You would never suspect it today, but the sleepy fishing village-cum-beach town of SAN JUAN DEL SUR was once a lively place. In the mid-1800s this was a crucial transit point on Cornelius Vanderbilt's trans-isthmian steamboat line, on which people and goods were transported to goldrush-era California. Boats would sail up the Río San Juan, disembark at Granada, and then continue by rail or carriage to San Juan del Sur, from where Pacific-going vessels would head north.

San Juan del Sur's second age of glory was as a popular holiday spot for hordes of internacionalistas during the 1980s. Today it's the most popular beach town in Nicaragua, at least with foreign travellers - European backpackers and American surfers together make up the biggest contingent. San Juan del Sur's setting, in a lush valley with a river running down to the beach, is beautiful; the beach itself is a long wide stretch of fine dark sand running between two cliffs, with generally calm and shallow waters, suitable for swimming, and magnificent sunsets over the harbour. With excellent seafood restaurants and a number of reasonable places to stay, San Juan is the kind of town you could easily spend a few days in. To the south are some beautiful and remote beaches, good for surfing or relaxing (although not necessarily swimming - the surf is rough).