In this article, I share my short and sweet trip travelling to San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua. My goal for this trip is to tick off Nicaragua as a country visited in my quest to visit every single country in the world.
If you’d like to know how much I spent doing my short trip to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, you can read my spending breakdown here.
VIDEO – My Short and Sweet Trip to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua – Country #102
Crossing the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua
My journey to Nicaragua actually started in Costa Rica. I went with a company called Caribe Shuttle which had a fantastic service. Upon boarding the shuttle, I met other travellers heading for the airport. Funny enough, I was the only one going to Nicaragua as the other passengers already came from there and were flying out of Costa Rica.
The shuttle service was also helpful because exiting the Costa Rica border was quite disorganized. If the driver wasn’t there to help me, I’d be pulling my hair out and figuring out how to pay for my exit fee out of the country.
The immigration process was straightforward. Drones are not allowed in Nicaragua and they will confiscate them.
However, the one annoying thing I did encounter was the Caribe shuttle going from the border to my hostel. The driver pulled a guilt trip move by saying tips are optional after he dropped me off. I proceeded to give him my Costa Rica change and he didn’t look too happy about that.
Hostel in San Juan del Sur
My first impression of my hostel in San Juan del Sur is that they have pretty good customer service.
It’s also a lot cheaper than staying in Costa Rica where your eyes will bleed from how expensive it is.
The private room in the hostel was comfortable and I wouldn’t be against staying here longer if I had to.
Trying restaurant and street food
After checking in and getting settled, I asked the hostel receptionist what restaurant I should try. He recommended this seafood restaurant by the beach. I immediately went there and ordered a fish dish.
Honestly, the food was just okay and was overpriced. I can’t recommend this restaurant to anyone coming to San Juan del Sur.
In the evening, I went out and tried barbecue street food. The food looks good at first glance and was also cheap.
The people running this street food was also extremely friendly; one lady spoke good English and chatted with me.
Sadly, the food only looked good. The beef was way too hard to eat. The rice, plantain, and salad were decent. After dinner, I wanted some desserts so I got some gelato which was also quite overpriced in this town.
The gelato was just okay, but it was not worth what I paid.
Crossing back from Nicaragua to Costa Rica
The next day, bright and early in the morning, the shuttle company picked me up from the hostel along with some other passengers from other accommodations. We then drove to the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border.
The border crossing was fairly easy from the Nicaragua side. The long walk between the no man’s land between both borders was a bit muddy which made it uncomfortable.
The rain was pouring hard by the time we reached the Costa Rica immigration. We got lucky as we reached it moments before the downpour occurred. I was reunited with the shuttle driver from the day before and he was surprised I was back in Costa Rica already. Before long, I was back in Costa Rica awaiting my shuttle that would take me to San Jose where I would catch a flight to go to Brazil the following day.
Conclusion
I’m not sure what is the lure of coming to Nicaragua. There seem to be a lot of Canadians living in San Juan del Sur. Honestly, for what you’re paying, you would have a much better quality of life and fun living in Thailand or Vietnam. And if you prefer Latin American then Colombia and Argentina are the superior options. Even Brazil is pretty good. I just think a lot of people latch on to the first few countries they visit and are not aware that there are significantly better places out there to setup base.
Subscribe to Travel and Live Free’s email list to get the latest blog posts and updates!
Like me on Facebook to get the latest updates on my journey around the world. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the latest video on my travels and travel tips.