Nicaragua Hotels

Tourism is booming these days in Nicaragua, partly because of the low cost-of-living, but also because the country offers such a lot, from world-class surfing experiences at San Juan Del Sur, to the colonial towns of Granada and Leon, hiking on active volcanoes and spectacular beaches on the Caribbean coast. Although Nicaragua it is now a peaceful country, it is still one of the poorest in the western hemisphere, and suffered a devastating earthquake in 1972 and the effects of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. A country of extremes, it is the largest in Central America, bordered by the Caribbean in the east, and the Pacific in the west. Its capital is Managua, one of the largest cities in area. Leon was the country’s original capital in the 16th-century, and visitors flock here to see the fabulous historic sites, churches, galleries, and the largest cathedral in Central America.

The city has avoided a sanitising makeover, and bullet holes from the 1970s can still be seen in the walls of buildings. Nicaragua also holds the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua, from which rises Concepción, a stunning active volcano. Weather is hot between November and April, with a rainy season between May and October, whilst the interior mountainous regions are cooler and cloudier.

It has a rich history, conquered by Spain in the 16th century, and briefly by Britain in the 19th. The inhabitants speak Spanish.