San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

[sunshine100]

We will be on a Panama Canal cruise in about a month and I can't seem to find too much at this port....does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?? any tours?

thanks!

[GradUT]

I have a relative that lives and works in Nicaragua and when I visit, we enjoy going to Granada. It's a lovely colonial town with great architecture, art, and ambiance.

 

I don't know what cruise line you are taking, but Princess offers a tour called "Granada, Lake Nicaragua, Las Isletas and Lunch" which includes a tour of the old town, a boat cruise through the many islands in Lake Nicaragua and lunch. I think that would be a great tour.

 

If you want a bit more adventure in your tour, there are also tours to the Mombacho Volcano. If you want some shopping, take the tour to Masaya.

[tinybabynurse]

TBN Hubby here

 

Haven't been to that port but worked in Nicaragua for a time several years ago.

 

At the time I thought that Granada was an interesting city and was one of the nicer places to visit as a tourist. Very historic and significant city in Nica's history. Old buildings, an art school on the square, Cathedral, and the Isletas tours are nice. Away from the square the town is not in good condition and many of the buildings are crumbling. Some decent restaurants around the square in the hotels and also a decent place by the lake in the 'tourist only' area where you can take the Isleta tour. One of the cooler places in Nicaragua, especially the Isleta tour. The trip to the top of the volcano is interesting and the altitude change makes it much, much cooler at the top. If you do that you may want a jacket.

 

This is a very poor country and you MAY see some practices that shock you. Several times, I saw people move into seats that we vacated and finish eating what was on the table. This is not likely to happen in the hotel restaurants or in the tourists-only area, but may happen if you eat at some of the smaller places on or near the square. I will say that this did not happen frequently at Granada in my visits there as this is a somewhat more prosperous area. The children may beg and it is hard not to give them a Cordoba (used to be about $0.12) but it sometimes leads to you being surrounded, so, I would be very careful about that.

 

This is a very poor country and the roads are not what you may be used to. If you do visit Nicaragua, please look beyond the poverty and take in some of the natural beauty and the opportunity to visit areas with active volcanoes.

 

Pick up some Selva Negra coffee, or one of the other fine, local coffees, if you like a light roast coffee. Selva Negra is my wife's favorite. Nicaraguan pottery is quite nice and there are many different types of designs depending on the region. It will usually be signed on the bottom with the name of the individual and the location where it was made. Unless things have really changed it is NOT from China. I don't remember that Granada was 'famous' for the pottery but I imagine that there will be a selection available if this is now a tour spot.

 

Nicaraguan Cigars are supposed from Cuban seed tobacco and are said to be quite good -- I don't smoke -- and I used to bring some back to friends, but if you do not know the prices you may be better off to pass. Real Cubans are sold but careful of fakes. Again, this is not the area where tobacco is grown so these would be there to appeal to tourists unless you travel deeper into the town. As usual, if you venture a few blocks away from the square and some distance from the places specifically for tourists the prices will be much better, but it is likely that Spanish will be required.

 

Several varieties of Bananas that you may not be familiar with are worth trying. These are small and are sometimes sold a 'baby bananas' in the States but they are actually distinct varieties. One tastes a bit like a green apple. Another is very sweet. A local citrus called the Manderina is quite good if in season and they are very cheap. Cashews and the fruit that is associated with them (Marinon??) may be available as they are widespread in Nicaragua. That fruit does not travel well but is very tasty if it is offered. Reminds me of a ripe persimmon.

 

They are also quite proud of their Rum. Flor de Cana (needs a accent mark). Not a big Rum drinker but some folks I gave it to said it was quite good and it is not very expensive.

 

I thought Nicaraguan people were friendly and pleasant. The vendors not overly aggressive, and they do expect to negotiate. Remember 'tho that if you are bargaining for a few Cordobas, you are arguing over a half dollar or less.

 

 

 

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[sunshine100]

thanks so much for this information! cruise critic is awesome!:D

[Crib_King]

Have you found any good excursions yet?

 

I am heading to Florida tomorrow and looking to find a good excursion in San Juan Del Sur.

 

We are going on the Coral Princess and will be in Nicaragua on March 7th.

 

Ron

[GradUT]

Ron, have you looked at the tours offered by Princess out of SJDS? There are many of them, including the one I specifically described to Sunshine. Princess offers tours to Granada, Masaya and Mombacho Volcano. I would definitely recommend getting out of SJDS for a tour--the rest of Nicaragua is much more interesting.

[Crib_King]

Yes I have looked at the cruise excursions but found them to be quite expensive and was hoping to find a local guy that could take 6 of us to Granada for example. Cheers, Ron