Nicaraguan Government Invests in San Juan del Sur

Nestled in a beautiful cove on the Pacific coast near the Costa Rican border is San Juan del Sur, at one time a small fishing village but presently undergoing a transformation into a well- known tourist destination in Nicaragua.

Getting there from Mangua, the capital city of Nicaragua, takes about 3 hours. Most of the travel is along the Pan American highway, a single lane road which connects the Central American countries, from Guatemala in the north all the way to Panama in the south. However, once you turn off the main highway, the last 18 kilometers takes about 45 minutes on a road which looks and feels like an off-road zone for motorcycles.

Thankfully, the national tourism office of Nicaragua has finally realized that to bring in tourism revenues to San Juan del Sur(SJDS), you have to get the people there. So this year, after several bridges were washed out during the rainy season and vehicles had to play ‘chicken’ every time they negotiated the potholes, big improvements are being made in SJDS and surrounding area.

The town of several thousand people is undergoing a huge facelift, especially in the downtown. The streets are being dug up, and replaced with rough asphalt suitable for a hot climate. Certain streets are being paved with flat stones. New tourist-related businesses are opening and the beachfront restaurants are improving their facades. It’s been a noticeable change in the past year, ever since the new Daniel Ortega government decided that San Juan del Sur would become part of the long term investment plan for Nicaraguan tourism. It may be no coincidence also, that SJDS is a safe seat for Ortega’s Sandanista government.

Overall, the town is probably pretty close to what some of the resorts in Mexico looked like 30 years ago, before the big wave of tourists started. Tourism development is in its infancy here and there are still a lot of unknowns, the U.S. economy being the biggest one.

As you walk around the town and along the beach you can see that the area has started to morph into something different because of the investment and the new construction. It’s an exciting time for San Juan del Sur.

You can walk from one end of the beach to the other in about 20 minutes. The small downtown is surrounded by coastal cliffs and inland mountains. Even a 10 minute walk away from the beach provides a panoramic view of the entire town. If you are fit enough to survive a 30 minute walk that is entirely uphill with grades of 60° and more, the scenery of the bay is absolutely breathtaking!

The price and choice of condominiums and villas depend on quality and size but also elevation and a view of the ocean. The lofty haciendas are accessible only by 4 wheeled vehicles because of the slope, and one or two near the top of the ridge have landing pads for helicopters. These are not properties owned by middle class pensioners.

We toured one such property on the north escarpment owned by former NBA centre for the Los Angeles Lakers, Travis Knight. Knight was the backup centre for Shaquille O’Neill in the 90’s. The home has one of the best views in the bay, and the cruise ships are so close that you feel like they are part of your back yard.

Knight alternates his time with his home in U.S. and his Nicaraguan hacienda, which is always available for private rental. Knight’s full time chef and property manager gave us a tour of the home, including a printed menu and what’s included in a rental. For $3,000 per week, you and your friends can get the royal treatment- your own private ‘all inclusive’ with nothing to do except relax, swim and enjoy the view.

The curious thing about the properties in SJDS is that many of them are empty as you walk the beach and the rest of the town. There are occupancy restrictions on some foreign ownership of condominiums and villas, so that the owners can only be in the country for 100 days per year, approximately three months, which leaves the properties vacant for the remaining 9 months. It was explained to us that the government hopes this law will encourage more tourists to come to Nicaragua, but another issue seems to be that it actually dampens investment. Who would invest in a tropical property that is only available for personal occupancy for 3 months per year?

The answer is mostly investors: people not necessarily interested in spending much time in the country over the long term. Then of course there are people who only have a few weeks holidays and choose not to rent their properties.

In short, there is an abundance of rental properties available in SJDS, with fairly new, two bedroom condominiums going for about $1,000 per month plus electricity.

San Juan del Sur is a haven for surfers, and on March 1 and 2 hosted a national event at one of its 10 beaches, Maderas Beach. The beaches are accessible by rough, gravel roads and have limited amenities. They are destinations for the young people who want to enjoy the tranquility and peacefulness of these pristine resources.

If you’re on a budget, SJDS is a good place to relax, enjoy the sun and the scenery, and enjoy food at a price and quality that is not available in North America. Meats and fish are less than 50% what we pay in Canada, and you rarely see a freezer in the stores. Most of the food sold is fresh, locally grown and packaged, without additives and MSG.

At one end of the SJDS beach we went to the early morning fish market, where the morning catch was being filleted, and freshly-caught Dorado was available for 80 Cordoba, or approximately $4 per pound. Now that’s a mouth watering catch worth waiting for.

I’m sure the travel books will be featuring San Juan del Sur in a year or two. If you are looking for a tropical destination you might want to check it out.