Surf, travel, and life on the Pacific.
Nicaragua is one of those countries that most first-time travelers know almost nothing about before they arrive — and think about constantly after they leave. This Nicaragua travel guide covers the Pacific coast, the colonial cities, the volcanoes, and the warmth of the people that make it unlike anywhere else in Central America, at a […]
Read moreMost travelers planning a first trip to Nicaragua eventually run into the same fork in the road: spend the time on the volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe, vs. Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. Both are signature destinations and heavily on Instagram. Both are, in their own ways, defining experiences of the country. But they are different in […]
Read moreWhen travelers ask us why El Tránsito, Nicaragua, for our oceanside resort, the honest answer is that we wanted the part of the Pacific coast that hadn’t been found yet, and we wanted to keep it that way. El Tránsito is a small fishing village on Nicaragua’s central Pacific coast, about an hour and a […]
Read moreThe market for private beachfront villas in Nicaragua has matured significantly in the last decade. What used to be a thin landscape of expat-owned guest houses and a few resort-adjacent rentals has become a more serious category. There are boutique properties with full staff, private compounds available for buyout, and operator-quality villas marketed alongside the […]
Read moreLeón is not a city of restaurants the way Granada is, or the way San Juan del Sur has become. The dining scene is smaller, more local, and more uneven, but the good places to eat are very good, and a traveler who knows where to eat in León, Nicaragua, can eat extraordinarily well for […]
Read moreThere are not many places in the world where a beginner surfer can paddle out, catch a real wave on their first day, and stand up to clean offshore winds almost three hundred days a year. Nicaragua’s Pacific coast is one of them. This is a guide for beginner surfing in Nicaragua. It’s for travelers […]
Read moreThe honest answer to what should I pack for Nicaragua’s Pacific coast? is: less than you think. The climate is steady, the dress code is barefoot, and most of what you would normally pack is provided at the property. The list below is what experienced guests bring after their first visit: refined, light, and mostly […]
Read moreThe first thing you notice at our Mandla casitas in Nicaragua is the sound. Not the ocean. That comes later, once you have been listening for a few minutes. The first thing you notice is the absence of everything else. No traffic. No neighbors. No road noise. Just the wind moving through the palms, the […]
Read moreThe best group retreats happen at venues that disappear. The architecture, the staff, the schedule, and the setting all step back so that the group’s purpose, whatever it may be, moves to the front. At Mandla, we love hosting private group retreats on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. That is harder to find than it sounds. Most […]
Read moreLeón does not announce itself. You drive in past concrete-block houses and tin-roofed workshops, turn a corner near the central plaza, and find yourself standing in front of one of the most important Baroque cathedrals in the Americas: UNESCO-listed, dazzlingly white, with a roof you can walk on. A day trip to León, Nicaragua, can […]
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