I’d fly into Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua; international and domestic flights are currently suspended, but American Airlines and TACA typically fly direct from Miami, and United Airlines from New York via Houston. Once there, I’d head right out of the congested capital and drive northwest on Highway 3 toward Chinandega.
En route, I’d stop in the colonial town of León, with its pastel-hued churches. Behind the main cathedral, you can’t go wrong at any of the fritangas—simple street-side barbecues where abuelitas fry everything from chorizo to plantains—and I always detour for a double scoop of tres leches gelato served in a handmade cone at artisanal ice cream shop Kiss Me.
When I first visited Chinandega nearly 20 years ago, there were two hotels and everyone was on horseback. The locals were fishermen and subsistence farmers. Gringos toting boards on mopeds came through to surf the Boom—Nicaragua’s most famous wave, just a short drive away in the village of Aserradores. The fast and heavy A-Frame is not for the inexperienced, but the area has plenty of mellow surf, too. Former pro surfer Holly Beck chose this area to launch her pioneering women’s surf camp, Surf With Amigas in 2010.
“When I’d surf in Mexico, I always ended up with diarrhea and had to worry about gang violence,” says the California native. “Nicaragua was cleaner, safer, and more affordable. I never saw guns. The waves were always good. The people were super friendly.” I’d finally check off my wish of spending a week at one of Beck’s retreats (from $1,800 per person).
My friends and I would then make our way south, connecting on Highway 1 until we reached the Emerald Coast, just over a four-hour drive. (You can also fly private straight into Costa Esmeralda Airport, which remains open). On that first trip, I fell hard for the sleepy fishing villages of Gigante and Popoyo and even harder for the 10 world-class breaks—from longboard peelers to deep, hollow reef breaks—in a span of 30 miles.
The waves remain as epic as ever, but a true surf community has emerged thanks to cool hoteliers such as Jade Sheppard, local surfboard shaper Giezi Amador, and a youth surf team. My friends and I would stay at Malibu Popoyo, Sheppard’s 2-year-old, 12-casita hotel, where the price includes board rentals and surf guiding. We’d wake up and take a boat trip to Lance’s Left, a seemingly never-ending rock reef break of amazing consistency and beauty. Then we’d recharge by the hotel’s pool with fish tacos and locally brewed kombucha. A sunset surf at Playa Santana, a wedgy beach break a short walk from the hotel, would cap off the action. We’d share highlights from the day’s rides around the hotel’s fire pit while listening to live music and sipping Toña, Nica’s ubiquitous lager. By the third day our shoulders would be paddle-weary, so we’d indulge ourselves with massages at Rancho Santana’s new 6,000-square-foot spa, located just down the beach.
The final leg of our trip would take us 90 minutes south to San Juan del Sur. I remember visiting this laid-back port town in late 2017 and fretting that it was on the verge of becoming sceney Tulum. But in April 2018 political unrest, once again, sent the country’s tourism industry reeling, pushing pause on some of the less salubrious developments.
I was there again last September, and I must admit I quite prefer the area without the Insta influencers. Instead, there’s a Bohemian-cool clan that gathers for happy hour by the infinity pool of Arte-Sano Hotel & Cafe. Here, tucked away on a cliff above popular, rippable beach break Playa Maderas, would be my base of choice. The owners, along with the couple behind craft brewery San Juan del Sur Cervecería, also run nearby Machete Market Café, where we’d gather on Fridays for pizza night, a rowdy get-together of live jams, brick oven pies, and artisanal brews.
Non-Surf Days
At some point even the most die-hard surfer’s muscles need a rest from paddling. You won’t regret taking a break from the coast to explore the colonial town of Granada, a 90-minute drive north of Popoyo. (You could also head straight here from Managua, skipping the more raw north, which is definitely for the hardier surfer.)
Enlist Granada-based Brit Dominic Allen, founder of travel company Real Latin America, to help with your planning. On my last visit he steered me to Garden Café, where I’d return for the spicy curries and superfood smoothies, but also to shop at Thousand Cranes, its well-curated shop dedicated to local artisans, designers, and impactful groups including UPNicaragua. If you’re a chocolate snob like I am, pop into Argencove, an impressive bean-to-bar operation in town. And if there’s one souvenir you must take home, it’s a hammock, which should be purchased from nowhere but Tio Antonio Hamaca, a store that provides jobs to at-risk youth.