS and the Pacific side of Costa Rica on that part of CC. WS has regular winter itineraries there' date=' so there is [b']quite a bit of info available on the WS boards[/b]. Those on our cruise who took the Granada tour enjoyed it. We don't like long bus trips so we did our own thing in SJDS. It may have changed since we were there but it was definitely a sleepy place. It also slopes steeply up from the beach, so walking can be challenging. The views of the coast from up high are gorgeous, though.

MJC: P.S. my photography tip = rest your camera outdoors a bit before you want to use it outdoors. The lens will fog up when you hit the humidity after being in the AC' date=' and you want to give it time to equalize to the outside temp. (You probably already know this from being in the Amazon.) [/quote']

 

Appreciate these excellent suggestions and ideas. Am copying and saving in the trip file on my laptop computer. Very helpful with these potentials to consider. Keep it coming with these various tips and secrets. This is very beneficial background that aids me and I am sure for others checking this thread.

 

Yes, have that "The Path Between the Seas" book on my to-read list for this trip. Will check more on the Windstar-related sites for added info there. Yes, had a few fogging issues in the Amazon, but things worked out and adjusted fine.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 157,130 views for this posting.

We went through the Panama Canal in March. It is HOT. and HUMID. Technical fabrics and brimmed hats were popular clothing choices. If your ship is offering any films on the building of the canal, I recommend seeing them.

From Puntarenas you will have to go inland to do pretty much anything, unless you want to hang at the beach, so plan for an hour of bus time there and back, especially to San Jose. Most of those kinds of tours will take up all your port time. If you are docking there, you will be at the commercial port called Puerto Caldera. There is nothing there you can walk to except for a local beach with no amenities. Puntarenas is actually the resort area that is about 20 minutes to the north by taxi.

Poas Volcano is in the cloud forest, so the odds of seeing the crater are not great. Also the likelihood of nice photo ops elsewhere in the cloud forest is low. It is a beautiful experience, but visibility can be an issue for photography unless you get lucky.

Likewise, canopy tours can be beautiful but take with a grain of salt any claims that you will see wildlife way up there.

Neither Costa Rica nor San Juan del Sur is like the Caribbean ports that have lots of shopping and dining infrastructure that caters to cruise ships.

This is a tiny and charming town that hosts young surfers in search of the perfect wave.

There were few people around, other than cruise people looking for their excursions.

The town is well provisioned with internet cafes.

We wanted something different than what the ship offered (Princess), so we contacted http://www.ranchochilamate.com/horseback-adventures/ and made arrangements with them. We explained that we were on a ship, and they worked out pickup and timing for a wonderful and relaxing day in rural Nicaragua. The beach we rode horses on was the same one used for Survivor.

Check it out.

I spent a few weeks in Nicaragua a few years ago, great country, friendly people. San Juan del Sur as you know is a beach town popular with the surfing crowd, much like Tamarindo in Costa Rica but less developed. Some quiet beach communities are south of there if you're looking for something more adventurous, we stayed at a rustic resort in Playa el Coco for a few nights, the beach is a protected turtle nesting area. The road from San Juan del Sur is not paved, nor are there bridges at the river crossings, we had a rental truck, we'd just gear down and drive through the river.

We went to Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. You take the ferry from San Jorge, crossing is about 1hr. Very nice and there's natural spring pools at Ojo de Gaia.

We stayed in Granada for a few nights, great town. I would recommend Granada over Managua any day.

We also spent time in the north mountains in Esteli, it's cigar country and beautiful national parks but that's too far to go from San Juan del Sur on a day trip.

I don't know if there's car rental in San Juan del Sur but you would probably be better off hiring a vehicle with driver, you can look online for these services.

If you like rum, Nicaragua produces the best, called Flor de Cana. You can buy it in any market, there's a grocery store just outside of town on the right.

We went through the Panama Canal in March. It is HOT. and HUMID. Technical fabrics and brimmed hats were popular clothing choices. If your ship is offering any films on the building of the canal, I recommend seeing them. From Puntarenas you will have to go inland to do pretty much anything. Neither Costa Rica nor San Juan del Sur is like the Caribbean ports that have lots of shopping and dining infrastructure that caters to cruise ships.

thinfool: San Juan del Sur. This is a tiny and charming town that hosts young surfers in search of the perfect wave. There were few people around' date=' other than cruise people looking for their excursions. The town is well provisioned with internet cafes. The beach we [b']rode horses[/b] on was the same one used for Survivor. Check it out.

Rustybuttons123: I spent a few weeks in Nicaragua a few years ago' date=' great country, friendly people. San Juan del Sur as you know is a beach town popular with the surfing crowd. The road from San Juan del Sur is not paved, nor are there bridges at the river crossings. We went to Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. We [b']stayed in Granada for a few nights, great town[/b]. I would recommend Granada over Managua any day. I don't know if there's car rental in San Juan del Sur but you would probably be better off hiring a vehicle with driver, you can look online for these services. If you like rum, Nicaragua produces the best, called Flor de Cana. You can buy it in any market, there's a grocery store just outside of town on the right.

Appreciate from Margaret, thinfool and Rustybuttons123, these excellent tips, ideas, background, etc. Very interesting and beneficial!! Keep 'em coming.

The horse-ride might be good, but it is not be as much of "our thing". My with my body size, that could be hard on the horse to carry me. That rum sounds great.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 217,764 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Just some clarification, when I referred to the road from San Juan del Sur not paved, nor having bridges at the river crossings, I didn't mean the main road that connects San Juan del Sur to the Pan Am highway, that's all good road. I was referring to the road south to the more isolated beach communities, marked "224" on most maps. If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to help. Enjoy your trip! Sounds great.

P.S. my photography tip = rest your camera outdoors a bit before you want to use it outdoors. The lens will fog up when you hit the humidity after being in the AC, and you want to give it time to equalize to the outside temp. (You probably already know this from being in the Amazon.)

Great tip about the camera. We will be taking that Coral Princess Panama Canal trip in 2018, in reverse, San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale. Will be our first visit to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, The Canal and Cartagena Columbia. Very much looking forward to it.

Thanks, Will

Can you find a tour that includes Masaya Volcano Park, Granada and Masaya artisan market? We stayed a few days in Granada and SJ del Sur some years ago on a land Nicaragua trip and took a volcano park and Masaya tour from Granada and loved it. We visited a coffee plantation half way up the volcano. Lovely orchids in the National Park.

SJS is also charming, just to knock around. We loved sipping drinks at a waterfront restaurant in the early evening before dinner and watching the kids play soccer on the beach. SJS also gets very excited about the ship visits...there are not many, so the locals look forward to them. Many American expats have places up in the hills surrounding the town.

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We wanted something different than what the ship offered (Princess), so we contacted http://www.ranchochilamate.com/horseback-adventures/ and made arrangements with them.

We, too, wanted a different option and went riding as well. The outfit we used is no longer in business, though (I think they became a zip-lining place). We rode up into the mountains and along a ridge. The views were amazing and some monkeys followed along in the trees for a while. Then we had lunch at the Pelican Eyes Resort and used the pool for the afternoon. We had one of the infinity pools all to ourselves. :) A spectacular day.

DH is 6'3", 250lbs. so I did have a phone conversation with them in my pidgin Spanish to make sure they had one big enough for him. We have run into issues with ship excursions due to the weight limits being too low for him.

SJS is also charming, just to knock around. We loved sipping drinks at a waterfront restaurant in the early evening before dinner and watching the kids play soccer on the beach. SJS also gets very excited about the ship visits...there are not many, so the locals look forward to them. Many American expats have places up in the hills surrounding the town.

Appreciate ALL of these good and helpful tips. Am saving in my computer file these excellent ideas and suggestions. Keep it coming!! Getting within two and a half months of our departure date from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco. It getting very cold in the Midwest now and we need to be looking forward to some warmer weather, nice beaches, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 206,378 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Terry, we're doing this in April and haven't found much info either. Please post a review when you return:)

Terry, we're doing this in April and haven't found much info either. Please post a review when you return:)

Am planning to do a live/blog with lots of photographs from our Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco sailing through the Panama Canal in late February. Look for it on the Princess CC Board. Let me know any questions, comments, etc. Appreciate your interest!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 163,544 views for this posting.

We just returned from a stop at San Juan del Sur. We have been there several times before and I would say that a ships tour seeing Granada and the

volcano national park with market is the best that one can do. It will give you a good overview of the area. Because it is hard to get tenders and late

returns because of poor road conditions on weekends and holidays, you would

be better off with a ships tour. We were over a hour late return to the port.

We recently visited San Juan on a trip through the canal and took a wonderful tour with a young man named Nicholas who is from Scotland but has a Nicaraguan wife.

It's only a half-day tour and it stays in town so we didn't go to Granada but we did go up to the statue of Jesus and to an nature reserve where we saw monkeys and sloths. We also learned a lot about the Nicaraguan revolution. I highly recommend it. The name of the company was San Juan del Tour and you can find them on TripAdvisor.

Terry -- looking forward to that blog of your trip! We are taking Azamara's first cruise to this area in Jan. 2018, so finding shore excursion ideas has been difficult because they are only figuring out what to offer from the ship! I've been stalking you on several threads [unintentionally] because we have several ports in common -- your blog will be a great resource for me!

Terry -- looking forward to that blog of your trip! We are taking Azamara's first cruise to this area in Jan. 2018, so finding shore excursion ideas has been difficult because they are only figuring out what to offer from the ship! I've been stalking you on several threads [unintentionally] because we have several ports in common -- your blog will be a great resource for me!

crzycrzr: We recently visited San Juan on a trip through the canal and took a wonderful tour with a young man named Nicholas who is from Scotland but has a Nicaraguan wife. We also learned a lot about the Nicaraguan revolution. I highly recommend it. The name of the company was San Juan del Tour and you can find them on TripAdvisor.

bcnvcanada: We just returned from a stop at San Juan del Sur. We have been there several times before and I would say that a ships tour seeing Granada and the volcano national park with market is the best that one can do. It will give you a good overview of the area. Because it is hard to get tenders and late returns because of poor road conditions on weekends and holidays' date=' you would be [b']better off with a ships tour[/b]. We were over a hour late return to the port.

Appreciate so much these added posts from crzycrzr and bcnvcanada. Great background and options to consider. Yes, we are planning to do a ships tour for Nicaragua to insure against any risks with travel delays/timing challenges.

Super loved the nice follow-up from Host Jazzbeau. Great to be "stalked" by you (and any others)!!! Will do my live/blog on the Princess board with lots of visuals and fun details. You have so many great upcoming travels planned. Where in Africa are you planning to visit in May 2018? And, I see you will be doing a sailing for Nov. 2018 on "our" Solstice for New Zealand. Please post on my live/blog that detailed our early 2014 Australia-NZ adventure as to any questions for these wonderful and scenic areas.

THANKS for the great sharing and very good added insights/info! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 29,436 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

Super loved the nice follow-up from Host Jazzbeau. Great to be "stalked" by you (and any others)!!! Will do my live/blog on the Princess board with lots of visuals and fun details. You have so many great upcoming travels planned. Where in Africa are you planning to visit in May 2018? And, I see you will be doing a sailing for Nov. 2018 on "our" Solstice for New Zealand. Please post on my live/blog that detailed our early 2014 Australia-NZ adventure as to any questions for these wonderful and scenic areas.

We are flying to CapeTown for 3 nights, then a 5-day cruise on the Zambezi Queen on the Chobe River in Botswana, then 2 nights at Victoria Falls, then 1 night in Johannesburg -- this is the AmaWaterways Discover Africa package. We opted not to take their other variations that include Tanzania or South Africa land safaris, because we weren't sure our old bodies could take the 4x4 pounding. I will post a follow-blog on the River Cruising forum.

Haven't sold DW on actually taking that New Zealand cruise because of the long air flights even with stopovers, but that particular itinerary is really appealing [more ports in NZ than usual]. Your blog was what whetted my interest in that trip!

We are flying to CapeTown for 3 nights, then a 5-day cruise on the Zambezi Queen on the Chobe River in Botswana, then 2 nights at Victoria Falls, then 1 night in Johannesburg -- this is the AmaWaterways Discover Africa package. We opted not to take their other variations that include Tanzania or South Africa land safaris, because we weren't sure our old bodies could take the 4x4 pounding. I will post a follow-blog on the River Cruising forum. Haven't sold DW on actually taking that New Zealand cruise because of the long air flights even with stopovers, but that particular itinerary is really appealing [more ports in NZ than usual]. Your blog was what whetted my interest in that trip!

Great to be "guilty" of firing up your interests and excitements for these travels. Here are a couple of added thoughts and reactions. I would not worry too much about being bounced around in the 4x4 vehicles. We did nine days of safari travels/exploring in South Africa and Botswana. Never felt any problems with being "bounced" too much!! We were not going at a high rate of speed and all was fine for my "older bones"!! They survived fine, even on long days. Personally, given the long distances you are travel to get this far south in Africa, I would try to have more time there. So much to see there that is so super wonderful.

On Australia and New Zealand, yes, it is a long way to get down there. So, expand your schedule!! See and do more "down under" to help cover the cost and time required to get way, way down there.

Let me know what else I can do to help "educate" your DW and get her to understand better the "bigger picture" involved in traveling to these unique and long-distance locations. Happy to arrange hooking up by phone, etc. Show her the pictures!! It's much better in person. You will both love it!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 171,323 views for this posting.

Would love to be posting here a nice sampling of my visuals from our March 8, 7 am-6 pm, tendering for San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.We had an all-day trip scheduled through the ship city to visit their historic city of Granada.Founded in 1524 by Spanish Conquistador Hernandez de Cordoba, it is in the shadow of the Mombacho Volcano on the shore of Lake Nicaragua. We were to see colonial churches, narrow streets and Spanish-style homes with bright colors. Then, we we were to do a sailing on the massive fresh-water Lake Nicaragua and see Las Isletas, an archipelago of 365 tiny islands formed long ago from volcanic activity.

BUT, early in the morning, the Island Princess Captain came on the PA while we were have breakfast around 7 am to indicated that the winds were 35 knots.And, the weather would get more challenging later in the afternoon.No tendering!! Not safe, nor comfortable to get ashore and come back. The visit for today in Nicaragua had been scrubbed.We then headed to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.That made us having four sea days in a row.Then, two more sea-days after Cabo.Unless, maybe, we could get lucky to have Princess schedule an extra day in Cabo in addition what was originally planned for that exciting port.That would have been my wish and hope, but it did not happen.Ships have to book mooring spots and tender docking slots many months ahead, plus have security and local tendering boats in place, etc.

Missed seeing this initial sampling for Nicaragua. BUT, it's a good reason to come back and do more to enjoy Central America. More details and lots of visuals for the rest of the trip on my live/blog connected below.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580