Benchwick Greg - Lonely Planet Nicaragua

Whether its dipping your toes into the crystalline Caribbean or paddling out to the crashing waves of the pounding Pacific, Nicaraguas beaches always deliver the goods. The big barrels of Rivas are revered in surfing circles while the clear waters of the Corn Islands are superb for snorkeling. More sedentary beach bums can choose between accessible slices of sand lined with fine restaurants and happening bars or natural affairs backed by a wall of rainforest. Even the best beaches in the country are refreshingly free of development, so you can experience them just as nature intended.

Looking for the ultimate rush? Nicaraguas diverse geography, intense energy and anything-goes attitude is perfect for exhilarating outdoor adventures. Get ready to check a whole gamut of new experiences off your list including: surfing down an active volcano, diving through underwater caves, canoeing through alligator-infested wetlands, swimming across sea channels between tiny white-sand islands and landing a 90-plus-kg tarpon beneath a Spanish fortress in the middle of the jungle. Theres no signs, no crowds and no holding back.

Nicaraguas colonial splendor comes in two distinct, but equally appealing, flavors. The elegant streetscapes of Granada have been entrancing travelers for centuries with their architectural grace. Its Nicaraguas best-preserved colonial town and boasts a meticulously restored cathedral, well-groomed plaza and perfectly maintained mansions that shelter lush internal courtyards. Far less polished, working-class Len offers a different colonial experience where your crumbling 300-year-old houses come interspersed with revolutionary murals and architectural masterpieces housing corner stores. Its a vibrant city that, while proud of its heritage, is too busy to feel like a museum.

There are few destinations with such beauty that are as undeveloped as Nicaragua. Before you know it, youve dropped off the tourist trail and into a world of majestic mountains, cooperative farms, wetlands thronged with wildlife and empty jungle-clad beaches. Forge on and discover remote indigenous communities, overgrown pre-Columbian ruins and untouched rainforests. No matter how far you go, youll always find friendly locals who are more than willing to share their culture with strangers.

A bungalow on Little Corn Island
MARGIE POLITZER / GETTY IMAGES

Why I Love Nicaragua

By Alex Egerton, Author

Upon arriving in Nicaragua, like so many others I was captivated by the youthful energy and crumbling colonial charm of Len, a city quite unlike others I had known. But after settling down there I soon identified the unparalleled adventure opportunities that were waiting on my doorstep and up and left to the wild Caribbean Coast. Now I live on the placid shores of Pearl Lagoon where I spend most of my spare time paddling my sea kayaks around the bays, up the jungle creeks and around the stunning Pearl Keys. Every trips a new experience.

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Nicaraguas Top 15

Catedral de Granada
MLENNY PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES

Granada is a town of immense and palpable magnetism. At the heart of the citys charms are the picture-perfect cobblestone streets, polychromatic colonial homes and churches, and a lilting air that brings the citys spirited past into present-day tight focus. Most trips here begin and end on foot, and simply dawdling from gallery to restaurant to colonial church can take up the better part of a day. From there, its off to explore the myriad wild areas, islands, volcanoes and artisan villages nearby.